Coca-Cola has launched Sprite + Tea, which is a combination of Sprite lemon-lime soda and iced tea. The concept was based on a social media trend in which influencers and consumers cold-steep tea bags in Sprite.

Biolyte hydration drink, which bills itself as an “IV in a bottle,” has unveiled a packaging redesign. The brand also added 6,000 CVS and Walgreens locations nationwide to its distribution footprint....

As Coca-Cola begins the national rollout of its Simply Pop prebiotic soda, a flood of other brands are announcing gut pops of their own. They include Popwell by Talking Rain, Bloom Pop by Keurig Dr Pepper partner brand Bloom Nutrition, and Daytrip Prebiotic Soda by the maker of CBD sodas. Meanwhile, Halfday prebiotic tea has rebranded. And, on an adjacent front, Spindrift has launched a ...

Keurig Dr Pepper has announced several launches in addition to the rollout of new permanent flavor Dr Pepper Blackberry. They are 7Up Tropical, Snapple Peach Tea & Lemonade, Bai Simbu Strawberry and Bai Shala Coconut Strawberry, A&W Ice Cream Sundae, and RC Cola Zero Sugar. (For more on brand Dr Pepper’s success in recent decades, listen to BD’s newest Episode 21 of the Breeze podcast HERE.)

Molson Coors has now launched a Simply Spiked Bold variant of the flavored malt beverage marketed under a brand license from...

Policy comments by President-Elect Donald Trump and his proposed picks for cabinet and administrative posts have set off a barrage of speculation about potential impacts to the food and beverage industry. In a research note this week, RBC Capital Markets Beverage Analyst Nik Modi, who will speak at BD’s Future Smarts conference on Monday, summed up the industry consternation this way:...

We’ll close out the year on Monday with our annual Future Smarts conference in New York City. And I can’t wait to see what comes out of the program we've assembled.

I love the conversation we generate during the course of the day, with discussion threads that weave through the speaker sessions. Points from an earlier session often find their way into a later interview as dots are connected. The impact of consumer stress on industry growth, practical implications of technologies such as Ai, the competition for soft drink market share, and expectations for the new presidential administration will be some of those threads.

We’ll start the day with executives from Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper, and PepsiCo before convening our annual analyst panel to riff on what they’ve heard that morning. Bottlers from both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo will layer in their perspectives. And we will fold in a wholesaler’s view of the retail landscape with UNFI’s CEO. Olipop’s co-founder will provide some emerging brand and category spice. And Boston Beer’s former CEO will stir the pot in the best of ways with a view across beer and non-alcoholic beverages.

Future Smarts attendees will head into 2025 with a complete view of the most urgent industry topics, as voiced by smart industry insiders. It’s great to get a helping of clarity right before we all wrap up a busy 2024.

Like last year, we’ll host a welcome reception on Sunday for all registered attendees. I love that the evening is so anchoring, helping to deepen industry relationships on a human level — mine included.

If you can’t join us, rest assured we’ll share some slices of the Future Smarts pie in our newsletter next year. In the meantime, enjoy your families this holiday season. The team at Beverage Digest wishes you all the very best.