BD Founder Recalls Reporting ’Boldest’ Move After Face-to-Face With Goizueta, Keough

Plus: Read BD’s 1985 New Coke, Coke Classic Coverage

Next Friday, July 11, will mark 40 years since Coca-Cola shocked the world for the second time in three months by bringing back its original Coca-Cola formula, which the company renamed Coca-Cola Classic. The first...

We thought we’d have some fun in today’s newsletter reminiscing about the 40th anniversary of Coca-Cola’s dramatic reversal of the New Coke formula change in 1985. Check out the story on page 11. Beverage Digest Founder Jesse Meyers writes about a meeting in Rye Brook, New York with Coke legends Roberto Goizueta and Donald Keough, where the executives confirmed the top-secret New Coke project. You can also read (and see) Beverage Digest’s original reports on the New Coke launch and the company’s reversal less than three months later.

The New Coke episode came during...

Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling Now Faces Possible Full Exit From Dr Pepper Business

Keurig Dr Pepper’s termination of a Dr Pepper distribution agreement with Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, without cause, for parts of California and Nevada is valid, a Texas judge has ruled. The termination will...

I returned last week from a 2,000-mile motorcycle trip to a Harley-Davidson rally in Springfield, Missouri. For those interested, I ride a 2025 Street Glide Ultra. Our route took us through Tupelo, Mississippi to see Elvis’ birth home, and then to Elvis’ Graceland...

US Energy drink category growth at retail accelerated during the first quarter of this year following a sluggish 2024, according to BD data. The category posted sales growth of...

In a flip-flop, regular Pepsi-Cola outperformed regular Coca-Cola at US retail during the first quarter of this year, according to BD data. As shown in the...

Brand Coca-Cola posted a surprising sudden decline at US retail in the four weeks ending Feb. 23, according to multi-channel Circana data published by Evercore ISI. The drop coincides with social media calls for a boycott of the brand among Hispanic consumers. The boycott appears to have...