As Consumers Blur Lines, Distributors Following Suit
September 5, 2024
Conditions are ripe for accelerated consolidation of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage distribution businesses in the US market, predicts Matt Hughes, a former Coca-Cola Venturing and Emerging Brands executive. That could mean even Coca-Cola and Pepsi franchise bottlers one day look to combine with beer distributors to add efficiency and boost...
CSD Priorities to Include Minicans, Flavors, Zero Sugar.
Gatorade Will Look to Deepen Gen Z Ties. Plus, New Energy for Rockstar.
Executives and operators from PepsiCo’s North America bottling system met recently in Las Vegas to discuss market plans for 2025. Ram Krishnan, who took over in January as CEO of PepsiCo Beverages North America, urged the audience...
The former CEO of Celsius and a former Coca-Cola veteran have partnered to launch what they say is a “rapid alcohol detoxification” beverage called Unbuzzd, as the market for hangover remedy drinks moves beyond mere...
Gehring Joins List of Possible CEO Successors at Iconic Energy Drink Company
June 20, 2024
Monster Beverage’s announcement last week that the company had appointed Swire Coca-Cola USA President and CEO Rob Gehring as chief growth officer is the latest signal that a significant management succession is underway at one of the world’s largest...
KDP to Acquire Kalil Bottling. Move Follows Effort to Take Back Reyes' Dr Pepper Territory in California
June 6, 2024
Keurig Dr Pepper has agreed to acquire Tucson, Arizona-based Kalil Bottling as KDP continues to bolster its company-owned direct-store-delivery (DSD) operation in the western US. The announcement Friday came weeks after KDP disclosed in a Texas lawsuit that it will not renew a franchise agreement with Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling to distribute Dr Pepper products in California, effective Oct. 27, 2025. Reyes, citing California franchise laws, has asked a California judge to force a renewal unless KDP can show cause for ending the franchise arrangement. That has sent some Dr Pepper bottlers into their contracts to assess termination risk. KDP’s aggressive new stance with Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling has raised industry questions about whether more such moves are planned by KDP as part of a strategy to take back Dr Pepper territory from Coke and Pepsi bottlers. Or, is the Reyes non-renewal simply a special and opportunistic circumstance driven by geography and existing synergies?
Meanwhile, CEO Troy Taylor Sees Possible New Horizon in Alcohol
May 8, 2024
Bottler Embraces Role as Tester of Product and Packaging Innovation
Plus: Parcel Delivery Effort Seeks Profitability Down to Six-Pack
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida has come a long way since Troy Taylor leveraged his relationships and expertise as an advisor to Coca-Cola to win franchise bottling territory under Coca-Cola’s massive refranchising effort a decade ago. What started as central Florida territory anchored by Tampa/St. Petersburg has expanded to the entire...
Company Has ‘One Leader,” Gamgort Says of Leadership Transition to Cofer
May 8, 2024
Among Priorities, Cofer Looks to Add Scale to Owned DSD Network.
Gamgort Offers View of Dr Pepper Territories Handled by Coke and Pepsi.
In RTD Coffee, Execs See Chance to ‘Carve Out a Space.’
Full Ownership Not Requirement in Partnership Deals.
Distribution of Athletic Possible?
Plus: Dr Pepper Reaches Milestone in 2023.
Keurig Dr Pepper has a new leader. The company’s board promoted COO Tim Cofer to CEO on April 26 as planned and appointed him to the board. He succeeds...
Growth Priorities Include Aluminum Bottles, Saratoga, Expanded 5-Gallon Reach
April 17, 2024
Bottled water producer BlueTriton is rolling out a new premium aluminum bottle for its Pure Life and regional spring water brands, including Poland Spring, Arrowhead, and Deer Park. The package is among a host of growth priorities for the company, said CEO Joey Bergstein in an interview. BlueTriton was formed about...
In the summer of 2021, Dave Burwick’s career path collided with itself. That’s when Boston Beer, the maker of Sam Adams craft beer and Truly Hard Seltzer, announced a partnership with PepsiCo to create Hard Mtn Dew. Burwick was President and CEO of Boston Beer. Earlier in his career, he spent 20 years at PepsiCo, where he once managed the Mtn Dew brand before eventually becoming...