Coca-Cola
Monster Juiced Adds Viking Berry
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners launched Monster Juiced Viking Berry in Great Britain, expanding its flavored energy drink range there. It combines the Monster Energy blend with fruit juices and berry flavors, delivered in a purple liquid and Nordic-themed can, and is available in plain and price-marked packs, alongside multipack formats. CCEP points to strong growth in berry flavors and flavored energy drinks, which remain a key driver of value sales.
Vietnam Bottler Wins Tech Award
Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam received a Vietnam Technology Excellence Award for its iRED retail execution platform, which replaces manual store audits with AI-based image recognition and data analytics. It allows sales teams to check availability, displays and coolers more quickly and across far more outlets. Monthly audit coverage increased from about 10,500 stores to more than 30,000, while survey time fell to around six minutes. Faster data processing lets teams act within a day rather than weeks.
Coca-Cola Prepares IPO For Indian Bottler
Coca-Cola plans to list its Indian bottling arm, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, in a summer IPO that could raise about $1 billion and value the business near $10 billion. HCCB bottles and distributes major soft drink brands including Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite and Maaza, giving the group a leading position in India’s carbonated beverage market. Coca-Cola may delay the listing if weather conditions weaken summer demand. The move follows Coca-Cola’s earlier sale of a 40% stake in HCCB’s parent to Jubilant Bhartia Group, supporting its strategy to reduce ownership of bottling operations.
Coca-Cola Adds Chief Digital Role
Coca-Cola reshaped its leadership structure and created a new chief digital officer role, with the appointment of Sedef Salingan Sahin, to accelerate technology use across its beverage system. The changes align with the planned transition of Henrique Braun to CEO later this year. Coca-Cola aims to improve speed, decision-making and execution, particularly in emerging markets where soft drink volumes are growing faster. There will also be two new market groupings. One is large emerging markets including India, Greater China, Japan and South Korea; the other covers Eurasia, the Middle East, ASEAN, the South Pacific and Africa.
Danone
Silk Launches High-Protein Plant Milk
Danone’s Silk brand’s new Silk Protein is a refrigerated plant-based milk with 13g of complete plant protein per serving. It is aimed at consumers seeking higher-protein beverage options and offers lower sugar than regular dairy milk, 3g of fiber, all nine essential amin acids, calcium and vitamin D. Silk Protein is available across the US in Original and Chocolate flavors. Danone positions the product as suitable for everyday use, including drinking on its own or mixing adding to coffee and smoothies.
Keurig Dr Pepper
Keurig Dr Pepper Moves On JDE Peet’s
Keurig Dr Pepper launched an $18 billion all-cash takeover bid for coffee and tea group JDE Peet’s, with completion expected in the second quarter, valuing JDE Peet’s at €31.85 per share. It has the backing of its board and major shareholders. Following the acquisition, KDP plans to split coffee and other beverage businesses, including Dr Pepper soft drinks, into two publicly listed companies.
Other Companies
Rubicon Expands Sparkling And Still Ranges
In the UK, AG Barr’s Rubicon brand added new Cherry Burst and Tropical flavors to its sparkling soft drinks range and introduced a Still Tropical variant, alongside a full brand refresh. The launches follow strong growth in both sparkling and still segments, with cherry and tropical flavors performing well in the UK soft drinks market. Products are available across multiple pack sizes, including price-marked packs for the convenience channel. The updated branding aims to improve shelf visibility while keeping familiar cues.
Gerolsteiner Updates Reusable PET Bottle
Gerolsteiner in Germany launched a redesigned 1-liter reusable PET bottle containing 50% recycled material, with a stronger base and slightly more material, allowing it to be reused up to 25 times. Gerolsteiner estimates the change will cut carbon emissions by more than one-third compared with the previous version. The company will run old and new bottles in parallel for several years to avoid waste.
Ito En Launches Sakura-Themed Teas
Ito En’s two new limited-edition spring-themed teas use cherry blossom ingredients. Oi Ocha Sakura Green uses salt-preserved sakura leaves blended with green tea for lower astringency. Matcha Love Sakura Matcha includes preserved cherry blossoms and offers a lightly sweet profile. Both aim to capture seasonal interest while staying close to Ito En’s core tea styles. They go on sale in Japan this month and will be available for a limited period.
Beyond Meat Launches Protein Drinks
Beyond Meat enters the beverage category with Beyond Immerse, a new range of pea protein drinks. Each drink combines pea protein, 7g of fiber, antioxidants and electrolytes, with no added sugar alcohols or GMO ingredients. Two protein strengths – 10g and 20g per 355ml serving – are available across three fruit flavors. Beyond Meat positions the drinks for muscle, gut and immune support, placing them alongside sports and functional soft drinks rather than traditional sodas. The products are available for a limited time through the company’s online test kitchen.
Ito En Targets European Growth
Japanese tea company Ito En is expanding its presence in Europe after setting up a local unit in Germany, supporting sales of its Oi Ocha green tea drinks. Ito En now produces beverages in paper packaging at a German facility, reducing reliance on exports from Japan and responding to EU rules on tethered caps. Germany is the company’s largest European market and Ito En plans to build brand awareness beyond Asian supermarkets and reach a broader soft drinks audience.
Koia Debuts Protein Soda Line
Koia’s new protein soda range adds carbonation to its plant-based beverage portfolio. Each soda contains 10g of plant protein, 4g of prebiotic fiber and 2g of sugar, and comes in fruit-forward flavors, including rocket freeze, sour squeeze and pink twist. Koia is selling the sodas initially through TikTok Shop, with plans to expand into retail later this year.
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