Coca-Cola has now confirmed details of its mainstream sparkling water launch, which we first wrote about in August (BD 8/29/19). Called Aha, the brand’s March debut will challenge National Beverage’s LaCroix and PepsiCo’s Bubly. Until now, Coke has resisted entering the mainstream sparkling water category with a sweeping challenger, opting instead for line extensions of Dasani and Smartwater, plus Topo Chico. Aha marks a reversal of that strategy as Coca-Cola aims to capitalize on the struggles of market leader LaCroix while slowing down the relatively unchecked growth of category disruptor Bubly. Aha’s success will depend largely on Coke’s ability to grab consumers’ attention in a crowded category that offers little differentiation between mainstream formulas.

This year's NACS trade show in Atlanta, with exhibits that covered the space of almost two football fields, offered a first look at innovation being sold into retailers for 2020. The products pictured are some of the newest innovations from Coke, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper and Nestle. These products mostly launch late this year and early next year.

The meal replacement shake category is worth watching. One such purveyor, Huel, is planning a bricks-and-mortar expansion in the US, according to CEO James McMaster, who spoke to BD this week from New York...

Bang’s rapid market share gains this year have generated heated industry discussion about the fate of Monster and disruption within the energy category. Coca-Cola bottlers, meanwhile, are rolling out Monster’s answer, Reign. Since Reign’s late March debut, BD has spotted the product mostly in the convenience channel. Photos of cooler placements are from a Pilot outside Orlando, a QuikTrip outside Atlanta and a 7-Eleven in New Jersey. We also found a significant activation at ...

Bottler View. To get a broader view of the rollout on the ground, BD reached out to a number of Coca-Cola bottling system executives...

Carbonated soft drink category pricing in the four weeks ending Feb. 23 continued to outpace the 52- week period...insights and data included.

The number of convenience stores (c-stores) in the U.S. fell by -1.1% last year, driven in large part by a decrease in single-store operators, according to statistics reported recently