What's been attracting the attention of BeverageDaily readers? Here's a round-up of our most-read articles of October.
What's been attracting the attention of BeverageDaily readers? Here's a round-up of our most-read articles of October.
Keurig Dr Pepper will sell, distribute and merchandise premium hydration beverage Electrolit across the US: extending its portfolio into sports hydration.
Sports hydration is currently a ‘key white space category’ for KDP, the company says, as it signs the agreement with Grupo PiSA.
While KDP has been extending beyond its stronghold of soda and coffee, the sports hydration category has long been dominated by PepsiCo’s Gatorade and Coca-Cola’s Powerade and Bodyarmor. Announcing the long-term sales and distribution agreement, KDP champions Electrolit as a 'differentiated brand with tremendous consumer appeal'.
While Dr Pepper Snapple previously had a 15.5% stake in Bodyarmor, the brand ultimately went to Coca-Cola (which acquired the brand in full in 2021).
A number of countries use 0.5% ABV as the maximum threshold for an alcohol-free drink. But not all.
England currently considers an ‘alcohol-free drink’ as one that contains 0.05% ABV. A public consultation is now seeking views on whether this should be raised to 0.5% ABV.
This would help encourage development of low/no alcohol products, says the UK government.
Diageo has launched a new partnership lab, called Fusion by Diageo, which will bring in innovators to ‘co-develop the next generation of digital products that will elevate consumer experiences’.
That could include virtual reality experiences or the use of artificial intelligence to create personalized drinks choices.
The theme for the first cohort is ‘Celebrate at Home’, with participants set to explore new frontiers in how people unwind, experiment, and entertain in their own spaces.
“Diageo is particularly excited about the potential to harness the latest technology to create highly individualised experiences for the home; whether using AI to hand-pick product recommendations, or the latest VR and AR technology to transform a living room into a 20,000 person music arena, where everyone has a front row seat,” explains the company.
Applicants for the program can come from both within and outside the drinks industry.
The Coca-Cola Company and Pernod Ricard are teaming up to launch Absolut Vodka & Sprite as a ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktail in 2024.
Absolut & Sprite will be made with Pernod Ricard’s premium vodka Absolut and Coca-Cola's lemon-lime soft drink Sprite. The pre-mixed cocktail will be available in versions with Sprite and Sprite Zero Sugar, with the initial launch planned for select European countries in early 2024, including the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany.
The global benchmark for alcohol beverage volume (ABV) is 5% but will vary depending on the market.
The partnership is the latest in a chain of alcohol tie-ups for Coca-Cola as it hopes to make the most of the popularity of RTD alcohol: including Jack and Coke (with Brown Forman); Topo Chico Hard Seltzer (with Molson Coors) and Fresca Mixed (with Constellation Brands).
Molson Coors says it has achieved the aims of its 2019 Revitalization Plan: now it wants to refine that strategy to accelerate growth.
The refined strategy balances nurturing core beer brands – such as Coors Light, Miller Lite and Coors Banquet – against exploring new ‘beyond beer’ areas for the company such as energy drinks, craft spirits and hard seltzers.
From digital transformation to ‘aggressive premiumization’, here’s how the company is going accelerate growth.
