Beverage Innovators Embrace CBD, Shots, Keto and More
March 15, 2019
BD attended the Natural Products Expo West show last week at the Anaheim Convention Center & Arena outside Los Angeles. The event has become a showcase for products capitalizing on consumer health trends, which often evolve to mainstream appeal and drive acquisitions by large consumer products companies. Food and beverage offerings as usual dominated the show, which included more than 3,500 exhibitors spread across the equivalent of almost 10 football fields. Here’s an analysis of beverage themes and trends that emerged from this year’s show:
One Year After Refranchising, What’s Next for Coke’s Largest U.S. Bottler? Katz Sees Complexity Management, Segmentation Among Keys to Growth
March 15, 2019
Last August, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated named Dave Katz president and COO. He spent 25 years preparing for the role. BD spoke to Katz about refranchising, competition with a reorganized PepsiCo beverages unit, methods to fuel revenue growth and even CBD.
Plus, Reed’s Poised to Test New CBD Ginger Beer as FDA Plans New Rules
March 1, 2019
Sales of CBD-infused drinks reached $86 million in 2018 and will grow to more than $1.4 billion in 2023, Zenith Global and Beverage Digest have concluded in a joint report. Favorable federal regulation in the U.S. would...
The company has launched an Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola and Orange Vanilla Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. The products will be fully available by the end of the month, the company said. Packaging will include the red disc and colored neck band that is part of Coke’s global “One Brand” design strategy
Earnings Interview: CEO Quincey Updates on CBD, RTD Coffee, Monster Arbitration
February 15, 2019
There were no valentines exchanged between Coca-Cola and investors on Feb. 14 after the company offered a cautious full-year 2019 earnings forecast. Coke shares declined more than
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.
Farm Bill Legalizes Hemp. The newly-passed $867 billion U.S. Farm Bill, awaiting President Trump’s signature, includes a provision to legalize hemp nationally. This could make it easier for beverage companies to market products infused with CBD, a non-psychoactive ingredient derived from hemp...
BD held its annual Future Smarts conference on Dec. 7 in New York City. The program focused on the implications of massive changes this year to the North American non-alcoholic beverages landscape. New leaders have taken over all three of the largest soft drink makers -- Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper -- since 2017. Acquisitions of Dr Pepper Snapple by Keurig Green Mountain, Costa Coffee by Coke and SodaStream by PepsiCo have all signaled a more aggressive approach to portfolio transformation. Meanwhile
During an earnings conference call on Oct. 30, CEO James Quincey was asked about any plans for beverages infused with CBD, which is extracted from cannabis and said to relieve inflammation (among other benefits). “We don’t have any plans at this stage to get into this space,” he answered. Quincey later told CNBC: “It’s just not something we’re interested in.” The answer appears to close the door on the ingredient at Coke, for now at least. Coca-Cola had said in September that it was “closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world.” In an interview with Quincey following the conference call, BD asked Quincey how Coke evaluates such an ingredient. Getting to “serious consideration” means crossing a number of “hurdles,” he said. “To put it in simple terms, there are at least three: Is it safe, is it legal, and is it consumable?” Quincey asked. He said safety means reaching a “consensus