Consumers cut back on ready-to-drink coffee at US retail during the first nine months of this year, according to BD data. The category, led by a joint venture between PepsiCo and Starbucks, declined by volume (-2.6%) and dollars (-3.2%), as shown in the Coffee Green Sheet with this story. Pricing for the category was down slightly by -0.6%. PepsiCo’s Starbucks portfolio posted a -9.1% volume sales decline as dollar sales dropped -6.3% as pricing rose +2.7%. Frappuccino, which accounted for more than a ...

Keurig Dr Pepper has added Snapple Zero Sugar Peach Tea to fountain drink dispensers at 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes convenience stores nationwide.

Dunkin’ has added a limited-edition Peppermint Mocha flavor to its line of Dunkin’ Spiked Iced Coffees. The canned hard coffee drink, which contains 6% alcohol by volume, will be available at grocery and package stores across 28 states during the holiday season....

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Executives and operators from PepsiCo’s North America bottling system met recently in Las Vegas to discuss market plans for 2025. Ram Krishnan, who took over in January as CEO of PepsiCo Beverages North America, urged the audience...

Let me catch you up on what we’re planning for this year’s Future Smarts conference on Dec. 16 in New York City.

Just this week we announced that Coca-Cola President and CFO John Murphy has joined our program. The 36-year Coke veteran has a massive job overseeing the financial strategy for a global company with a $270 billion market cap. That’s not all. The Global Ventures operating segment that reports to Murphy is responsible for scaling globally Coke’s Costa Coffee business, as well as the company’s almost decade-long strategic partnership with Monster Beverage.

Speaking of Monster Beverage, the company is headed for a changing of the guard in the coming years, as you’ll read in today’s newsletter starting on page 3. The evolution of Coca-Cola’s relationship with Monster will be one to watch. At Future Smarts, I’ll certainly ask Murphy for his view on this important relationship and the future of the energy drinks category.

In fact, Swire Coca-Cola CEO Rob Gehring, who will soon leave to join Monster as chief growth officer, is a past Future Smarts speaker from 2021. That illustrates our priority to host the brightest leaders who are in a position to shape the future of the beverage industry.

Already announced so far for this year’s Future Smarts is Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling CEO Bill O’Brien, and former Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick. As we...

Danone grew ready-to-drink coffee volume sales during the first quarter of this year by +7.2%, taking an additional +3.2 share points in the category. The result was driven by STōK, which aired...