#beverage-industry

#beverage-industry

Mike Repole, the billionaire entrepreneur who co-founded and sold beverage giants Glaceau and BodyArmor to Coca-Cola for a combined $9.7 billion, has an unexpected message for aspiring business owners: Don't do it. In an interview with The School of Hard Knocks, a popular social-media channel known for interviewing wealthy entrepreneurs, Repole shared his contrarian view on entrepreneurship, emphasizing the brutal realities that most success stories gloss over.

Michelle Ivey brings over 20 years of beverage industry expertise to Lake Hour, with a track record that reads like a blueprint for modern brand building. Her most notable achievement was her 11-year tenure as Chief Operating Officer of Ilegal Mezcal, where she played an instrumental role in transforming the brand from a niche independent label into one of the world's most recognized mezcals. The journey culminated in Bacardi International's acquisition of the brand in 2023: a testament to the value creation Ivey helped drive.

Day 2 at ECRM's On & Off Premise Adult Beverage Session continued to prove why this event is a force multiplier for food and beverage professionals, beverage buyers, and hospitality leaders. In an industry where connections often mean the difference between a product staying on a back shelf or becoming a category leader, the ECRM format brought actionable business development-and a front-row seat to the biggest beverage trends and disruptive innovations shaping 2025 and beyond.

"Consumer interest in premium and super-premium products seems to fall into two camps: life-extending and life-affirming," he says. "Life-extending refers mostly to functional non-alcohol products that are purported to promote good health, such as probiotics and nootropics."

"Consumers want quality without the prep work, single-serve, no-mess formats that travel well and suit casual drinking occasions."

Joseph Priestley discovered a reliable method for infusing water with carbon dioxide in 1767, leading to the creation of industrialized sparkling water. His findings initiated the modern soft drink industry.

We've seen a 32% increase in non-alcoholic submissions to the Proof Awards compared to just two years ago. What's remarkable isn't just the quantity but the extraordinary quality and innovation we're witnessing in this category.

They're with me everywhere all the time, and I just love them so much. Everything I do is for them, with them, because of them.

VooDoo Ranger Hardcharged tea did not live up to their tasty legacy, presenting an overwhelming artificial lemon flavor that masked the tea's true essence.

Wunderground is the brainchild of Jody Hall, known for transforming Starbucks, now delivering a delicious line of adaptogenic mushroom coffees.

Images courtesy of Foxglove Communications For Sammi Katz and Olivia McGiff, bringing "Spirited Women" to life was a true labor of love.