PepsiCo has pushed deeper into ecommerce with two new direct-to-consumer websites selling core brands from Doritos to Gatorade. The websites are the product of a dedicated PepsiCo operating team of tech experts in Manhattan that are chasing consumer demand for online convenience. Industry watchers and PepsiCo bottlers are privately asking whether PepsiCo’s retail partners such as Walmart will view the direct-to-consumer initiative as a competitive threat. In addition, it appears PepsiCo won’t owe invasion fees to the company’s independent bottlers for products sold direct to consumers, which could create tension...

On April 28, PepsiCo announced an exclusive agreement with Vital Pharmaceuticals to distribute Bang Energy in the US (BD News Alert 4/28/20). The alliance gives PepsiCo access to a brand that has surpassed Rockstar as the third largest energy drink, and to a performance energy category that has attracted new competitors including...

PepsiCo just announced an exclusive agreement to distribute Bang Energy in the US. The deal, effective immediately, comes as PepsiCo also has closed the $3.85 billion acquisition of Rockstar Energy. Terms of the agreement with Bang owner VPX Pharmaceuticals...

New York is one of the hardest hit COVID-19 regions in the world. It’s also the home to Big Geyser, one of the largest and most important independent beverage distributors (and incubators) in the US. The company serves almost 13 million consumers in New York City’s five boroughs and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. BD spoke this week to Big Geyser COO Jerry Reda to find out how the company is responding to the crisis. He estimated that only about...