Bodyarmor to Modify Approach or ‘Substantiate’ Claims, Agency Says
October 1, 2019
Bodyarmor sports drink has agreed to re-evaluate several of its advertising claims related to PepsiCo’s market-leading Gatorade following a dispute that reached the Federal Trade Commission. According to a Sept. 13 letter by the FTC, Bodyarmor has agreed to...
US Version of Coca-Cola Energy Debuts This Week at NACS. National Launch Set For January. Company to Address Sparkling Water Gap. Powerade Plans Innovation Blitz in 2020.
October 1, 2019
Franchise bottlers for Coca-Cola North America met in Atlanta last month to evaluate innovation and system marketing plans for 2020. The theme of the meeting was “Ready to Execute.” CCNA President Jim Dinkins reiterated that the system’s strategy is dependent on...
Brand to Expand from Food Service to Large Format in 2020
September 17, 2019
Coca-Cola-owned Honest Tea began rolling out a new ready-to-drink organic cold brew coffee last month at select West Coast food service accounts. Honest will expand US distribution in 2020 nationally to other food service outlets and large-format retail stores. The product was sampled last week at Expo East in Boston. Cold Brew is Honest’s first US coffee launch. More launch details...
Two Years After Refranchising, Bottler Hits Stride in US
September 17, 2019
The past year has been good for Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages (CCSWB). The Dallas-based bottler, controlled by Mexico’s Arca Continental, took home the 2019 Candler Cup as Coca-Cola’s best bottler of the year globally. Before that, CCSWB was named Coke North America’s 2018 Market Street Challenge winner as the most improved bottler. And Southwest’s McAllen, Texas production plant earned a President’s Quality Award as CCNA’s No. 1 facility. The accolades rolled in just two years after Arca entered the US market as part of Coke’s massive refranchising of company-owned bottling assets in the US and Canada. In its first year, CCSWB faced Hurricane Harvey, which caused extensive flooding and damage in Houston, a key market. The bottler also faced soaring commodity costs. BD visited Houston recently for a curated market tour that served as a victory lap of sorts. The day was hosted by Coke Southwest executives including COO Jean Claude Tissot, a 21-year veteran of the Coca- Cola system in Latin America. The following recap includes images from the tour and commentary...
Pepsi to Push ‘Unapologetic Enjoyment.’ Dew to Invest in Core Markets. Gatorade to Take ‘Surgical Approach’ to Hot Weather. Bubly to Innovate.
September 17, 2019
PepsiCo brought together executives from its US bottling system in August to review new product and marketing plans for 2020. The company hosted the meeting at its Purchase, New York headquarters. Attendees included company-owned and independent franchise bottling executives. The gathering came six months after PepsiCo reorganized its North America beverage business into five divisions, four in the US and one in Canada. The meeting’s theme was...
A 100% stevia-sweetened variant of Coca-Cola first launched in New Zealand has moved closer to the US. The product, called Coca-Cola Stevia, gets prominent billing on...
Plus, First-Half 2019 Non-Carb Category and Brand Results at Retail
August 29, 2019
During the first half of this year, ready-to-drink tea sales by volume at US retail declined for all four of the largest producers as the category overall...