Last week’s season finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" was of special interest to us here at Sip & Savor for a number of reasons.  Not only did it spotlight some excellent charities benefiting autism and diabetes research, but the future of funding for these great programs will be coming from beverage sales.  To be more specific, Snapple sales - and the episode prominently featured ABA's Chairman of the Board, Mr. Larry Young, president and CEO of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

The final challenge for the top two contestants, Brett Michaels of "Rock of Love" and rock band Poison fame and actress Holly Robinson Peete, was one in which our member companies have some significant experience.  They had to create a new, tasty non-alcoholic beverage, label it and develop a marketing campaign to showcase their new brand. To make it even more exciting, they had only three days to pull it off. 

The show was a unique look into the world of beverage innovation.  Peete employed the help of celebrity chef Curtis Stone to help her pair flavors for Compassionberry Tea™.  Michaels, on the other hand, went for a diet, tropical flavored beverage.

In the end, however, it came down to the total package.  And Brett Michaels, with his Diet Snapple Trop-A-Rocka™ Tea, took the win.  According to Mr. Young, "Brett is very Snapple.  He has that Snapple attitude," or "snappitude" as they said on the show.  Brett Michaels' win was an emotional ride, as he had to take breaks from taping when he was hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage.

It was truly a remarkable competition between two very inspiring competitors. Both Peete and Michaels were incredibly driven and both support excellent causes.  You can read more about the competition in this news release put out by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group earlier this week, and we hope that you'll stay tuned in to Sip & Savor for more fun and exciting news from the beverage world.