Over the past half-decade since its merger, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) has steadily assembled, either through acquisition or affiliation, a diverse portfolio of brands across categories. But as seen at NACS, strong performance from its core CSDs is helping provide cover as other portfolio brands seek a jumpstart.

Much like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, KDP is reinvesting in its flagship trademark soda line to try to attract young consumers, and so far it seems to be working: permanent new SKU Dr Pepper Strawberry & Cream (available in both full and zero sugar varieties) did $300 million in total retail sales, reps at the booth told us, 85% of which was incremental to the trademark.

The next LTO, Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut, available between May and August, is positioned as another nostalgic summer treat. Household penetration has been driven by a focus on those kinds of occasions, and continued growth from Dr Pepper Zero Sugar (#2 in zero-sugar CSDs) suggests consumers want more permissible ways to access those familiar flavors.

Sunkist remains another CSD powerhouse within the KDP portfolio: after Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade this year, 2024 will see the release of Strawberry Orange as the brand’s next familiar-yet-unique fruit flavor.

As Mexican sparkling water (a la Topo Chico and Mineragua) becomes something of a national sub-category in itself, KDP is looking to bring one of the top selling brands in its Latin American portfolio, Peñafiel, to U.S. consumers broadly next year. That’s just in flavored sparkling, however; recall that Peñafiel still spring water was pulled from store shelves in 2019 over concerns about arsenic levels. Reps said current velocities in Texas and California are encouraging ahead of going national in 2024.

Elsewhere, KDP’s bottled water strategy is being streamlined, at least within convenience. Core Hydration still does most of the heavy lifting in the channel; next year will see the rollout of a on-bottle partnership with Olympics gymnastics and more marketing featuring ambassador Hailee Steinfeld.

Core Hydration+, the more function-forward sub-line, lives outside of c-stores for the most part, which clears the way for a “full renovation” of Bai to be positioned as KDP’s enhanced water play in convenience. On the two flavors — Bing Cherry and Molokai Coconut, both launching in March 2024 — displayed at the NACS booth, the trademarked “WonderWater” name is now prominently displayed beneath the brand name, along with a callout for “New Great Taste, More Benefits.” According to brand reps, Bai has been revamped with an improved sweetener formula, immunity support (vitamin C and zinc) and electrolytes. After dabbling in everything from purified water to teas and lemonade, giving the brand a more focused identity may help revive its fortunes.

As in water, the scales in energy are getting rebalanced as well. While Nutrabolt’s C4 is the heavy hitter (more on them shortly), Accelerator (A-Shoc) is still seeking its place within the mix. As the “lifestyle energy” brand, Accelerator is one of several national brands (along with Zoa) trying to take a more occasion-agnostic, gender-neutral path to mainstream consumers. Having NFL man-of-the-moment Travis Kelce as an ambassador should help, and more support is coming via two new flavors: Cherry Ice Pop and Tropical Punch.

C4 Lights Fuse

While much of the attention has been on Celsius’ rise to the number-three in the category brand via Pepsi distribution, KDP and C4 have proved to be an equally strong match. And on the product side, nostalgia and licensed IPs continue to drive innovation.

C4 was one of the first energy drink brands to make licensed IPs a staple of its product strategy, rolling out collaborations with household names like Starburst and Skittles. So why stop now? Next year will see three licensed Popsicle flavors — Cherry, Grape and Hawaiian Pineapple — join the core 200mg caffeine performance energy line in 16 oz. cans. Turns of any kind are welcome, but company reps told us familiar flavors serve to drive overall brand awareness and help transition first-time consumers onto regular SKUs.

The brand’s diversifying portfolio underlines the opportunity to meet different types of consumer cohorts under the umbrella of functional energy. For heavy users, there are the two new flavors of C4 Ultimate (300mg caffeine) to mark its collaboration with WWE, Ruthless Raspberry and Berry Power Bomb.

Don’t forget about C4 Smart Energy, either. Packed in a 12 oz. can and aimed outside of fitness occasions, the line is not a major piece of the company’s c-store strategy and thus wasn’t a big part of its NACS booth, but it has provided some important learnings as well. The brand had previously deployed comedian Kevin Hart, an investor in Nutrabolt, to promote that line, but marketing focus will shift next year to aligning Hart with performance energy core line.