The Breeze With Beverage Digest

Send us a textBeverage industry veterans Duane Stanford and John Sicher analyze the latest trends revealed in the Beverage Digest Fact Book, discussing the surprising rise of Sprite over Pepsi and the continued dominance of functional beverages.• Non-alcoholic beers gaining mainstream acceptance as daytime alternatives to diet sodas• THC beverages operating in regulatory "Wild West" environment likely to face increased scrutiny• Sprite overtakes Pepsi to become America's third-ranked carbonated soft drink• PepsiCo has a long-term strategy as a "total beverage company" too• Functional refreshment drives growth in "gut sodas" like Poppy and Olipop• Energy drinks remain strong despite economic pressures due to functionality and flavor variety• Liquid refreshment beverage market shows bifurcated growth—water and energy drinks up• Sports drinks category puzzlingly weak despite functional benefits and strong brands• Coca-Cola implementing unified "sandwich strategy" with Body Armor and Powerade• Economic pressures and potential tariff impacts creating uncertain environment for beverage industryVisit our website to learn more about the Beverage Digest Fact Book, the Keurig Dr Pepper System Map Book, and subscribe to our digital newsletter for exclusive industry insights.

Send us a textBeverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert & regular podcast contributor John Sicher discuss Rodney Sacks' announced retirement as CEO of Monster Beverage. When Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg spotted the emerging energy drink trend in the early 2000s, few could have predicted they'd build a $53 billion global empire. Yet that's exactly what they did with Monster Energy, creating a brand that now rivals corporate giants like Ford and DuPont in market value.The announcement of Sacks' upcoming retirement as Co-CEO (transitioning to chairman until 2026) marks a pivotal moment in beverage industry history. His legacy? Transforming a small juice company into a dominant force commanding 35% of the US energy drink market, with 35 brands sold in 159 countries and $7.5 billion in annual revenue.As leadership transitions to Schlosberg amid a flurry of industry consolidation (Celsius acquiring Alani Nu, Ghost Energy joining Keurig Dr Pepper), Monster's future success will depend on maintaining the competitive edge and strategic discipline that defined the Sacks era while adapting to an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Send us a textToday, Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert & regular podcast contributor John Sicher discuss the remarkable journey of Dr Pepper – a brand that has thrived in today's demanding carbonated soft drink landscape. Through strategic marketing, innovation, and understanding consumer trends, Dr Pepper has positioned itself as a key player in the category. Duane and John offer insights into the brand's growth amid declining CSD volumes, discuss the importance of bottler relationships and KDP's distribution strategy, and explore the brand's effective use of limited-time offerings and social media trends.

To kick off the new year, Duane and John talk beverage industry trends and expectations for 2025 - including pricing power, the energy category, and the US beverage bottling landscape. Duane Stanford is the Editor & Publisher of Beverage Digest, the leading beverage industry news and data publication.John Sicher is the former editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, who has since consulted for companies including Coca-Cola, BodyArmor, and PureCircle.This episode was recorded on January 6, 2025.

Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert & regular podcast contributor John Sicher discuss a wild October in the energy drinks sector.Bang founder and former CEO Jack Owoc announced he is getting back into the energy game following the collapse of Bang. His new product is called Ai Energy. Then, Keurig Dr Pepper announced it was buying Ghost Energy and taking it out of the Anheuser-Busch system. This is the latest energy drink to be taken away from AB distributors. And Celsius just bought one of its co-packers for $75 million to get more control over its supply chain and innovation turnaround. What does all of this activity mean at a time when the energy category remains sluggish?This episode was recorded on Nov. 1, 2024.

Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert & regular podcast contributor John Sicher dive into the most recent beverage category performance data to see what it tells them about brands, consumers, and the retail environment. Will promotions need to be ramped up to spur volume sales? Is product diversification cannibalizing core brands? Drop in on their conversation.

After the rapid sales decline of Congo Brands' influencer-driven Prime Hydration this year, Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert John Sicher dig into the brand's boom-splat storyline to assess what this means for a slumping U.S. sports drink category.

Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford chats with industry expert & The Breeze contributor John Sicher about the future of prebiotic sodas, how health and wellness soft drinks fit into the broader packaged beverage sector, and whether these products present a growth opportunity for soda makers like Coke, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper.

Is the energy drink market truly slowing down? In Episode 15 of The Breeze, industry expert John Sicher joins Beverage Digest Editor and Publisher Duane Stanford to analyze recent performance data showing rocky performance this year for the energy drink category at retail, as well as Monster Beverage's recent leadership transition announcement.

Beverage Digest's Duane Stanford and The Breeze contributor John Sicher hash through the strategy and consequences behind Keurig Dr Pepper's decision to take back Dr Pepper franchise territory from Reyes Coca-Cola in California and Nevada. Will KDP take more Dr Pepper territory from Coke, or even Pepsi? Are there implications for the nagging question of whether PepsiCo should refranchise its U.S. bottling system?

In today's episode, industry expert John Sicher joins Beverage Digest Editor and Publisher Duane Stanford to explore the recent shift in Coca-Cola's and PepsiCo's soft drink marketing strategies, exemplified by platforms like Coke Creations. What's going on and will it work?

In today's episode, industry expert John Sicher joins Beverage Digest Editor and Publisher Duane Stanford to explore the evolution of the purified bottled water category. As Coke and Pepsi shift their casepack water strategies away from DSD at Walmart, what lies ahead for the category?

In today's episode, Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert John Sicher tackle five predictions for the upcoming year that range from alcohol to acquisitions. They dive into some of the year's most intriguing themes and, as always, ask the most important question: what does this mean?

Duane Stanford and John Sicher recap and analyze the most intriguing and unexpected developments in beverages from 2023, including the great alcohol crossover, cannabis regulation, the creator economy, BodyArmor's journey, Bang Energy's fall and rebirth, surprising soda pricing results, and more. Companies covered include Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper,  Athletic Brewing, Bang Energy, Prime Hydration, and many more.

In today's episode, industry expert John Sicher joins Beverage Digest Editor and Publisher Duane Stanford to break down Tuesday's Coca-Cola earnings report, and PepsiCo's results earlier this month. Industry insiders have been surprised by the resilience of soft drink volume sales given the fast pace of rising prices. As pricing returns to normal, what does this mean for beverage makers? Can they stoke demand? Will "the other shoe drop," and if so, how should they prepare? Listen in on the conversation.

PepsiCo's announced investment in online grocery delivery service Instacart begs a question: Isn't PepsiCo essentially competing now against some of its most important retail customers? Take Walmart, for example, which is aggressively expanding an online grocery delivery business of its own. There was a time when such a customer conflict would have been avoided. But PepsiCo isn't alone in tossing conventional wisdom these days. Coke is doing it, too. So what's going on?Duane Stanford invites regular Breeze contributor and industry expert John Sicher to discuss the shifting grounds of today's quickly fragmenting beverage industry.

Bang Energy went from boom to bust within just five years. After mounting a successful challenge to the supremacy of Monster and Red Bull and capturing the attention of PepsiCo, Bang unraveled and went bankrupt. Now in the hands of archrival Monster and its distribution partner Coca-Cola, will Bang rise again? New challengers like Celsius may have something to say about that question.Duane Stanford invites regular Breeze contributor and industry expert John Sicher to discuss the recent wild and crazy days of energy drinks. They also unravel what happens next in this epic competition.

Today we talk with Sigi Hale, Principal Neuroscientist and Director of Research at market research and consulting firm Alpha-Diver. Sigi's work takes him deep into consumer behavior to understand why brand purchase decisions are made and how companies can act on that learning. Alpha-Diver, in partnership with Beverage Digest, just released the world's first ranking of beverage brands by consumer psychology. The Bev50 report and webinar are available for download here. During the episode, Duane and Sigi discuss the research findings and the ways neuroscience is illuminating consumer research.

The results are in and 2022 held plenty of surprises in a beverage world still transitioning from a global pandemic and supply chain madness. In this episode, industry expert John Sicher joins Beverage Digest Editor and Publisher Duane Stanford to break down their top takeaways from the just-released 28th Edition of Beverage Digest's Fact Book. The Fact Book captures performance results for the full non-alcoholic drinks market, not just what's measured by store scanners. That includes everything from groceries to the fountain channel, where a lot of brand activity happens. Listen in as they talk shop.

Today we chat with long-time industry expert and former Beverage Digest publisher John Sicher to discuss soda pricing power. The carbonated soft drink category is a significant value driver in the ready-to-drink refreshment beverage market. Products like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper are important to retailers in generating store traffic and contributing to overall profitability. We explore how the recent surprising period of pricing growth in the category has evolved and whether this trend will continue in 2023 and beyond.

Our guest today is Matt Hughes, Vice President of Incubation for New Revenue Streams at Coca-Cola. Insiders might remember this unit as Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB), of which Matt is a founding member. He has spent 30 years in the beverage industry, including as an entrepreneur. We talk to Matt about this month's Natural Products Expo West to compare notes on natural product trends, up-and-coming wellness brands, and what it takes to break through in a crowded sector defined by high failure rates and a huge potential upside.

PepsiCo is starting from scratch and creating a brand new lemon-lime soda: Starry. After dominating the segment for thirty years, Sprite now has a new competitor. Do we have a legitimate lemon-lime war again? Duane Stanford invites beverage industry expert (and former Beverage Digest publisher) John Sicher to discuss the lemon-lime category's past, present and future.

In the February 1, 2023 issue of Beverage Digest, we wrote about Powerade and its plans to challenge Gatorade's long-standing supremacy. But this is no longer a two-horse race. Duane Stanford invites beverage industry expert (and former Beverage Digest publisher) John Sicher to discuss the sports drink category's past, present and future.