Decades-Long ‘Hobby’ Looks to Capitalize on Consumer Desire for Canned Water
February 1, 2023
Brand Backed By Former Hedge Fund Owner, Major League Pickleball Founder
Richard’s Rainwater has spent the last couple of years making sure the brand won’t be ignored. Fresh off a 2021 Series A funding round that was north of $10 million, the Austin, Texas-based packager of actual rainwater has been expanding shelf presence at retailers including Kroger, Albertson’s and HEB, adding production capacity, and executing an aggressive publicity campaign. If you hadn’t heard of the still nascent brand previously, you’d be...
Meanwhile, Can BodyArmor Regain Pre-Acquisition Momentum
February 1, 2023
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...
Monster Targets Liquid Death, Celsius, Hard Mtn Dew With 2023 Launches
February 1, 2023
The Beast Unleashed Alcohol Offering to Walk Careful Line, CEO Makes Clear
Monster Beverage executives announced they will use a new in-house non-alcoholic beverage incubator called Monarchy to distribute brands that aren’t yet large enough for partner Coca-Cola’s direct store delivery system. Monarchy will be operated out of...
During last year’s bear market, the S&P 500 index fell nearly -20%. Still, the share prices for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo outperformed the broader market to end the year at +7.4% and +4.0%, respectively. Monster Beverage’s +5.7% gain also beat...
KDP CEO Says Investment, Distribution Deal to Unlock C-Stores, Cold Placements
December 19, 2022
Keurig Dr Pepper followed its surprise $50 million November investment in Athletic Brewing with a far larger deal in December – an $863 million investment in C4 performance energy drink maker Nutrabolt. KDP also becomes Nutrabolt’s long-term sales and distribution partner. While ready-to-drink C4 ...
Major US non-carbonated beverage categories generated higher pricing at retail during the first nine months of 2022, which lead to dollar gains in all categories tracked by BD. While volume fell for all categories except plain bottled water, the declines did not show accelerated erosion compared to the six-month trend. Sports drinks and plain bottled...
Coke Zero Sugar Passes Diet Pepsi in 3Q After +12.6% Volume Gain
November 9, 2022
Consumers cut their carbonated soft drink consumption at US retail during the first nine months of 2022 relative to the same period in 2021. Strong pricing growth of +14% for the total CSD category drove dollar sales almost +12% higher, according to BD data. Volume declined -2.0% (decelerating from -2.2% for the first six months of this year), reflecting a...