Headlines

An Ominous Dr Pepper Ten

Despite Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s (DPSG) supposed insulation from currency volatility and its strong dividend yields and cash flows, Wells Fargo Securities continues to express its concerns with the CSD…

PepsiCo Eyes Summer Launch for New “Real Sugar” Colas

Marketed and packaged as being “made with real sugar,” the beverages, to be released this summer, will come in regular, vanilla and wild cherry flavors. Labeled with the nostalgic PepsiCo logo, the products appear to be taking the place of the PepsiCo’s popular “Throwback” sodas, which included limited-edition, sugar-sweetened versions of its flagship cola and Mountain Dew

Honest Tea Reaches $112 Million in 2013 Sales; Logo Gets a Refresh(er)

Everyone knows that a rolling stone gathers no moss. Yet for Honest Tea, which has been rolling in its own right, the company has had no trouble picking up a different kind of green: cold hard cash. The Coca-Cola Co.-owned tea and juice outfit racked up $112 million in sales last year and is positioning itself for similar growth in 2014 amid the launch of a new multi-serve “Refresher” line and a logo evolution that will gradually roll out across all Honest product lines.

CSPI: Hospitals Getting Healthier

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released a report on 11 hospitals that have taken steps away from sugar-sweetened beverages; the news could represent another entry point for innovative beverage brands, especially if the shifts become a trend.

[pH]antastic – How Essentia Found its Flow

Essentia Water. The brand is another long-term, overnight success story, bumping along for years as a small natural channel brand but climbing to prominence as the tide of alkaline water gradually rose around it. While newer brands have done much of the hard work in raising consumer consciousness around higher-pH waters, Essentia has been the stalwart, the best-selling water SKU in many natural and specialty accounts, and it appears the patience is paying off.

More Spring Cleaning After Expo West 2014

When you’re covering a show that crams nearly 70,000 people, including many with beverage news, it can be easy to pass something significant without a second look. The following list is written so, for the most part, that doesn’t happen.

Distribution Roundup: Muscle Milk Enters the U.K.

With news that Muscle Milk has at last hit shelves in the United Kingdom, one wonders what those Brits have been drinking after workouts all this time. A pint of Boddingtons? A cup of Earl Whey?

Beverage or Supplement?

As the retail shelves become more and more crowded, the differences between beverages and liquid dietary supplements have become less clear. Companies looking to compete in the beverage and supplement industries have blurred the lines separating the categories, creating many similarities in packaging, ingredients and claims.

The Convenience Channel’s Weight

A recent report by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) says that the convenience frontier keeps growing. According to the report, U.S. convenience stores increased in-store sales in 2013 to a record $204 billion. As of Dec. 31, 2013, the U.S. convenience store count had increased to 151,282 stores, a 1.4 percent increase from the previous year.

Can’t We All Just… Chill?

Because formulations are not easily understood, the term “relaxation” is one that consumers define for themselves, independent of ingredients — creating meanings that are often at odds with how brands position and market their products. .

Press Clips: Another Rough Year for CSDs

CSD volume has declined for nine consecutive years, and the 3 percent decline in 2013 was worse than the 1.2 percent decline in 2012 and the 1 percent decline in 2011. Beverage Digest reports that while Coke added to its 42.4 percent market share in the CSD industry, volume declined by 2.2 percent. PepsiCo holds 27.7 percent market share, but saw volume decline by 4.4 percent. Dr Pepper Snapple’s market share is 16.9 percent, but volume declined by 9 percent.

Global Change and the Big Guys

The glaciers can slowly erode; so can the big three soda companies. It may go beyond the overall decline in consumption of sugary products and artificial sweeteners – it might just be changing tastes.

Spring Cleaning After Expo West 2014

When you’re covering a show that crams nearly 70,000 people, including many with beverage news, it can be easy to pass something significant without a second look. The following list is written so, for the most part, that doesn’t happen.

Reed’s Partners With Haralambos Beverage Company

When Tony Haralambos considers a new brand for his distribution empire in Southern California, it seems that he doesn’t heavily weigh the opinions of Wall Street. That argument gained credence on Tuesday when Reed’s announced a distribution partnership with Haralambos.