• 🆕 This Week’s New Beverages
• 🤑 Madre Mezcal Bags $3M
• 🌱 Hemp Bev Trade Show Returns
• 🏈 Spirits Score Big During Super Bowl
• 🫧 ‘Death’ vs. Poppi. Plink’s Patient Plan Is Paying Off.

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The Super Bowl giveth, and the Super Bowl taketh away. 

That may be what Poppi is feeling this week as – just one year after earning plaudits for its splashy Super Bowl TV spot – the modern soda brand is reeling from fallout around its marketing stunt for this year’s Big Game.

• ICYMI: The soda brand sent a select group of influencers and tastemakers their own fully operational and stocked Poppi vending machine, at the rumored cost of $25,000 each. 

As if the Internet needed an invitation, the backlash and subsequent reactions were swift. 

Poppi co-founder Alison Ellsworth (whose social media prowess has been a significant driver for brand awareness) took to TikTok to attempt to clarify the situation, citing “misinformation” from “one of our competitors” (see below) for muddying the waters, starting by disputing the $25K price tag. Still, “We can always learn and do better,” she acknowledged. 

• After praising the brand’s grassroots support, Ellsworth said the idea was to send the vending machines to creators who were hosting Super Bowl parties, after which they would be shared with the broader community through marketing events and giveaways. 
• Ellsworth concluded by asking fans to nominate people or places where they want to see the vending machines show up next. 

Still, Poppi’s rivals haven’t missed the opportunity to score some points at their expense. 

• Evolution Fresh, maker of its own line of prebiotic sodas, is matching the rumored vending machine price tag by making its own matching $25K donation to anti-food waste organization Food Forward. “Real influence doesn't have to be reserved for mega influencers and extravagant activities,” said Molly White, CMO of parent company Generous Brands. 
• Poppi’s main rival (and co-Brand of the Year winner) Olipop happily stirred the pot on X, while on LinkedIn the brand’s director of strategic partnerships Steven Vigilante alluded to “the craziest 48 internet hours of my life.” 
• Culture Pop lamented that it can’t send people fridges, but at least offered to stock existing ones with drinks.

One of the best trolls of all came from well beyond the BFY soda sphere with Wendy’s commenting on Ellsworth’s TikTok post: “I think we sent our influencers slippers once lol.” It’s surely been a weird week… 

Catch up on Poppi’s full, pre-game warm-up strategy.

Before we head into the weekend, we rounded up all of the hottest new products and sorted for our latest new product gallery. Here’s a preview of what was stocked this week:

🇫🇷 Beverage pod producer Vitapod, which makes a line of functional drink mixes intended for use with its proprietary bottle, partnered with Paris Hilton on a co-branded line featuring new Beauty+, Energy+ and Hydration+ varieties.

🐥Promised Land Dairy is preparing for Easter with classic candy brand PEEPS, debuting its new PEEPS Sweet Marshmallow Milk, available in 32 oz. multi-serve bottles so everyone can get a taste (we know you’re all morbidly curious, we certainly are!)

🍕 Has Perfy gone too far? The functional soda brand is unveiling a limited edition Pepperoni Pizza flavor. They suggest you try it as a cocktail mixer!

🆓 Check out the full gallery on BevNET.

Madre Mezcal added another $3 million to its piggy bank, with investment coming from No Sleep Beverage, led by former Pernod Ricard executive, Nick Papanicolaou, among others. The cash will go into trade marketing pushes, sales ambassadors and international development.

💤 No Sleep is among investors still eager to capitalize on tequila and mezcal's continued growth: the category was one of the few bright spots in the spirits industry last year, up +2.9% to $6.7 billion in sales.

💰 The funding follows a Series A round of the same amount in 2021, led by Room9. 

💪 Madre had its strongest quarter ever in Q4, said CEO Chris Stephenson. With a portfolio of three mezcal expressions, a mezcal-based RTD, and tequila introduced last year, Madre currently has distribution in 31 states and 20 countries.

The Hemp Beverage Alliance (HBA) is bringing back its Hemp Beverage Expo (held last year in Minneapolis) for a second year, this time moving to Atlanta, Ga. between July 9 through 11.

🤝 This year, the HBA is leveling up via a partnership with cannabis industry B2B media group Jage Media which has organized trade shows like MJBizCon and MJ Unpacked.

🚚 The show will offer sampling and education as delta-9 THC drinks see increased consumer demand despite regulatory headwinds, particularly in states with recreational cannabis laws.

💭 “2025 will be a watershed moment for the hemp beverage industry, as more and more states establish regulatory frameworks to create clear guidance on the production, distribution and sale for these products,” said HBA founder and president Christopher Lackner.

Just like the Eagles, canned cocktails also scored big during Super Bowl LIX, according to BeerBoard.

🍻 After light and regular lagers, ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails nearly tripled in volume (+189.7%) in on-premise packaged goods sales, earning the No. 3 spot.

🍒 White Claw Black Cherry hard seltzer was No. 1 with a 17.6% share of the segment. However, Philly-based Stateside Vodka’s Surfside Hard Tea and Lemonade nearly closed the gap with a 16.6% share.

🏆 In the spirits category, tequila/mezcal was the largest segment, accounting for 24% of all spirits volume, followed by whiskey (21%) and vodka (14%).

🍸 However, Tito’s Handmade Vodka was the top sold spirits brand with a 6.4% share (“notable” 13.5% volume decline) followed by Sauza Hacienda Tequila Gold (+52.1% in volume) and Jameson Irish Whiskey (+75.8% in volume).

As you may have heard (above), some people are upset with Poppi. While the soda brand’s Super Bowl ad caused a bit of consternation, we have a different take on it… and that of Liquid Death’s controversial TV spot. This episode also features an interview with Luke Montgomery-Smith, the co-founder of Plink, a brand of flavored, electrolyte-infused tablets designed to create effervescent and hydrating beverages.

Listen to the episode now. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.