John Fieldly Breaks Down PepsiCo Distribution Deal.
September 7, 2022
When John Fieldly stepped into Celsius as CFO in 2012, things weren’t going well. He recalls being kicked out of Costco, which was responsible for about 60% of sales. The same thing happened at retailers including Walgreens, CVS, and Harris Teeter. The velocities just weren’t there for what was then a “negative calorie drink” that promised...
BD caught up with former Coca-Cola sales executive Jim Brennan a month after he was hired full-time by startup beverage brand Lemon Perfect. Brennan has served as an advisor to the Atlanta-based company’s Founder and CEO Yanni Hufnagel since early 2021, helping open doors at key retailers including Kroger, Costco, and Safeway. That requires meetings with retailers and other hands-on work, and as Brennan was pulled deeper into...
‘The Plastics Issue is Not Going Away,’ Executive Says
August 18, 2022
Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages has become the first beverage manufacturer to replace plastic rings and shrink wrap with paperboard holders for can multipacks. The bottler is now using a KeelClip paperboard packaging system by Graphic Packaging to hold together six- packs of 7.5-oz minicans. More package sizes could be added...
Spoiler: The PepsiCo-Backed ‘Retronasal Smell’ Technology Works
August 18, 2022
BD recently wrote about the U.S. launch of Air Up, the German maker of a refillable bottle that uses pods to flavor plain water by smell instead of taste. PepsiCo is an investor in the company, which describes its technology, based on a scientific concept called “retronasal smell,” this way: “The flavored air travels from your mouth up to your olfactory center, where it’s perceived as flavor.” From packaging to materials, Air Up embodies an assortment of beverage trends that resonate with Gen Z and Millennial consumers: Healthfulness, design, personalization, technology, and sustainability. To better understand the Air Up offering, BD bought and used the product, which the...
Deal Gives PepsiCo Equivalent of 8.5% Stake in Celsius For $550M
August 2, 2022
PepsiCo will begin transitioning fast-growing fitness energy drink brand Celsius into its US bottling network during the fourth quarter, according to a PepsiCo letter to bottlers yesterday. PepsiCo had announced...
120-Year-Old Company Navigates Unprecedented Inflation With ‘Steady’ Strategy
July 15, 2022
Nestled in Winchester, Kentucky just outside Lexington and less than three miles from the Bluegrass Heritage Museum, craft soda maker Ale-8-One Bottling is a microcosm of the complex...
Company Looks to Expand Licensing, Co-Packing Work With Coke, Other Majors
July 15, 2022
Company Looks to Expand Licensing, Co-Packing Work With Coke, Other Majors
Owner and President Sees Long Growth Runway for Powdered Water Enhancers
During the past two years, West Chicago-based Jel Sert built a distillery, winery, and brewery into the middle of a half-million-square-foot food and beverage manufacturing plant that for almost...
Store Ad Review: July 4 Promos Strike Balance for Strapped Consumers
July 15, 2022
US Inflation surged by +9.1% during the 12 months ending in June, according to newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the largest year-over-year spike in the consumer price index in more than four...
Solutions Sought as Booze Market Taps Non-Alcoholic Brands
June 23, 2022
Coca-Cola is considering compensating its franchise bottlers in the US for company- sanctioned ready-to-drink alcohol beverages sold in bottlers’ exclusive territories, BD has learned from bottling executives. Just last week, Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman and Coca-Cola announced a “global relationship” for a Jack & Coke canned cocktail to be launched in Mexico later this year. While other...