Iris Nova made a name for itself selling ready-to-drink functional lemon water by text message in a process founder Zak Normandin called “conversational commerce.” The company attracted the attention of Coca-Cola, which made a minority investment two and a half years ago. Normandin later added other owned and outside non-alcoholic brands to Iris Nova’s direct-to-consumer platform, which had begun with Dirty Lemon. Now he has his sights set on the alcohol beverage business, Normandin told BD in a recent interview.
Mushrooms have been used medicinally in Asia for centuries. In the US, mushroom extracts have become a go-to functional ingredient within the wellness community. Often referred to as adaptogenic, functional, or medicinal mushrooms, the ingredient now is... To better understand functional mushrooms as an RTD beverage ingredient, BD turned to Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss. Last year, they launched Earth & Star, a line of canned mushroom-infused oat milks and coffees.
