Wish List Includes Close Ties to Bottlers, Quick Decision Making, Total Beverage Innovation
March 25, 2026
Coca-Cola bottlers in the US are broadly optimistic about incoming Coca-Cola CEO Henrique Braun, expressing confidence that his ground-level understanding of local markets and emphasis on consumer and digital...
The average price of highway diesel fuel in the US has jumped up by $1.48 per gallon since March 2, which was two days after the US and Isreal began bombing Iran. That’s a 38% increase as of March 24, according to the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration. Regular gas of all types on average rose by 95 cents per gallon, for a +31% increase. That leaves Coke, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper bottlers...
Trump Administration, Kennedy Take Anti-Soda Message on the Road
March 5, 2026
Twenty-three states have now requested or been granted waivers to disallow soda purchases with SNAP benefits, a US Department of Agriculture spokesperson confirmed to BD this week. To date, 18 states have been...
Coke Suspends Orders to Bottlers and Retailers Until June Earliest
March 5, 2026
Coca-Cola bottlers on the West Coast and in the Southwest US are among the worst impacted by a temporary pause on Topo Chico Mineral Water supplies, according to BD sources. In a Feb. 17 letter to bottlers...
Company Takes Second BodyArmor Impairment Charge on 2021 Acquisition
February 17, 2026
Coke Execs See Progress in BodyArmor-Powerade ‘Dual Strategy’
2025 Sports Drink Category and Brand Performance at US Retail: Green Sheet
Coca-Cola is folding its BodyArmor Sports Nutrition unit, which includes Powerade, into a new Advanced Hydration unit to encompass Vitaminwater and Smartwater, as BD first reported in a Feb. 5 email news alert. BodyArmor and Powerade have operated...
Q&A With Niagara Senior Director of Logistics Niraj Jha
February 17, 2026
PepsiCo announced last month an initiative with German tech conglomerate Siemens and computer chip maker NVIDIA to create “digital twins” of manufacturing plants and warehouses. The goal is to use AI-backed digital simulation technology to figure out what physical changes to plants and warehouses would best improve speed, quality, and efficiency. According to Siemens, the technology tested in one US Gatorade plant increased throughput by +20% within three months. PepsiCo estimates it could reduce capital expenditures by -10% to -15% by “uncovering hidden capacity and validating investments in a virtual environment” before construction. “This allows the company to optimize existing assets rather than investing in costly new construction,” Siemens said in a blog post about the PepsiCo partnership. BD wanted to understand how digital twins work, so we turned to Niraj Jha, who is the senior director of logistics at Niagara Bottling. His work is focused on how data, automation, and AI are reshaping beverage supply chains. Jha’s team leads large-scale optimization initiatives across Niagara’s national network. Jha has been an outspoken proponent of AI technology in manufacturing and distribution. The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity:
Energy Drink Brands Take Six Slots in Top-10 Non-alcohol Ranking for 2025
February 4, 2026
Red Bull topped a list of non-alcoholic beverage brands that generated the highest return on investment for influencer marketing last year, according to CreatorIQ, which helps brands track and manage influencer marketing programs. The firm developed a proprietary metric called Earned Media Value (EMV) to benchmark and evaluate the effectiveness of influencer campaigns in engaging consumers. The top-10 ranking shows...
SNAP Shoppers Would Seek Lower Priced Channels for Sweetened Beverages Under Bans
February 4, 2026
More than 70% of SNAP consumers would scale back consumption of carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks if they couldn’t use their benefits to pay for the products, according to research by RBC Capital Markets using Numerator data. The finding...
During a recent trip to see family in Louisville, Kentucky, I saw firsthand the rapid rise of drive-thru-only coffee shops.
Cruising around the suburb where I spent many summers as a kid, I ran across a 7 Brew and a Scooter's within a half-mile of each other.
Since my last visit several years ago, 7 Brew has opened at least 10 locations and Scooter's at least eight in Louisville. Yet another fast-growing drive-thru chain, Dutch Bros, started moving into the city just last year.