• 🇲🇽 De La Calle’s Modern Twist
• 💥 Jack Owoc Back in Court
• 🏛️ BuzzBallz Sues Rival
• 🐢 Strive, TurtleTree Join Up
• 🍸 21Seeds Brings Back The O.C.
• ⚡ Starbucks Next Up As Coffee + Energy Craze Continues

“Dirty sodas,” or “dirty drinks” – fountain sodas doctored up with cream, flavored syrups and other add-ins – have gained mainstream traction over the past few years, in large part due to their meteoric rise on TikTok (even bev giant KDP’s Dr Pepper has taken notice). 

Thus far, brands slinging these beverages, such as Sonic and Swig, have primarily focused on drive-through concepts in suburban landscapes. Enter Cool Sips, which touts itself as New York City’s first standalone fountain beverage shop specializing in the “dirty drinks” craze and is hoping to build up urban demand for the category. 

The company is the brainchild of BCD Strategic Investments – the investment and advisory arm of BCD – which has backed popular restaurants such as NAYA, Mighty Quinns BBQ, The Smith, and formerly Noma in Copenhagen.

The impetus behind Cool Sips? Build out the concept in influential metro markets like NYC while steadily “growing it with a smaller prototype,” said BCD president and CEO Andrew Moger. 

The company quietly opened its first 500 sq. ft. brick-and-mortar shop in Rockefeller Center in March and is slated to host the grand opening of its new 200 sq. ft. location in the Seaport neighborhood on Thursday, June 27. Cool Sips’ beach-inspired menu features three categories: Signature Sips, Stuffed Sips and Create Your Own Sip (which lets customers choose from a variety of teas, lemonades, soft drinks and add-ins like syrups and boba pearls). 

It is all a “very simple operation,” according to Moger, with the spaces including soda and beverage machines that are hard-piped into water and the use of cartridges for its tea system – eliminating extensive prep work and product waste. The stores’ small footprints also cut down on rent expenses and build-out costs. 

However, introducing a new beverage concept to a new market doesn’t come without its risks. The concept of dirty drinks, which originated in Utah as a non-alcoholic beverage option for those abstaining from alcohol, have gained attention across the nation in recent years but a majority of the population is still unaware of, or unfamiliar with, the category.

“Launching a new store is obviously very challenging and launching a new concept is challenging, but introducing a category to a new market is also challenging. We’re doing a lot of explaining about what we are, which is something we truthfully didn’t expect,” said Moger. 

Looking ahead, Cool Sips plans to focus on expanding brick-and-mortar locations while also experimenting with freestanding, mobile drink stations that the company could use to serve its products at different venues like sports arenas and pop-up events. 

“I’m a big believer in getting it right before you think too much about expansion. We have a lot of ground to cover locally before we go [beyond NYC], but there’s absolutely no reason why [dirty drinks] shouldn’t be popular elsewhere,” said Moger. 

Go Deeper: Hear from KDP CCO Eric Gorli about how the company has tapped partnerships while embracing the Dirty Soda space.

What is tepache? When De La Calle launched its canned version of the traditional fermented Mexican beverage in 2021, it knew it had a long way to go educating consumers. Now, the company is embracing a new position, calling the drink a “Modern Mexican Soda” in a new brand refresh and marketing campaign.

🍍 Co-founder Alex Matthews told BevNET that the new slogan is aimed at introducing new consumers to tepache in an approachable way, while also highlighting its better-for-you properties.

🌮 The brand is also looking to do more to speak to Latino consumers, something Matthews admitted it had failed to do in the past. Looking ahead, De La Calle will begin running bilingual ads in English and Spanish and is working to expand into Hispanic markets and independent restaurants.

🗺️ “We are going to be able to start talking to and positioning ourselves to sell to Latinos,” Matthews said. “That community will be at around 25% of the U.S. population by 2028 and that buying power is in the trillions. So we know that there is a huge opportunity with our community – it needs very little education.”

🌐 Go Deeper: De La Calle’s focus on Latinos comes as industry groups are calling for brands to cease what it calls “Latino Coating” in marketing efforts and do more to authentically speak to Hispanic shoppers.

Read the full story on BevNET.

Ever since his archrival, Monster Beverage Corp., purchased Bang Energy’s brand in a bankruptcy auction last year founder Jack Owoc has been relatively quiet (though I guess that’s what happens when you lose access to your social media accounts). In the meantime, Owoc’s personal legal woes have only continued to pile up.

🏠 According to real estate news website The Real Deal, Owoc and his wife Meg Liz Owoc allegedly defaulted on a $30 million mortgage for their Fort Lauderdale, Fla., mansion after failing to make a $373,983 million monthly payment due May 1. A foreclosure complaint was filed this month by the lender, an entity run by WeatherTech founder David MacNeil.

💳 After his ousting from former Bang parent company Vital Pharmaceuticals last year, Owoc has continued to face legal challenges stemming from the business’s bankruptcy. In February he was sued by Bang’s liquidator for $100 million, alleging he engaged in “reckless management” and used over $37.9 million in company funds to pay for real estate deals.

BuzzBallz may be a popular party drink, but it did not come to play last week in court.

📃 The wine-, spirit- and malt-based cocktail brand filed a lawsuit against The Beverage Ranch last week, alleging the rival company copied its patented packaging for its new SlamZees line. 

🔵 BuzzBallz claims that SlamZees, which also come in truncated, round, plastic containers, directly infringe on at least two claims of the BuzzBallz patent. 

🍷 The new “party drinks” also hail from Texas, via a brand incubator that includes agave-wine Watertight Cocktails and wine-based honey cocktails Meridian Hive. 

⚔️ It’s not the first time BuzzBallz has legally defended its name or packaging in court, but we’ll be following to see how hard The Beverage Ranch... slams back.

Read the full story on BevNET.

Sustainable nutrition companies TurtleTree and Strive are joining forces in a multi-year strategic partnership to produce immune-boosting functional drinks and mixes.

🐮 Strive currently produces the Freemilk brand of fermented non-animal-derived milks and will extend its platform into ready-to-mix protein powders and immunity support adult nutrition drinks made using TurtleTree’s animal-free lactoferrin ingredient.

🌳 Lactoferrin, if you’re not familiar, is a protein found in cow’s milk that helps iron absorption, bone support and has antiviral and antibacterial properties. TurtleTree’s LF+ lactoferrin ingredient is made through precision fermentation and is vegan-certified.

🥛 Founded in 2022, Strive’s portfolio includes whole and chocolate animal-free dairy milks, as well as a barista oat milk SKU. The brand has previously worked with Perfect Day to produce its milks.

Diageo’s 21SEEDS is bringing back a favorite millennial character. The female-founded infused tequila brand is teaming up with Rachel Bilson and Fake Empire, (the production company co-founded by The O.C. Executive Producers), on a new campaign featuring the actor’s character, Summer Roberts, on the hit show The O.C.. 

📺 Ad spots with shoutouts to memorable moments in the teenage drama will officially launch on July 1 via Hulu, Max, Peacock, other digital platforms, and the brand’s Instagram. 

⏪ 21SEEDS was founded in 2019 by Kat Hantas, Nicole Hantas-Emanuel and Sarika Singh; the brand was purchased by Diageo in 2022.

✨ Now the brand is using strategic marketing dollars to tap into millennial nostalgia as the series celebrates its 21st anniversary. We’ll still never forgive the writers for killing off Marissa, but at least Summer is back? 

We know that cafes are constantly seeking to tap into the latest trends – the question is, are these the right ones? Even though Panera’s high-caffeine energy drinks made the wrong kind of headlines earlier this year when consumers began having adverse reactions – including one death – Starbucks is now getting in the game with this week’s introduction of sugar-free Iced Energy Beverages to store menus. 

🍹 The two new items are Starbucks’ “first handcrafted energy drinks” and come in two 20 oz. flavors: Melon Burst (180 mg caffeine) and Tropical Citrus (205 mg caffeine). That’s less potent than Panera’s infamous Charged Lemonade (13 mg caffeine per oz), while a large 18 oz. Dunkin Spark’d Energy clocks in at 192 mg of caffeine. 

☕ If you’re looking for more coffee-centric innovation, Starbucks has that, too. The chain is introducing non-dairy Vanilla Sweet Cream and non-dairy Vanilla Sweet Cream cold foam, which can be added to any handcrafted beverage year-round and which will be featured in new menu items such as: Iced Non-dairy Salted Caramel Cookie Matcha and Non-dairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew, among others.