Influencer Who Introduced Kobe Bryant to BodyArmor Looks to Parlay Connections
October 20, 2022
Darren Rovell, the journalist, investor, and social media influencer who wrote the literal book on Gatorade, is bringing heat to the fast-growing canned cocktail market. Rovell, who has 2 million Twitter followers and is credited with introducing the late Kobe Bryant to BodyArmor co-founder Mike Repole, had his lightbulb moment 10 months ago while drinking spicy cocktails. That inspiration has since led to a brand called KickStand Cocktails and a newly landed $2 million investment round. The ready-to-drink cocktail blends vodka and fruit juice with artisanal spice, which Rovell says is the key differentiator. KickStand enters a canned cocktail market that is expected to grow by an average of +11.6% through 2032, according to researcher Future Market Insights. As consumers move on from the hard seltzer craze to...
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...
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...
Q&A On State-Of-Play, Plans to Increase Available Capacity
October 20, 2022
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...
Departure Would Leave Shelf Opening at Retail as Consumers Chase Spirits
October 10, 2022
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...
Last week’s NACS convention for convenience store operators in Las Vegas offered a first look at product innovation from beverage makers looking to get new products into retailer store resets for 2023. The annual event includes a...
Brand to Launch Canned Flat White Coffee for US Market in December
October 10, 2022
Coca-Cola’s US strategy for Costa Coffee came into sharper focus last week at the NACS convenience retail show. The company unveiled a new ready-to-drink canned coffee for the US market, showed off its Smart Cafe? automated coffee kiosk program, and shed light on plans to add standalone cafe?s. Since buying the UK-based coffee chain in 2019, Coke was forced to...
Here is a quick first look at innovation being shown by Coca-Cola at the NACS convention for convenience store operators, which began yesterday in Las Vegas. The event’s products expo began today. That’s where brands show off new products to retail buyers ahead of store resets early next year. BD is at the event and here is what we’ve gathered so far (more details and products to come):