Sports Figures Added to Yerbaé Advisory Board
Yerbaé Brands Corp., a plant-based energy beverage company, has named six sports luminaries and leaders to its new Yerbaé Advisory Board, Sports and Entertainment. In an advisory capacity, Board members will provide guidance and support to fuel Yerbaé’s rapid growth and introduce Yerbaé to new groups of consumers, focusing their input primarily on Yerbaé’s strategic decisions, brand positioning, marketing campaigns and product innovation.
Introducing the Yerbaé Advisory Board, Sports and Entertainment:
- Richmond Flowers III – Founder of QB Collective and Collective Sports Advisors, former NFL player and coach, and chair of the Yerbaé Advisory Board, Sports and Entertainment
- Kyle Shanahan – Head coach, San Francisco 49ers
- Annie Thorisdottir – Professional CrossFit champion and two-time “Fittest Woman in the World”
- Lincoln Riley – Head coach, University of Southern California, USC Trojans
- Ejiro Evero – Defensive coordinator, Carolina Panthers
- Ben Johnson – Offensive coordinator, Detroit Lions
“Yerbaé supports champions with plant-based energy, whether in sports, entertainment or everyday pursuits. Our new advisory board members know what it takes to excel,” said Todd Gibson, co-founder, chief executive officer and chair of the board of Yerbaé. “We are drawing on their expertise to inspire our fast-growing Yerbaé community to greater achievement and wellbeing.”
“I’m really particular about what I would even consider endorsing. So the fact that I’m not only joining the advisory board at Yerbaé, but an actual investor in the company, should tell you how unique I think this product is,” said Shanahan. “The taste, the ingredients, the fact I don’t feel like crap after drinking it — this is the best caffeinated beverage I’ve ever tried and it’s not really close.”
“I’m excited to be joining the board at Yerbaé because I finally now have a caffeinated product that doesn’t negatively affect my body,” said Riley. “Everything about Yerbaé is exactly on point – healthy, effective and enjoyable. There’s simply nothing else like it.”
“My whole job revolves around recognizing the perfect fit — in football and beyond,” said Flowers. “Not only do I love how Yerbaé tastes, it’s uniquely suited to the daily lives of both coaches and players. They have demanding jobs that require them to be at their best every day, mentally and physically. Yerbaé helps them achieve those goals with healthy energy to keep going all day. And if it’s good enough to help athletes to achieve peak performance, imagine what it can do for everyone else.”
Yerbaé’s Q2 earnings results show a 122 percent year-over-year gain in net revenues along with other indicators of strong, positive market momentum, including expanded partnerships with key distributors and retailers. Yerbaé has disclosed the successful close of two tranches of its Celebrity Investment Round announced Aug. 21.
Harnessing the power of nature, Yerbaé’s key ingredient (yerba mate, a South American herb) is known to produce 196 different vitamins, minerals and nutrients as well as caffeine.
By combining yerba mate with its premium ingredients and flavors, Yerbaé provides consumers with a no compromise energy solution. All Yerbaé energy beverages are zero calorie, zero sugar, non-GMO, and gluten free.
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DoorDash, ALDI Expand Service to Include Alcohol
DoorDash, the local commerce platform, and ALDI, the grocery price leader for six years running, have expanded their partnership, announcing that consumers can now order on-demand alcohol delivery from more than 1,200 ALDI locations across 21 states on DoorDash. With the addition of ALDI, one of America’s fastest-growing retailers, nearly 80% of DoorDash consumers can now access alcohol through safe, age-verified delivery.
“In addition to giving merchants a new way to reach customers, on-demand alcohol delivery helps partners grow their business. On DoorDash, adding alcohol may increase grocers’ average order value by up to 30%. Order values for U.S. convenience orders were on average over 50 percent higher when alcohol was added,” said Fuad Hannon, vice president of new verticals at DoorDash. “We’ve worked hard to build a trusted alcohol ordering and delivery experience. The expansion of our partnership with ALDI reinforces our commitment to provide growth opportunities for local merchants, while simultaneously providing a safe, high-quality experience for customers.”
This expansion comes just a few months after DoorDash and ALDI first announced their partnership to bring on-demand grocery delivery to nearly all ALDI locations nationwide. Now, consumers can conveniently shop the private-label selection of top-quality, award-winning wine, beer, hard seltzers and ciders, along with all their grocery needs, at the affordable prices they expect from ALDI. On-demand orders can be placed from local ALDI stores via the DoorDash Marketplace app or website.
“ALDI offers an everyday selection of private-label adult beverages and rotates in limited, seasonal flavors so there’s something for everyone,” said Scott Patton, VP of national buying, ALDI. “Earlier this month we also launched a new, premium ‘Specially Selected’ wine collection, with most bottles costing under $10. With the expansion of our DoorDash partnership, more consumers can now sip their favorite ALDI products at the prices they love, delivered straight to their door.”
Earlier this year, DoorDash released its inaugural Alcohol Online Ordering Trends Report, a deep dive into the changing landscape of consumer online ordering preferences and emerging dining and drinking trends. The report found that delivery was the preferred way for consumers to safely purchase alcohol with more than 100 percent year-over-year growth for alcohol pickup and delivery on DoorDash from 2021 to 2022. Comfort, convenience, and time-savings are the top reasons consumers say they enjoy using alcohol and delivery services.
Since launching alcohol in 2020, DoorDash has built an impressive alcohol catalog including more than 100,000 SKUs available for purchase across thousands of grocers and restaurants nationwide. U.S. customers across 32 states can access a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, whether it’s to-go drinks from a favorite local restaurant or celebratory champagne from a nearby local store.
DoorDash is deeply committed to delivering alcohol safely and in compliance with local laws and regulations, and has enacted best-in-class safety protocols, including advanced two-step ID verification, alcohol-specific safety compliance modules and a streamlined returns flow for Dashers, and a voluntary self-exclusion or opt-out register for consumers who don’t want alcohol delivered on the platform or in marketing. The company will continue to develop and launch innovative safety features so alcohol deliveries can be responsibly facilitated through the DoorDash platform.
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Craft Ice Maker Lux Ice Appoints F&B Veteran Crouse as CEO
Craft ice manufacturer Lux Ice USA has appointed food and beverage industry veteran Michael Crouse as chief executive officer. Crouse joins Lux Ice with over 30 years of commercial and general management experience in both the retail and foodservice sectors in North America. His previous roles included president of US Foodservice at Kraft Heinz and VP/GM of US Supermarkets at the Frito Lay division of PepsiCo. Most recently, he was the head of US prepared foodservice at Tyson Foods.
“We are very excited to have a leader of Michael’s caliber join Lux Ice to lead us in the next chapter of our growth story,” said Shawn Kilcoyne, founder & chairman at Lux. “As we expand our premium craft ice business from retail into restaurants and across other foodservice channels, Michael is ideally suited to rapidly build our distribution and customer partnerships.”
Lux Ice managing partner Mark Rogers adds, “Michael embraces our core values and has quickly demonstrated a passion for our vision to elevate every beverage experience, and to be a company that positively impacts our community.”
“I am thrilled to join the team at Lux Ice USA,” said Crouse. “It’s incredible how far the company has come in such a short period of time, and I’m honored to work with such a talented and diverse group of team members that we have here at Lux.”
Lux Ice USA a leader in the fast-growing craft ice industry, was founded in 2020 by Kilcoyne. Elevating beverage experiences with slow-melting, crystal clear ice spheres, Lux Ice USA is available at leading retailers, restaurants and other foodservice locations nationwide. Through its core values of trust, agility and ownership, Lux Ice strives to be the “coolest” place to work and engage in its communities to support long-term self-sustaining employment.
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