• 🚚 Distro: Pamos Lands in Spec’s; Tokyo Feels the VYBES
• 🆕 Finding the ‘Folks’
• 🍹 Keeping Up with Bev-Alc: Kylie Jenner Launches Canned Vodka Soda
• 🥛 MALK Organics: New Products & Distro, Plus $7M
• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Momentous Gains Momentum Via Humble Growth

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Non-alc beverage sales growth slowed down in the back half of February, per the latest NielsenIQ data analysis by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

📊 Overall retail dollar sales improved +0.7% in the two-week period ending February 24, compared to +2% in the four-week period.

📦 Volume sales fell -2.4%, hastening their decline from -0.9% in the four-weeks. Meanwhile, average pricing was “broadly stable” at +3% in the two-weeks and +2.9% in the four-weeks.

🌦️ Among the few tracked categories to accelerate growth were sparkling water (+4.9%) and coconut water (+7.4%). Sparkling water was boosted by a strong +8.3% sales spike from category leader Talking Rain, while coconut water benefitted from hastening +4.1% growth of Vita Coco.

👹 Energy drinks cooled slightly but stayed stronger than most categories at +3.2% growth. Monster (-1.2%) fell slightly, while Red Bull (+2.7%) and Celsius (+70.6%) decelerated.

Read the full recap on BevNET.

As we enter into March, brands are busy expanding their footprints in retail. Here’s a look at several new distribution announcements from beverage makers:

🍹 As further proof that THC-infused beverages are on the rise in Texas, liquor retail chain Spec’s has added Pamos Cannabis Cocktails & Spirits (Delta-9 THC, if you’re keeping score) to over 200 locations in the Lone Star State. Product will roll out to stores over the next several weeks; pricing hasn’t been confirmed, though 4-packs of Spritz, depending on dosage level (2 mg, 5 mg or 10 mg THC), will run for up to $20.

🎯 Plant-based latte maker Pop & Bottle has hit the bullseye, entering multiserve with a new 48 oz. Organic Cold Brew, now rolling out at select Target stores nationwide. The new unsweetened offering is available in three moderately caffeinated varieties: Light Roast (80mg caffeine/serving), Medium Roast (90 mg caffeine/serving), and Vanilla (100mg caffeine/serving).

✈️ After securing a partnership with Suntory Japan last year, VYBES is finally heading to Tokyo with two new mindfulness beverages. In a LinkedIn post, CEO Jonathan Eppers said he spent nearly six months working with the Suntory team to create a new version of its U.S. drinks for the Japanese consumer. 

Check out the full distribution roundup on BevNET.

How can hard seltzer speak to African-American drinkers? Two recently launched Black-owned brands are on a mission to bring representation to the category but they are taking two very different approaches to fuel consumer awareness. 

🥧 Taking a more traditional retail approach, Los Angeles-based Grown Folks is launching in grocery and independent liquor stores with its trio of Louisiana Creole inspired flavors: Ambrosia, Peach Cobbler and Key Lime.

🌃 Elsewhere, Kin (not to be confused with Kin Euphorics) has staked its claim to the Kansas City on-premise market to grow its consumer base. The FMB hard seltzer is partnered with Border Brewing Company to manufacture and distribute in Missouri with a strategy to build momentum through nightlife influencers.

🤔 Taking an approach used by Asian and Latinx hard seltzer brands, both Grown Folks and Kin use cultural cues to speak directly to their communities.

Read the full story on BevNET.

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Following in the footsteps of big sis Kendall, reality star-turned-entrepreneur Kylie Jenner has made her first foray into the alcohol industry with a new premium canned vodka soda, Sprinter.

🍒 Offered in four flavors at launch – Black Cherry, Peach, Grapefruit and Lime – the new canned cocktails (4.5% ABV) are crafted with premium vodka, sparkling water and real fruit juice and have just 100 calories. 

🥤 Jenner tapped beverage development expert Chandra Richter, founder of Richter Beverage Solutions, to develop the RTDs. Richter has been named head of product development and operations at Sprinter. 

⏩ Sprinter is set to launch nationwide on March 21 with a SRP of $19.99 per 8-can variety pack. 

⭐ Over the past few years, RTD cocktails have provided celebrities with a new means of testing out the alcohol industry. Additionally, celebrity partnerships have given brands a way to differentiate themselves in an increasingly saturated category. 

Go Deeper: Star Search: How Celebrity RTDs Are Competing for the Coldbox. 

As plant-based milk brands like Oatly and Califia highlight their own shift to cleaner ingredient decks, one of the first brands to commit to that approach is still gaining ground: Austin-based MALK Organics announced this morning it has closed on an additional $7 million from existing investors Benvolio Group and Rotor Capital, money it’s using to fuel the launch of new products and distribution. 

🆕 MALK announced three new non-dairy milks set to launch exclusively in Whole Foods in Q1: Cashew (SRP $6.99), Shelf Stable Unsweetened Almond ($7.99) and Shelf Stable Original Oat ($7.99).

🚚 The company also provided some updates on distribution: MALK is now in Albertson’s, new Kroger banners (Smith’s, Mariano’s) and Stop N Shop. It has also expanded its presence in Hannaford’s, King Soopers, Ralph’s, Publix and H-E-B, with plans to enter New York and Los Angeles-region Target stores in June.

Supplement and nutrition company Momentous has a new backer: Humble Growth, the Nick Giannuzzi, Peter Rahal and Andrew Abraham-led investment firm that debuted its first fund at $312 million last September. The group took a minority stake in Momentous last week; the brand’s co-founders Jeff Byers and Erica Good are continuing as CEO and President, respectively.

💊 Co-founded by former NFL player Byers in 2018, Momentous seeks to offer “an expert-led and science-backed platform for supplementation and lifestyle optimization.” Next up for the brand: opening a new HQ in Los Angeles, hiring more staff and “driving innovation,” per a press release.

💰 This marks the first investment from Humble Growth’s Fund I, which is focused on minority-stake investments in “high-growth, disruptive companies operating in the food, beverage, beauty and personal care, health and wellness, pet, and household products space.”