The plain bottled water, enhanced water, and sports drinks categories all posted volume, dollar and pricing gains at US retail in 2021 as the global pandemic continued to spur at-home consumption. Pricing in all non-carb retail categories tracked by BD posted accelerated growth for the full year, compared to the first-nine months of 2021. The higher pricing was triggered in part by escalating input costs for beverage makers, who took pricing actions to protect or recover profit margins. The table provides a snapshot of the non-carb categories tracked by BD for the full-year 2021. The Green Sheet on the following page provides further detail.

This week’s issue covers important discussions swirling within the US bottling systems for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. One story relates to Coke’s new alcohol beverage strategy (pg. 6). The other involves to PepsiCo’s distribution strategy for Gatorade (pg. 2). Make sure not to miss them. Separately, recent product launches including Coca-Cola Starlight (pg. 15) and Nitro Pepsi (pg. 16) got me thinking about how important it is for snack and beverage brands to reach young consumers. As a beverage writer, I am fortunate to have a built-in focus group...

A collection of recent developments from around the industry to keep you up to speed...

In 2020, BD flagged a young brand called Lemon Perfect that was picked up by distribution rainmaker Big Geyser and launched with some trepidation in New York City as the pandemic swept into the US. BD checked in with founder Yanni Hufnagel this month to see how the Beechwood Capital-backed brand has done since. He said he expects ...

A collection of key deals from around the industry so you don't miss a beat...

A collection of key deals from around the industry so you don't miss a beat...

US sparkling water category growth at retail has remained strong through the first three quarters of this year despite lapping strong pandemic-related growth last year. Dollar sales were up +9.5% on volume and pricing growth of almost...