Coke Acquisitions: Mad River vs FUZE?!?!?
As Coke gets ready to bring FUZE into the picture, there’s been some talk – at least among those who cover the industry — about whether or not Coke could…
John Craven
CEO / Founder / Editorial Director
As founder and CEO of BevNET, John Craven is a widely-recognized authority on the beverage industry and he is frequently cited in mainstream media. His vision shapes the editorial, publishing, and positioning of all of BevNET's properties, including BevNET.com, NOSH.com, BevNET Magazine, Brewbound.com and their associated conferences. John is a graduate of Boston College with a BS in Marketing and Computer Science.
Posts by John Craven
Cola Wars: 2007 Edition
With the announcement of Diet Pepsi Max and Coke’s upcoming launch of Diet Coke Plus, it seems evident that the 2007 edition of the Cola Wars has finally “innovated” beyond…
Convicted for Stealing Bad Info to Sell to Pepsi
Today, a federal jury convicted Joya Williams, a former Coca-Cola secretary, of conspiring to steal trade secrets from world’s largest beverage maker in an effort to sell them to rival…
PETA Claims Victory Against POM
According to the PETA web site, POM Wonderful has agreed to “End Deadly Animal Tests.” The tests, which were intended to help discover how pomegranate juice can help treat human…
Best of BevNET 2006: Cast Your Vote
VOTE NOW — Best of BevNET 2006 Readers’ Choice It’s that time of year again. From AriZona to Xcyto, we’re sifting through every last one of the hundreds of new…
Thoughts and Questions about Enviga
Last week we had the pleasure of sampling Enviga, a product from Beverage Partners Worldwide (a joint venture of The Coca-Cola Company and Nestle S.A.). In this self-designated “period of…
Hansen #2 in Fortune's Fastest Growing Companies
Maybe Hansen Natural’s stock is down more than 45% from its 52 week high and Glaceau is stealing their thunder in the media as the industry’s golden boy. But not…
Coke not taking advantage of being 2nd
When I first heard that Coke would be releasing a slew of “catch up” products, I had high hopes that Coke might flex its muscle and produce some interesting and…
Business Week Profiles Coke's Mary Minnick
The August 7th Business Week has a great profile of Mary Minnick, Coca Cola’s head of marketing, strategy, and innovation. Aside from giving historical detail of some of Coke’s missed…
Energy drinks — trademark laws don't apply?
Every industry has its trademark and trade dress issues and the beverage industry is no exception. While the “knockoff” product has been a viable strategy in many categories, the energy…
Summer Fancy Foods Show – July 9 – 11
By John Craven, BevNET.com Editor @@img1The 52nd annual Fancy Foods Show will be held at the Javits Center in Manhattan from July 9-11. Along with an expected 20,000 or so…
Is Coke Still It at McDonald’s?
By John Craven, BevNET Editor The experiment is significant because it would provide in-store competition to fountain products manufactured by the Coca-Cola Co., which has been McDonald’s only source of…
Wal-Mart puts Coke in its place
Most readers of this site have probably heard about Wal-Mart forcing Coke to go direct to its warehouses rather than direct to its stores. If they don’t, Wal-Mart is going…
Sprite redesign misses the mark
Okay, Coke, you’ve redesigned Sprite. You’ve mashed together a lemon lime (or “Lymon” as you call it) into this yin-yang style image that’s supposed to look like an “S”. You’ve…