Prepared Foods reaches and serves all those food and beverage manufacturing professionals involved in the new product development cycle. These functional leaders are those in marketing, sales and consumer insights, R&D, innovation, culinary, purchasing and packaging.

As a society, we are in the process of shifting towards less sweet, more fruit, vegetable and superfood-forward flavor profiles. Many brands have responded by offering better-for-you beverages, and in this article is a brief overview highlighting some beverage menus worth knowing about.

On the heels of ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and iced coffee growth, cold brew coffee has become commonplace across the foodservice spectrum, according to "Office Coffee Service in the U.S.: Market Trends and Opportunities, 3rd Edition," a report by market research firm Packaged Facts.

The new flavor will be available at select retailers in Los Angeles and New York, as well as online via Health-Ade's e-commerce platform — the first for any kombucha brand. The platform recently introduced Destini, a tool that allows customers to easily locate specific Health-Ade flavors in stores. In July, the flavor will be available at Whole Foods, as well as other retailers and grocers nationwide.

Chilled coffee is thriving in the US, growing at least 10% annually between 2013-17. In fact, more than half (56%) of new RTD coffee launches in the US were cold brew in 2017, up from 38% the year prior. What is more, in the US, cold brew sales at retail* reached an estimated $38 million in 2017, representing a single-year growth of 137%. Meanwhile, RTD coffee is also building momentum in China. Mintel forecasts annual growth of around 20% in the next five years as RTD steals more share from instant coffee.

Prepared Foods showcases new beverages including teas, beer, drinkable yogurt, kombucha and more. Packaged Facts eyes beverage trends. Imbibe identifies better-for-you beverage ingredients.

The ready-to-drink coffee blends Chameleon’s classic cold-brew coffee with organic milk and organic sweet, the company says. Each bottle of Chameleon Cold-Brew contains between 100 to 110 calories, five to 12g of sugar, and four grams of protein in each eight-ounce serving, it adds.  

BOS Iced Tea checks all the health boxes by being USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and vegan friendly – while delivering on taste and refreshment. BOS is available in classic iced tea flavors: Lemon, Peach and Berry, plus offers on-trend innovations like Green Rooibos & Yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) and Lime & Ginger.  

As part of the alliance, Nestlé will obtain the rights to market, sell, and distribute Starbucks®, Seattle’s Best Coffee®, Starbucks Reserve®, Teavana™, Starbucks VIA® and Torrefazione Italia® packaged coffee and tea in all global at-home and away-from-home channels. Nestlé will pay Starbucks $7.15 billion in closing consideration, and Starbucks – with a focus on long-term shareholder value creation – will retain a significant stake as licensor and supplier of roast and ground and other products going forward. Additionally, the Starbucks brand portfolio will be represented on Nestlé’s single-serve capsule systems.

Abbott is introducing Ensure® Max Protein – a 150-calorie nutrition drink with 30 grams of high-quality protein and 1 gram of sugar – to help adults kick-start their #healthgoals.