PepsiCo has unveiled Mtn Dew Zero Sugar featuring a sweetener blend of aspartame, acesulfame potassium and sucralose. The drink will be available in single-serve, 2-liter and multipack varieties nationwide starting Monday.
Red Bull is releasing The Red Edition, a limited-release watermelon flavor in South Australia. The sugar-beet-sweetened drink will be found exclusively in convenience stores.
Numilk is planning to usher its machines into more retailers across the country this year. The self-serve vending machines allow shoppers to make their own plant-based milk.
Data is best utilized when it shows a brand where to go and why, according to Vanessa Dew, co-founder and chief sales officer at Health-Ade Kombucha. "Who is that next consumer that we're talking to?" and "What is that next level of innovation we're going after?" are questions data should answer, said Dew.
Beverage packagers are making the supply chain more efficient by using plastic returnable crates, plastic recyclable pallets and reusable stabilizing frames, said Andrea Nottestad, retail supply chain market manager for ORBIS Corp. "This re-use allows beverage processors to utilize reusable assets over a longer period of time, keeping their supply chain moving," she added.
Mtn Dew's in-house fan engagement team is helping the company build stronger customer relationships by searching social media for loyal customers then creating content and products that resonate with this market segment, including its scented body wash, writes Kristina Monllos. Nicole Portwood, Mtn Dew's vice president of marketing, says consumers want connections and conversation with brands, adding, "That's what makes us different and makes the way we're approaching this different from just being a soda putting out our message."
Patrick Hanlon details how answering just seven simple questions can form the basis of any brand narrative, which is essentially about creating a likeability factor that will resonate with communities. "Brands are not logos or websites, they are belief systems," he writes, noting, "People who believe also belong: they become passionate, excited advocates."
Stop & Shop's $150 million sale of 23 stores topped this week's Top 10 list, alongside news of several CPG product launches from brands such as Kellogg and Clif Bar. Coca-Cola's transformation of its Atlanta headquarters and Nestle's share buyback program also caught SmartBrief readers' attention this week.
