Coca-Cola has established a federally permitted alcohol subsidiary called Red Tree Beverages to further explore the US alcohol beverage business, Coke’s Chief of New Revenue Streams Dan White told BD in an interview. The unit, created late last year and “firewalled” from Coca-Cola’s non-alcoholic operations, is permitted to participate in marketing and strategy around ready-to-drink alcohol brands based on Coke trademarks that are produced by third parties including...
Interview: 'We’re Created to Honor the Three-Tier System.’
July 25, 2023
Despite PepsiCo’s considerable work to keep its Blue Cloud alcohol distribution operation separate from its non-alcoholic business, the subsidiary has become a magnet for criticism as it forges new ground in the highly regulated and competitive US alcohol beverage market. In a new interview, Blue Cloud Distribution GM Emiliano Di Vincenzo, and Blue Cloud Chief Legal Officer Randy Liebowitz, said the organization has...
Coca-Cola Bottlers Eager to Distribute Bang Energy, They Say
July 12, 2023
Bang Energy owner Vital Pharmaceuticals won approval from a Florida bankruptcy judge today for a $362 million acquisition of most of the company’s assets by major creditor and competitor Monster Beverage.The companies formaly announced the asset purchase agreement July 3 after the Federal Trade Commission ended an antitrust review early. The sale would include...
The sale process for bankrupt Bang Energy may finally be headed for a conclusion in late June after a two month delay. A bankruptcy judge in Florida has set a sale hearing date for June 30 to approve a winning bidder. That hearing date could yet be pushed back, however. According to BD sources, remaining bidders are...
Little Increase in Retailer Pressure Over Pricing. Promotions Remain Strategic.
March 2, 2023
Input Costs Still Elevated, Tracking Inflation. Volatility Expected.
Independent Coca-Cola and PepsiCo bottlers generally anticipate average annual retail carbonated soft drink pricing growth of between +3.0% and +6.0% during the next five years, an informal BD survey found. US CSD pricing at retail in 2022 reached almost +15.0%. Some bottlers said pricing growth will likely trend in the +7.0% to +9.0% range. Outliers predicted...
Pepsi and Dr Pepper bottler Buffalo Rock has added 10 east Alabama counties to its landmark 2020 deal with Keurig Dr Pepper to pick up brands including...
Category Pricing ‘Still Has Some Legs,’ Bottler Says. Category ‘Still Affordable,’ Says Another
January 12, 2023
The big story of 2022 was surprisingly low price elasticities in the US for carbonated soft drinks as manufacturers raised prices to offset runaway costs for everything from labor to packaging. At retail last year, CSD pricing jumped almost +14.8% last year, driving category dollar sales up more than...
G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, PepsiCo’s largest fully independent US franchise bottler, is preparing to distribute Hard Mtn Dew on the same “blue trucks” that distribute Pepsi-Cola and other non-alcoholic brands. In an interview at BD’s Future Smarts conference in New York on Dec. 5, G&J CEO Tim Trant said the Cincinnati-based company has applied for beer distribution licenses ...
Bang Energy owner Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) filed for bankruptcy protection in Florida on Monday, Oct. 10. According to a court filing, VPX's top 30 non-insider, unsecured creditors are owed more than $700 million. Some of the creditors' claims are under dispute by VPX or in litigation. According to the court document (available here), VPX's creditors include: