The day kicks off with the semi-final round of the New Beverage Showdown which will see brands including Fruga, Melo, Oo Mee, recoup and nine other early stage beverage brands pitch a panel of judges and receive feedback. By 12 pm PT we will know who is advancing to the final round, followed by the unveiling of BevNET’s annual Best of Award winners.

Whether you made the trip out to Marina del Rey or are tuning in via the livestream, you’ll want to keep the day’s agenda on tap. Programming officially kicks off at 10 am PT… here’s a sample of what’s in-store:

☕ What better way to start a Monday morning than with a splash of joy. Serial entrepreneur and Happy CEO Craig Dubitsky will share his insight on how to make optimism work on-shelf in the beverage set. 

🚚 Next up Dora's Naturals founder and CEO Cyrus Schwartz will walk the crowd through key attributes of brands that have effectively partnered with distributors to accelerate growth into new geographies. 

🤑 Cash is king, but you need to know where to look and what type is right for your business. Thankfully we’ve recruited a few experts to inform your money hunt including Rocana Venture Partners’ Gurdeep Prewal, Willow Growth Partners’ Deborah Benton and Barrel Ventures’ Nate Cooper.

🌡️ After lunch, we will hear from Wildwonder founder and CEO Rosa Li, Emil Capital Partners director Melissa Dolan, Albertson’s Venture Group senior director Karen Ivanis-Rogers, Basemaker’s CEO Max Baumann and KeHE senior category manager Christina Schmidt to take a temperature check on the state of the beverage industry. 

🗓️ There will be plenty more presentations, panels and potent conversations happening throughout the day. Check out the full agenda to ensure you don’t miss a thing.

📹 Didn’t make the trip to Marina del Rey? Tune into the livestream here.

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Our Spirits Sunday programming brought honest conversations about the state of the emerging RTD spirits set, the challenges businesses face as well as perspective and insight from key actors on how brands can mine success in the increasingly crowded category. 

InvestBev’s VP of brand innovation Gustavo Aguirre, GHJ’s advisory partner Maria Pearman and 5:30 Somewhere founder Dale LaFlam shared their take on the key challenges facing early-stage RTD brands.

• “Are you meeting your four customer needs? What are the needs of your consumers, retailers, distributors, and investors? You need to answer that to be in the 5% [of brands that succeed],” Aguirre said.   

Later, Dirty Shirley founder and CEO Adam Kost, Southern Glazer’s VP of customer development Cassie Finley and Juneshine co-founder and CMO Forrest Dein discuss how opportunity and challenges change as a company begins to scale up and how to navigate those growing pains

• “Don’t get over your skis or get too excited about the shiny marketing opportunity that you feel good to be a part of, like a festival that invites us to go and spend $100,000 to be part of that honor. You’ve got to say no to the shiny stuff,” Kost cautioned. 

Yoju was crowned the champion of the BevNET Cocktail Showdown in Marina Del Rey, California, yesterday.

The Los Angeles-based yogurt and soju Korean cocktail line impressed the judges with its unique flavor profiles that are “beautiful on the palette” and its eye-catching, vibrant tiger-themed cans that pop on shelf. Founded by college friends-turned-entrepreneurs Steven Tang and Kenn Miller, Yoju’s lineup includes Original, Lychee, Mango, and White Peach flavors, retailing for $14.99 per 4-pack and $25.99 per 8-pack and containing 7% ABV per 12 oz. can. 

Check out the full recap on BevNET.

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Full Glass Wine Co. is expanding its cellar of DTC wine brands with two new acquisitions – Wine Access and Cameron Hughes Wine. The purchases gives Full Glass an even greater share of the online wine market as the business estimates it will generate over $200 million in revenue next year.

• Wine Access and Cameron Hughes are respectively Full Glass’s sixth and seventh acquisitions in 17 months. The portfolio company also owns Winc, Wine Insiders, Splash Wines, Scout & Cellar and Vinesse Wines.
• Terms weren’t disclosed, but Silverwood Partners did serve as Full Glass’s financial advisor in the deals.

When in Los Angeles, you know the hosts are making an Erewhon run. As they sift through bags of new, innovative and unusual beverages and snacks purchased at the high-end retailer, the hosts discuss Erewhon’s reputation as a launching pad for emerging brands. We also sit down with Nicola Hart and Leon Pullin of Agua De Madre, a London-based brand of water kefir and other functional beverages.

Listen to the episode now.