BD held its annual Future Smarts conference on Dec. 7 in New York City. The program focused on the implications of massive changes this year to the North American non-alcoholic beverages landscape. New leaders have taken over all three of the largest soft drink makers -- Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper -- since 2017. Acquisitions of Dr Pepper Snapple by Keurig Green Mountain, Costa Coffee by Coke and SodaStream by PepsiCo have all signaled a more aggressive approach to portfolio transformation. Meanwhile
PepsiCo’s Izze Fusions Mostly Gone in U.S. Amid Core Brands Refocus.
November 12, 2018
Lemon Lemon and Izze Fusions, launched in early 2017 as part of PepsiCo’s “Next Gen” CSD push, have been mostly phased out of the U.S. market. Both sodas were formulated with a stevia/sugar blend and less than 70-calories per 12-oz can. Lemon Lemon, a sparkling lemonade, contains 6% lemon juice. Izze Fusions contained 5% juice. Lemon Lemon reached almost 435,000 cases in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2017, according to retail data. While not discontinued, the brand dropped to almost 30,000 cases during the third quarter of this year. However, Lemon Lemon is gaining momentum overseas, according to a source
Pricing for the carbonated soft drink category (excluding energy) grew 2% during the first nine months of this year, according to quarterly data tracked by BD. That was an acceleration over the +1.3% gain achieved during the first half of the year (not in table). Coke, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper all boosted pricing, with Coke outperforming the category (table below). Private label pricing fell