Supplier Spotlights: BDSA, BeatBox Beverages & The Coca-Cola Co.

BDSA

BDSA, a market research firm for the cannabis industry, and Management Science Associates Inc. (MSA), a provider of analytics and data-driven solutions for Fortune 500 companies, entered into a strategic alliance to collaborate on cross-industry analysis.

The partnership will allow greater analytic coordination between BDSA's clients focused on the cannabis industry and MSA's clients in the consumer packaged goods, health care and government sectors, while also providing technical support to clients with complex data requirements. 

MSA's HIPAA-compliant methodology for de-identifying protected health information and BDSA's comprehensive data will better enable statistical analysis of consumers and deliver insights into the intersection of purchasing cannabis and pharmaceuticals for health care needs, according to the companies.

This will allow statistically significant cannabis consumption and real-world health care data to be combined to identify the impact of cannabis consumption on consumer health and purchasing. 

"With half the population having consumed cannabis in the past six months, this is no longer a niche category only of interest to those within the industry," said Roy Bingham, co-founder and CEO of BDSA. "This partnership will provide actionable, revenue-driving audience, sales impact and forecasting opportunities to companies inside and outside the cannabis industry."

According to the companies, manufacturers contemplating entry into the cannabis industry often face the challenge of limited visibility into cannabis dispensary sales. The integration of BDSA's data with MSA's reporting and analytical capabilities could allow those companies to target the right products to the right consumer audience.

BeatBox Beverages

BeatBox Beverages launched a new Hard Tea flavor in June, a move spurred by the brand's growth over the last year. 

The new hard tea soft launched at two music festivals in late 2022 and in retail in January 2023, with test markets across 13 states and chains such as Circle K, Stater Bros. Markets, GoPuff, Kroger and ampm participating in the initial rollout. According to the company, the positive results moved the product from test to nationwide launch, with additional chain distribution secured with QuikTrip Corp., Casey's General Stores Inc., Kum & Go LC and GPM Investments LLC.

"With more than 55,000 accounts buying in the last 90 days and early results showing incredible pull at retailers, we are thrilled to be able to add another flavor for the BeatBox community to enjoy," said Zech Francis, BeatBox vice president of global marketing. "What started at two music festivals led to retail hype like we haven't experienced before, and we are ecstatic to bring this to our family across the country."

The Coca-Cola Co.

This summer, two of The Coca-Cola Co.'s iconic brands dropped special edition flavors honoring their legacy of pop culture collaborations.

First, Sprite celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a new TV spot starring a crew of living legends and rising stars, a new limited-edition flavor, sponsorship of one of the year's most anticipated concert tours and a series of exclusive merch and experience drops.

The TV spot stars Nas, Rakim, Latto and GloRilla in a spot that features a remix of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," the first-ever hip-hop song to hit the Billboard Top 40. Sprite also introduced a limited edition flavor, Lymonade Legacy, which takes the remix theme and runs with it, presenting the soda's take on strawberry lemonade. The flavor will be available in a range of packages at retailers nationwide, and exclusively in fountain and frozen formats at 7-Eleven Inc. stores.

Fans can also scan on-pack QR codes on the specialty Sprite products throughout the summer to access digital "drop shops" with hundreds of giveaways. Prizes include exclusive content featuring Latto and Rakim and covetable merch including autographed Nas hats, GloRilla tour T-shirts, a Latto gold mic and Rakim directorial slates from the ad shoot. 

Looking from the past of music to the future of gaming, Coca-Cola Creations launched Coca-Cola Ultimate in partnership with Riot Games, the developer and publisher of League of Legends. It is the first time the soft drink company has collaborated with a gaming company.

[Read more: 2023 Category Captain for Packaged Beverages: The Coca-Cola Co.]

Inspired by many facets of the League of Legends world, Coca-Cola Ultimate is available in both a zero- and full-sugar version. Like with Sprite Lymonade Legacy, a specialty QR code on Ultimate bottles will give gaming fans access to specialty digital and live experiences.

Circana

Circana, formerly NPD Group and Information Resources Inc., launched Circana Lift for Snap Inc., creator of Snapchat. The new program enables consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers to accurately measure how their Snapchat advertising campaigns drive offline sales.

Circana Lift can offer advertisers the ability to answer key performance questions related to ad campaign efficacy and efficiency, and drive tangible business outcomes, according to the firm. Companies can then determine whether their campaigns effectively increase incremental purchases, attract new households or encourage households that viewed the ads to spend more per purchase.

"Marketing to customers is a multifaceted challenge and assessing the success of digital advertising campaigns in driving in-store sales has remained a significant obstacle for advertisers," said Amy Marentic, president of global solutions at Circana. "Our partnership with Snap bridges the gap between online media exposure and offline sales lift, empowering advertisers to unlock the true potential of their advertising efforts."

Circana Lift can also integrate with Circana's point-of-sale, frequent shopper, causal and media exposure data. By leveraging data from loyalty card programs, Circana's shopper panel and various other data assets at the SKU and shopper level, the program can potentially help advertisers to make data-driven decisions and drive sales in real time.

Electrolit

Electrolit kicked off its summer advertising campaign with a multimillion dollar advertising push that includes an omnichannel media strategy to raise awareness among consumers of where Electrolit's scientifically backed formula fits into their lives.

Until Aug. 30, the advertising campaign will run targeting markets where Electrolit is most available across the United States, keeping the brand front of mind during the hottest months. The campaign is intended to support traffic and trial among the company's retail partners, which include 7-Eleven, Walmart, Kroger and Publix, among others. 

"The instant hydration Electrolit provides has a place in everyone's lives, everywhere," said Jake Sloan, senior marketing director of Electrolit USA. "Whether rehydrating after a workout in the warmer weather or replenishing electrolytes post-party, our summer campaign captures the versatility of Electrolit and viewability will be front and center where it matters most across the country."

Tapping into multiple creative modalities, such as TV, billboards, transit center displays, social media and geomobile display, the campaign focuses on a "work hard, play hard" lifestyle through a series of athletic, wellness and night out images that contrast with bold colors and a bold tagline.

GSTV

GSTV, the national video network seen at tens of thousands of fuel retailers, entered into a new partnership with TikTok. The integration will bring content from the social media platform to GSTV's audience of more than 116 million unique monthly viewers across the U.S.

"At GSTV, we're always looking to entertain our viewers in new ways. TikTok has proven immensely popular, boasting a highly engaged U.S. audience," said Violeta Ivezaj, senior vice president of business operations at GSTV. "We're thrilled to bring this partnership to our audience, entertaining them as they fuel up, and highlighting content and creators to discover. Furthermore, this is an exciting opportunity to offer our advertising partners, creating memorable moments with organic and creative content integrations optimized for consumers on the move."   

To kick off the partnership, GSTV's creative studio, Ignite, will create a customized segment each week. Each 20 second video will feature one or multiple TikToks, with QR codes directing audiences back to the app. All content will bear the hashtag "#ISawItOnGSTV" to encourage further social sharing and viewer engagement. The curated TikTok videos will run alongside GSTV's regular slate of short form content creators.

Kaival Brands Innovations Group Inc. 

Kaival Brands Innovations Group Inc., the exclusive distributor of all Bidi Vapor LLC products, sent out its initial shipment of Bidi Sticks to more than 900 Kwik Trip and MAPCO locations, with a ramp up to 1,200-plus locations planned for the remainder of this year. More than 900 of those locations will be Kwik Trip stores.

This follows the company's shipment of Bidi Sticks to more than 1,000 Circle K locations, with a ramp up to 5,000 locations planned for the remainder of this year within the South Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States.

[Read more: Appeals Court Rules Bidi Vapor Can Continue Selling Its Flavored ENDS]

"We are encouraged by the renewed momentum we are experiencing (subject as always to FDA enforcement discretion) with retailers like Circle K, Kwik Trip and MAPCO who champion compliance and youth-access prevention. [These companies] recognize our ongoing efforts since last year to educate retailers and distributors of the business value of marketing Bidi Stick versus noncompliant competition," said Eric Mosser, president and chief operating officer at Kaival Brands. 

KeHE Distributors LLC

KeHE Distributors LLC completed its acquisition of DPI Specialty Foods, a distributor in key geographic locations across the western United States.

The transaction broadens KeHE's customer base and bolsters its existing warehouse infrastructure. The combined capabilities of both companies include more than 31,000 customers, more than 80,000 SKUs, 6,100 suppliers, and 7 million square feet of warehouse space across all temperature zones in 19 distribution centers. 

Additionally, DPI suppliers and retailers will gain access to KeHE's business intelligence tools including the KeHE connect platform, along with the company's category management expertise.

KeHE and DPI will continue to operate as separate entities while the organizations work to implement an integration plan.  

KeHE is a distributor of fresh, natural and organic, and specialty products to more than 30,000 natural food stores, chain and independent grocery stores, e-commerce retailers and other specialty products retailers throughout North America.

King Retail Solutions

Store fixture provider and commercial interior designer King Retail Solutions (KRS) has acquired Fixturelogic and Whitewater Construction. The two companies specialize in creating custom fixtures and architectural millwork for a wide array of industries.

"We are thrilled to welcome Fixturelogic to the KRS family," said Shaun Londahl, KRS president. "[Fixturelogic's] 30-plus year history of providing exceptional customer service and quality is a great fit with our core values. Together we will share expertise, capacity and scalability, to better serve our existing clients."

According to KRS, the acquisition is a strategic investment to expand its capacity to provide custom commercial millwork and retail fixture solutions to its customers worldwide. The company plans to merge the operations of Fixturelogic and Whitewater together, with both entities operating under the Fixturelogic brand. 

Old Trapper

Old Trapper will once again act as the exclusive beef jerky sponsor of the Outdoor Sportsman Group's (OSG) Ultimate Season, a summertime event that celebrates the great outdoors and provides a consumer's guide to finding success in the field. 

Throughout 2023 Ultimate Season programming, Old Trapper editorial content will be featured across the Game & Fish, Petersen's Hunting and North American Whitetail publications, as well as feature in custom digital videos that will be promoted across the company's digital platforms. 

Old Trapper will also have a print advertising presence in multiple OSG magazines and in the promotion and execution of four social round table segments featuring OSG brand experts and special guests. Old Trapper will also participate in the Ultimate Season Sweepstakes that runs from Aug. 1 through Oct. 29, which includes weekly winners and a special grand prize experience to see Luke Bryan in concert.

Upside

Digital marketplace Upside hit a milestone by surpassing $1 billion in new incremental profit for its retail partners. 

[Read more: BP Partners With Upside at 500 Arco-Branded Sites]

"As we celebrate this achievement, it is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to helping our retailer partners in achieving more profitable growth and measuring our impact," said Alex Kinnier, CEO and co-founder of Upside. "And looking ahead, we are firmly committed to driving even greater value at an accelerated pace."

More than 30 million individuals have access to Upside promotions through its platform and API integrations with partners such as Current Bank, Microsoft, Uber, Lyft and Instacart. As a result, thousands of Upside users are located in each retailer's neighborhood, potentially providing Upside retailer partners with a substantial pool of customers who may not have otherwise visited, according to the company. Upside's platform also encourages infrequent shoppers to increase their visits, contributing to the growth and success of its retailer partners.

As Upside looks ahead, it views this milestone as a checkpoint rather than a finish line, and the company said it is already planning new initiatives for future growth.