Cusa Tea founder, Jim Lamancusa, made it to the final round of BevNET Live Summer 2018's 15th edition New Beverage Showdown, where he placed second overall.
Participants represented a wide range of products, from upcycled coffee waste beverages to bold drinkable soups. The brands Lamancusa competed against were: NITRO Beverage Co, Simply Soupreme, Sip City, Drink Peloton, Element Shrub, Bevea, Waku Inc., Bold Brew Coffee, Origin Almond, Liquid Death and Poppilu.
On day one, each brand pitched to a panel of judges. Here's Jim's pitch.
Cusa Tea advanced to the finalists round on day two, as one of six brands to advance. On day two, each brand pitched to a panel of judges comprised of BevNET CMO Mike Schneider, BIGR Managing Partner Carole Buyers, Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda and VEB VP of Incubation Matt Hughes.
According to Schneider, "This was one of the most competitive New Beverage Showdowns that we have had to date and I'm excited about the possibility of each of the contestants."
The judges also said that the eventual finalists stood apart from the rest thanks to strong branding, the ability to platform and overall great taste.
Here's is Jim's pitch on day two.
This article was adapted from this one published by BevNET on June 6, 2018.
