What does Campbell Soup’s planned acquisition of Rao’s owner Sovos Brands suggest about the M&A environment for food and beverage CPG? The hosts discussed the deal and also chatted about several new, notable and innovative products. This episode also features an interview with Gregory Lowe II and Jason Miller, the founder and CEO and president of sales, respectively, of fast-growing coconut water brand 100 Coconuts.

Show notes:

0:39: Mark Your Calendars. Grilled Cheese For Breakfast? Someone Has A New BevNET Nickname. – The hosts encouraged listeners to register for upcoming meetups at BevNET’s HQ and WCB (West Coast Branch) and let folks know via our community Slack channel before munching on grilled cheese bites. They also chatted about the utility of carton-based packaging, the impact of the Campbell Soup/Sovos deal for emerging brands, heaped praise on limited edition, co-branded mini cupcakes, devoured chocolate-covered berries and ruminated on who deserves an avion sobriquet.

30:51: Gregory Lowe II, Founder/CEO & Jason Miller, President of Sales, 100 Coconuts – Founded in 2019, 100 Coconuts markets Vietnamese-sourced, not-from-concentrate coconut water packaged in 11 oz. aluminum cans. The brand’s flagship Pure variety is sold at select Publix, HEB, Walmart, Vitamin Shoppe and Target locations. In this interview, Lowe and Miller spoke about the origins of 100 Coconuts, how taste has helped differentiate its products from those of competing brands, the key elements of its formidable retail strategy, how to identify communication that resonates with consumers and how 100 Coconuts collaborated with TikTok to develop a co-branded product.

Brands in this episode: 100 Coconuts, A Friendly Bread, Pacific Foods, Rao’s, Noosa, Michael Angelo’s, Baked by Melissa, Entenmann's, Tip Top Cocktails, Skittles, French’s, Giadzy, TruFru, Nature’s Fynd, Kate Farms, Lucky F*uck, Richard’s Rainwater, Honey Mama’s