A recent Wells Fargo Securities survey of convenience store retailers found that most saw an uptick in beverage sales over the July 4 holiday as compared to sales last year, according to Convenience Store News. The survey, which polled beverage retailers representing thousands of convenience stores, revealed that 75 percent of respondents had better beverage sales than last year with 40 percent indicating that sales had increased by more than 5 percent.

Looking for a unique edge in a weakening soft drink market, PepsiCo Inc. plans to launch a new malt-flavored version of Mountain Dew later this summer, according to Reuters. PepsiCo will initially test Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold at Kroger and 7-Eleven stores in select cities in the Midwest as well as Denver, Colo. and Charlotte, N.C. beginning in late August.

With distribution in over 100,000 accounts across the U.S., Honest Tea has now set its sights on increasing brand awareness and, today, launched its first integrated marketing campaign. Dubbed "Refreshingly Honest," the campaign will emphasize Honest Tea's use of healthy and organic ingredients and incorporates a variety of ad mediums including television, social media, and outdoor signage.

Calling Under Armor’s lawsuit against the company “a prime example of trademark bullying by a corporate giant,” Body Armor says it’s ready to do battle with the sports apparel company. In its first response to the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Under Armour in April, Body Armor, a multifunction beverage, stated that “it is nearly impossible that consumers or retailers of either brand would confuse the two” and vowed to fight what chairman Mike Repole called a “ridiculous” claim.

As a growing number of angel investors in early stage beverage companies comes from within the industry itself, the insight of successful beverage company founders and executives who have gone on to become successful investors became an informative panel discussion at BevNET Live Summer 2012.

Calling it "the best of times and the worst of times for the beverage market," Ross Colbert, global beverage strategist for Rabobank, stressed the importance for retailers and vending operators to take advantage of current trends in the beverage industry to create new sales growth. Colbert explained that consumer demand for healthier and vitamin-fortified products is fueling the growth of "better for you" beverages, particularly in ready-to-drink teas, bottled waters, and functional drinks.

For the second time this year, the FDA has warned a beverage company that products labeled as supplements must be sold and marketed as supplements, not beverages. It was revealed today that the agency sent a letter to Rockstar cautioning that, despite being labeled as supplements, its Coffee & Energy products are represented and sold as beverages. And because the products contain Gingko, an unapproved food additive, the agency deemed the line to be “adulterated.”

In the midst of a significant shift in its sales and marketing strategy, Celsius has announced a new partnership with fitness infomercial icon Tony Little, most often known for his work promoting the Gazelle Exercise Machine. Celsius, a manufacturer of calorie-burning drinks and powders primarily consumed before workouts, has tweaked its positioning and marketing in the hopes of broadening its target use and consumer base to include individuals on weight-loss programs.

Late yesterday, Standard and Poor's announced that Monster Beverage will be added to the S&P 500 index next week. Monster will replace Sara Lee, which is splitting its North American business and international beverage business into two publicly traded companies. Monster, which has been publicly traded since 1995, will join the three major beverage companies - Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple - on the S&P 500.

Calling PepsiCo’s lack of bottling flexibility “hard to believe,” PepsiCo Americas Beverages CEO Al Carey said that the company has begun working with some of its more creative bottlers to create new package sizes for its beverage business. Speaking at Deutsche Bank’s Global Consumer Conference, Carey said that it PepsiCo was focused on “holding or improving value share” by the end of 2012, but that it was unsustainable to continue lowering prices to improve its position.