Pepsi to Stage Concert at Former Coke Museum in Atlanta
February 1, 2019
Super Bowl sponsor PepsiCo is used to being in enemy territory. The last four Super Bowls were hosted by cities where Coca-Cola enjoys a market share lead in carbonated soft drinks, as the table below shows. While the same holds true this year for Super Bowl LIII, the stakes are even higher as Coke’s hometown Atlanta plays host.
Company Secures Brewing Capacity as Regulatory Clouds Part.
February 1, 2019
With all the promise and hype surrounding the emerging cannabis-infused beverage space, BD invited a pair of beverage executives to Future Smarts 2018 to discuss their work in the sector.
In a Jan. 24 report, analysts at RBC Capital Markets compared the portfolios and social media data for Monster Beverage and Bang Energy. Bang gained attention from analysts last year as a potential threat to Monster’s core energy offerings (BD 10/26/18).
Says Plastic Packaging ‘Huge Risk’ for Beverage Industry
February 1, 2019
BD’s Dec. 7 Future Smarts conference featured an interview with Kate Daly, executive director of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Starbucks and McDonald’s are among 14 consumer product companies that have partnered with Closed Loop since 2015 to make recycling more viable.
Last July, Winston-Salem, NC-based Primo Water found itself caught up in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. The U.S. imposed import tariffs on about 6,000 Chinese goods worth about $200 billion.
On Dec. 20, Dirty Lemon parent company Iris Nova announced $15 million in seed funding that includes a minority investment by Coca-Cola. Coke’s Venturing & Emerging Brands unit has paid close attention to Dirty Lemon. The brand gained attention for its unique go-to-market strategy, which founder and CEO Zak Normandin has named c-commerce, or “conversational commerce.”
Coca-Cola North America has upgraded its customer center in Atlanta to make better use of technologies such as virtual reality. The newly-renovated and renamed KOlab 600 is linked to existing space where sales teams collaborate with retailers and restaurant operators. BD got a look at the center during a Jan. 3 ribbon cutting by CCNA President Jim Dinkins.
Late Year Slump Hits National Beverage Hard. KDP, SBUX, KO Gain. PEP, MNST Down
January 18, 2019
Beverage company share prices tracked by BD were generally weak in 2018 thanks to sluggish U.S. markets and a December decline that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed almost 2500 points. The market has since regained some of those losses. Bright spots for 2018 were Keurig Dr Pepper, Starbucks and the U.S.-traded shares of Coca-Cola European Partners.
BD held its annual Future Smarts conference on Dec. 7, 2018 in New York. Many of the sessions were covered in the Dec. 14 issue. The following is a synopsis of a panel with Wall Street analysts who cover public beverage companies. BD will publish highlights of sessions covering cannabis and plastic sustainability in the next issue.
On Jan. 15, Birmingham-based Pepsi bottler Buffalo Rock sued PepsiCo for breach of contract, alleging the franchisor has failed to stop the transshipping of unauthorized products such as Pepsi-Cola and Mtn Dew into Buffalo Rock’s exclusive territory. Buffalo Rock’s franchise rights cover portions of Alabama, West Georgia and Florida. The lawsuit asks for at least $1 million in actual damages, plus more for punitive damages. PepsiCo’s company-owned bottler, Pepsi Beverages Co., also is named.