SODA JERK

Soft Drink News, History & Gossip

Freshness Dated March 1- 2008

SODA PRESS

America's Favorite Doc Gets Berried in Cream: Dr Pepper Berries & Cream Joins Soda Fountain Classics Line; Hundreds 'Kiss the Can' to Prove Their Love for New Flavor
It's no secret that Dr Pepper fans are passionate about the brand -- so much so that hundreds recently puckered up to show their love for the latest Dr Pepper flavor.
Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, the maker of Dr Pepper, is rolling out Dr Pepper Berries & Cream, the second flavor in the brand's Soda Fountain Classics line created to meet consumers' desire for nostalgic flavors reminiscent of simpler times. Soda Fountain Classics launched in 2004 with Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper, the company's most successful product introduction in more than a decade.
"Consumers like a full flavor experience in their beverage choice, and our Dr Pepper Soda Fountain Classics have proven to be a tremendous success because they meet that need," said Jim Trebilcock, senior vice president of consumer marketing for CSAB. "Based on consumer product test results, we expect both Regular and Diet Dr Pepper Berries & Cream will have a strong and devoted following."
Hundreds of consumers recently professed their love for the new product by kissing a giant can of Dr Pepper Berries & Cream at the Dr Pepper Ballpark in Texas. The first ten participants walked away with a year's worth of Dr Pepper Berries & Cream. Additionally, 50 twelve-packs were auctioned-off on eBay in March with bids topping $215. All proceeds went to the "I Have a Dream" Foundation (http://www.ihad.org ).
Starting this week, nearly 3 million free samples will be distributed throughout the country, as a convoy of Berries & Cream ice-cream trucks begin a nationwide tour that will continue through June.
Dr Pepper is a leading brand in the beverage portfolio of Plano, Texas- based Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), a subsidiary division of Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE: CSG - News). CSAB is one of the largest producers of teas, juices and soft drinks in the Americas with a brand portfolio that includes Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, Mott's Apple Juice, RC Cola, A&W Root Beer, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Hawaiian Punch, Schweppes, Diet Rite, Clamato, Mr & Mrs T's Mixers, Rose's, Mistic, Yoo-hoo, Orangina, IBC, Stewart's, Nantucket Nectars and other well-known consumer brands.
For additional information, visit http://www.cadburyschweppes.com/csab

Mexican Cola: The Real Thing
Few products are as closely associated with the American lifestyle as Coca-Cola. Yet there appears to be growing demand among US cola connoisseurs for foreign-made Coke, which has real sugar and costs more than the everyday variety made with high-fructose corn syrup.
Unauthorized distribution networks for Mexican-made Coke have sprung up to truck the brown, fizzy soda across the Rio Grande and around the country. In Fort Worth, it can be found at outlets from Central Market and Fiesta Mart to family-owned taco stands.
The Coca-Cola Co. in Atlanta says it wants the trafficking in Mexican Coke stopped. But it has not been able to close numerous leaks -- known in the industry as "transshipments" -- stemming from the franchised bottlers in Mexico, which are unable or unwilling to police distributors. And lovers of Mexican Coke, ranging from immigrants to US-born residents, are willing to pay a premium of 25 percent or more for the imported variety. A restaurant will typically charge $1.50 for a 12-ounce bottle, a grocery $1.09 to $1.30. One enterprising retailer, Ifs Ands & Butts of Dallas, ships six-packs nationwide for $10.95 plus $11 freight. That works out to $3.66 for each 12-ounce bottle. In Mexico, the same Cokes retail for about 30 cents apiece.
Reasons vary for the cachet that Mexican Coke has earned. Some Latinos are nostalgic for the heavy glass, curvy bottles, some containing a half liter, that they grew up with. Buyers insist that the Mexican bottler's use of sugar cane syrup delivers a fuller, sweeter flavor than US Cokes, nearly all made with cheaper high-fructose corn syrup. (A limited amount of Kosher-for-Passover Coca-Cola is made with cane sugar for certain US markets during the Jewish holiday, when corn-derived products are forbidden.)
(Coca Cola) Company spokesman Mart Martin in Atlanta says that Coke around the world varies only in choice of sweetener -- high-fructose corn syrup, sugar beet sugar or cane sugar -- and that there's no discernible difference.
The soft drink industry switched from sugar to a 50/50 blend with high-fructose corn syrup in the early 1980s, then shifted gradually to just the corn sweetener, said Richard Adamson, the American Beverage Institute's vice president of scientific and technical affairs. Adamson, who has a doctorate degree in pharmacology, said the syrup is preferred because it doesn't crystallize like sugar, blends easily with the acid in cola and costs one-half to one-third as much.
But buyers of Mexican Coke are convinced that sugar has a superior taste. "It's sweeter," said Julia Hoffman, 12, who along with her mother Marie preferred Mexican Coke over Yankee Coke during a blind tasting at Ernesto's Taqueria, which, like the Fiesta Mart supermarket across Eighth Avenue in Fort Worth, sells both kinds. "It has more flavor."
Because Mexican Coke is not a counterfeit product, the Coca-Cola Co. cannot request that US Customs stop it at the border. It is a franchise territory matter, one tricky to enforce because third-party traders are not bound by contracts. The responsibility rests with Mexican bottlers to control distribution within their designated sales area. Mexico's dominant bottler, Coca Cola Femsa, is 39.6 percent owned by the Atlanta-based Coca Cola Co. But Atlanta won't say if it has determined the source, or sources, of the Mexican Coke. Despite the murky legal ground, some very big companies are involved in the gray-market Mexican Coke trade. Kroger supermarkets in Houston, Central Market in Fort Worth and Safeway stores in Denver offer the imported cola, which they receive from a national wholesaler, Gourmet Award Foods. Gourmet is a unit of Koninklijke Wessanen, a large Dutch-based dairy and cereal maker with annual revenues of $3 billion. "We've been selling Mexican Coke ever since I've been here -- 10 years," said Linda Richardson, a Gourmet Award customer service representative in Dallas. "It's quite popular. In fact, it's hard to keep enough on hand." Her company buys from an Arlington importer, Sanco Marketing, which declined to comment for this article. Unencumbered by licensing agreements, numerous distributors openly compete, said Raul Escobedo, sales manager of Houston-based Cyclone Enterprise, a Mexican Coke wholesaler for at least 12 years. Escobedo said there are at least two importers operating in Texas other than Sanco. Cyclone, which supplies the Fiesta Mart chain, deals with a Laredo-based company.
The Coca-Cola Co. declined to say what measures it has taken to curb the Mexican Coke underground, which, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, has spread to New England. Ifs Ands & Butts owner Hamilton "Ham" Rousseau says he has heard that several California suppliers received cease-and-desist letters from Coke attorneys to close down their Mexican cola operations. He won't name his own wholesalers, but says he works with several. For soft drink aficionados like himself, there's no choice but Mexican Coke, the 59-year-old Rousseau said. Asked to explain the Latin cola's merits, Rousseau gets analytical. "People say Mexican Coke is much sweeter. It just tastes that way. It's literally in the nose and mouth of the beholder. High-fructose corn syrup is actually sweeter but it leaves a film in the mouth," he contends."That film automatically diminishes your palate, blocking the sweetness. [Sugar cane] sucrose is cleaner and crisper. So if you are used to Coke made with corn syrup, the difference is striking." The adman-turned-soda pop retailer says the Coca Cola Co. is missing a big opportunity by not offering discerning shoppers what they want and what they are willing to pay more for. "If they were smart, they'd get into the value-added market," Rousseau said. "And it's a huge market." (c) 2004, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas.
Jones Turkey & Gravy Soda Selling Well
(Rebecca Cook, Associated Press Writer)
A new Turkey and Gravy Soda tastes, well, pretty much like you would imagine. But that's not stopping people from buying it.
Even the producers of the Thanksgiving-themed beverage at Jones Soda Co. were surprised by the demand. They sold out all 6,000 bottles online within about two hours last week.
"To be honest, we really didn't think so many people would want it," said a Michelle Whitehead, marketing assistant at the Seattle-based premium soda company that has a reputation for quirky flavors.
Founder and CEO Peter van Stolk dreamed up the seasonal flavor on a lark, but admits he can't stomach an entire bottle.
The liquid's ominous, murky brown color accurately warns consumers about the taste. The first sips bring a mix of sweet caramel and savory lard — and it's downhill from there.
A limited number of Turkey & Gravy Sodas will be available in stores around Seattle and Olympia for the suggested retail price of 99 cents. A few entrepreneurs are selling theirs on eBay.com; by Tuesday, the bidding was up to $63 for a two-bottle set.
Mary Turner, a radio DJ in Lansing, Mich., who is auctioning off a bottle for charity, has sampled the drink and warns that it's not for the faint of stomach: "If you roasted a turkey and mashed potatoes, put it in a blender, left it out for three days and then poured it into a Jones bottle, you'd know exactly what this drink tastes like!"
The company, founded in 1996, plans to donate proceeds from sales of Turkey & Gravy Soda to the Toys for Tots charity, and van Stolk said he will personally match the donation.
(c) Associated Press

From Jones Soda...
Unfortunately we are all out of Turkey & Gravy Jones Soda.The response to the Turkey & Gravy Jones Soda has been incredible. Thank you for your interest and patience in regards to this soda. We apologize if you were not able to get your hands on the Turkey & Gravy Jones Soda. Since this was a premium edition with limited quantities in Michigan and Washington region, we sold out pretty quickly. However, due to the huge interests from our consumers, we will be better prepared to meet everyone's need next year. All the sales from Turkey & Gravy soda will be going to Toys for Tots. If you sign up for our free Jones Soda newsletter, you will get advance notice of future premium flavors.
We ask for your continuous support and give our other flavored soda a try. To find Jones Soda in your state, please go to our store locator under products. Also check out www.myjones.com to find out more about customized labels. It makes a great holiday gifts for family and friends.
Thanks for running with the little guy...

Gourmet Bubbly,...and We're not talking Champagne.
(Victoria Neal- Entrepreneur Magazine)
Today, soda has done anything but fizzle out--especially with an emerging trend captivating the carbonated beverage consumer known as the micro-soda.
Sub-category creator Urban Juice & Soda Co. in Vancouver, British Columbia, for one, distributes a motley line of taste-bud-tickling, sticky-sweet bottles of pop called Jones Soda. These microbrewed beverages, distributed in the United States and Canada at premium prices (as high as $1.59 per bottle, as opposed to the average soda price of $1) captivate consumers with their retro long-neck glass bottles and intriguing labels, as well as their neon rainbow of flavors, including Blue Bubble Gum and Green Apple
Fitz's Bottling Co., based in University City, Missouri, is also getting in on the trend, taking its line of premium sodas to the next level by offering them in the company's own full-service diners. Fitz's Soda Bar and Grill, with two locations in Missouri, features a fully operational bottling line for brewing premium goods for parched patrons. The soda is also distributed in Kansas City, Missouri.
The appeal of micro-brewed soda is its uniqueness--the kitschy labeling, the tasty mix of flavors, the limited channel of distribution. With Americans gulping twice as much pop as they did 25 years ago and spending $54 billion on it each year, it's apparent soda-lovers will happily embrace this flavorful niche.
((c) 1999 - Entrepreneur Magazine)

Black Bear Roars: Thriving soda manufacturer bucks trend, follows faithful fans into major retailers
(Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel)
The Black Bear Blue Raspberry Soda isn't just blue - it's an unnaturally bright blue that could outshine a neon sign. The cherry soda is the hue of a Pacific sunset.
"If you look at the national brands and their product lines, they have limited flavors," said Peter J. Caruso, president of St. Francis-based Black Bear Bottling LLC.
A combination of unusual flavors - including pia colada, peach and green ice - and colors helps Black Bear sodas stand out among Coke, Pepsi and other beverage industry giants, Caruso said. And a low price, around 70 cents for a 20-ounce bottle, helps the stuff fly off store shelves.
With the company expanding its sales of soda and bottled water, Black Bear is leaving St. Francis - where the company has been since it was founded more than 80 years ago - for a much larger building in Oak Creek. Black Bear, with just nine employees, expects to double its work force within 18 months of the move, which will be completed in August, Caruso said.
"You're going to be seeing a lot more of the Black Bear brand," he said. Black Bear's move from its cramped, 10,000-square-foot building on the edge of a residential neighborhood into 66,000 square feet at 2025 W. Southbranch Blvd. in the Southbranch Industrial Park has its roots in a decision Caruso made in 1994.
That's when the company added plastic bottling lines to its plant at 4264 S. Packard Ave. Until then, Black Bear sodas were available only in glass bottles, which were falling out of favor with supermarkets and other retailers, Caruso said. Consumers had to return the glass bottles to retailers to get their deposits refunded. At some point, the bottles had to be cleaned before being reused. Those things made life more complicated for consumers and retailers, and some stores were refusing to carry the product. "It's just a very labor-intensive business," Caruso said.
Since switching largely to 20-ounce plastic bottles, Black Bear's sales volume has doubled to about 160,000 cases annually, said Caruso, who declined to disclose a dollar amount for the company's annual sales. The $500,000 investment into the plastic bottling line has allowed Black Bear, which had been sold mainly through independently owned liquor stores and groceries on Milwaukee County's south side, to expand into some larger, corporate accounts throughout the region, Caruso said.
One of those newer accounts is Target Stores, which carries Black Bear in 13 stores throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Target stores in Greenfield and West Allis first carried Black Bear after some hourly employees asked about it, said John Haefele, a Target store team leader. The sodas sold well, and he began expanding it to other area stores.
Black Bear filled a market segment left open by large soda makers, namely a series of unusual flavors carried by a company with strong local brand loyalty, Haefele said. "I also realized it's very, very inexpensive," Haefele said. "It also became popular because of that."
Black Bear also is sold in Milwaukee-area Jewel-Osco supermarket and drugstores, and has found new homes in various independently owned supermarkets, including a Sentry Foods store at 8561 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek, that Fleming Cos. sold in April to local operator Robin Reid.
Reid, who formerly managed a Sentry Foods store at 6700 W. State St., Wauwatosa, said he wasn't familiar with Black Bear until coming to Oak Creek. With customers asking for the soda, Reid began selling it within a few weeks of buying the store from Fleming, the nation's second-largest supermarket wholesaler after Supervalu. "It's done real well for us," Reid said.
Black Bear's gain in sales bucks a long-standing trend that has seen many small, locally owned soda manufacturers disappear. Nationally, there were 692 soft-drink makers in 1994 - the year Black Bear made the transition to plastic bottles. That's according to data gathered by New York-based Beverage Marketing Corp. By 2000, that number had dropped to 408 soft-drink makers - a 41% decline. Many smaller soda producers have been driven out of business because they found it more difficult to compete with global, multibillion-dollar businesses such as PepsiCo Inc. or Coca-Cola Co., said Gary Hemphill, Beverage Marketing vice president. As those businesses get larger, they can spread out their costs over a wider customer base - making it tough to compete with them on price, he said. Also, the growing consolidation within the supermarket industry leaves fewer independently owned supermarkets.
Supermarket chains tend to focus less on locally produced products, Caruso said. And supermarket chains sometimes demand "slotting fees," which food and beverage producers pay the retailers to get their products into the stores, he said.
Black Bear's growth formula is one that other successful small soda makers have used, Hemphill said. "The ones that tend to be successful offer something different from mainstream carbonated soft drinks," Hemphill said. "It can be based a lot on historic consumption patterns. People grew up on this product and want to continue to drink it."
Caruso said he's seen that tendency as Black Bear expanded its geographic reach. People who drank Black Bear soda when they were children living on Milwaukee's south side and in communities such as St. Francis and Cudahy are now living in Waukesha County and other areas, Caruso said. They still drink Black Bear, he said, and will buy it at their local stores.
Black Bear also is growing its private-label business, which accounts for about half of its revenue. The private-label segment involves producing bottled water and soda for other companies, which then sell the products under their brands. Black Bear has garnered more private-label work as small soda makers around the country have gone out of business, Caruso said. "There's less and less facilities that have the capacity to do the packaging we do," he said. The private-label work comes from throughout the Midwest. One customer is Alterra Coffee Roasters, which plans to hire Black Bear to produce bottled water sold under the Alterra brand name at its four Milwaukee-area cafes, said Ward Fowler, company president.
Black Bear's other business segments include the company's more expensive root beer and cream sodas, sold under the Caruso's Legacy name. The company also sells soda pop syrup in bulk quantities, mainly for church festivals and private parties.
But lately Black Bear may be better known for Claire Baie, a brand of bottled water developed recently by the Oak Creek Water and Sewer Utility.The utility, after developing the brand, sold the production and marketing rights to Black Bear in return for a 15% royalty fee for each bottle of Claire Baie sold. Oak Creek is the only water utility in Wisconsin to commercially bottle its purified water. Black Bear's partnership with the water utility to develop Claire Baie is a big reason behind the company's coming move to Oak Creek, Caruso said.
Black Bear has hired Polacheck Co. to sell its building on Packard Ave. The company will be leasing 66,000 square feet in an 80,000-square-foot Oak Creek building that was purchased by the water utility in June from Outlook Packaging Inc. for $2.35 million. By moving to Oak Creek, Black Bear will be able to tap directly into the city's water supply to bottle Claire Baie, Caruso said. Previously, the water was trucked to its St. Francis plant - a time-consuming and inefficient process. In addition to making it easier to produce Claire Baie, the new building will give Black Bear enough room to increase its soda business, Caruso said. That includes ample storage space, which the St. Francis building lacks. Various Caruso family members have owned Black Bear - which was founded in 1920 - since 1961, when Peter Caruso's grandparents, Peter and Esther Caruso, bought the business. Peter and Esther Caruso had operated a dry-cleaning business. They lived on Packard Ave. next door to the Black Bear plant, and decided it would be a good investment. So they sold the dry-cleaning business and became soda pop makers. Peter Caruso, now deceased, and Esther Caruso, who's retired, are the couple on the Caruso's Legacy label on that brand's root beer and cream soda bottles. That label also adorns the shirt that their grandson wore - along with shorts and tennis shoes - during a recent interview. "There are no suits in this corporation," Caruso said with a laugh.
(Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 22, 2001.)
(c) Milwaukee Journal Sentinal 2001