PepsiCo has signed a letter of intent to purchase independent Pepsi bottler Bridge 2 Bridge Beverages, based in Bremerton, Washington west of Seattle. The acquisition of the

Refresco, the European contract packer that bought Cott’s North American soft drink operations in 2018, has expanded again with an acquisition in the US Southwest. Refresco agreed ...

Coca-Cola has now confirmed details of its mainstream sparkling water launch, which we first wrote about in August (BD 8/29/19). Called Aha, the brand’s March debut will challenge National Beverage’s LaCroix and PepsiCo’s Bubly. Until now, Coke has resisted entering the mainstream sparkling water category with a sweeping challenger, opting instead for line extensions of Dasani and Smartwater, plus Topo Chico. Aha marks a reversal of that strategy as Coca-Cola aims to capitalize on the struggles of market leader LaCroix while slowing down the relatively unchecked growth of category disruptor Bubly. Aha’s success will depend largely on Coke’s ability to grab consumers’ attention in a crowded category that offers little differentiation between mainstream formulas.

Coca-Cola grew US carbonated soft drink (CSD) dollar and volume sales during the first-nine months of this year, according to retail data tracked by BD. The company outpaced the...

Franchise bottlers for Coca-Cola North America met in Atlanta last month to evaluate innovation and system marketing plans for 2020. The theme of the meeting was “Ready to Execute.” CCNA President Jim Dinkins reiterated that the system’s strategy is dependent on...

A snapshot of global beverage volume performance for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo ...

Monster Beverage recently surveyed media influencers and opinion leaders about their perceptions of the energy drink category. Monster followed up with a letter sharing some of the findings and rebutting "misconceptions"  ...  

In the midst of a reorganization to turnaround its US carbonated soft drink business, PepsiCo continued to underperform the category and its primary competitors at retail during the first half of this year...

Bang’s rapid market share gains this year have generated heated industry discussion about the fate of Monster and disruption within the energy category. Coca-Cola bottlers, meanwhile, are rolling out Monster’s answer, Reign. Since Reign’s late March debut, BD has spotted the product mostly in the convenience channel. Photos of cooler placements are from a Pilot outside Orlando, a QuikTrip outside Atlanta and a 7-Eleven in New Jersey. We also found a significant activation at ...

Bottler View. To get a broader view of the rollout on the ground, BD reached out to a number of Coca-Cola bottling system executives...