Food and Beverage Sector Ideas

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>>> 5 up-and-coming beverage stocks


Coke and Pepsi have ruled the soft drink industry for decades, but these upstarts are giving them a run for their money.


By Tabitha Jean Naylor, Benzinga



http://money.msn.com/investing/5-up-and-coming-beverage-stocks



A new front in the Cola Wars


In the past decade or so the alternative beverage industry has caught fire. Major beverage companies such as Coca-Cola (KO), Pepsi (PEP) and Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS) have suddenly found themselves fighting for market share against formerly unknown competitors.

Part of the reason for the situation has to do with changing customer tastes. But it is also possible that many of the smaller beverage companies caught the giants sleeping by developing newer offerings, such as the now ubiquitous energy drink.

The smaller companies have also been far more prone to experiment with new tastes and formulations which the giants are too afraid to try (and after such famous flops as New Coke and Crystal Pepsi, who can blame them). While the beverage giants certainly still have a firm grip on the overall industry, their recent disappointing earnings may show the first major cracks in the beverage industry status quo.

National Beverage


National Beverage (FIZZ) is a flavored drink manufacturer based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The company was originally founded in the 1980s and grew to include such recognizable brands as Shasta sodas, Everfresh fruit juices, and Rip It energy drinks.

Though National Beverage Corp is considered a "second tier" beverage manufacturer, the company is among the top ten flavored beverage manufacturers in the country. As an example of the company's explosive growth, the company's stock traded for $13.97 on March 18, 2013 -- and closed at $20.94 one year later on March 14, 2014, for a 50 percent gain.

High Performance Beverages


High Performance Beverages (TBEV) caters to the younger crowd and mostly targets fans of popular combat sport mixed martial arts (MMA). The company's flagship product is Dethrone beverage, which is said to be a unique drink which offers athletes benefits combining those found in both energy drinks and nutritional supplement beverages.

In March 2013 the company announced a partnership with Mussetter Distributing, which has major operations in the state of California, but the company is still in the process of securing the venture capital needed to take its product offerings to the masses.

Monster Beverage


Monster Beverage (MNST) was founded in 2002, and has grown to national prominence through an effective strategy of extreme sports sponsorships - which eventually expanded to include sponsorships of music artists and other cultural icons. The company, which began with just one drink formulation, now has over 30 drink formulations in production, virtually all of them a variation on the caffeinated energy drink motif.

Though the company is not owned outright by Coca-Cola (KO), Monster did announce in 2012 that it would use Coca-Cola's distribution channels in a partnership with the company. Monster shares have risen big-time after the announcement, and have gained 46 percent over the past 12 months.

Reed's


The story goes that Reed's (REED) got its start when Chris Reed found a 100-year-old beverage recipe in the UCLA library, and decided to brew it as an experiment. The company sold its first beverages to the public in 1989, which included a Caribbean style "homebrewed" ginger soda. The line has since grown to include various ginger beverages, root beer and even ice creams and candies.

The company's products are currently sold at over 14,000 stores in the United States. The past 12 months has seen phenomenal stock price appreciation for the company, which is now trading 86 percent higher than it was just one year ago.

KonaRed


KonaRed's (KRED) mission is to reintroduce the world to coffee. Unlike many other start-ups which focus on providing yet another way to enjoy traditional coffee, which is made from toasted and pulverized coffee beans, KonaRed actually makes use of the coffee berry in order to produce its beverage.

The berry that surrounds the coffee bean is removed, processed and blended into a unique coffee treat which tastes quite different from traditional coffee, the company says on its website.

Though KonaRed is still firmly in penny stock territory, shares have returned 27 percent since they began trading on the 'pink sheets' in October.

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