Amid Celsius Speculation, PepsiCo Leaders Open to Energy Distribution Deals. But ‘Not Urgent.’
July 15, 2022
Some independent Pepsi bottlers in the US may be unable to distribute Bang Energy for Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX) following PepsiCo’s and VPX’s decision to sever ties by the end of this year. Bottlers...
Offers View on Small Health-Oriented Brands at Coke
June 23, 2022
As Honest co-founder Seth Goldman races to get his new ready-to-drink tea to market in the aftermath of Coca-Cola’s decision to discontinue Honest tea, there is one thing he is sure of for now. He won’t try to build a...
Ceria Founder Also Says Non-Alcoholic Beer Market Will Rival Craft Brew Market
June 23, 2022
Keith Villa, the PhD brewmaster who created Blue Moon almost three decades ago
for Coors Brewing, is credited with using that beer to help introduce scores of consumers to more flavorful craft brews. Blue Moon was a gateway brew for light beer drinkers who would eventually consume everything from IPAs to Saisons as craft beer went mainstream during 2000s. In recent years, Villa has been toiling away on his latest gateway project: cannabis- infused and alcohol-free beers. Villa’s company, Ceria Brewing, relaunched its beers with
a new look this month after first introducing the brand in 2018. Villa uses a proprietary process to get Ceria’s beers to 0.0% ABV. Ceria’s lineup includes a Belgian-style white ale called Grainwave (Villa’s latest Blue Moon) and an IPA called Indiewave. Versions of these alcohol-free beers with psychoactive THC and non-psychoactive CBD are available at licensed marijuana dispensaries in Colorado and California, where the recreational use of cannabis is permitted. The beers have less than 100 calories per 12-oz can. A six-pack of Ceria’s alcohol- free beer sells for about $10. THC versions sell at regulated cannabis dispensaries for about $6 - $8 per can, plus taxes. Given the growing interest in low- and no-alcohol beers and cannabis-infused beverages, BD took the opportunity to discuss both segments with Villa, who runs the company with his wife Jodi Villa, who is CEO. The following has been edited for length and clarity...
Solutions Sought as Booze Market Taps Non-Alcoholic Brands
June 23, 2022
Coca-Cola is considering compensating its franchise bottlers in the US for company- sanctioned ready-to-drink alcohol beverages sold in bottlers’ exclusive territories, BD has learned from bottling executives. Just last week, Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman and Coca-Cola announced a “global relationship” for a Jack & Coke canned cocktail to be launched in Mexico later this year. While other...
PepsiCo's Blue Cloud Aims to Service "All Retail Customers" in Phased Roll Out
March 17, 2022
Hard Mtn Dew has created a stir among some independent liquor store operators in three states where Boston Beer and PepsiCo launched the alcoholic soda one month ago. Operators in Florida, Tennessee, and Iowa told BD that they have so far ...
Canopy Growth Chief Innovation Officer Julian Cohen says the company views cannabis as a consumer product, just like beverages and snacks. He sees an opportunity for cannabis to play in a “beneficial” beverage space in which cannabis and other functional ingredients such as vitamins, antioxidants and adaptogens are blended to “deliver on the promise of what we call total mood management.” In a separate interview, Canopy Chief Product Officer Tara Rozalowsky provided an update on the company’s US business and Quatreau’s launch.
The New York Times recently published a story under the headline, “Beverages With Benefits: Do They Really Work?” The piece addressed what it described as the “flourishing” functional beverage market, made up of everything from prebiotic sodas for gut health to nootropics for brain acuity. The newspaper rightly points out that such products are an extension of the health supplement market that has generated profits for decades. As this functional beverage market grows, entrepreneurs and large beverage companies alike have been...
With our Dec. 6 Future Smarts conference a little more than a month away, this is a great time to share a few of the themes we will explore this year. We are in a pivotal reset period for the global beverage industry following the extreme disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. To help sort it out, we’ve assembled an exceptional lineup of speakers who are well-placed to evaluate the implications of the past two years and share insight on what to expect. They include leaders ...
Blue Cloud Decision Spurs Debate With Beer Wholesalers
October 12, 2021
During a third-quarter earnings conference call on Oct. 5, analysts naturally wanted to know more about the strategy behind PepsiCo’s decision to form an...