🏪 Guayakí Doubles-Down on C-Stores

Call it a “marriage of convenience.” After cultivating its presence in natural grocery stores to take a founder’s share of the RTD yerba mate category, Guayakí is now a primarily c-store driven brand. We caught up with head of sales Jared Riddle last week to discuss the brand’s recent activity – it’s on-boarded over 130 distributorships in the last 16 months – as it looks to plug gaps in existing channels while also exploring new areas.

BevNET Insiders can access the full story for more details on how Guayaki is building in convenience and big-box retailers alike.

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It’s likely you know the face of Sprinter, a new vodka soda from Kylie Jenner, but we checked in with the woman behind the new RTD’s flavor development. 

• Jenner recruited Chandra Richter, who combines a Ph.D. in molecular biology with more than two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry at companies like E&J Gallo Winery and Drinkworks, to be head of product development and supply chain. 
• Richter said she selected a mix of approachable and trendier flavors to craft a relevant variety pack for the brand, which has shipped over 140,000 cases and hit 10,000 retailers and bars since March.

We also chatted with Richter about what she’s learned from successes and flops at major beverage companies, how she approached a saturated category, and what flavors are trending this year. 

BevNET Insiders can check out the full interview for all the details.

BevNET Live Summer 2024 may be over, but that doesn’t mean we are over it. We are bubbling up replays of some of the best sessions from our beverage conference earlier this month so that means, when it's time for a rewind, all of the insights are ready and waiting. On tap this week:

• Growing Strong While Staying Lean: Reza Mirza, CEO of Icelandic Glacial, shares spending hacks and how to improve margin without sacrificing top line growth.
• Emerging Brands Investment and Growth: Sallie Jian, director and head of Ventures North America at Diageo, shares tips on growth, working with strategics, and the state of corporate VC.
• Tough Calls and Key Moments: Yanni Hufnagel, founder and CEO of Lemon Perfect, breaks down why he bet on himself, his drive for growth and his gross margin-based awakening.

BevNET Insiders can replay all the action, anytime. Join us to see what you are missing.

On the heels of BevNET Live Summer 2024, the hosts revisit the final round of the New Beverage Showdown and explain why evaluating emerging brands at different stages of development can be challenging. They also highlight a handful of new products and talk about the influx of saucy condiments.

Listen to the episode now.

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• How Gatorade is bringing AI to the hydration space
• Details on the drama unfolding within a celebrity back spirits brand

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