Pricing growth remained elevated through the first half of this year at US retail for non-carbonated beverage categories tracked by BD. As shown in the table, that led to dollar sales growth even as volume declined for all tracked categories except plain bottled water. Pricing growth for the first half of the year for all categories except sports drinks outperformed their respective performance for the first quarter. That means pricing for those categories accelerated during the second quarter.

BODYARMOR DETERIORATED. Sports drink category performance at retail for the first half of the year eroded when compared to first-quarter results. Dollar sales grew +12.7%, compared to +19.5% growth in the first quarter. Volume sales declined -3.5% after having grown +2.4% in the first quarter. Pricing growth decelerated by almost 1 percentage point  in the first half compared to the first quarter. As shown in the accompanying Green Sheet, BodyArmor’s performance has decelerated since Coca-Cola acquired the brand last year. BodyArmor Dollar sales for the first six months grew +19.6%, compared to +36.4% during the first quarter. Volume grew +18.7%, which was roughly half the rate achieved in the first quarter. The brand posted dollar and volume growth rates in 2021 that exceeded +50.0%.

BRISK LIVES UP TO NAME. As shown in the Green Sheet, higher pricing for ready-to-drink teas in the first half of 2022 drove down volume sales significantly, leading to modest dollar sales growth of +0.2%. PepsiCo’s Lipton ready-to-drink tea portfolio posted dollar growth of +1.7% after +8.9% higher pricing that pushed volume sales lower. Core Lipton RTD brand sales declined. Brisk tea sales were just that for the PepsiCo-Lipton joint tea venture as the brand achieved both dollar and volume growth as pricing was up +10.8%. Arizona posted a modest dollar sales increase as pricing offset an -8.2% volume decline. Honest posted dollar and volume sales growth despite a +16.6% pricing increase as consumers rushed to buy the product before it is discontinued this year.

BLUETRITON GROWS. BlueTriton grew plain bottled water sales in the first half of this year on the back of the company’s largest regional brands, which posted higher dollar sales, volume sales, and pricing. As shown in the Green Sheet, the overall increases trailed the category as BlueTriton’s largest brand, Pure Life, posted dollar and volume sales declines even as pricing was stable. (Note: BlueTriton President of Retail Paul Norman will speak at Future Smarts 2022 on Dec. 5). Meanwhile, PepsiCo’s Aquafina outperformed Coca- Cola’s Dasani. Nestle’s Essentia and Keurig Dr Pepper’s Core Hydration posted double-digit  percentage dollar and volume sales gains. Private label water made up more than half of the category at retail and grew faster than the category.