5 Smaller Beverage Companies Gunning For The Big Boys

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In the past decade or so, the alternative beverage industry has caught fire. Major beverage companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi 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; the smaller beverage companies caught the giants sleeping by developing newer offerings, such as the now ubiquitous energy drink. The smaller companies experiment with new tastes and formulations that the giants are too afraid to try.

While the beverage giants still have a firm grip on the overall industry, their recent disappointing earnings may show the first major cracks in the beverage status quo.

Here's a look at some of the upstarts:

National Beverage (NASDAQ: FIZZ)

National Beverage is a flavored drink manufacturer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company was founded in 1985 and grew to include such recognizable brands as Shasta sodas, Everfresh fruit juices and Rip It energy drinks. Though National Beverage is considered a “second tier” beverage manufacturer, the company is among the top 10 flavored beverage manufacturers in the country.

High Performance Beverages (OTCQB: TBEV)

High Performance Beverages caters to the younger crowd and mostly targets fans of the popular combat sport mixed martial arts (MMA). The company’s flagship product is Dethrone beverage, which is said to be a unique drink that offers athletes the benefits of 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.

Related: 3 Reasons Investors Should Toast Small-Cap Beverage Stocks

Monster (NASDAQ: MNST)

Monster Energy Drink company was founded in 2002, and has grown to national prominence through an effective strategy of extreme sports sponsorships - that 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 in production, with virtually all being some variation on the caffeinated energy drink motif.

Though the company is not owned outright by Coca-Cola, Monster did announce in 2012 that it would use Coca-Cola’s distribution channels in a partnership with the company.

Reed's (NYSE: REED)

The story goes that Reed’s beverage company got its beginning 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.

Konared (OTCQB: KRED)

Konared’s mission is to reintroduce the world to coffee. Unlike many other start-ups that 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.

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

Posted-In: beverage stocks Coca-cola energy drinks Pepsi SODAMarkets Best of Benzinga

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