Sales for carbonated soft drinks increased 16.6% for the four weeks ending May 16 while sparkling flavored water sales jumped 22.7% and ready-to-drink coffee sales increased more than 11%, according to Nielsen data. Beverage firms Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper all reported sales growth during the same period with Keurig Dr Pepper growing the fastest.

Low-sugar, higher-fat diet trends are boosting demand for hydrocolloids -- such as starch and xanthan gum -- in beverage production. "Hydrocolloids' inherent low usage rate will not negatively affect the carbohydrate content of the product and will emulsify the high levels of fat, as well as build back functionality lost from removing a product's sugar," said Brendan Scott, a food systems scientist at Ingredion.

Virginia Gold Peanut Coffee is forging a new category with its peanut-based coffee that forgoes coffee beans, said brand founder and peanut farmer James Harrell. The coffee offers the added benefit of protein, he added, as well as a high profit margin due to the low cost of peanut processing.

Instacart is working to gain ad marketshare from Amazon and Google by launching its own self-serve ad platform with roughly 350 retailers, including Costco and Kroger. Procter & Gamble, Unilever and PepsiCo are among the brands that have tested the platform for media buying and campaign management.

Some 75% of Americans would rather watch an ad than give out their email address, although 95% would prefer to give their email address than their telephone number, per BuzzStream and Fractl. The study also reveals that the top three digital marketing activities Americans take part in are sharing social content in return for entering a contest, commenting on Facebook content in return for being entered to win a prize and giving an email address to receive quiz or questionnaire results.

A story about pandemic-driven changes at Walmart that could be permanent was this week's most-clicked story among SmartBrief food and beverage readers. A survey about the grocers with the best pandemic response also caught readers' attention this week, as did new CPG products from Kellogg, Conagra and Herr Foods.

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