• 🆕 This Week’s New Sips
• 🏭 Chobani Digs Deep in Idaho
• 🚦 Signs From Distill Ventures' Shift
• 🚢 EU Tariffs Delayed?
• 📰 Small Sips From the Industry
• 💰 What Fueled Poppi’s $1.65B Payday? Plus, Musings From Miami.

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Rising sales are never a bad thing, but not all revenues are created equal. And with pricing continuing to climb against meager volume gains – and coming against the backdrop of warnings about persistent inflation this year – how concerned should we all be? 

Let’s break down the numbers from Goldman Sachs latest analysis of NielsenIQ data through March 8.

Spark of Life? As Liquid Death has expanded into categories like iced tea and flavored sparkling water, has that taken some of the shine off its core water business? Volume was down 9.6% in the two-weeks (compared to -3% in the four-weeks and -8.1% for the 52-weeks) against a 5.6% decline in sales and 2.2% drop in pricing. 

• Yet LD sparkling is surging, gaining 41.7% volume and 40.4% dollar sales in the four-weeks (+31.9% in the two-weeks) against a 0.9% pricing drop.

Pepsi Portfolio Pops. Pepsi believes that Poppi is worth paying $1.65 billion for, and, to be fair, the brand is performing up to that billing. Volume soared 100% in the four-weeks (before coming down to around 79% for the two-weeks) against a price drop of 5.7%; a stat line of +118% sales/+116% volume/+0.9 pricing (52-weeks) will definitely get you noticed. 

• Pepsi’s other big beverage bet – via distribution partner Celsius – hit a snag, though, with 4.8% drops in both sales and volume over the four-week period. 
• Excluding Celsius, Pepsi’s energy drink portfolio (mainly Rockstar) reported a volume plunge of just over 20% in the four weeks. 

Coffee, Sports Drinks Slide. It’s ironic that these two categories should stand out for lacking energy and stamina over the last month or so. For sports drinks, PRIME’s continued crash (-57% volume in the last four weeks) has sparked category-wise malaise to the tune of -11.9% volume/-6.7% sales/+5.7% pricing in the last four weeks – though Electrolit has been happy to gobble up gains for itself. 

As for coffee, a segment already stretched by soaring commodity prices, the category numbers – +4.5% pricing/-9.6% volume/-5.6% sales over the last four weeks – don’t exactly spell optimism.

Stay tuned for more insight from the most recent NielsenIQ data on BevNET.

Spring is finally here, and there are plenty of new beverages for imbibing in the warmer weather. Let’s take a sip: 

🥒 Zing Zang’s new Dill Pickle Bloody Mary Mix is a sure sign that the pickle-flavored F&B trend is still a pretty big dill (sorry, we had to). The new cocktail mixer is crafted with pickle brine, seven real vegetable juices, Worcestershire and hot sauces and a blend of seasonings. 

⚡ C4 Performance Energy has again teamed up with Jolly Rancher to create its latest energy drink flavor: Peach Jolly Rancher. Each 16 oz. can contains 200 mg of caffeine, key nutrients like Niacin and Vitamin B12 and Betapower for muscle cell hydration. 

💪 Pocket-sized protein, anyone? YouTuber and sports physiologist Mike Israetel has launched Genius Shot, a 100 mL shot containing 23 grams of BLG whey protein and zero sugar, fat and carbs. 

🆓 Check out the full gallery on BevNET.

Chobani’s links to Twin Falls, Idaho are getting tighter as the company hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for its $500 million expansion project at “the largest yogurt production facility in the world,” according to the Greek yogurt maker.

⬆️ The addition will bring an extra 500,000 sq. ft. to the current production plant and is the second expansion to the site since it opened in 2012.

🤝 Currently, the Idaho Chobani plant employs about 1,200 people with the expansion adding over 160 local jobs; the company operates two other facilities in New York and Australia.

🥛 With the brand’s moves in recent years into oat milk, coffee creamers and a newly-launched High Protein drinkable yogurt line, Chobani is positioning itself to meet increased demand across all categories. 

Insiders can read the full story for all the insight.

Last week we confirmed that Diageo’s Distill Ventures will cease bringing new brands into its portfolio – does the wind-down signal anything about the spirits industry? Yes and no. 

🌀 Accelerators often go through cycles, and after six acquisitions, Diageo’s goal may have been accomplished. 

📂 But typically when an accelerator folds, it means the larger company will be looking at its flagship brands for growth, or for more transformational M&A. It could also illustrate concerns for Diageo over the scotch and bourbon glut, considering Distill Ventures’ whiskey-heavy portfolio.

🥃 As for emerging brands, with the demise of some of these incubators and accelerators, pressure is on to raise capital, probably at less favorable terms, without the benefits of consolidated operational, distribution or marketing expertise. 

Insiders can read the full take from industry experts on what’s next for Diageo and innovation in spirits.

A glimmer of hope arrived for Bourbon suppliers this week. The EU may delay tariffs on signature American products such as peanut butter and bourbon that were supposed to go into effect April 1. 

🗓️ EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the bloc was considering re-aligning the timing of the first wave of tariffs with a second wave that is scheduled for mid-April. 

🎯 The Commission is proposing targets on a full list of products that spans well beyond whiskey and includes non-alcoholic beverages, wines, several spirits categories such as gin, liqueurs and cordials, as well as beer. 

♟️ The new chess move by the EU was in response to President Trump’s planned implementation of "additional tariffs" starting April 2. 

Go Deeper: How Spirit Companies Are Preparing For Uncertainty Amid Trade Disputes

It’s been a busy week. Here’s some of the top news items from across the industry you may have missed.

👀 Severance Soda? Not quite, but the show’s creator, Ben Stiller, appears to be stepping into BFY soda with a low-sugar option per a trademark application for a fruit-flavoured, carbonated beverage called Stiller’s, filed in November, according to Business Times.

❌ The Texas Senate passed new legislation that would outlaw all THC-containing products as a similar bill is moving through the Texas House which would impose more oversight and licensing requirements for THC-containing hemp products. Here’s a hot take from an industry leader on why these laws would increase harm to Texans.

🧑‍💻 Despite the regulatory hurdles for hemp beverages in retail, an unlikely player is emerging in ecommerce. Edible Arrangements has launched edibles.com (mind the “s”), an ecommerce platform for hemp products like gummies and canned beverages.

🏪 The power struggle between Japanese-owned 7 & i Holdings (7-Eleven’s parent co.) and its Canadian suitor Alimentation Couche-Tard (Circle K chain operator), continues. A nondisclosure agreement has been signed that would possibly grant “some of the 7-Eleven stores” in the U.S. to other buyers, protecting the two companies from anti-trust scrutiny if a possible acquisition went through, per The Wall Street Journal.

Poppi just popped – big time. But was PepsiCo’s $1.65 billion acquisition driven by TikTok virality, perfect timing, or industry heavyweights like Rohan Oza? (Sorry, prebiotics, this one's not about you.) And now that the first major deal has landed, is the BFY soda space about to see a gold rush – or a bubble burst? The hosts break it all down. Plus, we revisit standout interviews from our Miami meetup.

Listen to the episode now. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.