NewAge Inc (fka NBEVQ) (NBEVQ)

[Roland Rick Perry]

Coconut Water.

Just came across this old (2015) but great story again. That's the great thing about the beverage business, you just never know what may skate into New Age Beverages life tomorrow, next month or even a year from now - as well as with Eastside Distilling (ESDI) another acquisition minded play.

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Coconut Water Maker Vita Coco Broadens Overseas Footprint

A decade after being first delivered to New York bodegas on inline skates, it is now sold in about 30 countries, twice as many as a year ago, said Michael Kirban, co-founder and chief executive of closely held All Market Inc., which owns Vita Coco.

About 30% of revenue will be generated outside the U.S. this year, with the company on track to book another year of double-digit sales growth overall, he added in an interview. New markets since late 2014 include China, New Zealand and Spain, with South Africa planned for later this year.

Global retail sales of Vita Coco rose 31% last year to $421.1 million, surpassing PepsiCo Inc.'s (PEP) Kero Coco brand for the first time, according to Euromonitor. Long popular in countries like Brazil and India, coconut water remains a niche category in most of the world but is growing quickly.

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) veteran Mike Shepherd is overseeing the expansion in Asia Pacific, where Vita Coco is currently distributed in nine countries. He joined All Market in April after 15 years at the soft drink giant, most recently as general manager for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mongolia.

Mr. Shepherd expects to have a regional team of 10 to 12 people in Hong Kong by the end of the year, in addition to existing offices in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Singapore.

New York-based All Market sold a roughly 25% stake to Beijing's Reignwood Group for about $165 million last year. Reignwood is the exclusive distributor of Red Bull energy drinks in China and is now slowly rolling out Vita Coco in the country.

Mr. Kirban said Vita Coco is now in about 15,000 stores in three Chinese cities and expects to expand distribution to 40,000 stores by this summer. The company launched a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign in the country earlier this year, including digital, magazine and billboards ads.

"If China keeps going like it's going, it could be 40% of the overall business in three to five years," said Mr. Kirban. So far, though, it is only about 3% of the company revenue.

The company says sales in Europe are up about 80% from last year. It says it now sells more Vita Coco in London than in New York.

In the U.S., where Vita Coco has an estimated 40% market share, sales are growing around 30% this year, according to the company. Mr. Kirban is overseeing daily operations in the U.S. after country president Jeff Popkin left the company earlier this month.

Vita Coco's main competitors in the U.S. are Coke, which owns the Zico coconut water brand, and PepsiCo, which owns O.N.E. and Naked. Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) handles the bulk of Vita Coco's U.S. distribution.

Mr. Kirban said All Market has had conversations with potential buyers in recent years other than Reignwood about selling stakes in the business, but that there are no talks currently.

Mr. Kirban, co-founder Ira Liran and Belgian investment firm Verlinvest together own more than 50% of All Market. About 10% is owned by other shareholders, including employees.

Writer to Mike Esterl at [e-mail]

http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=66610235

PepsiCo in bid to acquire Vita Coco owner:

(Reuters) - Soft drink maker PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) is in talks to acquire All Market Inc, the owner of coconut water brand Vita Coco, whose celebrity investors include Madonna and Matthew McConaughey, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-allmarket-m-a-pepsico-idUSKBN18M2JJ