The Beast Unleashed Alcohol Offering to Walk Careful Line, CEO Makes Clear

Monster Beverage executives announced they will use a new in-house non-alcoholic beverage incubator called Monarchy to distribute brands that aren’t yet large enough for partner Coca-Cola’s direct store delivery system. Monarchy will be operated out of...

During an interview at Future Smarts last month, a Wall Street analyst said he would have been laughed off the stage several years ago had he predicted US carbonated soft drink pricing growth of +15% without a troubling pullback in volume. No one is laughing now.
             Consumer acceptance of significant pricing growth across major beverage categories has shocked even the most seasoned industry watchers. Despite the price escalation, CSD volumes declined at a manageable -1.4% last year. Energy drink makers, who are generally slower to boost prices in a booming category with lots of new entrants, raised pricing by +6.3% and still added +3.5% more volume.
While Sports drink category ...

Keurig Dr Pepper followed its surprise $50 million November investment in
 Athletic Brewing with a far larger deal in December – an $863 million investment in C4 performance energy drink maker Nutrabolt. KDP also becomes Nutrabolt’s long-term sales and distribution partner. While ready-to-drink C4 ...

A collection of recent developments from around the industry to keep you up to speed...

Bang Energy, whose parent company has filed for bankruptcy protection, announced today that it will expand to the UK and Ireland. Meanwhile, the brand told retailers and distributors last week that the words “Fuel Your Destiny” will replace “Super Creatine” at the top center of the brand’s

Bang Energy owner Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) filed for bankruptcy protection in Florida on Monday, Oct. 10.  According to a court filing, VPX's top 30 non-insider, unsecured creditors are owed more than $700 million. Some of the creditors' claims are under dispute by VPX or in litigation. According to the court document (available here), VPX's creditors include:

PepsiCo will unveil a new lemon lime soda called Starry at the annual NACS show for convenience store operators that starts today, according to company sources. While details are scarce, BD has learned that the drink is a new brand within the lemon lime soda category dominated by Coca-Cola’s Sprite. Starry will include regular and zero sugar versions, according to the sources. It will be available nationally starting in...