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...

PepsiCo brought together executives from its US bottling system in August to review new product and marketing plans for 2020. The company hosted the meeting at its Purchase, New York headquarters. Attendees included company-owned and independent franchise bottling executives. The gathering came six months after PepsiCo reorganized its North America beverage business into five divisions, four in the US and one in Canada. The meeting’s theme was...

A 100% stevia-sweetened variant of Coca-Cola first launched in New Zealand has moved closer to the US. The product, called Coca-Cola Stevia, gets prominent billing 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 an interview, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said the company is “not in a rush” to bring its new Costa ready-to-drink coffee to the US given the lack of awareness for the Costa brand in this market. “Our focus will be...

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...

Dave Holmes created an alcohol beverage category by founding and developing SpikedSeltzer, which he sold to Anheuser-Busch in 2016. Now his ambition is focused on the burgeoning hemp-based CBD...