PARTNERSHIP WITH KEHE DISTRIBUTORS REPRESENTS LANDMARK MOMENT IN PLUS BRAND GROWTH TRAJECTORY
JANUARY 17, 2025 – Plus Brand is pleased to announce that the company has entered into a strategic partnership with KeHE Distributors to facilitate the national distribution of Agua Plus alkaline water across the brand’s larger retail chains. KeHE is the largest distributor of natural & organic, specialty, and fresh products to more than 31,000 natural food stores, chain and independent grocery stores, e-commerce retailers, and other specialty products retailers throughout North America. The partnership is set to get under way with distribution to the most recent Agua Plus chain additions which include Albertsons and United Supermarkets.
With over 6,800 employee-owners and $8 billion in 2024 revenue, KeHE, a Certified B Corporation since 2015, drives its mission of serving to make lives better, throughout all aspects of its operation. It’s a perfect compliment to the Plus Brand mission which sets out to accomplish the same through products and technologies that meaningfully improve the day-to-day well being of health conscious yet busy people.
Through a focus on innovative packaging technologies that reduce excess waste and eliminate consumer health and safety concerns, Plus Brand merges important synergies with KeHE when it comes to a deeply rooted desire to drive key sustainability initiatives forward. The recent 2024 BCC Research Survey and Report on the topic of food and packaging waste caused by confusion provides industry-first quantifiable data that explores the vast scale of the problem and how Plus Brand and Agua Plus are working to solve it. The report, which includes a national sample size US household survey, was shared at the 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit. The data resulted in Plus Brand’s All-Scratch!® technology being included on the ReFED list of solution providers; a designation that recognizes data-driven solutions for the reduction of food waste. Coincidently, the KeHE sponsored “Retailer Best Practices for Wasting Less Food” guideline, developed by Dana Gunders, President of ReFED, focuses on key retailer initiatives in which products much like Agua Plus are making such a difference. Best practice number five in the guide is titled ‘Help your customers waste less at home’ and summarizes the importance of products and solutions like Agua Plus while noting that households are top contributors to food waste.
“The similarities in core values and beliefs between KeHE and Plus Brand really are quite striking” said Plus Brand Founder and CEO Chad Willis. “The connections on the sustainability side and the ReFED connection really reinforce in our mind the very organic fit with KeHE. We have a huge amount of respect for the network and culture they have built at KeHE and it has been a personal dream of mine to build a business to the point where it would have the opportunity to partner with them. However the speed at which we were able to get to this point, from product launch to widespread distribution, has surprised even myself. Most companies don’t get the opportunity to work with a titan like KeHE this quickly and we are very thankful to have put ourselves in the position to have that opportunity.”
The Plus Brand partnership with KeHE will provide the needed infrastructure and expertise to facilitate the more widespread availability of Agua Plus products nationally. With brand awareness growing quickly, product availability in some cities and states has been limited to national online order platforms like Amazon and Walmart. The addition of KeHE to facilitate the growing list of national product mandates will mean that more and more Americans will soon be able to also buy Agua Plus in person across their favorite brick and mortar retail locations.
In its most recently identified ‘Macro Trends for 2025’, KeHE merchants share an overview of the top five trends that will drive consumer preferences over the coming year. In a stroke of perfect timing, Agua Plus delivers on three of the five including:
DRINK YOUR HEALTH
“U.S. consumers are increasingly seeking functional beverages that align with their health goals.” Agua Plus delivers both in terms of clean minerals and electrolytes from pink mineral sea salt to fuel performance and through functional packaging to reduce waste and alleviate health concerns.
UNEXPECTED AREAS OF DISCOVERY
“Social media is rapidly shaping food and drink trend discovery, with platforms like TikTok driving viral sensations, often leading to impulse purchases.” Agua Plus social media content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok is driving organic online engagement and converting followers at an incredible rate.
NEW RULES OF AGING WELL
“Traditionally, healthcare in the U.S. focused largely on treating illnesses and managing symptoms. However, consumers are now taking a proactive approach to their health: prevention and longevity. Consumers are discovering new rules of aging well and the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices.” With consumer beverage preference shifting back towards non-alcoholic, no-sugar alternatives, Agua Plus is perfectly positioned.
Plus Brand National Sales Director George Zrinyi had the following to add, “So often corporate culture becomes nothing more than a few nice thoughts written down somewhere and it’s not much of a tangible experience. That’s not the case with KeHE. As a new partner we have been treated incredibly well by a multitude of very helpful KeHE team members who really care about aligning daily decisions with the larger vision. It makes us even more excited to test the limits of what is possible this year as we work together to scale the distribution of Agua Plus. As with every one of our distribution and retail partners, we are fully committed to continue using every medium at our disposal to grow brand awareness and drive traffic into our retailers. A great product doesn’t mean much if people don’t know about it and our ability to create that awareness is what has been our biggest catalyst. We have a lot of exciting new ambassadors and campaigns ready to launch this year to throw fuel on the fire of our growth! KeHE will be a key component on the distribution side through their ability to plug-in and support the scaling of our successful campaigns into additional regions. To be able to accomplish that while also being fully aligned with the identified key macro trends for 2025 is exciting to say the least!”
While influential brand ambassadors and fun campaigns to create awareness are important, it’s the product quality and innovation ultimately that drives demand. Agua Plus is premium alkaline water, bottled at a pH of 9+ and enhanced with pink mineral sea salt for added minerals & electrolytes and a smooth pristine taste. This focus on clean ingredients that provide functional benefits, without any of the chemicals often found on the nutrition panels of bottled water, has struck a chord with the rapidly growing Agua Plus customer base.
However, what truly sets the premium alkaline water apart is the company’s innovative All-Scratch!® technology. This unique bio-degradeable scratch ink allows a customer to scratch their name, initials, a picture or any identifying mark directly on the bottle and in doing so, solve the longstanding problem of bottle confusion. This simple yet effective functional packaging goes a long way towards reducing unnecessary waste and eliminating the risk of picking up a germ or virus from a bottle that belongs to someone else. All-Scratch!® is engineered to be water-resistant, ice-proof, condensation-proof, sun-resistant, heat-resistant and resistant to mild rubbing, ensuring that the identifying mark on the bottle remains intact and visible.
If you are a retailer that would like to carry Agua Plus, please feel free to reach out to your KeHE rep or to info@plusbrand.com in order to be connected with the distribution team. Plus Brand is committed to supporting wholesale customers with localized marketing and brand awareness campaigns to build demand within the regions served.
PLUS BRAND® INDUSTRIES LAUNCHES LATAM EXPANSION
Plus Brand® Industries, the consumer packaged goods and technology company behind the world’s first confusion-prevention and package-level verification platform, today announced the launch of its Latin America expansion strategy, anchored by production in Mérida, Mexico, and near-shore distribution through La Guaira, Venezuela.
WASTE & HEALTH ARE LINKED BY CONFUSION. HOW A PROVEN SCRATCH-BASED IDENTIFIER IS HELPING REDUCE DISCARDED BEVERAGES AND DETER SHARING-RELATED HEALTH RISKS
Plus Brand® Industries is advancing All-Scratch!®, a patented, market-tested ownership identification technology that reduces confusion-driven waste.