On October 29, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper announced a joint US initiative organized by the American Beverage Association to reduce plastic waste from bottles. The program, called “Every Bottle Back,” will incorporate expertise from the World Wildlife Fund, the Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners, according to the ABA. A key pillar of the initiative will be to reduce the use of new plastic for beverage packaging. Progress toward that goal will be measured with a tracking tool being developed by the World Wildlife Fund. BD wanted to know more about the tool, so we spoke to WWF Materials Lead Alix Grabowski.

Coca-Cola has now confirmed details of its mainstream sparkling water launch, which we first wrote about in August (BD 8/29/19). Called Aha, the brand’s March debut will challenge National Beverage’s LaCroix and PepsiCo’s Bubly. Until now, Coke has resisted entering the mainstream sparkling water category with a sweeping challenger, opting instead for line extensions of Dasani and Smartwater, plus Topo Chico. Aha marks a reversal of that strategy as Coca-Cola aims to capitalize on the struggles of market leader LaCroix while slowing down the relatively unchecked growth of category disruptor Bubly. Aha’s success will depend largely on Coke’s ability to grab consumers’ attention in a crowded category that offers little differentiation between mainstream formulas.

During an Oct. 28 conference call with analysts, Femsa CEO Eduardo Padilla said the Mexico-based company remains interested in expanding into the US convenience store market. The company, which controls Latin American bottler Coca-Cola Femsa, also owns Oxxo, the largest chain of convenience stores in Mexico and Latin America with about 18,000 locations. Padilla’s comment was in response to

In Washington DC, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper announced a joint US initiative organized by the American Beverage Association to reduce plastic waste from bottles. The program, called...

A federal judge in Florida has denied a request for a preliminary injunction by Bang Energy-owner Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) to stop Monster Beverage from distributing its Reign Total Body Fuel energy drink in its current trade dress. In March...

BD caught up with Celsius and A Shoc during the recent NACS show in Atlanta. Celsius CEO John Fieldly said the company has embarked on aggressive plans to...

In 2015, UK-based Seedlip pioneered a now small but fast-growing category of distilled non-alcoholic drinks that mimic spirits. Sometimes referred to as “alternative spirits,” these drinks have tapped into the growing consumer desire for low- or no-alcohol bar choices. The alternative spirits category is far less defined in the US, which is why startup Ritual Zero Proof caught our attention after its launch last month. According to co-founder and crime novelist Marcus Sakey, Ritual soon will announce “significant” funding from a strategic investor. We reached out to Sakey to learn more about the category. The following interview is edited for clarity and space...

This year's NACS trade show in Atlanta, with exhibits that covered the space of almost two football fields, offered a first look at innovation being sold into retailers for 2020. The products pictured are some of the newest innovations from Coke, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper and Nestle. These products mostly launch late this year and early next year.