Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Coca-Cola’s third largest US bottler, has named Mike Suco as the company’s eighth president and CEO in its 120-year history. Currently an SVP and chief commercial officer, Suco will succeed the retiring John Sherman as head of the Birmingham, Alabama-based bottler whose territory includes...

One of the big themes BD will mine this year is the new aggressive approach by non-alcoholic beverage powerhouses to find revenue growth in the alcohol beverage market. What appeared last year to be an experiment is quickly looking like strategy.

Of particular interest now are the divergent paths taken by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Monster Beverage, spurred by the fragmented nature of the US alcohol distribution system.

Coke has quickly expanded its Topo Chico licensing test started a year ago with Molson Coors. That deal now includes Simply, a household name in the chilled juice segment. And Coke has partnered with a second brewer and spirits company, Constellation Brands, to create a canned cocktail headlined by Fresca. In both cases, distribution will be handled by the brewers’ networks.

PepsiCo’s go-to-market strategy couldn’t be more different than Coke’s. The company has opted to build its own alcohol distribution and merchandising network around a flavored malt beverage called Hard Mtn Dew. (Be sure to check out our Blue Cloud map published last month and available only to subscribers.) Boston Beer will develop and produce the drink under license from PepsiCo.

Monster Beverage has chosen yet another path....

Constellation Brands, under a new agreement with Coca-Cola, will launch a Fresca-branded canned alcoholic cocktail in the U.S. this year. Called Fresca Mixed, the ready-to-drink beverage will be spirit based, according ...

A collection of recent developments from around the industry to keep you up to speed...

With our Dec. 6 Future Smarts conference a little more than a month away, this is a great time to share a few of the themes we will explore this year. We are in a pivotal reset period for the global beverage industry following the extreme disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. To help sort it out, we’ve assembled an exceptional lineup of speakers who are well-placed to evaluate the implications of the past two years and share insight on what to expect. They include leaders ...

On Oct. 27, Coca-Cola raised full-year 2021 revenue guidance to a range of +13% to +14% after reporting 14% higher third-quarter organic revenue. The sales gain came on volume and pricing that each grew ...