Corporate Profiles - 2023 - 28

GRAIN-BASED FOODS
Beverages
T
Sales gains come despite input cost pressures
LEADING SINGLE-SERVE
hanks to price increases, several beverage categories were experiencing
sales gains in 2023, even with obstacles like rising input
costs and, in diet drinks, a safety issue.
At-home coffee consumption reached a high of 85% of past-day coffee
drinkers in 2021 and in 2023 was at 82%, still above pre-pandemic
levels, according to a National Coffee Association report issued Sept. 19.
US retail sales of single-cup coffee increased nearly 7% to $5.51
billion in the 52-week period ended July 16, according to Circana, a
Chicago-based market research firm, but unit sales fell 1.3% to 472
million. Keurig was the top brand in sales with $1.26 billion, up 3.9%.
Keurig unit sales were down 3.9% at 94 million.
At Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc., Burlington, Mass., net sales of US coffee
for the second quarter ended June 30 fell nearly 6% to $970 million as
consumers were more mobile than in the previous year's second quarter.
Input costs were high as Robusta coffee prices were nearly 30%
above their 2022 average, said Francois Xavier-Roger, chief financial
officer of Nestle SA, Vevey, Switzerland, in a July 27 earnings call. He
said he expected coffee input costs to ease in the second half of the year.
" There is still a lot of volatility, but we expect to see coffee bean
prices stabilizing, and then this will be certainly an opportunity to see
our margin increasing again in coffee, " Mr. Roger said.
US retail coffee sales for the J.M. Smucker Co., Orrville, Ohio, increased
5% in the first quarter ended July 31.
" We expect our strong momentum in coffee to continue as we increase
marketing investments behind our brands and pass through a moderation
in commodity costs that will provide consumers with increased value
and some relief from inflation, " said Mark T. Smucker, president and chief
executive officer, in pre-recorded comments issued Aug. 29.
ANALYZING ASPARTAME
The low-calorie and no-calorie beverage industry was in the spotlight
July 14. That day the World Health Organization's International Agency
for Research on Cancer (IARC) listed aspartame, a sweetener used in soft
drinks, as " possibly carcinogenic to humans. " However, the Joint Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/WHO Expert Committee
on Food Additives (JECFA) said the acceptable daily intake of aspartame
will remain at 40 mg per 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of body weight per day.
" In order to reach JECFA's conservative ADI (acceptable daily intake)
estimates, the average 150-lb person would need to consume about 14
12-oz cans of diet beverages or about 74 packets of aspartame-containing
tabletop sweetener every day over the course of their life to raise
any safety concern, " said Robert Rankin, president of the Calorie Control
Council, an international association representing the manufacturers
and suppliers of low-calorie and reduced-calorie foods and beverages.
28 \ October 2023
energy drink vendors
1 Red Bull North America, Inc.
2 Monster Beverage Corp.
3 Celsius, Inc.
4 Alani Nutrition LLC
5 Rockstar, Inc.
6 Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
7 Reign Beverage Co. LLC
8 High Performance Beverage
9 Ghost Beverage LLC
10 Nutrabolt
Total
LEADING SINGLE-SERVE
energy drink brands
1 Red Bull
2 Monster
3 Celsius
4 Alani
5 Rockstar
6 Bang
7 Reign
8 NOS
9 Ghost
10 C4
Total
% change
from
Dollar sales
$2,289,402,203
$1,942,738,600
$590,143,254
$296,859,418
$229,355,589
$209,977,578
$126,981,823
$114,342,020
$111,057,945
$99,917,397
$6,415,488,637
year ago
10.7%
11.6%
103.1%
32.5%
1.4%
-43.1%
6.2%
16.5%
187.7%
57.3%
15.3%
Data for 52 weeks ended July 16, 2023
Total US - Multi-outlet with C-Store (Supermarkets, Drugstores and Mass Market Retailers,
Gas/C-Stores, Military Commissaries and Select Club & Dollar Retail Chains)
Source: Circana OmniMarket Integrated Fresh
" Obviously, that level of consumption is not realistic, recommended, nor
is it aligned with the intended use of these ingredients. "
Diet drinks continued to be big sellers. Unit case volume for CocaCola
Zero Sugar increased 5% in the second quarter ended June 30.
Thanks to Dr Pepper Zero Sugar's momentum, Dr Pepper had the highest
market share gain in the carbonated soft drink industry for the second
quarter, said Robert J. Gamgort, CEO of Keurig Dr Pepper, in a July
27 earnings call.
Bottled water ranks as the largest beverage category by volume in
the United States, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp., New York.
Total bottled water volume rose 1.1% to 15.9 billion gallons in 2022.
Revenues, largely due to higher prices, increased nearly 12%.
In US retail, non-flavored convenience/bottled still water sales of
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Corporate Profiles
% change
from
Dollar sales
$2,289,402,203
$1,942,738,600
$590,143,254
$296,859,418
$229,355,589
$214,129,318
$126,981,823
$114,342,020
$111,057,945
$99,917,397
$6,415,488,637
year ago
10.7%
11.6%
103.1%
32.5%
1.4%
-42.7%
6.2%
16.5%
187.7%
57.3%
15.3%
INDUSTRY REVIEW: beverages
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Corporate Profiles - 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Corporate Profiles - 2023