Executives from PepsiCo’s company-owned and independent bottling system met recently in Dallas to discuss 2024 market plans. PepsiCo Beverages North America CEO Kirk Tanner opened the meeting with a challenge to strive for “five-star excellence” when it comes to selling, service, sustainability, profit, and market share. “Three-star is good enough. Five-star is exceptional,” he said. “It is all about resetting our expectation for

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...

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...

Dunkin’ has announced a line of Dunkin’ Spiked Iced Coffees and Iced Teas rolling out now to groceries and liquor stores in 12 states. The hard coffee drinks have 6% alcohol by volume while the hard teas contain 5% ABV. The coffee flavors are Original, Caramel, Mocha, and Vanilla. The tea flavors are Slightly Sweet, Half & Half (tea and lemonade), Strawberry Dragonfruit, and Mango Pineapple....

Liquid I.V. is preparing to launch a “For Kids” version of its powdered hydration multiplier, the company told BD. The electrolyte product, intended for children aged one to 12, will become available on Aug. 23. Flavors are...

On July 31, Monster Beverage completed its $362 million acquisition of bankrupt Bang Energy owner Vital Pharmaceuticals (VPX). Last week, Monster confirmed that Coca-Cola and its bottlers will distribute Bang globally, with a US rollout to begin this quarter. “As a result, there will be a

Media personality and author Jay Shetty and his YouTuber wife Radhi Devlukia-Shetty have launched an adaptogenic, zero sugar sparkling tea brand called Juni in four flavors: Raspberry, Lemon Green Tea, Peach Green Tea, and Tropical Green Tea....