• This Week’s New Products
• Deeper Into Liquid Death’s New Energy
• The Non-Alc RTD Aiming For A Flirty Buzz
• What The Diageo Lawsuits Mean For Spirits
• Now Streaming The Latest Taste Radio

Amidst booming demand for functional beverages over the last decade niche ingredients have found a springboard to mainstream awareness and acceptance. No one was beating a path to lion’s mane mushrooms and ashwagandha 15 years ago, but they are now. 

Yet surging interest in drinks-with-benefits has allowed one dangerous substance – kratom – to sneak in, some are arguing, with lawsuits and regulations threatening to sink the budding RTD category just as it begins to find market traction. 

As a plant-derived source, kratom aligns with natural health and wellness trends, delivering a boost of euphoric energy or sedative relaxation depending on dosage. That positioning has attracted ready-to-drink brands like Mitra-9, New Brew, White Rabbit, Botanical Brewing Company, Dialed Moods and Botanic Tonics, the latter of which pulled in $25 million in fresh venture capital in January.

But concerns over kratom’s health effects have cast a shadow over the category’s growth. 

• Products from Botanic Tonics were seized in a raid in 2023.
• This week the FDA sent warning letters to brands it says are producing illegal synthetic kratom products. 
• Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have regulated sales of kratom thus far, with Mississippi restricting all sales to 21+ as of July 1, while a similar proposal is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature in New York. 

Now one of its emerging names may be heading to court, as Mitra-9 Brands was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit this week over allegations that its products are addictive, leading to habitual use and withdrawal symptoms.

The complaint alleges that Mitra-9 relied on “innocuous packaging and the public’s limited knowledge about kratom and its pharmacology to get users addicted,” leading to withdrawal symptoms like “cold sweats, extreme irritability, restless leg syndrome, and insomnia.”

But concerns about kratom haven’t stopped the brand’s progress yet: it’s in around 34 distributors in 32 states, where its high margins relative to energy competitors has attracted beer-affiliated DSD houses and put the product into between 4,000 to 5,000 points of distribution, according to the company.

Read the full story on BevNET for more on the lawsuit and pending backlash.

It’s a bit of a comedown from last week’s bumper crop of new products, but this week’s batch of new product releases doesn’t lack creativity.

⚡ After launching cold brew earlier this year, Jordan’s Skinny Mixes is keeping the caffeine flowing with its latest release: Energy Syrups, a four-SKU line featuring 100mg of caffeine per serving. 

🪴 There’s also action in THC drinks: Flyers is reaching up to a higher dose (10mg), cannabis cultivator RYTHM is stepping into RTDs with a pair of releases, and Upstate Elevator Co. premieres a new flavor boosted with functional mushrooms. 

🆓 Check out the full gallery on BevNET.

Looking for a jolt of energy to wake the dead? Liquid Death will soon have you covered as the company prepares to launch a 12 oz. Sparkling Energy line in January 2026.

• Entering energy drinks presents a new opportunity for the brand to leverage its brand equity in a growing category. 
• Its entrance may also be a boon to DSD distributors that have seen energy brands like Ghost and Celsius exit to strategics in recent years. 
• Eight out of Liquid Death’s top-10 distributors invested in its $67 million round last year.

The Big Takeaway: Founder and CEO Mike Cessario has long been resistant to branding Liquid Death as an energy drink, both because the shocking branding was effective when contrasted with the benign nature of water or tea, and because he feared that a situation where a consumer over-indulges and suffers a medical issue (see Panera). 

Insiders can read more on BevNET.

Flirting while buzzed can be one of the many hazards (or benefits) of picking up a drink, but is there a way for a non-alc beverage to bottle up that liquid courage? 

Drink Redacted's "Flirty Social Tonic" aims to be the next wingman or wingwoman for those drinkers seeing alcohol alternatives, packed with 1,200mg of aphrodisiac ingredients. 

The new drink comes after its initial foray into sex supplements under a more risqué name, For Sex, which marketed a beverage called the Sparkling Libido Elixir, but couldn’t quite find the right chemistry with consumers.

A full flirt line is on the way: Sparkling "Flirt Water" is on the horizon, and a spirit bottle replacement "Flirt Potion" is designed to turn any drink into an "aphrodisiac flirt cocktail."

⏩ Read the story for all of the steamy deets.

Rumors that have long-circled major tequila companies – that their 100% tequila is not really tequila – have finally made their way from the cantina to the American court system. 

A class-action lawsuit filed last week offers lab results as evidence that Diageo’s tequila brands, Casamigos and Don Julio, contain adulterated tequila. It marks the third active lawsuit against the spirits giant. 

We chatted with a lawyer about the possible outcome: at least one of the charges will be tough to prove, but if the case does get passed Diageo’s motion to dismiss, you can bet more class action lawyers will smell blood in the water – or in this case, cane sugar in other tequila brands. 

The lawsuits also signal a larger question on the horizon: are agave spirits the harbingers of transparency in spirits?

🧑‍⚖️ Read the full article for all of the answers.

What happens when a high-profile protein bar brand suddenly dives into frozen seafood? Naturally, the industry takes notice… and chaos ensues. The hosts unpack David’s unexpected launch of raw cod, a move that seems both strategic and defiant, and which sparked intense debate across CPG. They also delve into the debut of a celebrity’s “love potion” and a luxurious presentation of pecans.

Tune into the episode here. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.