• Pepsi's Q2 Pushes Formulas, Infrastructure Shifts
• For Bitter For Worse Moves Into Facility
• Hola, Adios.
• Couche-Tard Abandons 7-Eleven Takeover Bid
• Death Be Not Tired

Donald Trump put The Coca-Cola Company on the spot Wednesday afternoon when he posted that he’d spoken with them and claimed they agreed to use real cane sugar in name brand Coke again, instead of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

“It’ll be a very good move – You’ll see. It’s just better!” the President wrote.

But before clean ingredient advocates – or just plain original recipe lovers – get too excited, Coke’s reaction seemed to be less than complete adherence. 

The company opted to neither confirm nor deny the shift to real sugar in a statement that came roughly two hours after Trump’s late afternoon proclamation. While we can’t know what’s in James Quincey’s heart, it didn’t sound to us like the response of a business all gung ho and ready to reformulate its leading multi-billion dollar brand.

“We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand,” the company wrote. “More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range will be shared soon.”

Even if this change doesn’t come to pass, we do have questions around what it might look like. For one, how does the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative play with the president’s single-minded focus on high flat tariffs as an economic policy?

The vast bulk of HFCS is manufactured domestically thanks to corn-growing states (here’s looking at Iowa), but the USDA reported that as of December 2024 only 55% of raw sugar was domestic while 37% is imported. Although we should note total raw sugar imports were down year-over-year.

It’s likely any switch would lead to price increases: HFCS costs about $0.20-$0.30 per pound vs. $0.40-$0.50 for cane sugar, according to ByteBridge. From a production standpoint, the conversion would involve up-front costs to warehouse sugar and likely require more frequent servicing of some equipment - sugar is less stable than HFCS, according to an ops expert we spoke with - but the recipe would not change much.

There’s also the possibility that Coke could simply expand the availability of its full-sugar products, which are sold in limited distribution in the U.S., perhaps with a branded line of its own similar to its main competitor’s experiment with Pepsi Real Sugar. 

One thing that’s probably not in the cards, however, given Trump’s obsession with nominative sovereignty: wider use of the term “Mexican Coke.”

Meet the brightest minds in health and nutrition! Forge powerful connections, discover cutting-edge solutions and elevate your business. Don’t miss this chance to grow — register now and join the movement shaping the future of wellness! Learn more

This week at BevNET HQ, we rounded up a Cascara superfruit soda from Alldae and a water kefir drink from KFR.

Then, we chronicled our thoughts with each swig, highlighting aspects of the brand, liquid and product positioning that stood out and things the company could consider for next time. 

🆓 Check out this week’s review roundup on BevNET.

To submit your beverage product to BevNET for review, click here. And to browse past reviews, check the archive here.

Rising sales outside the U.S. helped offset more dips in domestic demand for PepsiCo’s snacks and beverages during Q1, the company reported on Thursday. 

• Artificial colors and flavors will be phased out from products by Lay’s and Tostitos brands, for one, while Cheetos and Doritos will get new line extensions without them. 
• Meanwhile, shiny new toy poppi grew at “a strong double-digit pace leading to market share gains in both total liquid refreshment beverages and carbonated soft drinks.” 

For more details on the earnings and Pepsi’s plans for the second half of 2025, read the full story on BevNET.

After nearly five years building its business in the Pacific Northwest, adult non-alcoholic (ANA) brand For Bitter For Worse (FBFW) has moved to upstate New York. 

The move from Portland, Ore. to Rochester was precipitated by winning a $250,000 convertible note (and a subsequent $200,000 investment) as part of the Grow-NY Food & Agriculture Startup Competition last year.

FBFW is now moving into its new 10,000 sq. ft. facility, where it will produce its 750mL glass-bottled and 6.3 oz. mini-cans of ANA cocktails while also scaling a co-manufacturing arm.

The business will produce “nearly anything non-alcoholic” from cold brew coffee and mocktails to energy drinks and sparkling teas. From its new Northeastern headquarters, the brand is targeting New York City to build out its retail presence, which is already its second-largest DTC market.

Read how For Bitter For Worse is positioning its co-packing business for growth.

San Francisco-based cannabis cultivator and lifestyle brand Cookies is entering the ready-to-drink cocktail market as of this morning with Adios – a four-SKU line made of canned fruit juice and ultra-premium tequila.

• Adios (an incorrect spelling of goodbye in Spanish, adiós) will make its public debut this weekend at the Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 
• Adios is being pitched as a partnership between Labor Smart, Inc., (LTNC) (a company with a recent tumultuous history) Florida-based company called CKS Distro, and D2C spirits vendor Flaviar. 
• The brand has 85,000 cases already committed, according to the chief strategy officer of LTNC, who called the product “more than a beverage – it’s a cultural launch.” 
• Tequila-based RTDs have been one of the fastest-growing subsegments, with major players recently getting in on the game as well.

Check out the full story for more details.

Canadian convenience store operator Couche-Tard has officially pulled out of its nearly $47 billion bid to acquire 7-Eleven’s parent company, Seven & i Holdings Co. On Wednesday, Couche-Tard sent a letter to the Seven & i Holdings board of directors formally redrawing its proposal.

• The letter accused the Seven & i Holdings leadership of a “calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay” and a “lack of good faith engagement.”
• Couche-Tard backed up these claims with various examples where 7&i provided little diligence about the U.S.-based business holdings and a general lack of transparency.
• Leaving the door open, Couche-Tard expresses its belief that the combination of the two companies would be beneficial to stakeholders on both ends, but that due to the lack of 7&i cooperation, the deal cannot move forward.

Liquid Death’s beverage platform is expanding to energy drinks, with the company sharing a first look at its new Sparkling Energy line in 12 oz. cans that are set to launch at retail in January 2026. 

Sparkling Energy will contain 114mg of caffeine per can, an amount that Liquid Death founder and CEO Mike Cessario said goes against category norms, per an exclusive report in the Wall Street Journal. 

On the latest CPG Week podcast, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior reporter Brad Avery discuss an unusual new product launch and continued consolidation among packaged food conglomerates. 

🎣 Catch of the day or hater bait? Hear why protein bar brand David is slinging boiled cod.

🥣 Why is Ferrero buying Frosted Flakes? We’ve got the scoop on the $3.1 billion deal. 

Click here to listen to this week’s episode. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Like what you are listening to? Please don’t hesitate to rate our show and leave a review on your podcast platform of choice.