Laura and I again served as judges for a high school “Beverage Expo,” where students created hypothetical non-alcoholic beverage brands and concepts. Think science fair for budding entrepreneurs.
Each group conducted research, picked a target market, created a logo and prototype, and set pricing. They pitched their products to volunteer “investors” like us during Shark Tank like presentations. The investors handed out $1,000 mock checks. Teams that raised at least $5,000 earned an A.
We last participated in 2023. The expo is an interesting window into the teen mind from a beverage perspective. This year there were 30 teams, about half of which pitched energy drink brands. Here are some observations:
— Product names included SereniTea, Fizzin’ Tea, Summer Sip, Aura Sipstation, A-Plus, Blitz, and Georgia Peach.
— Alani Nu was one of drinks mentioned most as a competitor by energy drink teams. One student said females at the school gravitate to Alani Nu’s bright package colors and lifestyle vibe, while Celsius is associated more with fitness and athletics.
— Many entries were positioned as health-conscious. Several incorporated “fitness influencers” in their marketing plan. “Athletes” were a common target audience, even though this Atlanta-area Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics school doesn’t have sports teams.
— Mango was a popular flavor this year, like one brand called Viva Mango.
— While matcha was popular two years ago, we saw only one matcha product this time and it was an energy drink.
— The students generally prefer tea that is sweet and bottled, rather than unsweet or canned. After all, they are in Georgia, the home of Southern sweet tea.
— A common trend is to ask for a sip from another student’s drink. The low-tech way to avoid lips touching the can or bottle is to employ a “waterfall” technique, whereby the drink is poured into the mouth without touching or being touched by the recipient. One team had a solve for this problem — a sports cap spout.
When Philadelphia-based attorney Seth Goldberg started representing businesses and individuals looking to expand into cannabis 10 years ago, a lot of his work focused on state-licensed cultivators, product manufacturers, and dispensaries in regulated state markets. In recent years, the market has evolved to an emphasis on cannabis as a functional ingredient in food and beverage products. Goldberg’s clients now include a food company looking to expand into THC edibles and a beverage company looking to add a line of THC drinks. THC is the psychoactive component in marijuana. His practice is constantly evolving with shifts in state and federal law and enforcement — or the lack thereof. Without clarity and consistency in the regulation of cannabis-infused food and beverages nationally, entrepreneurs with an appetite for risk have forged a patchwork market for unregulated THC drinks containing psychoactive ingredients such as delta-8 and delta-9. Often, these companies exploit loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed cannabis with low concentrations of THC from the Controlled Substances Act and called it hemp. Delta-8 and delta-9 THC drinks are popping up outside of regulated dispensaries in states like Minnesota and Texas. You might even find such products at the local convenience store in your state. “There’s been a real evolution in terms of how cannabis consumer packaged goods are being marketed in 2025 relative to when I got into this is 2015,” Goldberg, a business litigation partner at law firm Pashman Stein Walter Hayden, said in an interview with Beverage Digest. He is co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis & Hemp Law practice. The flood of new THC beverages across the US is now catching the attention of state legislators and regulators. Just this month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation that limits the amount of THC in drinks that aren’t sold by state licensed cannabis distributors. A bill in Tennessee prohibits the sale of hemp-derived THC drinks at convenience stores and groceries. A number of other states including Florida and Georgia have attempted legislation governing this new crop of THC beverages. Hemp-based THC drinks haven’t captured the attention of the Trump administration, however. BD’s Duane Stanford spoke to Goldberg to better understand this exploding THC beverage market...
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper face a host of challenges in the US in 2025, ranging from declining consumer sentiment to negative policy actions. All three companies addressed the...
Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska are the first states under the current Trump administration to ask for permission to eliminate soft drinks from their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) programs. As of Tuesday, no other states...
Starbucks and PepsiCo have launched a bottled Starbucks Frappuccino Lite extension at 100 calories and 9g of sugar per 9.5-oz bottle. (That compares to 290 calories and 43g of sugar per 13.7-oz bottle of the core Frappuccino line.) Sweetened also with sucralose, the Lite line offers flavors Sea Salt Caramel Gelato, Creamy Vanilla Gelato, and Double Chocolate Gelato. The line...
