ABOUT THIS REPORT AND BD’S FACT BOOK, 30TH EDITION. This report is a snapshot of BD’s newly-published Fact Book, 30th Edition. Fact Book offers a comprehensive view of US liquid refreshment beverage industry sales performance by brands, company, and category. Annually, BD compiles estimated volume and value sales data for the US liquid refreshment beverages (LRB) market, as well as categories including carbonated soft drinks (CSD), and energy drinks. The data included in BD’s Fact Book and in this special issue synopsis estimates beverage sales for all measured and unmeasured channels, including packaged retail, fountain, and vending. The fountain channel includes restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, and other foodservice outlets. In recent years, BD has added chilled juice to the annual Fact Book and to this report.
We just released the 30th Edition of the Beverage Digest Fact Book, detailing 2024 all-channel sales results across the US non-alcoholic beverage industry. Unlike the quarterly retail data published in BD’s newsletter, this data set covers ready-to-drink packaged and fountain drinks across all channels, including retail stores and foodservice outlets.
Today’s special issue is a top-level view of that annual all-channel Fact Book report. It provides a snapshot of the intense competition within the U.S. non-alcoholic beverage business. The following newsletter pages cover major beverage companies, categories, trademarks, and brands. It’s a quick reference guide to how the biggest players are performing in liquid refreshment beverages, with an emphasis on carbonated soft drinks...
PepsiCo to Enter Gut Soda Market With $1.95B Poppi Acquisition
April 3, 2025
A big question for independent US Pepsi bottlers is whether they are in line to distribute two brands at the center of key PepsiCo-related deals this year. The newest deal is PepsiCo’s pending acquisition of prebiotic soda leader Poppi for $1.95 billion, announced on March 17 (BD sent an email news alert to subscribers). The other is the...
My wife and I got away late last month for a vacation to Southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast. I was taking some time off but couldn’t help making a few casual beverage observations.
First, when it comes to carbonated soft drinks, Coca-Cola appears to dominate the region. From the small local market near our Airbnb rental in tiny Conca dei Marini, to the trendy restaurants in mid-size Sorrento, there was always a Coke for sale. We didn’t stumble on a Pepsi until we hit a market in the much larger city of Naples.
While this was no formal survey, the disparity actually makes sense to me, knowing something about Coca-Cola’s and PepsiCo’s global strategies. PepsiCo’s global beverage expansion strategy has historically focused...
Concentrate list pricing for flagship Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and other carbonated soft drinks produced by US Coke bottlers rose...
Coca-Cola’s North America Operating Unit hosted executives and associates from its franchised bottling system in Las Vegas recently to discuss marketing, commercial and sales plans for 2025. The theme for the meeting was, “Above and Beyond,” as the system looks to...
Gut Sodas, High Brew Coffee, Oca Energy Will Lead Charge
November 25, 2024
Beliv, the beverage company tied to one of PepsiCo’s oldest international bottlers, has been broadening its ambition in the US market. In the past year, Beliv has launched a gut soda competitor to Poppi and Olipop and acquired canned coffee company...
Overall Private Label Consumer Goods Activity Rising at Groceries, C-Stores
October 3, 2024
Private label carbonated soft drink (CSD) volume declined -2.3% at US retail during the first six months of this year, according to BD data shown the Green Sheet with this story. While private label products make up...
As Consumers Blur Lines, Distributors Following Suit
September 5, 2024
Conditions are ripe for accelerated consolidation of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage distribution businesses in the US market, predicts Matt Hughes, a former Coca-Cola Venturing and Emerging Brands executive. That could mean even Coca-Cola and Pepsi franchise bottlers one day look to combine with beer distributors to add efficiency and boost...
Our lead story (pg. 3) uncovers how Olipop Cofounder Ben Goodwin intends to pursue $1 billion brand status — and he says he can do it without direct store delivery, at least for now. This digestive health drink, or gut soda as some refer to it, didn’t exist before six years ago. And Olipop helped spawn a formidable competitor in Poppi. Many alternative sodas have marketed themselves at the expense of traditional sodas. Olipop has been among the most successful so far. I’ll note, as well, that in an era when barriers to entry in non-alcoholic beverages are lower than ever, Olipop is a brand built on function, R&D, and efficacy. That’s worth watching.
The second story in today’s issue (pg. 6) features a conversation with former Coca-Cola Venturing and Emerging Brands executive Matt Hughes. He is a well-known and respected industry voice whose expertise bridges the gap between mainstream and emerging brands. Now with private equity firm Franchise Equity Partners, Hughes is tracking the winds of change within