FINANCIAL
Portland, Ore.-based Maletis Beverage
and Bellevue-based Odom Corp.
announced they have formed Odom-Maletis
Beverage to combine beverage distribution services. •
NutriPure Beverages,
Inc. announced that it has completed its acquisition of XND Technologies. Steve Nickolas, Founder and CEO of XND
Technologies, will remain on board as CEO of the subsidiary. • Celsius
Holdings announced a strategic partnership Carl DeSantis, majority owner of
CDS Ventures of South Florida for CDS to invest into Celsius Holdings. DeSantis,
formerly served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rexall Sundown.
LAW AND POLICY
The Pepsi Bottling Group has been
fined $65,000 for distributing drinks in New York state with illegible refund
information on the bottles that prevented some consumers from redeeming the
containers. Most of the fine will go to fund projects that promote recycling
programs in schools and among the public. To read more, click here. • Forbes.com
published an article chronicling the rise of public distaste for bottled water.
Read it here.
NEW SKUs
CRD Technologies, a wholly owned
subsidiary of MediaTechnics, announced its ability to private label 2oz and 3oz
energy shots.
DISTRIBUTION
Reed's announced
it has formed an enhanced partnership with Big Y Supermarkets. Under the
partnership, Big Y has committed to begin carrying Reed's full product line
throughout all of its 57 Big Y locations and one Fresh Acres location. Reed's also announced an expanded
partnership with Earth Fare, a natural foods retailer based in North Carolina,
which agreed to offer Reed’s full lines at the store’s 15 locations. • Innovative Beverage Group announced
that it has signed on HBB of Missouri, LLC to distribute drank in the St. Louis area. • Panda
Restaurant Group announced the renewal of a multiyear contract with PepsiCo
Foodservice making Pepsi its exclusive beverage supplier in all 1,100 locations.
• Skinny Water announced an
agreement with Acme Markets. The retailer operates 130
supermarket locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
• ZICO LLC inked a deal with G. housen to distribute its coconut
water throughout the state of Vermont, western Massachusetts, and southwestern
New Hampshire. • ZizZazz energy mix announced an
agreement with Acosta, Inc. to
provide national distribution. • Purple
Beverage Company announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with
Sparks, Nevada-based Crown Beverages.
PROMOTIONS/APPEARANCES
Coca-Cola has revealed a corner of
its long-time vaulted formula in a British marketing campaign, declaring that
it contains “no added preservative or artificial flavors” and that the formula
hasn’t changed in 122 years. The New York
Times has the story.
• The personal stories and achievements of seven "environmental
champion" torchbearers selected by Coca-Cola
for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay are the subject of a new documentary
film premiering August 13 in Beijing. The movie makes its debut at 8:30 p.m. • Hat Trick Beverages sponsored weightlifter Melanie Roach is being touted as 'one of
the athletes to watch' in the Beijing Olympic Games.
