Headlines

After a year in which Diet Coke surged past Pepsi as the third bestselling soft drink in the U.S., PepsiCo will dramatically increase the size of its marketing budget in 2012 and lay off more than 1,000 employees – included some at its Purchase, N.Y. headquarters - to partially offset the costs, according to The New York Post. While PepsiCo declined to comment on the matter, The Post cited three sources who confirmed the details of the plan.

The deadline to create your listing for the 2012 BevNET Supplier and Services Guide is Dec. 21, 2011. BevNET’s Supplier and Services Guide is an annual resource to the 1,000+…

Expecting an eventual ease in the cost of commodities, Dr Pepper Snapple will increase prices modestly in 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal. Dr Pepper President and CEO Larry Young anticipates that the company will raise prices by 1.5 to 2 percent next year and believes that the rising swell in the cost of commodities will subside.

Though carbonated soft drinks face weakened demand and declining sales as a result of higher prices, sales of energy drinks and ready-to-drink teas remain on a hot pace, according to a recent report from Morgan Stanley. Utilizing Nielsen scanner data results, the investment bank detailed a year-over-year comparison in which category sales of energy drinks and RTD teas leapt by 12.5 and 4.5 percent, respectively, while sales of CSDs declined by 0.8 percent over a four-week period ending on November 26.

In a court settlement that may have wide-ranging implications for the beverage industry, the FDA agreed yesterday to decide whether to ban BPA, a controversial plastic and resin ingredient commonly used to line plastic bottles and metal cans. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed against the agency by the Natural Re­sources Defense Council, and requires the FDA to make a final decision on BPA by March 31, 2012.

Diet Coke might not be the most popular beverage in the country, but it is on the Internet, at least according to one measure. Zeta Interactive, a New York City-based digital marketing firm, is set to release the winners of its fourth annual Zeta Buzz Awards, an annual distinction given to companies with the most positive social media and online buzz. Included within the awards are the Best Buzzed Beverages of 2011, a “Top 10” list of brands that enjoyed a significant amount of positive discussion in the social media landscape.

Taylor’s Tonics hasn’t just cooked up a new four-pack of Holiday Flavors, they’ve apparently taken the opportunity to put together a silent movie and tribute to Ken Kesey! Attached are the video and press release announcing the new collection. Now that’s some holiday fun!

Consumer backlash has forced Coca-Cola to freeze production of limited-edition Arctic white cans for its flagship cola, according to the Wall Street Journal. Coke released the cans as part of a campaign to support conservation efforts for polar bear habitats, however, many consumers confused the cans with Diet Coke, while others claimed that the cola tasted different in the new cans. The white cans – scheduled to be on store shelves through February 2012 – will be phased out and replaced by red cans with seasonal designs.

TSG Consumer Partners, a private equity firm known for investing and reselling holdings in a number of food and beverage brands, announced the completion of a new $1.3 billion fund. In the past, TSG has acquired and sold stakes in Vitaminwater and Voss Water and, most recently, purchased 90 percent of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, the makers of Stumptown Cold Brew, a ready-to-drink iced coffee.

Following its recent study that found potentially dangerous levels of arsenic and lead in samples of apple and grape juice, Consumers Union, a consumer advocacy group, recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establish new thresholds for toxin levels in juice products. The results of the report come two months after Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a contentious warning that some brands of apple juice contained higher than normal levels of arsenic.