PepsiCo is considering raising carbonated soft drink concentrate prices to independent bottlers by as much as 10% later this year to help offset higher costs, including from tariffs, BD has learned. In April, the...
Strategy for Newly Acquired Gut Soda Pioneer is to ’Let Poppi Be Poppi’
June 18, 2025
PepsiCo is now integrating pioneering gut soda Poppi into its portfolio following the closing of a $1.95 billion acquisition last month. PepsiCo will need to hit the ground running to fend off competition from another...
Q&A: Cannabis Law Expert Outlines Risks and Rewards; Makes Sense of Wild West Market
May 1, 2025
When Philadelphia-based attorney Seth Goldberg started representing businesses and individuals looking to expand into cannabis 10 years ago, a lot of his work focused on state-licensed cultivators, product manufacturers, and dispensaries in regulated state markets. In recent years, the market has evolved to an emphasis on cannabis as a functional ingredient in food and beverage products. Goldberg’s clients now include a food company looking to expand into THC edibles and a beverage company looking to add a line of THC drinks. THC is the psychoactive component in marijuana. His practice is constantly evolving with shifts in state and federal law and enforcement — or the lack thereof. Without clarity and consistency in the regulation of cannabis-infused food and beverages nationally, entrepreneurs with an appetite for risk have forged a patchwork market for unregulated THC drinks containing psychoactive ingredients such as delta-8 and delta-9. Often, these companies exploit loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed cannabis with low concentrations of THC from the Controlled Substances Act and called it hemp. Delta-8 and delta-9 THC drinks are popping up outside of regulated dispensaries in states like Minnesota and Texas. You might even find such products at the local convenience store in your state. “There’s been a real evolution in terms of how cannabis consumer packaged goods are being marketed in 2025 relative to when I got into this is 2015,” Goldberg, a business litigation partner at law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, said in an interview with Beverage Digest. He is co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis & Hemp Law practice. The flood of new THC beverages across the US is now catching the attention of state legislators and regulators. Just this month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation that limits the amount of THC in drinks that aren’t sold by state licensed cannabis distributors. A bill in Tennessee prohibits the sale of hemp-derived THC drinks at convenience stores and groceries. A number of other states including Florida and Georgia have attempted legislation governing this new crop of THC beverages. Hemp-based THC drinks haven’t captured the attention of the Trump administration, however. BD’s Duane Stanford spoke to Goldberg to better understand this exploding THC beverage market...
Concentrate list pricing for flagship Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and other carbonated soft drinks produced by US Coke bottlers rose...
Pilot Projects in 2023 Expanded Nationally Late Last Year
January 9, 2025
Turn over a can or bottle of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in the US and you’ll find a new ingredient — stevia. The natural sweetener is now part of a formula that already included aspartame and acesulfame potassium. The new...
KDP to Acquire Ghost Energy. Also Will Distribute Bloom Energy.
October 28, 2024
Keurig Dr Pepper has agreed to acquire Ghost Energy, the beverage brand co-created by its founders and Anheuser-Busch and distributed by AB's network. We talked to Ghost Co-founder and CEO Dan Lourenco about the deal and what he hopes to gain for his brand and product portfolio. The full interview is included.
AI Energy Formulated for Enhanced Brain Function and Mood, Owoc Says
October 11, 2024
Bang Energy founder and former CEO Jack Owoc is launching a new energy drink. Called Ai Energy, the product will launch in the coming weeks. The introduction follows Bang's bankruptcy sale to rival Monster last year. Exclusive full interview and details.
Coke and Pepsi Announce Competing Canned Rum & Coke Products
October 3, 2024
Coca-Cola has appointed a new president of its Red Tree Beverages ready-to-drink alcohol business in the US. This comes as both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have announced rum and cola canned cocktail launches as part of a new front in the cola wars...
While Consumers Spending Less, Category Still Delivers Value, John Fieldly Says
September 19, 2024
Brand Looks to Help C-Stores Attract Traffic.
As PepsiCo Partner, Fieldly Sees ‘Massive’ Foodservice Opportunity.
While Even ’More Optimistic’ on International Expansion, Will Remain ‘Methodical.’
No. 3 energy drink maker Celsius hasn’t been immune to the intensifying slowdown this year in the US energy drink market. The company’s volume and dollar sales growth rates that were in the