• 📈 Non-Alc Volume, Pricing Up
• 👷 Coke SW’s $15M Expansion
• 😱 Not Feelin’ The CBD VYBES
• 💗 7-Eleven Brands with Heart
• 🌞 How Upstarts Shined At A Final-ish ‘Fancy’

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While food is in its name, the final Winter Fancy Food Show did bring a handful of liquid insights and new innovations. Here’s a sample of our main takeaways from the show:

Tastelli is testing among new consumers. The konjac pouched jelly brand has extended with a new kids line that, notably, doesn’t contain any konjac. The line, which launched at Walmart in June, is now undergoing a full refresh that will see it adopt a co-branded look with Hasbro-owned Peppa Pig as it works to grow at retail. 

• (Reminder: The gelatinous root vegetable-based ingredient is a bit controversial in the U.S. after once-popular konjac jelly products were recalled back in 2002 for being a choking hazard for children). 

Everydaze exhibited a new, patent-pending range of stick-pack kombucha products with flavors such as Pineapple Passionfruit, Peach, Green Grape and Kiwi. According to a spokesperson for the brand, the powdered product does effervesce slightly when mixed with water. 

A2 dairy is gaining awareness, could a caffeinated approach accelerate the space even further? RTD A2 dairy latte maker Laurel’s made its trade show debut after hitting the market with a Classic Latte, Dirty Chai Latte and Matcha Latte in August. Founder Isabel Washington believes the brand is primed for success in the market, despite the failure of a few early entrants.

• The Los Angeles-based company, which sources its dairy from California dairy Alexandre Family Farm, said it was one of the final supply contracts the dairy would sign due to growing demand around A2 milk. 

BevNET Insiders can access all of our top takeaways from the show.

Here’s a snapshot of our latest analysis of NielsenIQ sales data (including xAOC + Convenience and Amazon) from Goldman Sachs Equity Research: 

• Non-alcoholic beverage volume picked up 4.4% for the four-week period ended on January 11, 2025, though rising prices took some shine off the sales numbers

In CSDs, only upstart independents managed to make gains without taking significant pricing: Poppi (+118% volume growth in the four-weeks, 81.2% in the two-weeks), OLIPOP (+19.6% volume in the four-weeks) and Zevia (+20.4%). 

• Among those three, OLIPOP had the highest increase at a meager +1.2% during the four-weeks. 
• For Coca-Cola, Pepsi and KDP, early volume gains in both full and low-calorie CSDs was tempered by moderate price hikes. 

The price/volume dynamic also played out in energy drinks: Red Bull had no issue growing volume 7.8% in the four-weeks (down 0.8% for the 52-weeks) with a modest 0.2% pricing raise, as opposed to C4, which drove volume 56% during the period on the back of a 29% price cut. 

• Overall energy drink volumes increased 3.5%, a slight deceleration from 4.6% in the 12-week period. 
• Meanwhile, Alani Nu continues to soar, with volume growing 68.3% in the four-weeks (63.6% for the 52-weeks) and pricing up 6.8% (down 2.2% for the 52-weeks). 

The data revealed a story of contrasting fortunes across other categories: sports drinks volume sank 3.7% in the four-weeks with PRIME’s precipitous fall (volume down 48.6% in the four-week period despite a nearly 10% price drop). 

• That gave more space to Electrolit, which amassed 28% volume growth while increasing average pricing 3.4%. 
• Elsewhere, Black Rifle’s 10.2% jump in volume for the four-weeks comes against a 12% plunge for Super Coffee (off a similar 10% average pricing cut).

Everything’s bigger in Texas, as the saying goes, and Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages is about to get a lot bigger. 

• The bottler will begin construction on a new $15 million,140,000 sq. ft. warehouse in San Antonio, Texas this Spring, according to a filing with a state agency.
• The new construction is expected to begin March 5 with a completion date of December 8.
• The expansion will include a two-story dock office, a parking lot and a canning line, My San Antonio reported this week.

What they said: “Our current priority is to be a people-driven, digital bottler. The investments we are making at our San Antonio facility will help us continue to achieve this goal and better serve our customers.” – Jean Claude Tissot, President of Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages

Mood support drink maker VYBES is discontinuing its CBD-infused beverages due to regulatory issues prohibiting distribution in places like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia and California.

⚡ The Los Angeles-based company launched in 2018 and will continue to sell its Guayusa-powered energy line alongside another yet-to-be-announced mood product coming soon.

🤔 The brand has tried a couple of different iterations including an Adaptogenic Elixir launched in 2021 and a CBD powdered format that also have since been discontinued. 

Just Ice Tea, Barcode and David are some of the headliners among the 26 food and beverage brands selected by 7-Eleven for its annual Brands with Heart showcase, which places emerging CPG brands in 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores across the country.

Others brands include soda maker Bear n Beaver, protein brownie line Prime Bites, functional drink maker Heywell, performance beverage Tru and aluminum bottled hydration beverage Local Weather.

🆕 "By collaborating with new visionary partners every year, we aim to deliver breakthrough products that not only delight our customers but also shape the future of immediate consumption." – Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, EVP, Chief Merchandising Officer at 7-Eleven. 

Check out the full list of brands in this year’s class.

Coor’s is blending beauty and wellness…with the launch of a Coor’s face roller. Those cold-activated color changing mountains on its labels are apparently the perfect match to de-puff a hungover mug. Now at least patrons can enjoy their brew a little more, knowing they can bring that “mountain-cold refreshment to their faces” too….

Before the sun set on a final Winter Fancy Food Show, the event cast a light on a swath of emerging, innovative and better-for-you brands. The hosts highlight a few of their favorite products exhibited at the show, and how package design, ingredients, form factor and taste helped them to stand out.

Listen to the episode now.