Publisher’s Toast: Guarded Optimism

On the heels of December’s wildly entertaining BevNET Live, I can say that things are looking up for the industry. It wasn’t just the 800 strong that attended the event and the hundreds who followed our live stream, that led me to come away with that conclusion, but the breadth of those attendees. We had the great fortune to welcome back our regular standard-bearers, those who have attended almost all of the 20 plus conferences. They come for the knowledge, but just as importantly, to see old friends. But there was a larger portion of the attendees, I’ll call them the new breed, who were bold in their intentions, and fearless in launching the next wave of beverages, who had me even more excited. Yes, I’m considered old – being 75 qualifies me for that – but I was struck how young they were.

If you sampled from our coolers, you knew there was no shortage of variety in the product cohort. There was a strong representation of the stalwart: Soda is back in full force, which I’m excited to see. I was impressed with the taste of all these offerings. Energy was back in full force, and juice variations were everywhere, as well as exotic formulations. Water and its variations continue to grow unabated. Low- to zero-calorie drinks continue to thrive, but with a new focus, taste. Over the past few years, I’ve commented in my columns that the tastes have not caught up to the efficacy and functionality promised by the new brands. This new generation is getting closer to achieving that holy grail, great taste and oh so good for you.

This all sets the tone for 2024. In my initial conversations with marketers over the past few weeks, I was happy to hear mostly optimism from the ranks. Money is coming in, distributors are taking in new brands, and retailers are expanding their offerings. Hope springs eternal right now, but it’s too early in the year to know if the reality will match the optimism.

We will have a better sense of the battle between reality and optimism in a few weeks, when Expo West Is here. It is the bellwether of the state of the industry. If we all come away from Anaheim feeling as positive about the industry as I hear now in conversation, it’ll be a banner year indeed. Hopefully we can all celebrate our success.