The Weekly Sip is Food Dive’s column focused on the latest news in the rapidly changing and growing beverage sector. From inaugural product lines to big investments and controversial topics, this column aims to quench the thirst for developments in the category.
Nesquick goes green with recyclable shrink sleeve
Nestlé is converting its Nesquik ready-to-drink portfolio to a new recyclable shrink sleeve label made with light-blocking print technology.
The new mostly yellow wrap is compatible with the U.S. recycling stream, helping make the bottle easier for consumers to recycle.
The food and beverage giant said the new shrink sleeve, which conforms to the bottle, will be available on all Nesquik ready-to-drink bottles this summer. It is Nestlé’s first product on-shelf with a recyclable shrink sleeve that leverages light-blocking technology.
Nestlé estimated 4,500 metric tons of PET plastic will be easier for consumers to recycle annually and more likely to be sorted accurately at recycling facilities.
“It was essential to find a solution that would maintain the quality and shelf life of the product, while also offering the benefit of making recycling the bottle easier for consumers,” said Chastity McLeod, the vice president of sustainability for Nestlé North America. “This innovation is a big step forward as we continue to drive progress on Nestlé’s packaging ambitions across our U.S. portfolio.”
Nestlé said the solution for the new packaging took nearly five years. The process considered different packaging suppliers, materials, light transmittance and aesthetics.
Some Coffee mate and natural bliss products also will eventually be produced in this new shrink sleeve, with Nestlé Sensations flavored milk products expected to convert to the new sleeve in early fall.
Nestlé has vowed by 2025 to have 95% of its plastic packaging be recyclable. More broadly, the company wants all of its packaging to eventually be recyclable or reusable.
It has gradually been rolling out more sustainable packaging to other food and beverage brands across its portfolio, including its popular frozen Stouffer’s single-serve trays and Carnation Breakfast Essentials. It’s also phasing out the metallic crisping sleeve in its Hot Pockets.
— Christopher Doering
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Courtesy of Boston Beer
Jim Beam brings the taste of a Kentucky summer into RTD
A new line from a familiar brand seeks to bring fruity flavors to the ready-to-drink beverages space.
Jim Beam has launched Kentucky Coolers, a set of hard cocktail drinks to compete with popular offerings like White Claw and Truly. The drinks contain 5% alcohol-by-volume per can, 120 calories per serving and are available in four varieties: Orange Crush, Peach Crush, Blueberry Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade.
While Kentucky Coolers are part of the Jim Beam brand, the drinks are malt-based and do not contain any spirits.
“We know firsthand how a carefully crafted beverage can complement life’s most cherished moments and that is captured in every can of Kentucky Coolers cracked open with the ones we love,” said Veronique Mura, Jim Beam’s global brand vice president, in a statement.
The drinks are part of the joint partnership between Boston Beer and Beam Suntory, which owns Jim Beam, and was announced in 2021 with a goal of scaling their popular brands into new categories. Previous offerings from this partnership included RTD Sauza Agave Cocktails, which debuted in 2021.
The RTD alcohol category is undergoing a realignment as the herd is thinned. Hard seltzer has seen stagnation as new types of drinks, including tequila cocktails and vodka soda, are increasing in popularity.
With Kentucky Coolers, Jim Beam is aiming to translate its popularity in whiskey to the canned cocktails category. Another popular spirits brand, Diageo’s Captain Morgan, entered the RTD cocktail category this year with Sliced, a selection of four tropical malt-based offerings including Pineapple Daiquiri and Mango Mai Tai.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of Fable
Fable has a story to tell about THC cocktails
Delta-9 infused beverages are having a moment. Enter Fable.
The brand has launched THC and CBD-infused botanical cocktails, which it says are available nationwide.
Fable started as an idea between husband and wife Ben and Kristin Kennedy, who wanted to craft a cocktail that could compete with alcoholic offerings while eschewing booze. They worked with chefs and mixologists to develop herbal, spice-infused blends, and its nonalcoholic offerings were first released in California in 2021.
Each of the 12-ounce cans contains a 5 milligram microdose of Delta-9 THC and 3 miligrams of CBD. The offerings are available in three varieties. Into the Woods contains rosemark and peach flavors; Best Zest features grapefruit, orange and lime tastes; and Night Flight showcases cucumber, blackberry and hibiscus flavors, along with spearmint and lemon peel.
“We found a natural and delicious way to replicate the alcoholic bite and flavor arc of a premium cocktail. Consumers shouldn’t have to sacrifice on taste should they choose to drink an alcohol alternative,” Ben Kennedy said in a statement.
The drinks are available to purchase online to consumers 21 or older.
Other producers of THC-infused drinks have turned to Delta-9 because of the so-called federal loophole allowing it to be sold in states where cannabis beverages are still restricted. Jones Soda’s Mary Jones brand launched its HD9 craft sodas, containing hemp delta-9, in four flavors. But the company said it is not able to sell the product in several states — Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho and Oregon — because they prohibit the sale of hemp.
— Chris Casey
