Concentrate list pricing for flagship Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and other carbonated soft drinks produced by US Coke bottlers is...

Technology Boosts Coke’s Marketing Effectiveness Up to +300%

Keurig Dr Pepper Hires from Oracle, Google

Brand AI Agents Assist KDP Marketers on Packaging, Advertising, Sales

Beverage Digest hosted on-stage conversations with the global CMOs of both Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper during its Future Smarts conference in New York on Dec. 15. The thrust of the discussion centered on digital technology — including artificial intelligence — in marketing operations, data-driven...

Green Sheet: Category Performance for First Nine Months

Last year’s slide for the US sports drink category at retail has continued through 2025, according to...

KDP’s Energy Portfolio featuring Ghost, C4 Posts Higher Retail Sales

A three-way battle for energy drink supremacy is emerging at US retail, according to BD data. Monster Energy, Red Bull, and Celsius Energy accounted for 70% of category volume sales during the first nine months of 2025, as shown in the Green Sheet. Monster Beverage’s energy brands...

SPARKLING WATER CATEGORY GREW. The US sparkling water category grew +2.6% by volume and +7.2% by dollars at retail for the first nine months of 2025, according to BD data. As shown in the Green Sheet with this report, volume leader LaCroix by National Beverage posted volume and dollar sales...

Our Future Smarts 2025 speaker lineup is set. Get ready for a power packed day on Dec. 15 in New York City.

Just this week, we announced PepsiCo Beverages US CEO Ram Krishnan. He joins the conference as investors pay renewed attention to PepsiCo’s performance and structure. On stage, Ram and I will discuss the product, consumer, retail, and economic changes that are shaping PepsiCo’s beverage business.

Last week, we announced the addition of Keurig Dr Pepper CMO Drew Panayiotou. He, too, joins at a pivotal time, as KDP looks to close the $18 billion acquisition of JDE Peet’s before separating its coffee and refreshment beverage businesses. We’ll discuss how Drew’s team is enticing consumers of both portfolios.

We’ll also spend time with another high-profile marketing leader: Coca-Cola Global CMO Manolo Arroyo. Of high interest in this discussion is how technology, such as AI, and social media are influencing marketing investment and organizational decisions.

And this will be compelling: Monster Beverage Co-founder Rodney Sacks will discuss the soaring energy drink category he helped forge over two decades on the way to building a $7.5 billion global powerhouse with a $65 billion market cap. I will be honored as well to present Rodney with the Beverage Digest Visionary Award. Past honorees have included the late PepsiCo CEO Don Kendall and the late Coca-Cola President and COO Don Keough.

No Future Smarts event is complete without the presence of our beverage bottling community. This year, we’ll hear from Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages President Jean Claude Tissot, as well as from Kelly Clay, president and CEO of Pepsi bottler Admiral Beverage. These leaders are experts on local market execution, the retail landscape, and just about anything else beverage related.

We’ve also assembled a panel to dissect one of the hottest beverage trends: Hemp-based ready-to-drink THC. The category is on a regulatory roller coaster ride. Brand owners Drea Groeschel of Better Than Booze and David Mukpo of Pamos Cannabis Cocktails & Spirits will illuminate this challenging and potentially lucrative category. To help make sense of the ever changing regulatory haze, cannabis and hemp Attorney Seth Goldberg of Pashman Stein Walder Hayden will join the panel as well.

Experts from our conference sponsor EY will share insights on industry disruptors and the future of beverages. You’ll hear from Americas Beverage Sector Leader Sean Harapko, EY-Parthenon Partner and Beverage Transactions Leader Greg Miller, and Former Chief Digital Transformation Officer and EY Executive in Residence Dan Werth.

Future Smarts 2025 will tackle regulatory issues and Wall Street views, too. Our popular sell-side analyst panel will feature Kaumil Gajrawala from Jefferies, Bonnie Herzog from Goldman Sachs, and Nik Modi from RBC Capital Markets. In an additional session, Nik will use data to dive into several topics our readers often ask us about. Plus, American Beverage President and CEO Kevin Keane will help assess everything from ingredient regulation to SNAP soda bans and what’s being done to create a constructive outcome.

This is another Future Smarts you don’t want to miss.

The third quarter earnings season brought a series of critical progress reports from Keurig Dr Pepper, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola at a time of global consumer volatility. The period also comes as KDP prepares for a massive strategic change and PepsiCo faces activist investor pressure. The following are key takeaways from the companies’ reports...

PepsiCo Beverages North America is moving distribution of Bubly sparkling water from direct store delivery to warehouse delivery, BD has learned. PBNA confirmed the...