Financials
Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. Chief Executive Eric J. Foss received a compensation package valued at more than $8.8 million for 2008, an increase of 39 percent from the year before. Link • Bottled water company Naturally Iowa, Inc. announced that Naturally Dakota LLC, intends to make a substantial financial investment in Naturally Iowa. Link • Purple Beverage Company, Inc. announced that it will outsource many of its operating needs and reduce its full time work force. Link • Gruppo Campari announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Wild Turkey from Pernod Ricard, marking the largest acquisition in Campari’s history. Link • The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. today announced that it will webcast its first quarter 2009 earnings conference call with financial analysts and investors on Wednesday, April 22 at 11:00 a.m. ET. PBG will release its first quarter financial results before the market opens that morning. The live webcast will be accessible through the Company’s website at www.pbg.com. A replay of the conference call will be archived and available online through the Investor Relations section of the site. • Ball Corp. is closings two plastic bottle manufacturing plants in Watertown, Wis. and Baldwinsville, N.Y. The company says it’s consolidating and moving the plants’ production to bigger facilities. Link • Brian Weber, co-founder and President of Potencia USA, LLC, bought full control of Bebida Beverage Company. Link
New SKUs
Her Enterprises Inc. announced it has a new 12-count dispenser pack, available on Target.com. This expands Her’s availability from select Target stores nationwide, distribution by Viking Beverages in Minnesota and Wisconsin and numerous retailers, boutiques and C Stores throughout Southern California and New York. Link • Tranquila announced its line of 2 oz. “Relaxation Shots” in daytime and nighttime formulas. Link • Attitude Drinks announced that the management team will launch two new milk drinks, Phase III and just! Link • Fuzzee Bee Beverage Co. announced a functional beverage called ZUN, Brain Boosting Energy. Link
Law, Policy and Advocacy
Brandeis University banned bottle water sales in some on-campus venues. Link • The water war between the city of Groveland, Fla. and the Niagara bottled water company went to court. Link
People
Celsius Holdings, Inc. announced J. Kelly Michols joined the company as its Vice President of Strategic Sales. Michols has held several executive positions with consumer products companies such as Procter and Gamble, Empire Berol as well as Rexall Sundown. Link
Miscellaneous
The U.S., for the first time, became the world’s largest consumer of wine, as Americans drank more and Europeans drank less. Link • Hershey’s created a 30-second commercial that is strikingly similar to Coca-Cola‘s “Happiness Factory” spot. See for yourself. Link • Celia Wren reviewed a play called “The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico,” for the Washington Post. Link • USA Today ran an article headlined “Kosher Coke ‘flying out of the store.’ Link • The Wall Street Journal ran an article covering the recent raft of lawsuits filed against food and beverage companies. Link • North American consumption of dairy drinks declined 1.9 percent versus 0.3 percent growth in 2007, according to the firm’s Dairy Drinks Service. Last year marked the first absolute decline in demand within North America (as well as Western Europe, down 0.4 percent) since 2004. Link • A Cape Coral, Fla. city councilman wants to put the city in the bottled water business to help pay for a new water plant. Link • Oligonol Lychee Fruit Polyphenols has attained self-affirmed GRAS status. Link • VIZ Enterprises LLC announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent covering the VIZcap dosing and dispensing bottle cap. Link
Distribution
Delaware North Companies selected PepsiCo as the official provider of fountain drinks and packaged beverage products for its U.S. operations. Under the new multiyear pact, Pepsi replaces Coca-Cola, Delaware North’s beverage supplier for the past 94 years. The agreement makes Delaware North one of the largest travel and leisure accounts for PepsiCo Foodservice. • Crunk!!! Energy Drink announced that Quick Stop, a division of Kroger, has authorized Crunk!!! for sale in their 112 convenience locations in California and Nevada. Stores in Northern California will begin stocking Crunk!!! Original Pomegranate, Citrus, and Grape-Acai this May. • Skinny Water debuted in New England at nearly 200 Shaw’s locations. Link
Promotions/Appearances
5-Hour Energy‘s Name the Energy Guy contest ended. The Energy Guy remains The Energy Guy. Link • Award-winning swimmer and mom Dara Torres, 41, is the newest face to don a milk mustache in the popular “got milk?” campaign. Torres is the first female athlete to tout milk’s unique contributions to fitness for women. Link • A recent study found that PlumSmart was as effective at providing relief from irregularity as the leading fiber supplement. Link • St. Pauli Girl Beer has developed a special edition poster to honor Stephen Colbert. Link • Gatorade released an animated 60-second commercial for Gatorade Tiger. It features a child Tiger Woods and feels like a Disney trailer. Link • Each truck in Coke‘s Seabrook, N.H. fleet will now be powered by biodiesel. Link • Pepsi announced that it is the Official Soft Drink of the Yankees and Gatorade is the team’s Official Sports Drink. Link • Purple Stuff has launched a new website featuring hip-hop artist Maino. Link • GURU Beverage Co. announced a product collaboration with Kanye West. Link • Who’s Your Daddy, Inc. announced an endorsement deal with undefeated boxing Heavyweight contender Chris Arreola. Link • Major League Soccer and PepsiCo announced a new multi-year partnership. Link