• 🦾 Orro Goes In For Service
• ❤️‍🩹 PRIME Gets Class Action Cut Down
• 🥃 Ex-Casamigos Exec Moves To WES Brands
• 🏦 Inside Amazon Saver’s Strategy
• 🔍 Breaking Down Speakeasy’s Acquisition

Consumers want more from energy drinks—hydration, focus, mood enhancement and muscle support. Manufacturers are responding with functional ingredients like ashwagandha, BCAAs, and natural caffeine to meet the growing demand for healthier options. Learn more

If you’re a tennis fan – or maybe just a TikTok fan – you’ve likely heard of the just-finished U.S. Open’s signature cocktail, the Honey Deuce. The cocktail has been a staple of the tennis tournament for over two decades, but has found its moment in the sun thanks to Grey Goose’s continued marketing push finally clicking in as tennis’s popularity reaches new heights. The trend, boosted by names like Serena Williams, shines a light on how vodka or other declining spirit categories can still make a splash.

Created by former Grey Goose ambassador and restaurateur Nick Mautone, the $23 pink-ish cocktail is served in a collectible cup, has a fun garnish of three pieces of honeydew scooped to resemble tennis balls, has been sipped on by Taylor Swift, and is only available for a few weeks of the year – a perfect recipe for platforms like TikTok, where users are now sharing how to make the drink at home, and where bev-alc advertising is now allowed. 

Grey Goose has also been capitalizing on the cocktail’s budding popularity: the brand launched a limited run of an RTD version in 2022, and this year partnered with bartenders to sell the drink at over 100 NY locations and is pushing the canned cocktail via delivery in NY and Chicago during the tournament. Last year, the U.S. Open served more than 450,000 Honey Deuces and was expected to generate more than $10 million in sales this year.

It’s nothing new for sporting events to have signature cocktails – Wimbledon has the Pimm’s Cup, Kentucky Derby the Mint Julep (complete with Woodford Reserve’s $1,000 promo version) – and brands have been all over emerging opportunities, like pickleball. But as tennis has begun to reach a new generation of fans, the U.S. Open featured brands doubling-down on beverage activations: Aperol and Maestro Dobel tequila joined the lineup last year, Lavazza has upped their presence with espresso martinis, and meanwhile energy drink Lucky (nee Lucky F*ck) got a long ride out of the U.S.-bred finalist Jessica Pegula’s coaches’ box.

Grey Goose clearly has the budget to capitalize on that opportunity, but there are other ways vodka brands can find their viral moment. Anna Hamill, managing director at global drinks branding agency Denomination, says vodka needs to focus less on its purity and more on its versatility. 

Hamill also argues its time for brands to encompass not just the drink but the aesthetic and lifestyle that comes with it. If you can’t get a spot at the U.S. Open, there are still other ways of inspiring a visual trend.

“As for Instagram, really thinking hard about how the brand shows up,” she said. “Neat vodka isn’t as photogenic as an Aperol spritz in a glass, but the category can learn from wines and whiskies where the focus is less on the serve and more on celebrating the design-forward nature of the bottle.”

Go Deeper: Read how brands are embracing opportunities in pro pickleball

It appears that Shaun Neff and Tabitha Brown’s “mini meal” replacement beverage brand orro. has gone back to the drawing board. Beverage Business Insights reported this week that the L.A. Libations-backed protein drink is currently off the market as the brand retools for a fresh launch at a TBD date.

• Orro. was founded in 2021 and sold in 11.1 oz. cartons containing 16 grams of pea protein. It was positioned as a vegan-friendly and a natural meal replacement.
• Currently, the brand’s website has only a simple message for visitors: “Be right back!” and L.A. Libations CEO Danny Stepper confirmed to BBI that the brand is “back in the shop.” While details are sparse beyond that, Stepper told the newsletter that the drink could come back in a new format. 
• Besides L.A. Libations, orro. also received initial funding from several institutions, including Anheuser Busch InBev, Beechwood Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners. Tabitha Brown later joined the brand as an equity partner in 2022.

In other L.A. Libations news: Its birthday filmstrip time. Click here to see all of the retail executives - and celebrities and other VIPs - who wanted to celebrate the company's 15th birthday.

The latest installment of Elevator Talk features leaders from OOSO, Laurel’s Coffee, Kombucharista, Loom and St. Cecilia Soda Co.

Watch founders and CEOs introduce their brands and provide a recap of recent news and updates. This week’s special co-host is Maxine Kozler Koven, the co-managing director of LDR Ventures, who shared her thoughts, questions and feedback with the participants. She is joined by Ray Latif, the editor and producer of the Taste Radio podcast.

Watch the full episode now.

Discover packaging and processing solutions that meet the demands of the expansive beverage market—and keep up with consumer tastes! At PACK EXPO International, you’ll see new advances in sustainable packaging, nutrient-preserving processing, customization, branding, diversifying pack sizes and more Learn more

A California judge this week tossed out the bulk of claims made in a class action lawsuit against PRIME Hydration, which allege the brand falsely advertised its Grape Sports Drink as healthy when it was discovered to contain PFAS “forever chemicals.” However, the company will still have to face the lawsuit, albeit in diminished form.

🥼 The class action was filed against PRIME in August 2023, claiming that independent testing “showed significant levels of at least eight different types of per- and polyfluoralkyl substances,” Law360 reported.

❌ PRIME attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed for lack of standing, claiming the PFAS levels in its drinks are safe, and for breach of implied warranty of merchantability. However, the judge rejected both, believing the issue should be disputed in court.

🧑‍⚖️ To the brand’s favor, the judge granted several motions to dismiss the allegations based on false advertising, unfair competition and several other counts, and shot down the argument that the drinks could deceive a reasonable person into believing they’re healthy and natural due to the artificial ingredients listed on the label.

A celebrity brand incubator has nabbed an executive from the O.G. celebrity tequila for its top leadership position. WES Brands, the parent company of Jamie Foxx’s BSB Flavored Whiskey and Mark Wahlberg’s Flecha Azul Tequila, has hired Adam Rosen, the former EVP of Casamigos, as its new CEO, the company announced yesterday.

📍 Rosen’s career spans Pernod Ricard, Diageo and later Sidney Frank Importing Company, where he helped secure and develop George Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila brand, staying on board until this year (convenient timing, as the tequila brand’s sales fell by 20% in Diageo's 2024 full-year results.)

📈 The incubator is stacked with executives from major players across the tiers and has expanded from one to four brands since 2022. The appointment comes as the company redefines its route-to-market strategy, said the release. 

📸 The IWSR recently shared that celebrity-backed spirits brands still often outperform the growth of their categories globally, with tequila on top. But we took a closer look at the data this summer and found that mid-tier celebrity brands (talking in terms of price segment, not B-listers) and RTDs are the segments with the most growth.

Amazon debuted its new private label grocery brand yesterday – Amazon Saver – to deliver consumers a value-focused line with the majority of items priced around, or under, $5; Prime members will receive an extra 10% off Amazon Saver purchases.

🔥 The debut comes amid a private label hot streak, driven by consumer demands for affordable groceries during a period of high, inflation-driven pricing. 

⏪ Remember: Walmart launched bettergoods launched in April. CVS followed with Well Market’s debut and consolidated its private brand efforts the following month. And then Target cut grocery prices and expanded its private brand assortment expansion in mid-May.

💭 However, these retailers have all taken unique approaches to the store brands but Amazon might be onto something with its “back-to-basics” take. According to SPINS market insights director Scott Dicker: “The new Saver line shows how important value still is to consumers.”

Check out the full story for all of the insight on why experts believe CPGs should increase their focus on private brands.

Online bev-alc sales have softened since the pandemic rush, but e-commerce marketplaces have not stopped bolstering their services to bump out the competition. That’s evidenced by bev-alc marketplace Flaviar’s acquisition of industry fulfillment service provider, Speakeasy Co.

🚚 The move gives Flaviar new B2B capabilities as it shoots to become a multi-billion-dollar global bev-alc e-commerce player. The once-subscription model, selling sample size spirits, has grown into three marketplaces in addition to trade services.

💻 Speakeasy’s team will continue to run its agency and fulfillment services while being folded into Flaviar’s direct-to-consumer platform. This will further Flaviar’s trade offerings and warehousing and fulfillment capabilities. 

🧱 As on-premise bounces back, alongside a shift back to traditional brick-and-mortar purchasing, a more moderate expansion is reflected in forecast growth rates for U.S. online sales but players across the tiers are still focused on amping up the industry’s presence online compared to other CPG sectors. 

Read the full story for all of the insights.