• ☀️ Survey: C-Store Owners More Positive on Bev Outlook
• 💰JuneShine Bags PE Backing
• 🧪 Jones Soda Dives into D-9
• ☕ Craig Dubitsky And Robert Downey Jr. Partner To Make Coffee “Happy”

 Spring may still be weeks away, but the sun is shining on c-stores, apparently. 

Convenience channel retailers are feeling “very positive” about energy drink sales following strong growth in Q4 2023, according to the latest Beverage Bytes survey from Goldman Sachs Equity Research. And why shouldn’t they? Beverage sales in the convenience channel were up 4.8% in Q4, accelerating from 4.4% growth in Q3, with the energy category outpacing the category at 8% growth.

The report, which surveyed retailers representing around 27% of the c-store channel, found that around 33% of respondents said their outlook on the beverage set has improved in recent months, a big leap from just 7% in the firm’s Q3 survey.

After a tumultuous year (even by Bang’s standards), Monster has been bullish about its former competitor’s prospects for a rebound now that it’s part of the Monster portfolio, but retailers surveyed here were more cautious. Their response to Monster’s purchase was mixed, with some expressing optimism for the company’s plans to revive Bang and its potential for incremental sales, while others noted confusion over where the brand will live within the modern set “with one retailer noting Bang doesn’t fit well within functional energy.”

That has left an opening for the likes of GHOST, C4 and particularly Celsius, though a closer look at the survey reveals a more nuanced picture. Per retailers, the new 16 oz. Celsius Essentials line is taking shelf space from distributor partner PepsiCo’s owned energy portfolio of Rockstar and MTN Dew. Essentials is likely to gain two to three facings in most convenience stores this year, the report claimed, leading some retailers to worry it could cannibalize core 12 oz. Celsius sales.

What else could throw shade on this overall sunny outlook? For one, many retailers remain nervous about economic pressures and the long term impact of inflation on overall beverage sales, as well as increased competition from the mass and foodservice channels. 

Read the full survey recap on BevNET

After rumors last year that the company was for sale, California canned cocktail and hard kombucha maker JuneShine has received a seven-figure investment from a private equity firm.

InvestBev, which bills itself as the “nation’s largest private equity firm dedicated to the adult beverage industry,” has backed the kombucha company with plans for the money to go towards marketing JuneShine’s products and expanding its portfolio line.

In October, the company’s co-founders denied a Reuters report that JuneShine was exploring a sale process.

JuneShine launched in 2018 as a hard kombucha brand targeting better-for-you-seeking consumers.  As hard kombucha brands push sales outside of the golden state (where volume dominates), they are also evolving into better-for-you beverage platforms (competitor Jiant  expanded into hard tea, for example). 

The SoCal-based brand has since expanded its portfolio to include ready-to-drink, spirits-based canned cocktails and a light lager brand called Easy Rider. Through June, hard kombucha remained the majority of JuneShine’s business (about 80-85%), with its RTDs expected to reach 20% share of the company’s business by the end of 2023.

Read the full story on BevNET

The Vita Coco Company’s plant-based energy drink line Runa is being discontinued, according to an announcement on the brand’s website.

🌱 Runa was founded in 2009 and produced a line of clean energy drinks made with guayusa. It was acquired by Vita Coco in 2018.

😶 A spokesperson for the brand declined to comment, only stating that the “details regarding the production and potential sale of Runa are considered confidential information”.

📁 Vita Coco has long aimed to expand its brand portfolio. After Runa, the company still has protein water line PWR LIFT and aluminum bottled water Ever & Ever, in addition to its main Vita Coco business.

Read the full story on BevNET

Another day, another slow death for the licensed cannabis beverage market? It kinda feels that way today, with the news that Jones Soda is shifting its THC-infused Mary Jones line to hemp-derived Delta-9. 

🌡️ Mary Jones (available in 12 oz. cans in 2.5mg, 5mg and 10mg THC varieties) entered the market back in 2022 exclusively in California – a major cannabis retail market, but one in which low-dose infused drinks have struggled compared to high-dose products. 

📦 Making the leap to hemp D9 provides a path for Mary Jones to enter conventional retailers and liquor stores – it is currently available at retail in MA, FL, OH, MN, AL and SoCal – and to launch nationwide direct-to-consumer shipping from its website. 

⚕️As D9 presents an alternative path that circumvents the hurdles of state regulation (for now, at least), licensed rec dispensaries may be the ones to suffer. Could a dedicated store model be the answer? 

Go Deeper: Explore How Hemp D9 Is Shifting the Beverage Market

Iron Man now has a coffee brand. Marvel movie star and emerging entrepreneur Robert Downey, Jr. is teaming with CPG industry veteran Craig Dubitsky to launch happy products, a bagged coffee brand with a simple philosophy: “Coffee makes us happy. Now happy can make our coffee.”

🎯 The bagged coffee is available ground, whole bean and in K-cup pods in three roasts (Astonishing Dark, Miraculous Medium and Extraordinary Light) as well as two varieties of instant coffee sticks. It will launch today in Target, on Amazon and direct-to-consumer.

😁 The ethos of happy products is manifested in its alignment with the largest mental health organization in the country: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The nonprofit was given an equity stake in the company to help support that mission.

🌿 The brand has also created a fully transparent coffee supply chain using blockchain technology to align itself with traceable sustainability measures.

Read the full story on Nosh

Jesse Merrill, the co-founder and CEO of better-for-you dairy brand Good Culture, spoke about why mission and values dictate every aspect of business strategy, why proof of concept and velocity are keys to brand development and being “maniacal” about delivering on the products’ key attributes.

Listen to the full episode here