For decades, Coca-Cola’s Powerade existed to fight off US sports drink leader Gatorade, which created what is now at least a $12 billion category, according to BD all-channel data. In more recent years, Powerade all but faded into the background, overshadowed by a challenger called BodyArmor that pledged to displace PepsiCo-owned Gatorade with claims of better-for-you ingredients and an in-your-face marketing voice. That may now change. A year after acquiring BodyArmor and merging it into a standalone unit with Powerade, Coca-Cola is ready to get...

Coca-Cola has announced the promotion of Latin America Operating Group President Henrique Braun to a new role as President of International Development. The appointment makes him a top contender to succeed Chairman and CEO James Quincey. When he starts officially on Jan. 1, Braun will oversee ...

Allow me to catch you up on plans for our Future Smarts conference on Dec. 5. Our return to New York City after two years of successful virtual shows promises to deliver an expert lineup as good as we’ve ever hosted.

Just yesterday I confirmed our most recent speaker addition: Michael Del Pozzo, the new president and general manager for PepsiCo’s Gatorade Performance Portfolio. The unit includes Propel, Muscle Milk, Evolve plant-based protein shakes, and now Fast Twitch energy drink for athletes. We haven’t announced Del Pozzo’s appearance, so consider this a sneak peek. BodyArmor in recent years has re-ignited a category that had become sleepy. It’s now a free-for-all and Gatorade hasn’t backed away from...

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...

We’re back in New York City for Future Smarts this year and I can’t wait. After two years of successful virtual conferences during the pandemic lockdown, the team here didn’t hesitate to dive back into a live event. Why? Because of you.

Future Smarts is critical connective tissue for the Beverage Digest community. It’s there that attendees catch up with old industry friends to strengthen bonds – and make new connections. Over the years, many beverage deals have been hatched during sideline huddles. Attendees get out of local markets and offices to hear and share perspectives from around the country and world.

In speaker presentations and interviews, we...

With our Dec. 6 Future Smarts conference a little more than a month away, this is a great time to share a few of the themes we will explore this year. We are in a pivotal reset period for the global beverage industry following the extreme disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. To help sort it out, we’ve assembled an exceptional lineup of speakers who are well-placed to evaluate the implications of the past two years and share insight on what to expect. They include leaders ...