The latest food and beverage industry news and trend analysis

McDonald's is set to launch a new permanent speciality drink lineup across nearly 14,000 US locations, utilising trending ingredients like cold foam and popping boba to transform the beverage category into a primary traffic driver.

Capri Sun has launched Capri Sun Hydrate, a new electrolyte-boosted juice drink designed to meet parental demand for lower-sugar functional hydration in the children's beverage category.

PepsiCo Canada is disrupting the traditional soda category with the global debut of bubly POP soda. Featuring 3 grams of sugar or less and real fruit juice, the Canadian-exclusive launch leverages the brand's long-standing partnership with Michael Buble to bridge the gap between unsweetened sparkling water and full-calorie soft drinks.

PepsiCo is accelerating its digital transformation through a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud, centring on the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. By integrating advanced AI into its global operations, the beverage and snack giant aims to optimise its value chain.

Soft drink challenger brand Candy Can has expanded its novelty portfolio through a new licensing agreement with Perfetti Van Melle, bringing the Bubblicious bubble gum brand into the ready-to-drink beverage category for the first time.

GHOST® Energy is expanding its portfolio of authentic collaborations through a partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) to launch 7UP® Lemon Lime. This limited-time release marks the first licensed flavour under the GHOST and KDP strategic partnership, leveraging the brand equity of the iconic 7UP soda to capture the high-growth nostalgic energy segment.

Living Things is strengthening its position in the high-growth functional soft drinks category with the launch of Cherry & Lime, a prebiotic soda engineered to meet the summer demand for flavour-led, low-calorie beverages featuring 2 billion live cultures and high fibre content.

The Coca-Cola Company has appointed Tapaswee Chandele as its next Global Chief People Officer, effective May 1. A 25-year veteran of the company, Chandele succeeds Lisa Chang, signalling a focus on internal continuity and global talent development as the beverage giant optimises its international workforce strategy.