A big question for independent US Pepsi bottlers is whether they are in line to distribute two brands at the center of key PepsiCo-related deals this year. The newest deal is PepsiCo’s pending acquisition of prebiotic soda leader Poppi for $1.95 billion, announced on March 17 (BD sent an email news alert to subscribers). The other is the...

Back in mid-2023, I wrote about a group called Save Tab Soda. They were cajoling Coca-Cola to revive the saccharin-sweetened diet cola that was discontinued in 2020 after almost 60 years on the market. Save Tab Soda went so far as to buy billboard space near Coke’s Atlanta headquarters to beg, “Please bring it back.” I referred to the Save Tab effort as quixotic. I still think it is.

That said, the tenacity and dedication of this band of hardcore fans and its followers is impressive. Just this past December, the group sent me a spiral bound 2025 Dreaming of Tab Calendar, with images of Tab in various holiday settings. They also shared “market research” and a survey of 206 people that they used to predict an initial market opportunity of almost $43 million should Tab return...