Bloomberg Línea — The story goes that Argentine entrepreneur Carlos Sluman, founder and CEO of Beliv, a company that develops healthy drinks based on Latin American products, and one of his partners were invited by the singer Marc Anthony to have dinner on his yacht in Miami, since the singer-songwriter had become interested in the beverage business.
Thus, the Beliv executives arrived in Miami and met with the singer, even though the plans were altered due to the need for the yacht to sail and pick up Romeo Santos, and Magnus Media, the artist’s firm, became a partner of Beliv.
“Marc Anthony lives in Miami, but his blood is Puerto Rican, and he feels there is an imbalance between what the US and Europe see of Latin America and what Latin America has to offer,” Sluman, whose company is under the umbrella of Central America Bottling Corporation (CBC), tells Bloomberg Línea.
The health beverage company had a turnover of $70 million last year in the United States.
The trend toward healthy foods
According to Research And Markets’ report Functional foods and beverages: global market analysis and trajectory, this market be worth $218.3 billion by 2026. Meanwhile, the US market was estimated to be valued at at $59.8 million in 2022, while the market in China is forecast to be worth $27.6 million by 2026.
“Future market growth will be driven by the increasing efficacy of functional foods, beverages and their active ingredients to enable healthy living. Strong demand is anticipated for mineral- and vitamin-fortified beverages, sports and energy drinks; rich in protein, promoting digestive health, with antioxidants and with lighter amounts of ingredients represent another major growth driver,” the survey says.
This trend picked up pace during the Covid-19 pandemic, when individuals sought a healthier diet.
“There has been a huge awareness in terms of all kinds of habits, not just consumer habits,” says Sluman. “Making products that do good is our hope, but it doesn’t answer the pandemic itself.”
Water, carbonated soda, nectars and juices and functional beverages are at the core of Beliv’s business, which has more than 40 beverage brands in the more than 35 countries where it has a presence.
Among its brands are Citric and Petit.
Defined as a bevtech, the use of technology and artificial intelligence is what makes the company able to put the consumer at the center of the business and anticipate trends, especially in a market as competitive as the United States.
“To develop the business we start from our capabilities, from what we know how to do and adapt them to gain synergies,” Sluman says. “But sometimes it is not adaptable. That’s why we come to a country studying the market through digital tools. The idea is to co-create with the consumer, taking advantage of the digital ecosystem. That is why there is no surprise when a beverage is launched because we develop it with the consumer.”
This is precisely what convinced Marc Anthony, who is extensively involved in the company.
Together with the singer, the company developed OCA from scratch, a tapioca-based beverage that was launched in Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica in 2020. Three years later it has begun gaining ground in the United States and China.
“Our bet on the US is very strong, even more so than on Latin America,” says Sluman.
“It’s as if you were building a soccer team in Europe and then going to play in Argentina. We thought about where we could play the most complicated game, and that was in the US. If the portfolio works well there, we can adapt it to the Latin American market”.
To that end, the partnership with Marc Anthony was essential. “He and his team are a lot of fun to work with. He helps us influence influencers. From artists to gym chain owners. There is great chemistry with him and he has an intelligence from another plane, like all creatives. He sees things we don’t all see, and that’s a wonderful contribution,” Sluman says, adding that the trust is mutual.
“It is necessary for the artist to be an entrepreneur,” Sluman adds.
New acquisitions
The public is as varied as the company’s drinks portfolio in the US, Sluman says.
There are what he calls “nostalgia products” that immigrants or their children used to consume, and they are the customers who continue to choose them.
“These are very strong brands where they have critical mass,” Sluman says, adding that the flavors and ingredients of each country are infinite and the appetite in the world for them is enormous.
Because of this, the company’s direction will be marked by acquisitions in the US. Beliv recently bought a kombucha manufacturer, a probiotic soda manufacturer and a coffee company.
“There will be many acquisitions in the US with the intention of integrating new categories to be as cutting-edge as we can be,” he says.
Beliv has also a JV in China in a firm called Zig Ventures to strengthen its brands in that country, where Citric juices are already strongly positioned.
Among the companies they collaborate with is Chew Innovation, a restaurant that is also a laboratory which made some of their drinks’ formulas.
When asked about the airs of recession in the US, Sluman said: “crises are like the law of gravity, they will always exist. It is very important how you take it, as a company or as a person, because crises are neutral events. We must always see what is coming as an opportunity, we must clear our heads of what we know”.
-This article was amended on April 18 to reflect Beliv’s relationship with some of the companies mentioned here.
