New Beverage Showdown Winner Announcement and Interview

Speaker 1 [00:27] Yes indeed, it is now the time to announce the winner of the New Beverage Showdown. I just want to reiterate that all of the semi-finalists yesterday, all the finalists today did such an incredible job. Just a round of applause for all their amazing work over the past two days. Uh, there was a lot of discussion in the deliberation room. There was a lot of really good back and forth about the brands and the potential for the brands, the market readiness, the taste of the products, the packaging, and I wanna go to the judges right now for a very quick debrief, talk. A little bit about what they saw in these brands that made them think that these have a real possibility on the market and some of the things that the brands need to do if they're going to scale from where they are right now so Samantha, let's start with you.

Speaker 2 [01:20] Um, what was very refreshing to me was that everybody had a very well flavored product. You could tell that everybody had spent several, several iterations of being very intentional with how the liquid tasted, what did it smell like? What did it look like? Are there layers of flavor? Is there complexity? Um, coming from the adult beverage category, it was very refreshing to me to try, um, juices and coffees and items that I. Admittedly went into thinking they were gonna be a little more simple than the adult beverage category, but I was wrong, and they were, they were very complex they were very flavorful, so everybody did a great job on that and I think the most optimistic part was it was such a close decision because a lot of the changes were more on, um, the marketing side or on the wording side of where we think that, um, potential brands, um, outdid one over the other small changes.

Speaker 1 [02:17] Dan, give us the, the good that you saw and some of the challenges that these brands might be facing as they continue to scale over the past next year.

Speaker 3 [02:24] Yeah, I mean, I, I think, um, that the beautiful part of the beverage showdown is that you have brands that that are at all ages and stages, all early, but, but all ages, so there's some that are just more finished than others, and there's some that are earlier than others, and the, the hardest part about, um, being a, a, a judge on it is to. Assess what the future holds, you know, and, and there's a lot of pieces in the criteria to be able to do. I mean, one of the best pieces of, you know, what the future holds is, um, is founder feedback, which we would always invite, you know, uh, any of the founders to come and have a conversation with, with, um. With us around, um, you know, what can be, what can be improved, um, everybody who got here got here, you know, like to this part, right? It was pretty awesome, you know, in the, in the, in the sea of the beverages that are, that are out there, and, um, I just want, you know, probably one more plug for you all is, is that it, it, um. It's, it's a sincere, um, approach from the industry to allow, um, founders to come into a room with really experienced people to listen to what their story is, and they're gonna have to do that thousands and thousands of times, and I mean that's, that's a piece I mentioned on the optimism side, you know, so you get a lot of learnings, but this is the first piece of the learning they actually get in the beverage business, you know, when you get like a full scale piece of feedback on it, I think that um. That, that, so there's a public forum and the feedback, you know, and, and then just taking and plowing the learnings and on what a founder has to go do, do to pivot, and, and there's a number of different criteria. I always say it's like I was saying backstage it's kind of like umami, you know, like it's like it all mixes together and then it comes up to, to some taste, which is, I think what, what the, um, Morrison Seger, uh, gentleman was talking about is this, this notion that, um, he had too many cool names involved to remember his name specifically from the. VC, but I think this idea is that he talks a lot about, he talked a lot about like the it factor, you know, like you have to kind of feel it, and that's what brands are as rational as we want to make a decision making process for him, it comes down to some level of someone's like affinity or kind of like emotion that they want to reach when a brand, and that's what generates the winner.

Speaker 1 [04:29] Lynn, your thoughts?

Speaker 4 [04:30] Well, this was such an interesting deliberation and especially since we all came at it from different perspectives. I loved seeing so much innovation in form and positioning in name, um, and was always encouraged by founders who have an idea and bring it to life and who are able to do that, um, where I think there could be room for improvement is really understanding who the audience is and who. You're selling to and being very, very defined about what you are and who you're for and I think and also helping consumers understand what you're replacing in their beverage world because there's only so many beverages someone can take in in a day so you have to be a choice you're you're either creating a new occasion for someone or replacing an occasion that already exists and finding that sweet spot is really important but really amazing brands, um, and so. I echo, you know, what an opportunity to showcase them here.

Speaker 1 [05:28] Yeah, and John, last word.

Speaker 5 [05:30] Yeah, I mean, I think You, you guys said it already. I mean, I think this was a really tough one and you know, obviously like all of these brands are early in their journey, but you know, I think each one kind of again has like different challenges that they face that I think, you know, really a lot of this just looking back at the brands that, you know, go on from this and you know survive thrive, you know, Jenny from Alsborough was just up here, you know, that's a a company that has. When they pitched and won it was cocktail syrups, you know, um, and I think that's just my point is really, you know, I think the, the really good founders and really good teams like figure out how to navigate all these different, you know, variables and, you know, eventually you get to the point where they have something that can really scale and I would just encourage everyone who got up here or even is just sitting in the audience to. Really think about that, you know, and a lot of times I think early stage founders are kind of like, you know, they almost feel like it's uh some sort of knock against them for changing, but it's not, you know, like literally everyone has done it and again I would just encourage, you know, everyone out there that's at that early stage to consider that.

Speaker 1 [06:42] Another round of applause for our incredible judging panel today. Amazing stuff, well done. Uh, two quick things, uh, for all the semi-finalists and the finalists today, uh, please come and talk to the judges if you can find them after the show. I think they'll be around for a little bit. I'm sure they have a lot more feedback to offer all of you, uh, more than we could even share on stage. So please do that. Also, for the live stream viewers at home, we'll be featuring an interview on the live stream with the winner of the New Beverage Showdown. That's about 1:00, 1:05, so stay tuned for that. All right, I'd like to now announce the winner. We're gonna bring that uh winner up on stage as soon as we reveal it. The winner of the New Beverage Showdown is. Dad Grass, Ben Starmer, coming up.

Speaker 3 [07:48] Great friend, thank you He's got a friend that's hilarious. Right. Highland.

Speaker 1 [08:10] All right, well done, Ben. Congratulations once again. Thank you all so much for coming. We will see you in Marina del Rey in December. Until then, safe travels. Thank you all so much for coming. All right. Welcome back to the Taste Radio studio here at BevNET Live NYC 2026. I'm here with the winner of the New Beverage Showdown, Ben Starmer, the founder of Dad Grass. Ben, congratulations.

Speaker 6 [08:34] Thank you very much.

Speaker 1 [08:35] You, I had a fantastic presentation. You got a great brand. Uh, let's just, for folks who may have missed your presentation, what is Dad Grass?

Speaker 6 [08:42] Oh yeah, so, uh, we started Dad Grass because we believe that today's weed gets you too damn high. Uh, not that there's anything wrong with that. We just wanted a low potency, really nice balanced buzz that was functional and really, really delicious.

Speaker 1 [08:56] Yeah, and I think from what I've heard, it is really, really delicious, but equally, Uh, amazing about the brand is the packaging. It feels like, and I've said this a number of times over the past few years, excuse me, past few days, it feels like a lawnmower beer that is a THC beverage. It seems like it was very intentional. Absolutely.

Speaker 6 [09:18] I mean, Uh, I love kind of all things vintage and heritage, and we really wanted to bring kind of a, kind of a, a vintage, very familiar kind of beer label aesthetic to this beverage, and it sounds like it worked.

Speaker 1 [09:34] Yeah, I would say so. And I also would say that. You know, in terms of your presentation and what you wanted to get across, it was pretty polished, and I think you were able to get what you wanted to get across in the 2 minutes yesterday and the 4 minutes today. How did you prepare for this?

Speaker 6 [09:49] You know, I've, I've been telling folks, I'm, uh, used to jumping up on stage, talking to a bunch of distributors, doing GSMs, um, when you actually have a time limit, um, it makes things considerably more difficult. Um, so there was a lot of practice that went into it. There was a lot more scripting than I had ever done before, um, hadn't necessarily been a stand in front of the mirror kind of. Practice your presentation guy, um, and I had to become one for this, for this event, certainly.

Speaker 1 [10:18] Yeah, it takes a lot to get up there in front of 300, 400 people and speak about your passion, speak about the business of what you're doing, but I thought you do that really, really well. I appreciate that. When it comes to the elephant in the room, which is what you mentioned today, we're talking about November. Yes, and the unknowns that are. Out there right now as it relates to THC beverages, uh, what makes you confident that we will see THC beverages on the market November and beyond?

Speaker 6 [10:45] Yeah, you know, I think, um,

Speaker 1 [10:47] and, and to be clear, this is really about regulation at the federal level and whether or not. Uh, CPG brands will be able, THC CPG brands will be able to market their products, uh, in the United States.

Speaker 6 [10:58] Um, you know, regardless of what happens in the short term, meaning, you know, there could be a pause in November if we're just being very honest with ourselves. Um, what's undeniable is. The consumer demand is, is just absolutely real and it's massive. You're also starting to see, you know, major retailers Target, Sprouts, Circle K continue to expand their commitment to the, to the category and, you know, from beer wholesalers and other suppliers, etc. really. Um, putting a lot of momentum here, so even if it goes away on the short term, we believe this category for the long term is here to stay, and once there is regulation, um, it's gonna be a permanent part of the adult beverage landscape, and I think that's gonna be really exciting.

Speaker 1 [11:41] How are investors evaluating. Uh, funding of brands like yours. How are you talking to investors about the long-term potential of brands of your brand, Dad Grass?

Speaker 6 [11:53] Yeah, well, I mean, since November, the kind of capital markets for this category have been pretty quiet, which makes a lot of sense. Um, what we're currently doing is we're having preliminary conversations to start relationships with investors with funds. So when we do get that clarity. We can move really fast, um, and you know, like I said, the, the momentum and the size of the prize behind the category, um, is just, it's undeniable. I think, you know, um, Mr. Trone from Total Wine and Spirits estimated it at 30 to 40 billion within a couple of years and you start looking at those numbers you start to also see. The trends, the declines that are happening in Alc Bev, and this is a real bright spot. And so, you know, folks are very excited. They're just sitting on the sidelines until they can come in with a little bit more confidence, which makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 1 [12:45] Yeah, I want to ask one more question, and I asked this on stage to John Craven. I said, do you think that folks who are typically lawnmower beer consumers are going to trade. Out for a brand like Dagress. I don't know if that's your intention is for folks to trade out or trade up or however you want to describe it, but I mean, are you targeting beer consumers? Are you targeting cocktail consumers, or is this sort of additive to their lifestyle?

Speaker 6 [13:10] I think it's additive, you know, it's, it's really anyone that's looking for a really good tasting beverage, um, that also wants a little bit of a buzz. I think, you know, as we're. I think collectively as a society rethinking our relationship with alcohol, um, you know, we're not, um, you know, necessarily an anti-alcohol brand at all, um, but this is just another, um, option in your fridge to have a great tasting beverage that gives you a nice little feeling. Um, that, you know, you might not get from alcohol, on, especially on a daily basis.

Speaker 1 [13:43] Yeah, absolutely. Well, Ben, congratulations once again. Thank you so much. I know this was a lot to prepare for and you went up against some really tough brands and some really great founders, phenomenal, you know, kudos to all the founders that participated because there was a lot of really good stuff out there, and I feel like we're going to see a lot of these brands continue and, and be stars of tomorrow in the next 5, 10 years as well, so. Once again, really appreciate your, the time and really appreciate everyone watching on the live stream over the past two days. Uh, it's just been fantastic here in New York City and we're looking forward to being in Marina del Rey in December. Along the way, Taste Radio and the team will be in. Chicago in August, San Diego and San Francisco in September, and in London, England in October for our meetups. So, more information about our meetups at TasteRadio.com. More information about Bevnet Live at Bevnetlive.com. And of course, listen to Taste Radio every single week. TasteRadio.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your listening platform of choice. Signing off for our incredible team here at Bevnet. I'm Ray Latif, and we'll talk to you next time.