Hello from the NACS show in Chicago. Food and beverage manufacturers are sharing their latest innovation to convenience store operators from around the country as buyers look toward shelf sets early next year. Beverage Digest is at the show to provide rolling innovation updates for subscribers by email alert and here at Beverage Digest.com...

Sees Methodical Build for Brand’s Modern Soda Entry.

Spindrift Beverage CEO Dave Burwick discusses new initiatives with BD during a wide-ranging interview. The company will focus on expanding the reach of its core juice-infused sparkling water line while continuing to test and learn around the brand’s ...

First, when it comes to carbonated soft drinks, Coca-Cola appears to dominate the region. From the small local market near our Airbnb rental in tiny Conca dei Marini, to the trendy restaurants in mid-size Sorrento, there was always a Coke for sale. We didn’t stumble on a Pepsi until we hit a market in the much larger city of Naples.

While this was no formal survey, the disparity actually makes sense to me, knowing something about Coca-Cola’s and PepsiCo’s global strategies. PepsiCo’s global beverage expansion strategy has historically focused...

Our lead story (pg. 3) uncovers how Olipop Cofounder Ben Goodwin intends to pursue $1 billion brand status — and he says he can do it without direct store delivery, at least for now. This digestive health drink, or gut soda as some refer to it, didn’t exist before six years ago. And Olipop helped spawn a formidable competitor in Poppi. Many alternative sodas have marketed themselves at the expense of traditional sodas. Olipop has been among the most successful so far. I’ll note, as well, that in an era when barriers to entry in non-alcoholic beverages are lower than ever, Olipop is a brand built on function, R&D, and efficacy. That’s worth watching.

The second story in today’s issue (pg. 6) features a conversation with former Coca-Cola Venturing and Emerging Brands executive Matt Hughes. He is a well-known and respected industry voice whose expertise bridges the gap between mainstream and emerging brands. Now with private equity firm Franchise Equity Partners, Hughes is tracking the winds of change within

Prime Hydration Rocket Ship Slows.

Sparkling Water Performance Strong, as Sparkling Ice, LaCroix, Polar Add Volume.

Category Green Sheets: CSDs, Energy, Sports, Water (Sparkling, Plain, Enhanced)

Carbonated soft drink (CSD) volume at US retail declined -1.5% during the first quarter of 2024, which was less than

Table 1: U.S. LRB Category Volume and Dollar Performance FY2023

Table 2: Top U.S.Carbonated Soft Drink (CSD) Brands* FY2023

Table 3: Top U.S. Liquid Refreshment Beverages (LRB) Trademarks* FY2023

Today’s special issue is a top-level view of that annual all-channel Fact Book report. The following pages cover major beverage companies, categories, trademarks, and brands. It’s your quick reference guide to how the biggest players are performing in both liquid refreshment beverages and carbonated soft drinks, and it provides a snapshot of the intense competition in the US beverage business.

For much more detail into the numbers, you’ll want to purchase the full Fact Book, available HERE. This deep report covers CSDs, packaged water, sports drinks, energy drinks, juice, and ready-to-drink coffee, and tea. It includes charts and tables breaking down last year’s results and trends. A comprehensive set of “Datasheets” in Excel format provides brand level detail, grouped by company and category.

This Fact Book and all-channel data is based on Beverage Digest’s evaluation, analysis, and estimates of information obtained both publicly and from confidential sources. The team has organized and maintains the data within a relational database. Our annual industry estimates are fine-tuned as we develop new information.

For nearly three decades, Beverage Digest’s Fact Book has become a trusted tool for the industry, and we are proud to bring you the following overview...

You can find these Dr Pepper performance details and much more in BD’s Fact Book, 29th Edition, which we just released last week (order HERE). This in-depth resource covers 2023 sales results and data across the US non-alcoholic beverage industry. The data differs from...