20-oz ‘Fallen Off a Cliff.’ New Retail Data: Beverage Category Sales Slowed.
April 14, 2020
As COVID-19 home lockdowns drag on, beverage bottlers in the Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper and independent beverage distribution systems have seen large store sales slow in April compared to the extreme stock-up buying by consumers last month, according to BD’s ongoing informal survey. Bottlers are increasingly concerned about the shift to future consumption from immediate consumption, which has pressured profit margins. The following are comments from bottlers since late last week, organized by topic...
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...
Same-store gasoline sales in the US fell during the week ending March 14, according to data released late last week by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). Initial data for the week ending March 21 indicates the decline could be...
Since early March, BD has tracked the COVID-19 crisis through the eyes of beverage executives in the Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and independent bottling systems. By last week, a period of frenzied demand had given way to a more normalized sales pattern, bottlers and distributors said. Some are now bracing for... Story includes direct comments from beverage bottlers and distributors.
Pantry loading this month by US consumers reacting to the COVID-19 crisis wasn’t limited to large hydration categories, according to all-outlet US data provided to BD by Nielsen. As shown in the table on the next page, categories and segments ranging from carbonated soft drinks to kombucha saw significant...
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.
Costa Coffee Accelerating Express Machine Expansion. Plus, 4Q Coke Revenue Jumps +7.0%. Shares Hit Record High.
February 7, 2020
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...