Episodes

BevNET's podcast team recently sat down with John Haugen, the vice president and general manager of General Mills’ 301 Inc. incubation unit. In this edition of the podcast, Haugen discusses how 301 evaluates opportunities for investment in emerging trends and early-stage companies and why finding “natural ways for food to work harder” is an important consideration in the unit's investment strategy.

Goldberg, a former Wall Street executive, told our team all about his journey from antidepressants to clean-living organic foodie and media figure, with conversational stops along the way on the offerings at Expo East, the difference between Ripple Foods and almond milk, and, most importantly, what he’d do if faced with the choice of eating Arby’s or a bag of organic palm sugar.

This week, the podcast team is joined by veteran entrepreneur, investor and advisor Tom First who offers his take on emerging trends in the beverage business, including why he sees a big future for gut health and protein. First also shares his thoughts on the kind of beverage companies that are primed to become billion dollar brands.

Natural Products Expo East 2016 opens next week, and this edition of the podcast offers our take on how exhibitors and attendees can make the most of the event.

In this edition of the podcast, we follow up on a recent BevNET Magazine article that examined a growing controversy regarding standards and regulation in the expanding world of probiotic beverages. BevNET Editor-in-Chief, who authored the article, joins us for a lively discussion on the topic.

Amid a saturated market for RTD cold brew coffee, we decided to take a look at a few beverage categories that we see as ripe for disruptive and timely innovation. Listen to our take, which includes examples of a few companies quietly taking advantage of white space in traditional categories, in the latest edition of the BevNET podcast.

The return of Crystal Pepsi came with a few updated graphics, but it’s clear that PepsiCo is aiming for nostalgic appeal. In this podcast, we discuss what, if any, impact retro and throwback products and packaging might have for a brand. We also examine similar attempts of reviving dated imagery and discontinued products by companies seeking a sentimental response.

We’re asked all the time: how can I get news about my brand featured on BevNET? Well, you can start by saying hello :)

Amid a surge in new cold brew coffee products, suppliers are doubling down on efforts to differentiate from the pack and appeal themselves to new consumers. In this edition of the BevNET podcast, we discuss how brands are innovating in terms of packaging, formulation and flavor variety and examine the impact of nitro cold brew products.

The usual suspects of this podcast -- John Craven, Ray Latif and Jon Landis -- discuss how their paths led to BevNET and examine parallels in their experiences at an entrepreneurial media company to that of many beverage entrepreneurs.