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Southern California has become the bestselling market for Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties.
Matt Moody, a Denver nutritional supplement developer who created the beverage, said the name is an unabashed reference to weed, though the relaxant compounds in kava are chemically unrelated to those in marijuana.
Along with drinks like Slow Cow and Ex Chill, Mary Jane's is part of a new group of so-called slow-down or anti-energy drinks, which are expected to be among the top food trends of 2010, according to advertising agency J. Walter Thompson.
They rely on folk-medicine sedatives, including kava, camomile and valerian, to provide an alternative to caffeine-laced and jitter-inducing energy drinks such as Red Bull.
The drinks purportedly promote calming, and they also take on the energy-drink category directly by claiming also to boost mental focus and concentration, said Ann Mack, director of trend-spotting at the ad agency.
Said Travis Arnesen, spokesman for Ex Drinks of Henderson, Nev.: "It is a new category, kind of like energy drinks, but designed to relax people. Just recently it has been picking up steam."
WineIDs: Countless varietals and vineyards can sometimes make finding - and remembering - a wine you like a confusing task. Thankfully, Dutch startup 94Wines has simplified the process, assigning each wine a unique color and number, known as WineIDs, rather than a name. The company created a short quiz that helps drinkers identify their respective personal WineIDs, which then directs them to the wines that meet their preferences. And in a high tech social twist, consumers are also able to attach personal digital content (could be a web page, video, e-card, whatever) to any bottle; they need only upload the content when they place an order, and the information is converted to a QR code that is then attached to the label.
Yelp Monocle: While it features many businesses beyond the food and beverages, Yelp has - for many Gens X'ers and Y's, at least - become the go-to site for consumer reviews on everything from the best veggie dumpling houses to the most authentic purveyors of Korean fried chicken. One of the first augmented reality (AR) apps for US consumers, Yelp's Monocle app takes advantage of the iPhone 3GS GPS and compass capabilities. Users simply shake their phones three times to unlock the "Monocle view," which offers an onscreen list of surrounding businesses and their ratings pulled from Yelp's directory. A superimposed arrow points users in the direction of each business. Next time, when you're around the corner from the secret king of all falafel houses, you'll know.
Stella Artois Le Bar Guide : Stella Artois has partnered with AR startup acrossair to create a free AR app for iPhone 3GS users that allows Stella fans craving a freshly tapped pour to get their drink on. As seen in this video, the Stella Artois Le Bar Guide layers the closest Stella-carrying bars onto an iPhone camera view. When users click on a location, the bar's information shows up, along with a map of the area. In addition, users can rate each location, leave comments or reviews for others to see, and, for those nights when getting behind the wheel is unthinkable, even call cabs using the app.
Southern California has become the bestselling market for Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties.
