’You Need More People’ to Grow, CEO Tells Barclays Audience
September 14, 2023
Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey and North America President Jennifer Mann sat down on Sept 7 for an on-stage interview with equities analyst Lauren Lieberman at the Barclays Consumer Staples Conference in Boston. A key message from Quincey and Mann was Coca-Cola’s pursuit of...
When Kevin Keane joined the American Beverage Association in 2005 as SVP of policy and public affairs, industry issues were well focused on a single category. “We were talking largely about soda pop,” he recalled last week in an interview after being named the U.S. trade group’s CEO late last month. “Now there are so many different products that we're ...
Ninja's New Thirsti Drink System Takes on SodaStream
August 30, 2023
PepsiCo’s SodaStream has new competition from kitchen appliance maker Ninja. The Ninja Thirsti Drink System launched in late July. The company sent me a unit to try. Here are my observations:
— The primary difference in Thirsti versus SodaStream is that drinks are produced by the glass instead of by the bottle. With SodaStream and most other sparkling water appliances, including Aarke and Drinkmate, water is carbonated inside a multi-serve bottle. The user removes the bottle and pours in flavor syrup, shaking the mixture by hand. With Thirsti, water is drawn from a reservoir that is refillable and removable for fridge chilling. Changeable concentrate pods automatically release...
Pure Life, Smartwater, Arizona Show Dollar Growth Leadership
August 30, 2023
All non-carbonated beverage categories tracked by BD grew pricing and dollars at retail during the first six months of this year, according to BD data. As shown in the table below, all categories also posted a volume decline. Sports drinks posted the largest dollar and pricing gains, as well as the deepest volume decline (see related story HERE). Bottled water outperformed all other categories on a volume basis...
Defense Will Require Innovation, Agility. Meanwhile, Model Behind Prime Hydration Confounds Industry Leaders
August 30, 2023
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, the country’s No. 1 and No. 2 sports drink makers, face challenges on two fronts. On one side sits Electrolit, which has taken share by appealing to consumer desire for greater functionality and by embracing Hispanic consumers. On the other side sits Prime Hydration, which rose to...
Monster to Slim Bang Portfolio, Broaden Manufacturing Range
August 9, 2023
On July 31, Monster Beverage completed its $362 million acquisition of bankrupt Bang Energy owner Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX). Last week, Monster confirmed that Coca-Cola and its bottlers will distribute Bang globally, with a US rollout to begin this quarter. “As a result, there will be a
Beverage pricing growth in the US for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo is likely to decelerate during the second half of this year, mostly as the rate of input cost inflation slows, according to those companies’ leaders. During analyst calls and interviews with BD during the recent spate of second-quarter earnings reports, executives said pricing for the second half of this year will be driven primarily by increases already
Nestle-owned Nuun has introduced a non-fizzy Sport Hydration Electrolyte Powder Drink Mix that is packaged in sticks instead of Nuun’s usual tablets. The powder sticks come in...