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Ocean Spray launches Wave caffeinated sparkling water

Cranberry brand Ocean Spray launched a new line of functional water through an exclusive partnership with Walmart. Called Wave, the caffeinated sparkling water contains 50mg of caffeine derived from black tea, real fruit juice, and has no added sugars, no artificial flavors or preservatives, and no artificial sweeteners.

Wave comes in four flavors: Strawberry & Lemon, Mango & Passionfruit, Mandarin & Blackberry, and Cranberry & Pineapple, and it retails for $4.98 for an eight pack.

“We are excited to share yet another product that innovates and diversifies our line of drinks and snacks beyond the juice aisle,” said Kim McAllister, Director of Innovation at Ocean Spray in a release.

Although Wave is the first product launch for the company in 2021, Ocean Spray has recently been very active in its R&D, launching several new products in recent months as the cranberry cooperative makes a bid for the attention of newer consumers. Last November, Ocean Spray launched a line of functional water called B1U where each of the four flavors came with a different set of corporal benefits. Even prior to that last summer, the company’s Lighthouse Innovation Incubator launched CarryOn, a line of CBD water as well as Atoka, a line of blended herbal beverages and Ocean Spray Brew, a hybrid juice and cold brew coffee drink. Outside of beverages, the company has also looked to branch out into sustainable snacking solutions, adding an upcycled cranberry seed product to its portfolio which the company says can be used in baked goods, smoothies or snack bars.

As consumers continue to look for more from their beverages than just hydration, functional alternatives have come into vogue. Worldwide, Technavio predicts the functional water market grow nearly 9% annually between 2018 and 2022. Such significant growth has prompted a range of companies from PepsiCo to Nestlé to try their hand in the progressively more crowded functional water space.

Caffeinated beverages in particular have become particularly popular with consumers looking for a jolt with health benefits. According to Reportlinker report from the beginning of 2020, the global caffeinated beverage market is expected to reach $310.5 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8%. This predicted growth was only reinforced by the arrival of the pandemic, which drained consumers’ energy reserve and prompted an uptick in coffee and energy drink consumption last year as people leaned on ingested caffeine for a boost in energy, according to Packaged Facts.

With a motivation to expand past its cranberry-focused roots in order to reach a new generation of consumers, Ocean Spray is likely to continue to launch products that cater to trends and allow for it to diversify its brand audience beyond those who look to cranberries for health and reach a new generation of consumers that are interested in tailored beverage solutions for a range of situations.