on and off. Some if it has been good. Some has been somewhat less than good.
If in the real-estate business it's all about location, location, location, then in the beverage business it's all about distribution, distribution, distribution. Coke, Pepsi and Cadbury with their bottling networks can get into almost every venue in the country.
I think the industry basically, in removing them from schools and keeping in their other beverages, has made a positive move, both for American children and also, the industry has served itself well.
I think the bottom line is people will, over the holidays, heavily consume soft drinks, bottled water, teas and juices.
Results are starting to improve, but the company is still a work in progress.
People in general are responding to beverage products with health and wellness benefits. The trend is unmistakable and is going to gain traction in the years to come.
Texas certainly has a cachet in other parts of the country.
I think people have a growing interest in beverages which are lighter and have actual or perceived functional benefit. I think we've seen a decline in regular soft drinks for some time.
I think certainly there's a certain set of American consumers interested in healthy beverages. Water is certainly a healthy beverage. There has been a great deal of bottled water, a huge proliferation in the last four or five years since it was bottled in convenience packaging.
The antitrust laws would make it hard for Coke and Pepsi to buy more carbonated soft drinks brands.
We estimate that the diet category could actually surpass the regular soda category in about 12 to 15 years,
Wal-Mart's growth and power is changing how consumers buy products and how beverage companies sell products. The lawsuit is about Coke and its bottlers trying to come to terms with that.
Traditional carbonated soft drinks have got a tough road ahead. The migration to water and sports drinks and other noncarbonated drinks seems to be permanent.
Few things this important are easy and the company and the bottlers are going to need to find a way to resolve the challenges of the new retail landscape.
But soft drinks sales overall are holding up well. If you're looking at the first-quarter U.S. volume growth this year for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, it's important to consider that other factors were at play including bad weather and anti-U.S. sentiment around the world.
But soft drinks sales overall are holding up well, ... If you're looking at the first-quarter U.S. volume growth this year for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, it's important to consider that other factors were at play including bad weather and anti-U.S. sentiment around the world.
Turner is simply one of the best in the U.S. beverage business. Growing carbonated soft drinks today is a challenge, and Turner is very well equipped to do that with Big Red.
Though not specifically part of management succession, this move, like Mary Minnick's promotion last year, elevates another strong executive and makes them both people to watch.
With innovation and new product plans, it will be pretty intense next year.
Between Coke and Pepsi, Coke's innovation pipeline was stronger in carbonated soft drinks. That made the difference. But fundamentally, both these companies need to be moving in the noncarbonated direction.
Energy drinks are enjoying phenomenal growth and Hansen has done a terrific job with its brands.
The sale of sugar-carbonated sodas in schools is a tiny, tiny part of their overall volume. The impact is more in terms of responsibility and accountability to the consumer.
Quaker Oats' grain-based snacks could show real growth within the Frito-Lay marketing and distribution system,
Coke has identified North America as a challenging market, and it's clear there is still work to be done and changes to be made.
They've created a very good brand. It's got good distribution, and they're continually coming up with new and interesting flavors.
This package was an interesting novelty, but was never going to be a big idea. It's not exactly hard to find a hot cup of coffee in America.
It started out with young consumers ? late teens, people in their 20s ? but it's getting much broader than that.
Consumers are looking for more and more choice, and beverage companies are responding. The macro trend is toward lighter, lower calorie beverages, but consumers still like sweet, creamy, dessert-like beverages.
The biggest trend last year was the accelerated growth of the diet sodas,
The airline business in terms of volume is tiny. It's more important in terms of presence, visibility and a little bit of prestige.
Summer is the highest-volume period of the year for the beverage industry. But it's not just the new products that will get the attention. The promotions and advertising are also very important for both companies.
It's Coke and Pepsi and Cadbury who really stepped up to the plate and did something fairly controversial, and they deserve a lot of credit for this.
They are very aggressive in marketing and have pervasive distribution. It's No. 1 in water in the U.S. and a lot of it has to do with marketing, imagery and distribution availability.
Gatorade would do even better under PepsiCo than it has under Quaker Oats because of better marketing and distribution.
These products are sold on function more than taste.
This is more analogous to an energy drink. It is premium-priced and will be sold in limited packaging.
The energy drink category came out of nowhere. It's been a pleasant surprise for the industry.
The diet part of the industry is where the growth is, and these companies are now expanding their offerings of diet sodas.
The carbonated soft drink category is fundamentally in trouble. I anticipate there will be some sporadic growth of a few regular brands and some diets, but the outlook doesn't look good for the category.
