Beverage Companies Reportedly Ramping Up R&D And Incubators In Pursuit Of Launching The Next Big Drink

If you keep a close eye on the beverage industry, it appears everyone has a new product they’re developing or launching. 

There’s arguably a good reason for that. The production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages are worth billions of dollars globally each year. In the U.S., the beverage industry is valued at $146 billion. 

Market intelligence platform PipeCandy backed the beverage rush by saying, "It is an exciting time to be in the beverage industry. Products such as cold brew coffee and hard seltzer, largely considered nonexistent, are now filling the front and center of grocery display cases. Changes in lifestyle and consumption habits of the new-age consumers are two major reasons driving this change. The global beverage market is driven by consumer demand for premium/super-premium products.”

As a result, there are a lot of products residing in incubators and accelerators, typically targeted at companies at an early stage of development. The accelerators are used by existing companies with research and development (R&D) to help develop new brands.  

One beverage company that says it is focusing on new development is Splash Beverage Group Inc. SBEV. The company reports developing and acquiring new products and expanding its existing agreement with Anheuser-Busch’s AB ONE to now include AB ONE SoCal. As one of its largest markets, Southern California covers an area with a population of more than 20 million through national chains, including Walmart Inc. WMT, Albertsons Cos. Inc. ACI, Kroger Co. KR and Winco Foods.

What is an incubator?

Incubators are more common in newly launched companies and offer business mentoring on topics ranging from branding and marketing to raising money. While startups don’t always fulfill early promises or get returns for their investors, incubators can allow companies to give trial and error time to potential winners and losers.

The global beverage market is reportedly fueled by consumer demand for premium products driven by the tastes of the young-adult demographic and their associated purchasing power. Companies saying that they are now prioritizing the development of new products include Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV BUD, The Coca-Cola Co. KO, Celsius Holdings Inc. CELH and Constellation Brands Inc. STZ.

"Splash’s strategy is to rapidly develop early-stage brands already in its portfolio as well as acquire and then accelerate brands that have high visibility or are innovators in their categories,” Splash CEO and Chairman Robert Nistico said. 

Splash owns and markets a growing portfolio of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage products through organic development and merger and acquisition. The company produces and sells four beverages brands:

• TapouT Performance
• SALT naturally flavored tequila
• Copa di Vino single-serve wines
• Pulpoloco Spanish sangria

The company states that it continues to advance its product portfolio while adapting to the changing characteristics and demographics of the beverage industry, including the growing consumer preference for more natural products.
 

For more information on Splash Beverages, visit splashbeveragegroup.com. 

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Image by Vlad Vasnetsov from Pixabay