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Today is Friday and you all know what that means…it’s NPG time! We’ve rounded up the hottest new products for you and packaged them together in a gallery just for you. Here’s a brief look at what you can expect to see:

🎃 Just in time for the spooky season, Aura Bora announces the return of its limited edition Honey Pumpkin sparkling water flavor which the brand claims to taste of “nutty gourds, sweet honey drizzles and steaming candied yams.”

🍵 Califia unveils its latest ready-to-drink innovation, the Matcha Almond Latte. As its name suggests, the new product features a blend of almond milk and matcha green tea powder.

🍰 Let them eat cake! Functional beverage brand Recess has teamed up with The Caker to launch a limited edition Strawberry Rose Cake Kit.

Check out the full NPG on BevNET

Americans may be drinking less cocktails but they're paying more for them, according to new data from CGA by NIQ’s cocktail sales tracker. 

📉 Q2 2023 saw a dip in cocktail velocity versus the same time last year (-20%), but cocktails have performed comparably to previous quarters, with an average check value of $81.73 (+$2.44) and an average price of $12.50 (+$0.50).

🍽️ As for which channels are experiencing cocktail higher velocities? Restaurants continue to outperform bars and other drinking venues over each quarter. But, drinking outlets are picking up pace and performing better now than the second half of 2022.  

🗓️ In terms of tracking days of the week, Sunday is, in fact, fun day: cocktail velocity remains strong on Sundays ahead of the previous three quarters.

🕰️ From midday onwards, people are drinking at consistent or slightly lower cocktail velocities, while the breakfast and brunch slot from 6 a.m. (yipes) to 11 a.m. shows an increase in Q1 and Q2 of 2023 versus the last two quarters of 2022, reflecting an increasing opportunity for mimosa moments.

🗺️ Cocktail velocity hotspots ranked from the top include Nevada, Texas, Rhode Island and Arizona (which both jumped up considerably to the 3rd and 4th spots).

The RTD category is expected to grow by +12% in volume between 2022 and 2027, hitting $40 billion by 2027 across 10 key markets, according to a new report by the IWSR.

📉 Growth expectations for RTDs have halved over the past year to a forecast volume CAGR of +2% between 2022 and 2027. The outlook marks a slowdown primarily due to declines in hard seltzers in the U.S. The drinks data company expects the category to be driven by cocktails and long drinks, and products that sit within the premium-and-above price bracket. 

🤵‍♂️ Seven out of the 10 markets covered in the report registered double-digit volume growth for premium-plus RTDs in 2022, suggesting that there is still plenty of headway for growth for higher-priced products (see: Diageo’s recent ultra-premium launch).

✅ Flavor, alcohol base, type of cocktail and price, are factors that are important to RTD choice according to the report, with more brands focused on higher ABVs and 25% of consumers saying they are willing to pay more for a spirit-based RTD.

While that data illustrates the broader trends towards spirit-based RTDs, some entrepreneurs argue that spirits-based doesn’t necessarily mean premium— and that higher end, craft canned cocktails are feeling the squeeze as larger brands move into the space.

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No longer just the top spot for slurpees, convenience stores represent the next big opportunity for ready-to-drink cocktails, according to a new report from NIQ. 

🍻 BevAlc leads the list of major beverage categories in the c-store channel, with beer and malt-based beverages leading at $24.6 billion in sales in the last 52 weeks ending September 9, up 5.7% in sales year-over-year. 

Convenience dollars now represent 47% of RTD dollar share over the same time period, making those brightly lit coldboxes the battleground for FMBs, spirit-based cocktails, and other wine and malt alternatives. 

🍋 But right now only 22% of c-stores can sell spirits based on legal restraints, which means more opportunity for spirits-based RTDs could open up as legal changes occur. In the meantime drinks like hard lemonade (+12.5%), wine-based cocktails (+27.9%) and hard tea (+38.1%) can build on momentum as other segments, like hard seltzer, mature.

The report also highlighted the opportunity to win for non-alc beer, wine and spirits (+34%) and specifically hop water (+311%).

Read the full report on BevNET

Non-alc distillery Abstinence Spirits is putting down roots on the East Coast by securing its own 3PL warehouse in Saddlebrook, New Jersey. The move into the roughly 2,000 sq. ft. space will allow the brand to have a “higher quality touch with our customers, our ecommerce and be able to do more customization” including co-branded cocktail kits, Abstinence CEO Ranwei Chiang told BevNET. The company announced on LinkedIn that it had already received 10,000 lbs of product and was expecting another 20,000 through November.

🫰 Pricing played a role in the decision to run its own warehouse but the move was self-funded with existing working capital.

📋 The company only plans to manage its own inventory in the warehouse, Chiang said, allowing Abstinence to “improve the customer experience” by self-fulfilling orders and managing its own inventory on-site. 

🇿🇦 Founded in 2020 in South Africa, the distilled non-alcoholic spirit company landed in the U.S. last year bringing with it the floral flavors of the Western Cape. Abstinence Spirits currently offers eight botanical-based spirits, aperitifs and aperitivo spritzes.

BevNET Live Winter 2023, taking place December 3-5, will feature a panel with three new beverage brands that began D2C but are in the process of shifting to brick-and-mortar retail operations to carry the bulk of their sales. Read the story.

Keurig Dr Pepper is adding more manufacturing muscle to its coffee business with a $100 million expansion of its  708,067-square-foot roasting facility in South Carolina, which produces coffee for its K-Cup pods across over 125 owned, licensed and partner brands. 

The capital infusion is expected to add 250 new jobs within the next three to four years, increasing total staff count to around 400. The expansion builds on KDP's original commitment of $380 million to build the plant in 2018.

Hockey season is here and like all professional sports, it also means brand partnerships with various NHL teams are being announced. 

🫧 LaCroix Sparkling Water announced this week that it would be Florida Panthers’ first-ever home jersey patch partner for the 2023-24 season. Along with sporting the water brand logo on uniforms, LaCroix is also the presenting partner of the Panthers’ ‘Learn To Play’ youth hockey program.

🤓 LaCroix isn’t the only beverage brand strapping on skates: Nerd Focus has re upped its partnership for a second season to be the official energy drink of the New Jersey Devils’ and its arena, the Prudential Center. The brand has actively courted professional sports team striking deals with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and the MLB’s Texas Rangers this season.

💮 Shaka Tea's Passion Fruit Guava flavor is now available in 12 ounce cans at Sprouts, the brand announced on LinkedIn. 

🍊 Happy Moose Juice has landed two SKUs -- Cali Orange and Blood Orange Bliss -- of its cold-pressed juice blends in 34 oz. bottles at all Erehwon locations in Southern California. We profiled the Bay Area company earlier this year. 

🏆 Electrolyte tablet (and previous New Beverage Showdown winner) PLINK! has launched in all 32 nationwide locations of next-gen c-store chain Foxtrot.