Suja Organic is leaning into influencer-driven experiential marketing this summer, partnering with TV personality and podcast host Ashley Iaconetti to spotlight its Loves collection — a lineup of better-for-you functional refreshers sold at retailers nationwide. The activation centers on a public consumer event at City Pickle in New York City on August 1, 2026.
The partnership draws on Iaconetti's public profile as a romance-forward media figure, mirroring the brand's "Summer of Loves" promotional theme. For operators and buyers tracking where better-for-you beverage brands are directing their marketing energy, the move reflects a broader industry pattern: cold-pressed and functional juice brands are increasingly investing in in-person, shareable moments to drive retail velocity rather than relying solely on digital advertising.
Brand Strategy
Suja Organic, owned by publicly traded Suja Life, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUJA), has positioned its Loves line as a gateway product — functional ingredients in an approachable, refreshing format that can appeal to health-curious consumers without requiring a committed wellness routine. The New York City event format, hosted at an urban recreational venue, signals the brand's intent to reach active lifestyle consumers in settings beyond the traditional grocery aisle.
For foodservice and hospitality buyers, celebrity-anchored campaigns like this one carry downstream implications: when a retail beverage brand gains consumer recognition through experiential events and influencer reach, placement requests to cafés, fitness studios, hotel grab-and-go cases, and similar non-traditional channels often follow. Tracking which beverage industry brands are building consumer momentum at the retail level can help operators anticipate demand before it arrives at their door.
What Operators Should Watch
Functional beverages — particularly cold-pressed juices positioned around wellness and clean ingredients — continue to outpace conventional juice categories at retail, and that consumer preference is increasingly crossing into restaurant and hospitality beverage programs. Brands with growing retail recognition and active marketing campaigns tend to surface faster on consumer request lists, making it worthwhile for beverage directors and buyers to stay current on what is gaining traction in the CPG space.
Suja Organic's Loves collection is available at retailers nationwide. Food & Beverage Magazine has previously covered the rise of functional beverages as a fast-growing segment across both retail and foodservice channels.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
