David Dickerson

Q1 results underline two structural wins of KO vs PEP. 1. Pepsi’s food business (Frito-Lay, Quaker) has been under more consumer pressure, while Coke is a pure-play beverage company benefiting from strong global demand for its brands. 2. Coke essentially sold off its bottling burden and collects high-margin concentrate/royalty revenue. Pepsi still carries the capital-heavy, lower-margin bottling operations on its own balance sheet — which is a key reason Coke’s 35% operating margin towers over Pepsi’s 16.5%.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Pepsi reaffirmed guidance but didn’t raise it; Coke did. Post earnings release, since start of May until today bulls went with KO, pushing stock price +2%, bears with PEP, pulling it down -5%. Cause and effect in action..

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Most independent grocery departments don't have a margin problem. They have an execution problem that looks like a margin problem. Shrink is running 4–6 points above where it should be. Production is overbuilt against actual movement. Markdown cadence is reactive, not managed. Labor is allocated by habit, not by case productivity. The department looks busy. The P&L says something different. I’ve walked these departments for 20+ years — meat, seafood, service case. The money is almost always there. The operation just isn’t built to hold it. Three case studies from the retail side of PRO: Independent grocery, multi-store: +4.2 pts margin, 28% shrink reduction Premium market: +3.8 pts margin, 15% avg ticket increase Crisis recovery, 90-day reset: +5.8 pts margin, 43% shrink reduction This is operator work. Not a dashboard subscription. Not a recommendation deck. If your department is bleeding margin and execution isn’t holding, that’s what PRO is built for. primeretailops.com/retail Scott Short Founder and Managing Principal Prime Retail Operations

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Succeeding in today’s competitive beverage market requires a full-view analysis of the beverage alcohol and beer industry – one that brings together On- and Off-Premise data for a complete, unified market perspective. At this year’s National Beer Wholesalers Association's Annual Conference, join Andrew Hummel, Director - Beverage Alcohol, North America, and Kaleigh Theriault, Director - Beverage Alcohol Thought Leadership, as they present: Zoom Out, Win Big: Giving Your Team a Full View of the Total Beverage Alcohol Market. Attendees will receive an exclusive first look at new analysis to challenge industry myths—combining scan, panel, and On Premise insights. As consumers continue to moderate their beverage alcohol consumption, understanding the total industry landscape is more critical than ever. This session, tailored for beer distributors, will explore: -Navigating both On- and Off-Premise channels -Uncovering growth opportunities in a shrinking volume market -Deploying Beer First tools to complete the sale 📍 Attending National Beer Wholesalers Association Convention & Trade Show? Stop by and connect with Drew and Kaleigh in person to dive deeper into the insights and tools that can help your team win big. #TheFullView #Beer #BeverageAlcohol #OnPremise #Distribution

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When consumers push back on prices, brands have two choices: raise efficiency or absorb the hit. PepsiCo cutting snack prices by up to 15 percent is a reminder that pricing pressure is real, even for the biggest names. When top-line growth slows, margin discipline becomes the game. For many companies, the fastest lever isn’t product quality or volume. It’s overhead. Labor is one of the few costs businesses can restructure without slowing operations or lowering product quality. Building offshore teams lets companies keep output high while reducing long-term staffing costs, giving them room to compete on price without cutting corners. That’s the strategy we help companies implement at Tahche. #Tahche #Offshoring #BusinessStrategy #CostEfficiency #GlobalTeams https://lnkd.in/giZkm77m

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To cap off a wild week of beer and alc bev distribution news, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits is making another major acquisition. It will buy Eagle Rock's Colorado biz, a 13-mil-case nearly statewide AB house that also sells Sazerac and many other brands. Eagle Rock entered CO just 5.5 yrs ago when it acquired AB's branch, and proceeded to invest a lot of money building a new warehouse, revamping an existing one and building out its portfolio. But after AB sent an intensive market evaluation team to CO last Jun, 9 months later, this sale to SGWS is the ultimate result. This is the 2nd AB distrib deal announced for SGWS to buy an AB distrib just this week, following its deal for Long Island, NY-based Clare Rose. Between those two and AB's former NYC branch purchased last fall, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits will have bought about 22 mil cases from 3 AB distribs in short order. https://lnkd.in/epd8_M5z

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I read a piece this morning about how Anheuser-Busch is outperforming while the rest of the beer industry struggles. The article focused on portfolio diversification. Cutwater. NÜTRL. Non-alc. All smart moves. But diversification only works if the product lands in the right place. Michelob Ultra didn’t suddenly win because the liquid changed. It won because it found the right moments. Golf courses. Gym-to-happy-hour crowd. Low-carb converts. Daytime occasions. Right product. Right environment. But that doesn’t happen by accident. I’ve seen the same SKU collect dust in one account and fly out the door two miles away. Same liquid. Same market. The difference was whether someone understood the room before they tried to sell it. Most sales teams train the pitch. The process. The talking points. But the reps who pay attention notice things first. The crowd. The menu. The rhythm of the place. Then they know what belongs there. That’s situational intelligence. And it’s usually the difference between a brand sitting on a shelf and one that actually moves.

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Hispanic consumers are driving more frequent visits to convenience stores, especially for fresh, store-made meals and healthier options. Their interest includes ethnic and mainstream foods, with strong demand for innovation and better-for-you choices. Digitally savvy and open to non-food purchases, this segment offers big opportunities for retailers to boost engagement and basket size. #RetailTrends #CStoreGrowth #HispanicConsumers #ShopperInsights #AcostaGroup

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Reyes Beverage Group is widening its RNDC acquisition—while dropping Illinois from the deal. 🗺️📦 The distributor will now purchase RNDC’s operations in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, adding to previously announced markets including Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Four of the added states mark entirely new territory for Reyes, as the company targets closing the transaction as early as the end of May. Illinois, once part of the agreement, is no longer included. The move comes amid an aggressive expansion push that has seen Reyes rapidly scale its spirits portfolio and footprint, now spanning 55 facilities and roughly 320 million cases delivered annually. Link to the full story in the first comment below 👇 #BevNET #BeverageIndustry #SpiritsBusiness #WineAndSpirits #Distribution #MergersAndAcquisitions #AlcoholIndustry

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Big distribution news for American Rebel Light Beer. American Rebel Light Beer has signed a new Missouri distribution agreement with Wil Fischer Distributing—one of the state’s most respected Anheuser-Busch heritage wholesalers. This partnership expands our footprint across south-central, southeast, and northwest Missouri—reaching roughly 900,000 residents and accelerating availability across retail and on-premise. Why it matters: we’re building a Distributor-First growth engine by partnering with execution-proven, top-tier wholesalers—market by market. Next up: major 2026 brand-reach opportunities, including planned activations at Black Oak Amphitheater. Learn more in today’s release (American Rebel Light Beer adds Top Tier Missouri Distribution with Wil Fischer) and visit www.AmericanRebelBeer.com for product and availability updates. #AmericanRebel #AmericanRebelBeer #Distribution #Missouri #BeverageIndustry #RetailExecution #WilFischerCompanies #BlackOakAmp

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Craft beer may have transformed the American palate, but how does it stay ahead when competition is everywhere? Bart Watson, President & CEO of the Brewers Association shares how on episode 159 of the Associations Thrive podcast. Tune in to hear how the industry is evolving and how the association is helping small brewers thrive. #AssociationsThrive #CraftBeer #BrewersAssociation #AssociationLeadership #NonprofitCEO #BeerIndustry #Podcast

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Conagra Brands forecasts annual profit at the low end of its guidance range, citing elevated costs in a volatile macroeconomic environment. "This is not an easy operating environment," CEO Sean Connolly said in a statement. https://lnkd.in/gKcUJvjN

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Anheuser-Busch has completed its $490 million acquisition of ready-to-drink beverage brand BeatBox, strengthening its position in the fast-growing Beyond Beer category.  The transaction, first announced in December, gives the brewer an 85% stake in the Austin, Texas-based company, with an option to acquire full ownership after five years. The move expands Anheuser-Busch’s portfolio beyond core beer brands such as Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra, adding to a Beyond Beer lineup that includes Cutwater Spirits, Nutrl Vodka Seltzer and Phorm Energy. Chief Executive Officer, #BrendanWhitworth said: “We’re excited to formally welcome BeatBox into our Beyond Beer portfolio. I’m confident that their entrepreneurial spirit, their commitment to consistent innovation and their ability to connect with their consumers will be a strong complement to our existing team and capabilities. “Anheuser-Busch has a proven playbook for building winning brands, and I look forward to embarking on the next phase of dynamic growth together.” #BeatBox recorded nearly 50% growth last year and ranked as the No. 5 fastest-growing brand by dollar sales in the US hard beverage industry, according to data from #Circana. #AnheuserBusch

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Conagra Brands named John Brase as its next CEO, effective June 1, 2026, marking a leadership transition after more than a decade under Sean Connolly. Brase brings more than 35 years of CPG experience, including leadership roles at Smucker and Procter & Gamble. Leadership shifts at major CPG companies can signal changes in portfolio strategy, innovation priorities and operational focus—making it important to watch how experience in brand building and efficiency may shape future product pipelines. #FoodInnovation #ProductDevelopment #CPGTrends #Leadership #FoodIndustry #FoodExecutives Find more at 🔗 in comments. [ IMAGE COURTESY OF: Conagra Brands ]

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The Beverage Alcohol Retailers Conference (BARC) 2026 will return to Minneapolis this June for the event’s 10th anniversary. Since launching in Minneapolis in 2017, BARC has brought together off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, suppliers and distributors for discussions on merchandising, operations, marketing, compliance and emerging industry trends. This year’s conference will include educational panels, retailer store tours and networking opportunities as part of Beverage Industry Week 2026. Industry conversations continue to evolve around RTDs, THC beverages, non-alcoholic products and changing consumer purchasing behavior, all topics expected to remain front and center at this year’s event: https://lnkd.in/ezfuvffx

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