New York is one of the hardest hit COVID-19 regions in the world. It’s also the home to Big Geyser, one of the largest and most important independent beverage distributors (and incubators) in the US. The company serves almost 13 million consumers in New York City’s five boroughs and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. BD spoke this week to Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda to find out how the company is responding to the crisis. He estimated that only about...

Same-store gasoline sales in the US fell during the week ending March 14, according to data released late last week by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). Initial data for the week ending March 21 indicates the decline could be...

Since early March, BD has tracked the COVID-19 crisis through the eyes of beverage executives in the Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and independent bottling systems. By last week, a period of frenzied demand had given way to a more normalized sales pattern, bottlers and distributors said. Some are now bracing for...  Story includes direct comments from beverage bottlers and distributors.

As consumers reacted in March to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Beverage Digest provided live updates on the impact to the US non-alcoholic beverage industry. Here is that coverage in its entirety.

During a Jan. 30 conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter earnings report, CEO James Quincey was asked about potential impacts from the Coronavirus outbreak in China. And in an interview, he discusses plans for Costa Coffee in the US...

Coke Zero Sugar was last year’s star growth performer at retail among the 10 largest US carbonated soft drinks (CSDs). As shown in the Green Sheet attached to this article, the brand posted dollar growth of almost...

Coca-Cola’s Powerade will reassert itself in the US this year with increased marketing and advertising spending, and two major product introductions. A new Powerade Power Water will go head-to-head with PepsiCo’s Propel fitness water for the first time since Propel’s introduction 20 years ago. Like Propel, the sugar-free electrolyte- and vitamin-enhanced Power Water will target lower-impact workout occasions or casual daily hydration. The second new product, Powerade Ultra, will focus on endurance workouts ranging from triathlons to body building...

Keurig Dr Pepper Chief Commercial Officer Derek Hopkins has been as close as anyone to the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple. Hopkins served as chief integration officer for the transaction and before that was president of Keurig Green Mountain’s US business. His experience in the global beverage industry is deep, with stints at Coca-Cola, AB InBev, Bacardi and Guiness Diageo. The following is a recap of his Future Smarts conference interview in Dec. 9 in New York.

7-Eleven hosted its second-annual “Brands With Heart” event to get an early and organized look at the crowded pipeline of US food and beverage startups. BD spoke to Harkness to better understand 7-Eleven’s strategy around emerging brands.