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?

Liquid refreshment beverage sales across all US measured and unmeasured channels in 2023 grew +7.9% by...tables included:

Table 1: U.S. LRB Category Volume and Dollar Performance FY2023

Table 2: Top U.S.Carbonated Soft Drink (CSD) Brands* FY2023

Table 3: Top U.S. Liquid Refreshment Beverages (LRB) Trademarks* FY2023

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...

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...

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...

PepsiCo is shifting its alcohol business strategy from distribution to brand licensing as the company looks to expand Hard Mtn Dew and Lipton Hard Iced Tea nationally at a faster pace, PepsiCo has confirmed to BD. Blue Cloud Distribution will be renamed...

Proposal Seen by Some as ‘Slippery Slope’ for Direct Store Delivery.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Emphasizing Premium and Immediate Consumption Water

Serious discussions are underway in the US Coke and Pepsi systems about plans to ship Dasani and Aquafina case pack bottled water to Walmart by warehouse delivery instead of...