PepsiCo Gatorade President and GM Mike Del Pozzo is leaving the company to become president of US confection for chocolate maker Hershey. He starts Sept. 16. The 23-year PepsiCo veteran has led Gatorade since July 2022. “Mike has had an incredible run at PepsiCo, making significant impacts across multiple areas of our business,” PepsiCo Beverages North America CEO Ram Krishnan said in a statement to BD. “He is a true example of the leaders PepsiCo has....
Exec Says PBNA Focus is Total Beverage Portfolio and Profitability.
PepsiCo’s noisy second-quarter earnings report driven by Frito-Lay underperformance overshadowed an improved trend at PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA). On July 11, PepsiCo reported organic sales and volume performance that fell short...
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...
Gehring Joins List of Possible CEO Successors at Iconic Energy Drink Company
June 20, 2024
Monster Beverage’s announcement last week that the company had appointed Swire Coca-Cola USA President and CEO Rob Gehring as chief growth officer is the latest signal that a significant management succession is underway at one of the world’s largest...
KDP to Acquire Kalil Bottling. Move Follows Effort to Take Back Reyes' Dr Pepper Territory in California
June 6, 2024
Keurig Dr Pepper has agreed to acquire Tucson, Arizona-based Kalil Bottling as KDP continues to bolster its company-owned direct-store-delivery (DSD) operation in the western US. The announcement Friday came weeks after KDP disclosed in a Texas lawsuit that it will not renew a franchise agreement with Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling to distribute Dr Pepper products in California, effective Oct. 27, 2025. Reyes, citing California franchise laws, has asked a California judge to force a renewal unless KDP can show cause for ending the franchise arrangement. That has sent some Dr Pepper bottlers into their contracts to assess termination risk. KDP’s aggressive new stance with Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling has raised industry questions about whether more such moves are planned by KDP as part of a strategy to take back Dr Pepper territory from Coke and Pepsi bottlers. Or, is the Reyes non-renewal simply a special and opportunistic circumstance driven by geography and existing synergies?
Meanwhile, CEO Troy Taylor Sees Possible New Horizon in Alcohol
May 8, 2024
Bottler Embraces Role as Tester of Product and Packaging Innovation
Plus: Parcel Delivery Effort Seeks Profitability Down to Six-Pack
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida has come a long way since Troy Taylor leveraged his relationships and expertise as an advisor to Coca-Cola to win franchise bottling territory under Coca-Cola’s massive refranchising effort a decade ago. What started as central Florida territory anchored by Tampa/St. Petersburg has expanded to the entire...
Company Has ‘One Leader,” Gamgort Says of Leadership Transition to Cofer
May 8, 2024
Among Priorities, Cofer Looks to Add Scale to Owned DSD Network.
Gamgort Offers View of Dr Pepper Territories Handled by Coke and Pepsi.
In RTD Coffee, Execs See Chance to ‘Carve Out a Space.’
Full Ownership Not Requirement in Partnership Deals.
Distribution of Athletic Possible?
Plus: Dr Pepper Reaches Milestone in 2023.
Keurig Dr Pepper has a new leader. The company’s board promoted COO Tim Cofer to CEO on April 26 as planned and appointed him to the board. He succeeds...
Executives Responding to Weakness Among Lower-Income Consumers
May 8, 2024
Coca-Cola Writes Down Value of BodyArmor as Fairlife Soars.
PepsiCo: Away-From-Home Outpaced At-Home Sales in First-Quarter.
Monster’s Sacks May Leave CEO Post in 2025. U.S. Price Hike Announced.
Consumer resilience was the theme from Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper executives for the US market during their first-quarter earnings reports. That’s despite two years of persistent grocery...