The two beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo will be driving their brands forward rather than shrinking back in the years ahead, treating the recession as a period for growth, says beverage analyst James Tonkin.
PepsiCo has tabled a move to purchase two of its largest global bottling companies as part of plans to streamline and strengthen distribution of its products in markets like North America, according to the company.
This week, Unilever, PepsiCo and Starbucks agree on a new licensing deal to produce ready-to-drink (RDT) tea products, Scotch whisky makers are successful in obtaining Chinese copyright measures and Carlsberg expands eastwards.
While they may produce very different types of beverages,
multinational manufacturers Heineken and PepsiCo have both
committed to further expansion within the high growth markets of
Central and Eastern Europe.
PepsiCo says that its hopes to jump-start its manufacturing
presence in the high growth soft drink markets of Eastern Europe
and Siberia with the acquisition of local group Sobol.
This week, UK group Britvic finds the country's consumers demand
for beverages changing and PepsiCo targets functional demand
with the launch of a new range of waters.
PepsiCo is teaming up with the Earth Institute and the H2O Africa
Foundation in a bid to encourage sustainable use of non-industrial
water supplies in developing countries.
In this week's briefs, Coca-Cola Enterprises lifts sale
expectations for the year ahead, the Absolut vodka brand will go
the highest bidder at an upcoming auction, and Pepsi consolidates
its bottling presence in the US.
PepsiCo is to step up its presence in the burgeoning Eastern
European soft drinks market by acquiring an 80 per cent stake in
one of Ukraine's leading juice producers.
PepsiCo's new wave of healthier soft drinks, including Gatorade and
Aquafina, helped the group to shrug off declines in its trademark
Pepsi cola to increase sales by 13 per cent in the third quarter.
Private equity group Permira denied it was about to unveil a bid to
buy Britain's biggest soft drinks group, Britvic, following two
days of heavy speculation.
PepsiCo has appointed Indian-born Indra Nooyi to be its new chief
executive, displaying the group's international credentials as it
looks to build on recent success.
PepsiCo has signed a deal with Ocean Spray to bottle and distribute
single-serve cranberry juice drinks, as the soft drinks firm looks
to expand its offering to health-conscious consumers.
Cadbury Schweppes may be about to buy up its Dr Pepper/Seven Up
bottling partner in the US, says a report, indicating a growing
consolidation trend in the US soft drinks supply chain.
PepsiCo has launched a range of flavoured waters enriched with
vitamins across the US, in a further sign that functional drinks
are pushing their way into the mainstream soft drinks sector.
Coca-Cola said it would fight to put down a lawsuit filed against
it by more than 50 of its own bottlers over the distribution of
sports drink Powerade to Wal-Mart stores.
Emerging markets across Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America came
good for both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola in 2005, increasing their
importance in the two rivals' growth strategies.
Sports and energy drinks have stolen a march on foods to become the
powerhouse of the global market in performance products, according
to a new report from Leatherhead Food International.
PepsiCo's successful diversity and faster action on health has
taken it ahead of Coca-Cola in the market for the first time in 112
years, but don't be fooled into thinking Coca-Cola is dead wood.
Sports drinks, juice and bottled water spearheaded a set of
encouraging third quarter results from Coca-Cola as
health-conscious consumers force a realignment at the major soft
drinks players.
Energy drinks push their way to the front of PepsiCo's portfolio as
the Gatorade brand drives forward third quarter sales alongside
more growth from diet and non-carbonated drinks, leaving fizzy cola
festering on the shelf.
Soft drinks makers looking to replace sugar with sweeteners to
reach health-conscious consumers could save time and money with an
award-winning new technology from UK supplier Pursuit Dynamics,
reports Chris Mercer.
PepsiCo has become the latest company to bow to pressure on the
food industry from the rising tide of obesity, introducing
voluntary restrictions on its advertising to children, according to
an article in today's London-based...
US food and beverage giant PepsiCo has installed a primary business
platform from SAP to unify its operations, standardise its
processes and increase efficiency across all its divisions.
Functional waters have exploded onto the global drinks scene in
recent years and become the fastest growing functional beverage,
according to new data from market research firm Euromonitor.
Lipton's lead position within the fast-growing ready-to-drink
global tea market is to get stronger after Unilever and PepsiCo
announced a joint venture to expand marketing and distribution of
the RTD range.
Cadbury's rapid expansion over the last few years has boosted sales
in the first half of the year, but the increasing cost of
restructuring its business took a hefty toll on profits.
PepsiCo is to launch a vanilla-flavoured version of its cola brand
later this summer, almost a year after Vanilla Coke hit US shelves.
And Coca-Cola is not to be outdone, with the launch of Sprite Ice,
a mint version of the lemon-lime...
Functional drinks are growing in popularity across the world, but
the products which sell best in Japan are not necessarily the same
as those which do well in Europe or the US, meaning that there is
plenty of room for growth in all...
Pepsi-Cola North America (PCNA) and Marion Pepsi-Cola Bottling said
on Thursday that they have reached an agreement to settle legal
action, pending since June 1999, involving the two long-time
business partners.
Pepsi Bottling Group, the largest maker of Pepsi-Cola drinks, said
on Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose, meeting expectations, as
strong results in Russia helped offset lower-than-expected volume
in the United States and Spain.
Pepsi Bottling, the biggest bottler of Pepsi worldwide, has said it
cannot provide any assurance regarding the timing, value or
determination to proceed with any transaction involving
Pepsi-Gemex, Mexico.
The Pepsi Bottling has announced that its second quarter 2002
earnings conference call with financial analysts and investors will
be webcast live over the Internet.
The Dominion Bond Rating Service recently published a report about
future prospects for the US-based Pepsi Bottling Group. The report
outlines that recent acquisitions have put the Group in a strong
position and that it is destined...
Medical products maker Baxter International is set to unveil a line
of vitamin-laced bottled waters in its first foray into the
consumer food and beverage market.
