MELBOURNE, Fla. — Kona Gold Beverage Inc., a holding company that works on product development in the hemp and CBD functional beverage sector, has acquired S&S Beverage Inc.
S&S Beverage makes Lemin Superior Lemonade, which Kona Gold Beverage is rebranding to Ooh La Lemin with a new logo and can design. The drink launched in 2018 as a low-calorie, better-for-you lemonade available in Original, Blue Raspberry, Peach and Strawberry flavors. It is sold in grocery and convenience stores, including Sheetz, 7-Eleven and Circle K's North and South Carolina stores.
New cans will ship to retailers in February and the company is partnering with new distributors around the country, which have yet to be announced.
The founder of Lemin, Bill Stineman, joined Kona Gold as its vice president of product management and innovation following the acquisition.
"Lemin will provide Kona Gold Beverage with a mainstream, better-for-you, beverage product in its portfolio, opening many doors for our existing products. Lemin has already established itself in many popular chains around the country, and we expect to announce additional chains for the 2021 Spring sets,” said Robert Clark, CEO of Kona Gold Beverage.
Kona Gold will provide a strong financial backing to help innovate and grow all of S&S Beverage’s brands, Stineman said.
“By combining our sales channels and Kona Gold's back office support, we will have the opportunity to take Lemin and Kona Gold's beverage portfolio to the next level of retail chain relationships and larger distributor networks,” he said. “I look forward to helping expand Kona Gold's current Brands through Lemin's national chain and direct store delivery (DSD) customers, as well as expanding Lemin through Kona Gold's established network of DSD distributors."
Kona Gold Beverage Inc., Melbourne, Fla., owns Kona Gold LLC, HighDrate LLC and Gold Leaf Distribution LLC. It has a hemp-infused energy drink line and a CBD-infused energy water.
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