ON TOP
- New CEO for Red Bull North America – Stefan Kozak, the head of Red Bull's operations in Latin America and in Canada, has been named as the new CEO of Red Bull North America. Link
- Vita Coco founder and CEO Michael Kirban said his company will continue to operate much as it has, even after signing a national distribution agreement with Dr Pepper Snapple Group – with video. Link
- BevNET Live Video: Marketing Panel – Speakers including PepsiCo's global director of social media, Bonin Bough, describe the current social media marketing environment. Link
- The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. agreed to pay $715 million to distribute Dr Pepper and other DPSG brands. Link
- PepsiCo launched an innovation incubator program called PepsiCo10, an open call for promising start-ups in media, communications and technology. Link
ON THE SHELVES
- Starting this summer, The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. is shipping Mello Yello in a remixed version of the original package design. Link
DISTRIBUTION
- Neuro announced that Haggen/Top Food & Drug, Ray's, Rosauers Super Markets, Super 1 Foods and QFC will distribute Neuro in Washington and Oregon.
- Denver Theatres and Arenas announced a three-year contract with Denver-based Vuka to be the exclusive energy drink vendor for Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver Coliseum, Colorado Convention Center, and the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
- Wave Energy Drink announced new placements in Buffalo, N.Y.'s waterfront area. Link
- The Relaxation Co., which makes Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda and The Relaxing Tea has inked a distribution agreement with Austin Beverage Co. to sell its products in San Antonio and Austin markets. Link
- DNA Beverage Corporation announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Southern Eagle Distributing in Florida. Link
- Ex Drinks announced the addition of more than 100 Ralphs grocery stores in the state of California. Ralphs Supermarkets are now carrying Ex Drinks’ Ex Chill, Ex Pure Energy and Ex Slim Energy. Link
- Bond Laboratories, Inc. announced that Clark Beverage Group of Mississippi will distribute Resurrection. Link
- CALIDRIS 28 announced that L. Knife & Son, Inc. has agreed to distribute 28BLACK in the eastern United States. Link
- Reed's, Inc. announced that Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, which operates 159 Fresh & Easy stores throughout California, Arizona and Nevada, will begin carrying selected Reed’s and Virgil’s products in all of its locations. Link
- Waialua Soda Works announced that it is now available in 41 Whole Foods Market stores across California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii and that it will be represented by Presence Marketing/Dynamic Presence in the Southern Pacific region. Link
IN THE COURTS
- Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. and PepsiAmericas Inc. won a judge’s permission to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by investors challenging a buyout bid by PepsiCo Inc. Link
LAW, POLICY, AND ADVOCACY
- The United States Food and Drug Administration argued against allegations from The Cornucopia Institute that the National Organic Program is subject to “undue corporate influence.” Link
- A recent poll by WBAL TV found that 59 percent of Baltimore residents find a 4-cent tax on beverages "acceptable." Link
- An Adweek/Harris Poll shows that 56 percent of Americans are opposed to a tax on soft drinks, with less than a third supporting the idea. Link
BRAND MARKETING & PROMOTION
- World Extreme Cagefighting and Amp Energy drink are partnering to allow fans the opportunity to help pick which of 30 cities will host a future WEC card. Voting in the "Hometown Takedown Contest" is open now and ends on July 31. Link
- The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, announced Kaleb Cowart of Cook High School (Adel, Ga.) as its 2009-10 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Link
- XYIENCE will host a series of events for the upcoming UFC 115 fight at General Motors Place in Vancouver, B.C. on Saturday, June 12, including the XYIENCE and TapOut After-Fight Party immediately following the fight. Link
- Sun Tropics Inc. of San Ramon, CA debuted a marketing campaign in Northern California that centers on its "taste more fruit" boast.
- 5-Hour Energy has challenged fans to find 15 5-Hour Energy race car tokens hidden throughout the 5-Hour Energy site, Blog, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter and more. When a fan has found all the tokens, they can enter to win a one-year supply of 5-Hour Energy shots and other great prizes. Link
- PepsiCo signed up as the first sponsor of Stickybits, a smart-phone social networking application that allows consumers to leave and discover digital content attached to real-world bar codes. Link
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. announced five-year goals for improved environmental and social performance across the company's operations and released its inaugural corporate social responsibility report. Link
TRENDS AND STUDIES
- A recent study in The Journal of Medicine found that both raw and cooked ginger reduce pain associated with muscle injury by about 24 percent. Link
- A component of green tea has shown promise as a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, HealthDay reported. Link
- A recent review of Parkinson's disease studies found that consuming two to three cups of coffee per day cut subjects' risk for the disease by as much as 25 percent, the Telegraph reported. Link
DEALS
- CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. announced a continuation of their marketing alliance with Coca-Cola Enterprises. The multi-year agreement covers vending, sponsorships, promotions and mall advertising in 86 regional malls/open-air centers located in 27 states. Link
IN THE MEDIA
- PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. and McDonalds are reducing their focus on big-name music groups and seeking out up-and-comers, reported AdAge. Link
- A strike against Mott’s in New York is in its third week with no signs of either the company or the workers bending, reported WHEC. Link
- In 2009, Massachusetts state agencies spent $760,046 on bottled water, according to WVCB News. Link
- Chicago's newly-appointed Water Management Commissioner, Tom Powers, said it's worth exploring bottling and selling the city’s “exceptional” tap water, reported the Chicago Sun Times. Link
- As soft drinks struggle with health concerns and other challenges, juices are stepping up their advertising efforts, the New York Times reported. Link
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group has become, in effect, the swing voter of the beverage industry, reported the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Link
- PepsiCo signed a multi-year, multibrand agreement with Gas Station TV, MediaWeek reported. Link
- The Pepsi brand accounts for just 5 percent of PepsiCo's share price, compared to 27 percent for Coca-Cola and its core brand, according to a report from Trefis on Forbes.com. Link
FINANCIALS
- PepsiCo, Inc. announced that its second-quarter 2010 earnings conference call and slide presentation for financial analysts and investors will be webcast live over the internet on Tuesday, July 20 at 8 a.m. eastern daylight time. The company will issue its financial results at approximately 7 a.m. that morning. The live webcast will be accessible through PepsiCo's website at www.pepsico.com, in the "Investors" section under "Investor Presentations."
- Coca-Cola Enterprises will webcast a presentation to analysts and investors on Wednesday, June 16 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John F. Brock will make the presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference. The public can access the live webcast through the Company’s web site at www.cokecce.com.
SUPPLIER SIDE
- Novelis Inc., the U.S.-based aluminum unit of India’s Hindalco Industries Ltd., said it will become the largest North American maker of metal for beverage cans this year as Alcoa Inc. curtails output. Link
- Living Essentials, the producer of 5-Hour Energy, announced that it will expand operations at its production and distribution facility in Wabash, Ind. creating up to 60 new jobs over the next few years. The company will invest more than $15.5 million to add six new production lines and nearly 450,000 square feet of additional production and warehouse space. Link
- Hansen hired Flowdesign to develop a design for its recently-launched Blue Sky Defense Shot with Energy Support. Link
- Teawolf announced it will attend the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago on July 16-20, 2010. Link
- DSM Nutritional Products unveiled a study on resVida resveratrol that showed it can improve associative and spatial learning and memory performance in aged mice. Link
- Coca-Cola Enterprises marked the expansion of its Wilsonville, Ore. facility with a “green ribbon-cutting” ceremony including gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber, Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp and members of Coca-Cola Enterprises’ senior leadership team.
INTERNATIONAL
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced plans to review water use by transnational companies like The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. and PepsiCo. Link
- North Korea said it has developed a "super drink" that can multiply brain cells and stop skin ageing through 60 kinds of "microelements." Link
TOOTING THEIR HORN
- Cargill was named the 2010 Bronze Effie Award winner in the New Product & Services category for the integrated national marketing campaign introducing Truvia. Link
- New Leaf Brands, Inc. was recently awarded first place by World Tea Media, producers of the North American Tea Championship for its ready-to-drink green iced tea with mango. Link
ETC.
- The Coca-Cola Co., Inc. produced a short film in the buildup to the World Cup starring England's Wayne Rooney and comedian James Corden, in which the comedian berates the footballer for failing to convincingly celebrate scoring a goal. Link
- Hip-hop star M.I.A. turned down endorsement offers from both Coca-Cola and Pepsi, but insists she'll accept a commercial deal soon. Link
- Coca-Cola constructed a more than 40-foot tall sculpture from 2,600 Coca-Cola crates in Johannesburg to celebrate the World Cup. Link
- Washington D.C. area organic grocer MOM's Organic Market will no longer sell bottled water as part of a campaign to reduce the use of plastic. The chain will instead install water filtration machines at its stores. Link
- PepsiCo released new statistics on the Pepsi Refresh Project. Refresheverything.com has registered over two million users and receives approximately five million unique visitors per month, and Pepsi Refresh Project ideas have received over 25 million votes. Link