If you haven’t yet listened to BD’s new podcast, The Breeze With Beverage Digest, I hope you will.

Our debut episode, “Is Gatorade Beatable?” explores Coca-Cola’s mission to use a combined BodyArmor and Powerade to overtake sports drink leader Gatorade in the coming years. Coke leaders are through being an also-ran in this category, and PepsiCo has no plans to give up its supremacy. That will make for great competition, even as the category shifts beneath both companies’ feet with the emergence of “rapid hydration.”

Episode 2, “Is Sprite Beatable?” delves into PepsiCo’s Starry lemon-lime soda launch and the company’s plans to disrupt the dominance of Coca-Cola’s Sprite. We discuss how Sprite spent decades embracing hip-hop and the NBA to build a loyal consumer base, and how PepsiCo has decided to start from scratch with Starry to reach Gen Z consumers after years of struggles with lemon-lime brands including Sierra Mist.

I’m joined for both podcasts by...

US non-carbonated beverage categories tracked by BD posted strong retail pricing growth in 2022 as manufacturers sought to offset higher costs for everything from packaging to transportation. In the face of higher pricing, volume sales declined meaningfully for...

Bodyarmor-Powerade a ‘One-Two Punch’ Vs Gatorade With Two-Tier Pricing

BodyArmor leaders will look to double the brand’s awareness and make it a household name now that they have completed an integration with Coca-Cola’s Powerade, BodyArmor Sports Nutrition CMO Matt Dzamba told BD in an exclusive interview. “We can't just be a brand that athletes of the Nth degree understand,” he said of BodyArmor. “So we're widening the aperture and speaking to a broader audience, like gatekeepers and active adults.” He also said...

BodyArmor leaders will look to double the brand’s awareness and make it a household name now that they have completed an integration with Coca-Cola’s Powerade, BodyArmor Sports Nutrition CMO Matt Dzamba told BD in an exclusive interview. “We can't just be a brand that athletes of the Nth degree understand,” he said of BodyArmor. “So we're widening...