The Breeze With Beverage Digest
Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford talks shop: news of the day, interesting competitive trends, new products and categories. He brings you into the kinds of conversations that we have here every day at Beverage Digest. To dissect what’s happening, connect dots, and ask the most important question: “What does this mean?”
The Breeze With Beverage Digest
Episode 3: The Next Big Thing — Trendspotting at Expo West
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Beverage Digest
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Season 1
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Episode 3
Our guest today is Matt Hughes, Vice President of Incubation for New Revenue Streams at Coca-Cola. Insiders might remember this unit as Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB), of which Matt is a founding member. He has spent 30 years in the beverage industry, including as an entrepreneur. We talk to Matt about this month's Natural Products Expo West to compare notes on natural product trends, up-and-coming wellness brands, and what it takes to break through in a crowded sector defined by high failure rates and a huge potential upside.