John Craven - BevNET

Need

First new Pope-related PR from a beverage company has hit my inbox

She stayed behind this time.
Possibly after our event tomorrow or Wednesday morning.

Until Wednesday morning. Not loving this weather :(

Come join us in Austin tomorrow - www.tasteradio.com/austin

Conagra To Sell Chef Boyardee For $600M Today, Conagra announced the signing of a definitive agreement to divest Chef Boyardee to Hometown Food Company for $600 million in cash.

Whenever you are wondering if there's still opportunity in CPG, think about this: billions of $ are tied up in countless legacy brands that big CPG isn't that passionate about and might unload if they could.

www.nosh.com/news/2025/co...

Special Feature: The Long Climb for Vertical Farming Vertical and indoor farming rode a period of high valuations and significant investment but is now one of many food tech sectors learning to scale more efficiently as funding has dried up.

Billion-Dollar Bust: Why Vertical Farming’s Sky-High Promises Came Crashing Down — and What’s Next for Food Tech’s Most Hyped Sector

www.nosh.com/news/2025/th...

Some of the fanciest looking tonic water I've ever seen

The ‘Real’ Story Behind Spindrift’s Stunning Success Even after 15 years and a majority sale of the company he founded – one reportedly valued at over $650 million – Bill Creelman remains convinced that Spindrift is just at the beginning of a “real”...

Even after 15 years and a reported $650M+ valuation, Spindrift founder Bill Creelman believes the brand is only getting started 🌊

Hear the full story behind one of the most disruptive beverage companies on Taste Radio 🎧

Just hit my inbox too & was thinking the same thing

A well crafted plan, for sure

Pepsi to buy prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion Pepsi will acquire the upstart prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion. It may be a sign of the growing interest in the functional beverage market.

Lots of talk about Poppi this week + my colleague @el--caballero.bsky.social talking on @npr.org about the deal:

www.npr.org/2025/03/20/n...

Drink your pizza

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ICYMI: Beverage news from this past week 🚀

🥤 Celsius acquires Alani Nu for $1.8B
💦 Aura Bora acquired by Next In Natural
🍷 Constellation Brands takes minority stake in Hiyo
🥛 Kiki Milk expands to Sprouts, closes Series Seed

This & much more

Or shot

Hard not to do.

Hailee Steinfeld Unveils RTD Cocktail Brand Angel Margarita Actor and singer Hailee Steinfeld is the latest celebrity seeking to make a splash in the RTD cocktail space, announcing today the launch of Angel Margarita in partnership with Jordi Zindel and Rodrigo...

Actor and singer Hailee Steinfeld is entering the RTD cocktail market with the launch of Angel Margarita in partnership with Jordi Zindel and Rodrigo Hernandez of Premium Beers Group

Spirits Temporarily Avoid Trade War As Trump Pauses Mexico and Canada Tariffs President Donald Trump’s plans to levy 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada have been postponed, temporarily averting a trade war that put American alcohol in the crosshairs.

President Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada have been postponed, temporarily averting a trade conflict that targeted American alcohol.

BevNET Taste Radio Meetup: Miami The Taste Radio team is partnering with Neau Water and Matriarch Wealth Management to host a food and beverage industry meet up in Miami, FL on Tuesday, February 11th from 6PM to 8PM ET.

Miami, anyone? Come join @bevnet.com @tasteradio.com
on the evening of Feb 11 for some networking, content, & fun. Details + free registration in the link below 👇 -- limit space so don't delay

www.tasteradio.com/miami/

Odwalla Returns Under Grupo Jumex's Stewardship Odwalla, which was discontinued by The Coca-Cola Company in 2020, is set to relaunch this year under the oversight of Mexican beverage producer Grupo Jumex.

Guess who's back? Odwalla Returns Under Grupo Jumex's Stewardship www.bevnet.com/news/2025/od...

Emma Watson’s Renais Gin Conjures $6M Investment Renais Gin, the spirits brand co-founded by Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, has charmed investors into a $6.18 million raise, the company announced today.

Celeb beverage investment: Emma Watson’s Renais Gin Conjures $6M Investment www.bevnet.com/spirits/2025...

Gatorade has "Frost," Prime has "Ice"
Is this what the consumer wants?

WWE Takes Minority Ownership Stake in Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is taking a minority stake in Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer as part of a multi-year partnership announced today.

Makes sense, I guess...WWE Takes Minority Ownership Stake in Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer www.brewbound.com/news/wwe-tak...

Favorite dry January combo so far

👀 Going to be a big year for this category

Harpoon and Smuttynose Parent Companies Merge to Form Barrel One Collective Two New England legacy craft houses are merging in a deal that unites 14 brands. The parent companies of Harpoon and Smuttynose – Mass. Bay Brewing Company and FinestKind Brewing, respectively – have...

Two New England craft beer leaders, Harpoon and Smuttynose parent companies, have merged to create Barrel One Collective, bringing together 14 brands. Details:

How Today’s Leaders Are Building Tomorrow’s Billion-Dollar Brands In this special edition of the podcast, we feature highlights from interviews with seven innovators, leaders and disruptors who joined us on the show during the second half of 2024.

A special end of the year @tasteradio.com supercut episode featuring the founders of Olipop, Biena, David, Lesser Evil & more share some of their best brand-building insights

www.tasteradio.com/episodes/202...

Another banner day over on X / Twitter

Bovine blood 🩸 powder, that’s a new one

Athletic Brewing is getting into the NA cocktail game...sorta...with two new cocktail-inspired brews: Paloma and Moscow Mule