‘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...

Beverage pricing growth in the US for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo is likely to decelerate during the second half of this year, mostly as the rate of input cost inflation slows, according to those companies’ leaders. During analyst calls and interviews with BD during the recent spate of second-quarter earnings reports, executives said pricing for the second half of this year will be driven primarily by increases already

What’s better: a Blue Cloud, or a Red Tree?

For the past decade, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have diverged in the US when it comes to soft drink distribution strategy. Coke owns no soda distribution operations, leaving that in recent years to independent franchised bottlers. On the other hand, PepsiCo owns and operates most of its US bottling distribution system. Now that both companies are seeking a growth path through alcoholic beverages, their strategies in the US have diverged once again.

As you’ll read in today’s issue, PepsiCo is going all-in on the distribution of alcoholic beverages such as Hard Mtn Dew with its Blue Cloud Distribution subsidiary. The company appears...