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Drink Up and Dream On
To help the 70+ million Americans that have some type of sleeping disorder, several companies have recently introduced drink products that claim to promote healthy sleep and relaxation. Dreamerz Foods, San Francisco, Calif., launched a line of Dreamerz dietary supplement drinks in 8-oz and 32-oz aseptic cartons. The dairy-based drink comes in three flavors: chocolate s’nores (milk chocolate), vanilla van winkle (French vanilla), and crème de la REM (dark chocolate mint). It contains a patented, low-dose (0.3mg) of melatonin to help promote sleep and Lactium hydrolyzed milk casein (from Ingredia, Arras, France, and distributed in North America by Pharmachem Labs, Kearney, N.J.) to reduce stress and promote relaxation.
Malava Beverages, LLC, Newport Beach, Calif., rolled out Malava Relax juice drink fortified with certified organic kava and vitamins. The drink comes in three varieties: Orange Mango, Pink Lemonade, and caffeine-free Brewed Black Tea. Malava Relax Lite, sweetened with sucralose, is available in Cranberry Grapefruit, Sangria, and Orange Citrus. Both product lines come in 16.9-oz bottles with a suggested retail price of $1.89.
Something to Cluck About
Gold’n Plump Poultry, St. Cloud, Minn., recently launched a line of all-natural products, made from chickens raised with no antibiotics by more than 250 Midwest family farmers. In addition, the line offers all of the USDA-required attributes for natural labeling like no added hormones, no artificial ingredients, no preservatives, and no injected solutions. "The meaning of all natural has eroded over time, leading to confusion and skepticism over what the term means. Our research shows consumers don’t know what to expect from all natural products, and are concerned about what their family eats. However, they know what they don’t want—antibiotics, added hormones, and artificial ingredients—and what they do—good, wholesome chicken, plain and simple. This consumer insight was the driving force behind the line," stated Tracy Miller, Senior Product Development Manager, Gold’n Plump. Items in the 22-product line range from boneless, skinless chicken breasts to bone-in thighs to whole chicken.
PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., and Coca-Cola, Atlanta, Ga., both announced in February that they will disclose the caffeine content of their carbonated soft drinks. PepsiCo will include the amount of caffeine on cans and bottles of its flagship Pepsi brand in the United States, while Coca-Cola will add caffeine information to all of its drink products that use the energy-enhancing ingredient in the U.S.
Meanwhile, PepsiCo announced that it will market a higher-caffeine diet cola this summer. The product—Diet Pepsi Max—will contain about one-third more caffeine than Diet Mountain Dew and will target consumers ages 25–34.
PepsiCo also recently announced a new global marketing campaign. The first, most visible part of this promotion will be new package graphics for Pepsi-Cola that change every few weeks to reflect themes relevant to teens and young adults, such as sports, music, fashion, and cars. The new graphics, which will appear on more than eight billion Pepsi-Cola cans, bottles, and cups throughout the world, will give consumers access to exclusive online content, games, contests, and sweepstakes through unique Web addresses on each of the designs.