• Flow Faces Foreclosure After Alleged Defaults
• Gorilla Drinks v. Gorilla Mind
• Liquid I.V. Stays Dry with No RTD After All
• Monday Moves: Retail Rollouts
  

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It’s been a big morning for coffee spit takes. We got two this morning – one confirmed, and the other a loud rumor from close sources – from a pair of global giants operating at the very top of the category. Brace your mugs, people.  

KDP As Coffee’s New King? 

Keurig Dr Pepper secured its future in the coffee category this morning with an agreement to purchase JDE Peet’s for just over $18 billion. 

• The move will siphon KDP’s coffee business into an independent publicly traded ‘pure play’ focused exclusively on the category.
• It is forecasted to generate $16 billion in annual net sales.

As CEO Tim Cofer explained during a conference call, KDP sees broader, longer-term growth opportunities in coffee despite some weak (but now rebounding, he noted) returns. Analysts from Jefferies seemed to agree, describing the purchase as a “good deal” and recent pressure on the coffee business as “irrelevant.” 

Why? “This is about growing within a $400b category.” 

Read the full story for more on KDP’s eye-popping new acquisition and its implications.

Sunset for Coke and Costa?

Things are looking different in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola has apparently been mulling the future of its big-ticket purchase from nearly a decade ago. The soda giant has hired investment bank Lazard, per media reports, to explore options for Costa Coffee – the company’s largest ever brand purchase at $5 billion, back in 2018 – amidst its struggles to take off in North America. 

Though Lazard’s involvement hasn’t previously been made public, Coke CEO James Quincey has gone on the record regarding his dissatisfaction with the ROI on Costa. 

• The brand is “not where we want it to be from an investment hypothesis,” he said last month, acknowledging Costa’s attempts to balance moving RTDs at retail and its at-home coffee business have largely failed.
• But it is “still a good business,” Quincey added, and retains status as the second-largest coffee chain in the world after Starbucks (though non-existent in the U.S.). 

As the KDP-JDE Peet’s deal reshapes the global coffee game board, could a buyer emerge for Costa? Coke is already engaged with some potential bidders, including private equity firms; in other words, watch this space. 

Access the full article for details on the Coke and Costa rumors.

Say it ain’t so, Flow. The Canadian alkaline water brand reported it is facing foreclosure from two of its creditors after alleged loan repayment defaults. As well, longtime CEO Nicholas Reichenbach is out as the company’s leader.

• Reichenbach founded Flow in 2015 and is still a board member and shareholder, but interim CEO duties are now in the hands of a committee. Reichenbach has also stepped down from his executive chairman position.
• Flow’s fortunes have been up and down in recent years, with its copacking business propping up revenue growth as its branded CPG line has struggled in the market.
• In Q2 2025 overall revenue dropped 17% with the branded water revenue down 49% year-over-year. 

Insiders can get the full scoop on BevNET.

It’s a trademark case gone ape. A California judge last week declined to issue an injunction against energy drink maker Gorilla Drinks, ruling that fellow energy brand Gorilla Mind did not have a strong likelihood of success in its lawsuit against the company.

There’s a messy history here. Gorilla Drinks’ history runs through multiple corporate entities but goes back over 15 years, while Gorilla Mind formed in 2017 as a supplements brand.

Both companies are working on building RTD energy brands, and Gorilla Mind’s line is in the market now, but the court was skeptical that alone is enough to say it has the exclusive right to the “Gorilla” name.

Insiders can get the full breakdown on BevNET.

Last week, we took note of a suggestive post on Liquid I.V.’s Instagram that showed off aluminum cans. It seemed like a not-so-subtle hint that RTD could finally be in the brand’s future. Well, we weren’t exactly correct.

• Liquid I.V. is launching a new product: Energy Multiplier Sugar-Free available in the brand’s standard stick-pack powder format.
• So why the cans online? Well, the company noted that its sticks use 93% less packaging than aluminum canned RTDs, so it’s the more environmentally friendly option.

Was it a fakeout? Well, they nevertheless have tied the launch to a focus on cans: "We chose not to launch a canned ready-to-drink product, which means we decided not to ship water and use less materials in primary packaging, helping to prevent additional carbon emissions during shipping,” the brand said in the release.

Go Deeper: Four Questions With Liquid I.V.’s VP of Impact

Here’s a taste of the products moving around the industry to start off your week.

🥤 Japanese-inspired cream soda maker Shonen Soda landed in over 200 Miniso stores nationwide with its flagship flavors: Banana Cream, Orange Cream and Berry Lemon Cream. 

🎯 Chai Diaries is bringing its Masala Chai mix to 222 Target stores, as well as Target.com. 

🚚 Organic yerba mate maker CLEAN Cause is rolling out all four flavors (Mint & Honey, Lemonade & Tea, Blueberry and Peach) to Rotten Robbie, a Northern California convenience store chain. 

😎 Leisure Hydration launched multipacks in retail for the first time alongside Costco for an end-of-summer rotation, according to a LinkedIn post by co-founder and CMO Steve Michaelsen. 

Read up on more of the latest distribution gains on BevNET.