2015 Outlook Leadership New Products: Beverage Edition (Slideshow)

My first taste of watermelon came in the form of a lemonade “with a hint of mint.” Bolthouse Farms Watermelon Mint Lemonade debuted in the grocery channel and is now making its way into c-store coolers.

Insight Beverages, now part of the Kerry family, brought watermelon flavor to dispensed beverage as part of a new Pure line “made with green coffee bean extract.” The strawberry watermelon flavor joins lemonade and flavored iced teas on the bubbler dispenser.

After debuting watermelon and blueberry pomegranate flavors during the NACS Show in October, PepsiCo’s Mtn Dew Kickstart brought a “Recharge” brand in blood orange to Outlook Leadership.

Energy-shot brand Tweaker got in on the watermelon flavor, too, introducing the newest flavor during Outlook Leadership.

Anheuser-Busch didn’t have samples for Outlook attendees, but the brewer was ready to promote its first hard soda: Best Damn Root Beer. The drink, scheduled to debut in January, “was designed specifically to capture shifting preferences toward beverages with sweeter taste profiles,” the company said.

Nestle Waters North America showed its Nestea in a new, larger 23-ounce bottle, available in lemon, peach and now half and half.

Rockin’ Refuel from Shamrock Farms featured its larger 19.6-ounce bottles delivering the most protein yet: 50 grams per bottle. Available in chocolate and vanilla.

iSEE’s RollerChill was popular in the NACS Show Cool New Products room and continued to draw attention during Outlook. The “direct-cold transfer” promises and more efficient and accessible cold products, while the “cold motion” draws customers’ attention.

Dr Pepper Snapple brought three styles—sweet, unsweetened and sorta sweet—of its new Straight Up iced tea for retailers to sample.