Episodes

As part of a wide-ranging interview recorded for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, Talking Rain president and CEO Kevin Klock discussed why the company is now looking at opportunities to acquire brands and how it’s evaluating potential deals in the U.S. and abroad.

In this podcast, Michael Schwartz, the co-founder and managing partner of Organic Food Incubator, a shared production facility and resource center for early-stage food and beverage companies, delved into the current landscape for start-up brands in metro New York, discussed top-of-mind ingredient and formulations embraced by entrepreneurs in the region and shared his take on effective sales, retail and distribution strategies for new brand owners.

Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda oversees a distribution network that includes over 25,000 retail accounts in the tri-state area. It’s a 24/7 job, but Reda, who we recently interviewed for this edition of the BevNET Podcast, says that he wakes up every day and loves what he does.

Mike Repole, the co-founder of BodyArmor, is unsatisfied. Why? Because BodyArmor, despite its impressive growth in recent years, is not the world’s top-selling sports drink brand. Repole, who also co-founded vitaminwater and is a horse-racing magnate and billionaire, clearly does not lack ambition.

Last week, the podcast team visited the Boston offices of Bevi, a high-tech water cooler that customizes still and sparkling water with unsweetened, zero-calorie, or organically sweetened natural flavors.

Last week the podcast team visited CircleUp’s San Francisco office to speak with Ben Lee, the managing director of CircleUp Funds, the company’s investment arm. We sat down with him to discuss the ways in which CircleUp aims to support early-stage fundraising for beverage entrepreneurs.

In this edition of the podcast, Burgmaier, who’s worked with several fast-growing and high-profile food and beverage brands, including Essentia, Spindrift and KeVita, discussed the current climate for CPG financing, competition for investment dollars and what he views as the key attributes for successful brands.