Keurig Dr Pepper has taken a $50 million minority equity stake in Athletic Brewing, the US-based non-alcoholic craft beer brand that has propelled interest in the growing segment. The companies will announce the investment this morning. KDP’s stake is on par with other lead investors in the brand, including TRB Advisors and Alliance Consumer Growth. “We’re thrilled to welcome Keurig Dr Pepper as an investor and strategic partner,” Athletic Co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt told BD in an email. “...

Coca-Cola will eliminate an unspecified number of jobs within its North America Operating Unit under a voluntary separation program announced internally today. The employee reduction will set the stage for structural changes under incoming NAOU President Jennifer Mann to be announced later, BD has learned. Mann, who will succeed Alfredo Rivera in the role on Jan. 1, has met with hundreds of ...

At an annual convention and trade show for beer distributors last week, the National Beer Wholesalers Association warned attendees of what they see as unfair encroachment by PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud Distribution, according to Wall Street analysts who wrote about the meeting. When asked about criticisms leveled at PepsiCo and Blue Cloud, Blue Cloud executives sent BD the following rebuttal, which is reprinted in its entirety...

Creations Continues. Fanta Reformulates. Sports Drinks Ambitions.
Meals Marketing. Smartwater Gets Smarter.

Coca-Cola’s North America Operating Unit hosted executives from its franchised bottling system at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta recently to discuss market plans for 2023. Next year’s playbook is centered on “Epic Bets,” Coke North America representatives told bottlers in attendance. The bets include 1) marketing Coca-Cola during...

Niagara Bottling, one of the largest beverage manufacturers in North America, is seeing a continued shift by brands from hot fill and retort beverage processing to aseptic processing for beverages that are sensitive to certain microorganisms that could cause spoilage. Aseptic filling uses high temperatures for a short period of time to sterilize a beverage liquid. The liquid is then cooled to ambient temperatures and placed into a sterilized package within a sterilized processing environment until capped and sealed. Hot fill and retort methods, also used to package drinks that contain few or no preservatives, require heavier packaging, including glass, to withstand high temperatures for longer periods and during the filling process. According to Niagara VP of Commercialization...

In the third quarter of this year, many of the public beverage companies and retailers tracked by BD once again saw their stocks shed more value or stay in the red compared to the first six months of 2022 as they continued to...

Pabst Brewing has discontinued its Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee product and is depleting existing inventory, two distributors told BD. One of the distributors said the core SKU is now unavailable to them. The distributors...