AriZona Beverages and Richard Prince team up for Lemon Fizz Concoctions

Up until now Andy Warhol's exquisitely awkward commercial for Braniff Air arguably held the title for most bizarre sellout debacle of all time. But we think the time has come for Warhol to step aside and make room for appropriation artist Richard Prince in honor of his collaboration with AriZona Beverages.

Yes, Richard Prince now has a brand of fizzy beverage, which was described as "lemonade with a slight carbonation" during a phone call with an AriZona representative. While you may know Prince as the guy who took a naked picture of Brooke Shields at only ten years old, you probably didn't know that he is also a guy with a serious soft spot for soda. According to the AriZona rep, Prince approached the company looking to collaborate on a beverage of his own and eventually discovered his soda soul mate in lemon fizz.

The cans of the citrusy refreshment were designed by Prince himself, and the can-art basically serves as a curriculum vitae for Prince. The objets d'art are adorned with representations of his nurse paintings and joke paintings, as well as a larger black-and-white glam shot of Prince looking like a pissed-off rock star who needs his damn AriZona lemon fizz already! (Also, there is a Playboy bunny skull, which is very classy.)

The can will be released in December at Art Basel Miami Beach. Until then, even the most artsy of consumers will have to drink regular old lemonade without a mini-museum on the can. How humiliating.

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Snapple heads to Green Mountain's Keurigs

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc struck a deal with Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc to offer Snapple iced teas in single-serve packs for its Keurig and Vue brewers, the companies said on Tuesday.

The deal, which complements similar ones with Starbucks, Dunkin' Brands Group Inc and Caribou Coffee Co, comes as Green Mountain is working to fend off competition from lower-cost rivals, including private-label manufacturers.

The addition of Snapple "demonstrates Green Mountain's ability to attract and align itself with the best consumer brands, further bolstering its variety of offerings and relevance to consumers," Lazard Capital analyst Matthew DiFrisco said.

The Snapple K-Cup pack iced teas will be available in the United States and Canada in spring 2013, with Vue packs to follow, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Green Mountain's stock has been under pressure as investors have been concerned that recent rebates on coffee brewers would hurt the company's profit margins. But DiFrisco said those concerns appear "overblown," citing conversations with management in which they affirmed that the rebates were planned and factored into the company's previous forecast.

Single-serve coffee pods are expected to reach $959.1 million in retail sales this year - up 32 percent, according to Euromonitor International. That would account for about 10 percent of the overall coffee market, which is expected to grow by only 6 percent this year.

Green Mountain shares rose 24 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $22.77 in midday trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Dr Pepper shares were down 12 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $43.93.

Unilever could be about to launch a chain of branded tea shops to drive growth of its tea brands.

The global fmcg firm is hoping to “transform” the global out of home tea market and is preparing to launch a “new concept” for cafes serving tea that could see the launch of a chain of branded cafes, according to a job spec for a global manager to lead the operation.

It owns Lipton, which it claims is the world’s best known tea brand, PG Tips, Lan-Choo and Irish tea brand Lyons.

Unilever has form in branded cafe operations and has previously launched a chain of Bru World Cafe coffee shops in India under its instant coffee brand Bru.

Unilever cites the “Starbucks and Nespresso effect” for changing perceptions of coffee in terms of value, range and quality, over the past 20 years. It now wants to mirror this in the tea market by creating “the definitive tea experience”.

Nespresso operates a chain of branded coffee “boutiques” selling its espresso drinks in the UK, Europe and the US, as well as a successful ‘at home’ machine system while Starbucks has expanded its coffee shop brand into at-home coffee products.

Unilever declined to provide any further details about the concept but it is due to launch in selected countries this year ahead of a global roll out from 2013, with full roll out expected by 2017, according to the job spec.

The concept will be part of Unilever Food Solutions division, which supplies restaurants and the catering industry, but will form a new strand of the business.

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Tea of a Kind uses a pressurized bottle cap to infuse their tea with fresh, preservative-free ingredients

Tea of a Kind has used Gizmo Closure and Delivery System, a pressurized bottle cap design that infuses a drink with fresh, preservative-free ingredients upon opening, in its tea line.

The pressurized nitrogen chamber cap defends UV light, oxidation and other damaging conditions that degrade nutrients in most pre-mixed beverages.

Once the cap is twisted, the ingredients burst into the bottle and self-mix, creating a color change and a visual confirmation that the drink is fresh and ready to consume.

Available in Peach Ginger Black Tea, Citrus Mint Green Tea, and Pomegranate Acai White Tea, Tea of a Kind is 100% natural, contains only 20 calories per 16oz bottle, and is loaded with antioxidants.

Tea of Kind marks the first application of the Gizmo technology by Gizmo Beverages, run by the duo of founder & CEO Don Park, and co-founder & president Walter Apodaca.

Gizmo Beverages co-founder Walter Apodaca said that the company feels proud to have brought great tasting, healthy, all natural, preservative-free options to the market.

Tea of a Kind is available online at gizmo-tea-of-a-kind.myshopify.com and will be available at Whole Foods across the country later this year.

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Coca-Cola puts major marketing push behind FUZE

Coca-Cola isn't used to trailing the competition. Yet that's the position the beverage giant is in when it comes to the fast-growing ready-to-drink tea category–and it's gearing up to do something about it.

Beverage Digest

First half 2012 take-home data.

Its weapon is Fuze, the juice-and-tea brand Coca-Cola acquired in 2007 for an estimated $250 million. The marketer is planning a major first-quarter marketing campaign for Fuze, which is also getting a new-product infusion. This summer Fuze rolled out five new flavors that will be available at fountains and in a variety of packages by year's end.

Still, Coca-Cola has its work cut out for it. Fuze had less than a 0.1% share of the tea category in the first half of 2012, according to Beverage Digest. And Coca-Cola will get weaker before it gets stronger. Come New Year's Eve, Coca-Cola and Nestle's licensing agreement for Nestea will be terminated in the U.S., though the companies will continue to partner outside the U.S.

Even with that 20-year arrangement in place, Coca-Cola still lagged as the No. 4 player in the space as it focused on larger categories such as soft drinks, sports drinks and juice. When partner Nestea becomes foe in January, Coca-Cola will slide to the No. 5 slot, according to Beverage Digest figures, behind Arizona, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Nestle.

"The Fuze initiative is critically important for Coke," said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest. "Tea, because of its health and wellness imagery, and because it works well with diet sweeteners, has huge potential over the next five years."

According to Beverage Marketing Corp., the ready-to-drink tea category grew almost 5% last year to $5.5 billion in retail dollar sales. It's expected the category will experience rapid growth in the next few years, something Coca-Cola hopes to capitalize on.

This summer, Fuze rolled out five new flavors that will be available at fountains and in a variety of packages by year's end. And a major campaign is planned for the brand in the first quarter of 2013, though the company isn't ready to discuss details.

"We have pretty lofty awareness goals," said Chris Johnston, director-tea at Coca-Cola North America, of the company's planned investments in Fuze. "It's fair to say the tea segment is increasingly important on the radar screen of the company."

Coca-Cola's tea business in the U.S. has been weak for years, prompting the Coca-Cola system to long call for the company to address the issue. Seeing Arizona, an independent company, skyrocket to prominence in recent years has been a wakeup call for the industry, Mr. Sicher said. The 20-year-old brand now controls 40% of the ready-to-drink tea category.

Mr. Johnston admits that, from an outside perspective at least, it does appear Coca-Cola is late to the game. He argues the company has been "choiceful, patient and deliberate" when it comes to the tea category, however, highlighting the recent success of its homegrown Gold Peak brand and the acquisition of Honest Tea. Now, he says, the company is turning its attention to building the Fuze trademark.

Fuze has had a relatively small marketing budget for a Coke brand. In 2011, the brand launched its first TV campaign, boosting measured spending to $8 million from $3 million the two years prior, according to Kantar Media. Then again, Arizona's budget has hovered in the tens of thousands each of the last several years.

Fuze has already brought several agencies on board, including Ammirati and Engauge. The brand is also working with David, an agency that launched in January and is backed by Ogilvy & Mather. David is billed as a global shop born out of the creative strength of Latin America, with offices in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

"Unlike other brands in the segment, we'll have a stronger multicultural approach to marketing," Mr. Johnston said. He noted that there are plenty of "white spaces" in the category. He said he sees opportunities for new price points and packages. And he indicated there's an opportunity to target consumers interested in "active energy" beyond caffeine.

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Cherry Lime Rickey is new Arizona flavor, voted on by fans

Following a three month campaign in which the company enlisted its Facebook fans and beverage media professionals to help choose its newest flavor, AriZona announced today that Cherry Lime Rickey would join its formidable cadre of tea and juice drinks.

The campaign, created in celebration of AriZona’s 20^th anniversary, asked AriZona’s nearly 3.1 million Facebook fans to choose between three contending flavors – Orange Creamsicle, Chocolate Fudge Float, and Cherry Lime Rickey – and culled the opinions of a variety of people, including food and beverage writers, chefs, and randomly chosen consumers, to taste and write about the flavors in order to help fans decide on the winner.

Here’s AriZona’ press release on the contest and its new Cherry Lime Rickey:

NEW YORK, NY— After an exciting three month long, never-been-done-before, 20th anniversary contest initiative, AriZona is proud to announce that its Cherry Lime Rickey design has been chosen by fans and will be sold exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as soon as September 2012.

The 20th anniversary flavor was consumer-chosen and its label was voted based on international submissions from designs submitted to AriZona’s microsite, arizona20years – Powered by Creative Allies, during the contest. Of the final five designs, fan Kenny Vidinich’s OneVibe design received the most fan votes for the winning label.  Vidinich is the creator of OneVibe creative studio located in Honolulu, HI, other finalists included: Ricky Linn of Pasadena, CA; Satchel Vestil of Cebu, Philippines; Manuel Peón of Mexico; and Tin Bačić of Croatia.

This is the first AriZona beverage to be completely created by fans and AriZona is proud to partner with 7-Eleven to make Cherry Lime Rickey’s debut on the market. With more than 6,700 stores in the United States, the convenience store king is the ideal partner making this 20th Anniversary flavor available across the country.

“The 20th Anniversary Contest is our way of thanking AriZona’s loyal fans, as well as allowing their voice and creativity to come to life. It is from them that we, as a brand, have always drawn our inspiration from and we want to make sure they know that we are fans of theirs as well,” explains Jackie Harrigan, AriZona’s Global Communications Director. “7-Eleven was a natural choice for us to debut and exclusively sell the Cherry Lime Rickey flavor. Just like AriZona products, 7-Eleven is American founded with stores accessible worldwide and has the same loyal consumer following.”

Cherry Lime Rickey will not only be available in 7-Eleven stores nationwide, but each can will feature a QR code that will unlock more prizes when scanned. The QR capability is another “first” for AriZona, and the brand hopes that it will demonstrate its gratitude to the fans for making it the number one ready-to-drink tea in the country with exclusive AriZona swag including a grand prize fully-wrapped all American vehicle.

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New Territory for Tea

It wasn’t slowed by the downturn, it has benefitted from health and wellness trends and has been the category into which many exciting new brands have launched and grown. For each of those reasons, RTD tea is a category that remains at a rolling boil: total sales of RTD in the U.S. were up by 7 percent in 2011, according to Euromonitor International – and have moved from just over $5 billion to just under $8 billion since 2006.

And things aren’t expected to slow down: the category is expected to grow another 24 percent by 2016, according to the research firm.

With its variety, its ability to adapt to packages from cans to bottles and to formats like carbonation and blending, the growth of RTD tea has been Americanized to the farthest degree: what have been the brews of native cultures have been studied to determine ORAC count and caffeine levels, while new brands have risen and fallen with little overall impact on the category’s continual growth.

Take January’s news that Coke and Nestle were letting a longstanding agreement to produce and market Nestea together lapse. Rather than lament the downfall of a strong brand, both companies looked to growing portfolios of other brands (Honest Tea, Sweet Leaf, Fuze, Tradewinds, Gold Peak, etc.) to fill the distribution void.

So what has kept the momentum going? Look at the following four trends, which encompass new varieties, external forces, pricing strategies and what we call the Killer G’s.

PUCKER UP

Lemon Blends continue to win. In the past year, with new “half-and-half” formulations either arriving or in planning from companies as diverse as Inko’s (best known for its white teas) and Ito En (best known for all manner of pure Oolong and other Japanese variants).

“We decided to do our twist by using premium green tea instead of the classic black tea,” said Ito En’s Rona Tison.

From energy to relaxation, everyone has been getting in on the mix: Monster Rehab came out as — you guessed it – a tea/lemonade mix on one side, while Marley’s Mellow Mood has a Half & Half as well. Organics haven’t escaped the siren call of the Arnold Palmer, with Sweet Leaf and Honest Tea launching Half & Half blends, along with all-natural Xing as well.

Even companies that have been well-known for their own lemon tea, like Snapple, have pushed into the Half & Half zone.

Marketers say that consumers like the idea of cutting calories of lemonade with the caffeinated strength of tea. Plus, it’s just plain trendy. About the only company failing to benefit from the ongoing Lemonade boom is New Leaf, which helped launch the craze before it fell off the pace due to ongoing supply and cash issues.

Meanwhile, AriZona, the company that started it all, is running the table with its call-brand “Arnold Palmer” varieties of Half & Half, which now accounts for well north of $200 million annually, according to Symphony IRI, which probably isn’t the best measure given the number of independent accounts and foodservice locations where AriZona reigns supreme.

CHEAP IS KING

While upscale tea shops and fine cultural associations may have driven some of the lift behind RTD Tea in the past, it’s value pricing that is truly running the category right now.

Just as with the Arnold Palmer, AriZona’s products, driven by its value-priced $.99 cans, lead the category.

But other companies are learning to appreciate cheap as well. Peace Tea is riding the coattails of parent company Monster’s distribution deal with the Coca-Cola Co. to move its own $.99, 23 oz. cans, and has taken big steps in circulation: the brand is at about $75 million, according to Symphony/IRI, which doesn’t count Wal-Mart, where Coke practically has its own office. During an earnings call in May Monster CEO Rodney Sacks announced that the brand was up nearly 85 percent over the same quarter for the previous year – it “has really started to come into its own and we think that also can develop into a very nice brand for the company going forward,” he told the audience.

Even the AriZona foe Snapple has gotten into the cheaper-is-better game with its own cans of printed-on $.79 iced teas. And here’s a crazy wild-card: Snapple might have a shot at grabbing market share from AriZona in the Big Apple for one simple – but bizarre – reason: under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed anti-supersizing initiative, the 16 oz. can of Snapple would still be allowed. The 24 oz. AriZona? That would draw a fine.

ON-PREMISE IS EVOLVING

Tea is booming on-premise as well, with iced teas getting a lot of momentum. From on-tap kombucha to McDonald’s selling millions of dollars in $.99 sweet tea, the availability of RTD tea on tap is contributing to the overall momentum mentioned in the introduction.

Slick operations like Teavana, Tea Forte, and Canadian import Davidstea are helping create a tea-only branch of the Starbucks family tree. Meanwhile, Starbucks itself is rolling out its first retail tea concept behind the Tazo line (even as that line begins to decline a bit in the Pepsi system) and even Guayaki has a Mate Bar in its Sebastopol offices.

There are 3,500 retail tea locations in the U.S., compared with more than 25,000 coffeehouses, according to World Tea Media.

GUAYAKI, GUAYUSA, GT, AND GOLD PEAK: WATCH OUT FOR THE KILLER G’s

While Cheap is King, there are some brands that are showing growth from exotic places: in the old school, Guayaki, which makes RTD yerba mate drinks and has long been a natural foods standby, is showing strong expansion in mainstream accounts, with sales nearly doubling this year. Guayusa, an Amazonian tree leaf imported from Ecuador by the makers of Runa, fills out the new school; the organic, fair trade product has a low calorie profile and is starting to gain traction in natural and specialty accounts. Meanwhile, GT’s Kombucha, which has recovered after the 2010 “kombucha fermentation crisis” to regain its market leader position, is the grand old brand of the kombucha movement, which shows little sign of slowing as interest in probiotics grows.

Joining those three emerging companies is a big beverage company-produced brand, Gold Peak, which has succeeded to the point that Coke wasn’t afraid to let its partnership with Nestea dissolve in the U.S. After a slow start, Gold Peak has given Coke a growing set of facings in both the refrigerated multi-serve section of the store – where it’s up more than 40 percent this year – as well as the grab-and-go box.

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Prepping for Nestea Transition, Coke Introduces New FUZE Teas, Juices

The Coca-Cola Co. Inc. has introduced a new line of tea and juice drinks for its FUZE brand as it prepares to hand over distribution of Nestea to Nestle Waters North America (NWNA) at the end of 2012. Earlier this year, Coke and NWNA announced that they would alter their 20 year partnership and marketing agreement of the Nestea brand to focus away from North America. Within the announcement, Coke said that it would utilize FUZE as a replacement for Nestea, which has been positioned as the cola giant’s value-branded option within its tea portfolio. The new FUZE offerings include a lemon tea, a tea and lemonade blend, and a strawberry lemonade, and are priced at $.99 for a one-liter bottle.

Here is Coke’s press release announcing the new FUZE line extension:

Brand Poised for Growth with Five New Flavors Hitting Convenience Store Shelves This Month

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)--FUZE^® is celebrating a summer of great-tasting refreshment with the introduction of its new collection of teas and juice drinks. The new FUZE line-up features a blend of natural flavors to keep Americans cool and refreshed.

The launch kicks off this summer, with a full offering of fountain and bottle/can package options available by the end of the year. The 1-liter package is available now at convenience stores across the country. The new selections from FUZE include:

• Lemon Iced Tea
• Honey and Ginseng Green Tea
• Half Iced Tea & Half Lemonade
• Berry Punch Juice Drink
• Strawberry Lemonade Juice Drink

“Our fans expect vibrant tastes from FUZE and we are excited to add five new flavors to the FUZE family,” said Chris Johnston, Tea Director, Coca-Cola North America. “We expect our new teas and juice drinks will both refresh people and accelerate our momentum in this growth segment.”
FUZE beverages offer consumers a great-tasting source of vitamins B6 and B12,^* available in all FUZE products except Honey & Ginseng Green Tea. They are currently available in 1-liter packages affordably priced at $.99 at participating retailers.

Additional FUZE offerings will debut throughout the remainder of 2012.

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Review: Steaz Oragnic Iced Teaz

Steaz Super Fruit is a lightly sweetened USDA Organic and Fair Trade certified flavored green tea. It features acai and lemon juices as well as mangosteen, goji, pomegranate, and blueberry flavorings and is sweetened with evaporated cane juice. From a flavor perspective, the product is light in body and has a mellow tea base. The added juice is very light and not distinguishable from the mix, while the combination of fruit flavors gives the product a fruit flavor that’s basically that of a mild fruit punch. It’s not overly sweet (it has 18g of sugar per can), but as you drink the product it definitely leaves behind a sugary aftertaste. Overall, it’s a pleasant tasting product that should have appeal with a mainstream consumer. Visually, it’s more of the same for Steaz, with a stacked design to the front panel. The fruit image feels a little crammed, with too many fruits in a rather small space. Otherwise, it’s easy to read and cleanly designed. Definitely a nice extension to the Steaz Iced Teaz line.

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AriZona tees up Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade

Though one has to wonder how many of today’s youth think that legendary golfer Arnold Palmer was named after the lemonade/tea combo that he himself made famous, it certainly won’t be an issue for his former rival and protégé, Jack Nicklaus, who, like Palmer, has partnered with AriZona to launch a new beverage line.

Last week, AriZona – quietly and without much fanfare – introduced Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade, and it appears that the company may be prepping for a much larger launch later this month.

As in its relationship with Palmer, AriZona appears to be licensing the name the brand name “Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade” from Nicklaus himself, who owns the trademark through Nicklaus Companies, LLC, according to a recent filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark covers lemonade as well alcoholic flavored malt coolers, undoubtedly following in the path of the Arnold Palmer Hard line. The Golden Bear line debuted with three flavors: Strawberry, Mango, and Honey with Ginseng.

AriZona has launched an official Facebook page for the new line and made a few mentions of the brand on its Twitter account, noting that the lemonades are currently distributed in Quick Chek, Race Trac, and Sheetz convenience stores, with “many more locations to come.”  Nevertheless, the company is apparently keeping the lid on a wide scale media blitz, possibly until after a rumored televised announcement of the launch by Nicklaus himself.

With two of the three greatest golfers of all time now in its stable, could a Tiger Woods Tea be far behind for AriZona? Or our favorite – a Craig Stadler soda?

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The Start of Something Different

Name of Company/Competitor: Nestea
Name of Campaign/Spot: The Start of Something Different
Date Launched: 5/19/2011
Description: The TV spot 'The Perfect Day' tells the story of two people seizing the day and taking on new challenges.
Media Details: TV

Retailers See Double-digit Growth in Bottled Tea

Convenient store owners are claiming that Ready-to-drink (RTD) tea has been and will continue being their fastest growing beverage category in 2011. They argue that their customers are choosing bottled tea over bottled water and carbonated soft drinks because they perceive bottled teas to be healthier and reasonably priced. To further prove his point, the owner of Plaid Pantries, described how their quarterly two for $3 deals on Snapple bottles consistently result in a blow out of the store. 

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Honest Tea: The Most Honest City In America

Honest Tea asks US cities who is the most honest:

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Coca-Cola may be preparing to acquire Honest Tea

Coca-Cola made a $43 million dollar investment in Honest Tea to help the brand move forward and expand beyond its previously small market. Now with business growing, speculation is brewing regarding the possible acquisition of Honest Tea by their new friend, Coca-Cola. Ready-to-drink-teas have climbed through the recession, while Coca-Cola has been losing money on soda products.

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AriZona Beverage launches new series of waters infused with Twinlab vitamins, antioxidants

        AriZona Beverage Company has launched a new series of enhanced waters that are infused with a proprietary blend of Twinlab vitamins and antioxidants.
        The RESCUE line of waters features AriZona’s green tea extract for antioxidants and a vitamin formula developed by Twinlab’s laboratories.
        The formula is meant to help boost active fluid replacement and also help to balance nutrient absorption in the body.

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