As consumers reacted in March to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Beverage Digest provided live updates on the impact to the US non-alcoholic beverage industry. Here is that coverage in its entirety.

The table with this story shows global beverage volume performance for CocaCola and PepsiCo, culled from the companies’ most recent annual regulatory filings. The companies disclose growth or decline for selected markets or business units, and those included can vary from...

On March 11, PepsiCo announced an agreement to buy Rockstar Energy for $3.85 billion plus $700 million worth of tax benefits payable over 15 years (BD Email News Alert 3/11/20). Aside from the opportunity to grow Rockstar...

After flying under the radar following its 2012 launch, Bang Energy sent a sonic boom across the US energy drink market during the past two years, surpassing an 8.0 dollar share in 2019. The brand, owned by Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX), ignited what is now known as the “performance energy” segment, taking on established players such as Monster Energy by touting better ingredients, low or no sugar, and supplements such as creatine and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). Under threat, Monster Beverage launched a counter-attack early last year with Reign Total Body Fuel, using the company’s partnership with Coca-Cola’s US bottling system to shower retail stores with incremental floor displays and c-store cooler placements. Fast forward a year and the threat posed by Bang may have subsided...

Next month, PepsiCo will launch a new sports drink, Gatorade Juiced, aimed at youth athletes and earmarked for the juice aisle. In an exclusive interview, Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O’Brien said the brand is looking to expand its base by creating a sports drink for pre-high school consumers that includes an ingredient profile attractive to their adult caretakers. “It’s bringing younger athletes into the portfolio with a product that their moms, dads and coaches feel great about,” O’Brien said. “We’re not asking them to step up into base Gatorade at an early age. We’re now creating this product specifically for this generation of athletes.” The launch comes as a critical time for the Gatorade brand...

During a Jan. 30 conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter earnings report, CEO James Quincey was asked about potential impacts from the Coronavirus outbreak in China. And in an interview, he discusses plans for Costa Coffee in the US...

Coca-Cola-owned dairy company Fairlife is considering a new ice cream or frozen yogurt, according to recent US trademark applications. The products, as contemplated by the filings, would carry the same Fairlife name and cow face icon used on the brand’s products including filtered milks and protein shakes such as Core Power. The innovation would mark the company’s first departure from beverages since it was founded in 2012...