My goal for our annual Future Smarts conference is to curate a lineup of speakers who are on the cutting edge of the most interesting story lines of the year.

Just this morning, we announced that PepsiCo Global Foodservice President Anne Fink has joined our Dec. 16 program in New York City. Her team won a major victory this year by closing a 10-year beverage supply agreement with Subway in the US. And her team is collaborating with partner Celsius on the energy drink company’s foodservice strategy (pg 8).

In today’s issue (pg. 9), we write about Coca-Cola’s Fairlife business, led by protein shake brand Core Power, which has been a resounding success for the company. Future Smarts Speaker John Murphy, Coke’s president and CFO, played a major role in the company’s 2020 acquisition and integration of Fairlife.

From the world of retail, Future Smarts will host Stuart Aitken, who is Kroger’s chief merchant and marketing Officer. The retail chain is in the midst of an almost two-year merger process with Albertsons that would create the country’s largest supermarket chain (pg. 14).

In beverage distribution, another story this year is Keurig Dr Pepper’s work to optimize and bolster its company-owned distribution system. KDP’s US Refreshment Beverages President Andrew Archambault will join us to discuss that strategy. We’ll also...