The legal rancor in recent years involving Bang Energy and Monster Energy took a surprising turn last week after a California court filing revealed an arbitrator’s $175 million ruling against Bang maker Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX). The development has implications as well for Bang Energy distributor PepsiCo.

Niagara, the country’s largest private label bottled water producer and a co-packer for companies including Coca-Cola, informed retailers this week that rising input costs will force a wholesale price increase on March 1. Niagara is battling higher supplier costs for...

Monster beverage executives are intent on entering the hard seltzer market after all. While company leaders have talked since mid-2019 about a possible entry into the category, they have also repeatedly expressed concern since that the category was saturated. To enter the category, executives have said ...

PepsiCo’s new Blue Cloud Distribution unit has now secured federal alcohol wholesale permits in at least 17 states as it prepares to launch Hard Mtn Dew next year. The company has registered a corporation called “Blue Cloud Distribution” in another eight states. Should federal alcohol wholesale permits be issued for those, Blue Cloud would then ...

NOTE: The Green Sheet included with this article maps the states where PepsiCo has secured an alcohol wholesale distribution permit from the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which collects federal excise taxes on alcohol and regulates labeling and marketing for alcohol products.

We’ve assembled an exceptional program of speakers for this year’s Future Smarts conference, with more announcements to come. Our mostly 30-minute sessions are designed to be fast-paced, with a chance for attendees to participate with questions. This virtual program is hosted in real time because we like that energy. Read full article.