The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, announced that Olympic athlete and swimmer Missy Franklin will join its Minute Maid brand’s Doin’ Good campaign, which debuted in April 2015. 

New York-based Runa LLC announced that AcademyAward-winning actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio recently invested in the company and will join the company’s advisory board. Other investors include actor and comedian Marlon Wayans, actor Adam Rodriguez and professional tennis players John Isner and Steve Johnson, the company says. This group joins existing Runa supporters, including actor Channing Tatum, who was an early investor, it adds.

Austin, Texas-based High Brew Coffee, a company known for its ready-to-drink (RTD) cold-brew coffees, announced a Series A-2 investment of $4 million from Austin, Texas-based CAVU Venture Partners, a recently-launched fund focused on investment and incubation in healthy food and beverage companies. Additionally, High Brew Coffee announced a new distribution partnership with Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), which will include expanded distribution in key markets, it says. 

Fans of the “Ghostbusters” franchise have one more reason to celebrate this summer as Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co.’s Hi-C brand announced release of Hi-C Ecto Cooler, a juice drink for those nostalgic for the 1980s and 1990s, the company says. Hi-C Ecto Cooler will be available for a limited time starting May 30. Its resurgence comes after a 15-year hiatus, as “Ghostbusters” hits theaters July 15.

A new survey from industry consultants Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), New York, and Boston-based Fluent, a leading college marketing and insights agency, found that taught to make healthy choices from a young age, Gen Z college students take that lesson seriously when reaching for beverages. Practicality and natural products are preferred, while artificial ingredients and crazy fads are likely to cue a collective eye-roll, the companies say. 

The Chicago-based Network of Executive Women (NEW), which represents nearly 10,000 members from the retail and consumer goods and services industries, announced that it launched the NEW Future Fund, a campaign aimed at achieving 50/50 gender parity in the industry, it says.
 

Falls Church, Va.-based The Recycling Partnership,  and Waterbury, Vt.-based Keurig Green Mountain Inc.  announced the companies have joined forces to impact recycling in the United 

Ramsey, N.J.-based Cascadia Managing Brands announced that Managing Partner Bill Sipper will address the Dubai Drink Technology Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which will take place May 16-18 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center.  

Nielsen CGA, a branch of New York-based Nielsen, released its first fully projected on- premise measure for the U.S. Beverage Alcohol market which takes a side-by-side look at the state of the U.S. Beverage Alcohol market compared with Great Britain, a market in which full measurement has been available for 10 years, the company says. Great Britain is a gateway for United States’ on-premise retailers and drinks businesses into Europe given the similarities between the two regions, according to the market research firm. The insights from this report highlight opportunities both domestically and internationally, it adds.

A strong partnership can help turn an idea into a product that consumers can’t wait to buy.  For the readers of Beverage Industry, that also translates into our Readers’ Choice New Product of the Month poll winner for March.