Coke Spiced, BodyArmor Zero, Bubly Burst, Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut Among Coming Launches
October 12, 2023
This year’s NACS expo for convenience store operators, held last week in Atlanta, provided a first look at product innovation from beverage makers in advance of Spring shelf resets. Buyers from both chain and independent small-store retailers attend the show. NACS is the primary trade association for the global convenience and fuel retailing industry. BD attended the event to walk the show floor. Here are some of the newest products shown:
The third-quarter earnings season for the big-3 non-alcoholic beverage companies kicked off Tuesday with PepsiCo. Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper report the week of Oct. 23. Investors and analysts are watching for signs that consumers are pulling back on beverage purchases amid persistent inflationary grocery pricing and...
ShineWater has introduced a new aluminum can package for its vitamin D infused line of flavored waters. The brand will phase out the use of plastic bottles in favor of the 16-oz cans by early 2024, according to the company. Meanwhile,...
‘We Want to be the Most Approachable Energy Drink.’
Zoa Energy, launched more than two years ago by celebrity Co-founder Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is seeking a new equilibrium. In a category where the fastest growth is coming from brands like Celsius that appeal to women as much as men, Zoa has brightened its visual identity, slimmed down its can, taken out the sugar, and cast a wider net. “We’re normalizing...
Coca-Cola launched its newest limited edition Coke Creations extension this week. Y3000 is said by the company to be “futuristic flavored” and “co-created with human and artificial intelligence.” Y3000, in both Zero Sugar and regular versions, is how a Coke of the future might taste, the company added. Coca-Cola used AI to help generate the...
’You Need More People’ to Grow, CEO Tells Barclays Audience
September 14, 2023
Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey and North America President Jennifer Mann sat down on Sept 7 for an on-stage interview with equities analyst Lauren Lieberman at the Barclays Consumer Staples Conference in Boston. A key message from Quincey and Mann was Coca-Cola’s pursuit of...
When Kevin Keane joined the American Beverage Association in 2005 as SVP of policy and public affairs, industry issues were well focused on a single category. “We were talking largely about soda pop,” he recalled last week in an interview after being named the U.S. trade group’s CEO late last month. “Now there are so many different products that we're ...
Ninja's New Thirsti Drink System Takes on SodaStream
August 30, 2023
PepsiCo’s SodaStream has new competition from kitchen appliance maker Ninja. The Ninja Thirsti Drink System launched in late July. The company sent me a unit to try. Here are my observations:
— The primary difference in Thirsti versus SodaStream is that drinks are produced by the glass instead of by the bottle. With SodaStream and most other sparkling water appliances, including Aarke and Drinkmate, water is carbonated inside a multi-serve bottle. The user removes the bottle and pours in flavor syrup, shaking the mixture by hand. With Thirsti, water is drawn from a reservoir that is refillable and removable for fridge chilling. Changeable concentrate pods automatically release...