Coca-Cola has engineered some complexity out of its popular Freestyle bev dispenser, debuting a new version dubbed Coca-Cola Flex that manages to squeeze in 40+ bev choices in same envelope as standard 6-valve fountain units. It's debuting this weekend at Natl Restaurant Assn Show in Chicago. KO has concluded that 30% of customers who don't add a bev to their food order but would if they could get the category they want, per Megan Tallman, group dir, Freestyle & foodservice innovation. Among key features, unit offers 15-in high-def touch screen that eases navigation for users, and diagnostics and ergonomics improvements at time restaurant operators are squeezed on labor.

With hot coffee apparently not even a concept to growing numbers of young consumers, Keurig Dr Pepper has formally intro'd cold coffee brewer line dubbed K-Iced, just in time for summer. Keurig-branded items are hitting market in trio of versions: K-Iced Single Serve Coffee Maker offering 6-oz, 8-oz and 10-oz hot and iced brew sizes and 42-oz removable reservoir ($99), another version created specially for Walmart with 36-oz reservoir ($79), and K-Iced Plus gizmo exclusively headed to Target with 8-, 10- and 12-oz hot and iced brew sizes and 46-oz reservoir ($129). Becky Opdyke, svp for coffee marketing, said new line aims squarely at Gen-Z cohort, with "an astounding 73% of consumers between 18-24 drinking iced coffee weekly." Among devices' features is Brew Over Ice option that automatically adjusts brew temperature, starting hotter to extract more flavor from ground coffee, then cooling down to minimize ice melt.

Rich cold coffee offering may have become crucial to success of coffee chains but so, increasingly, is in-house energy blend. To sate that need, Westrock Coffee will debut Energy Refreshers offering this weekend at Natl Restaurant Assn show in Chicago, green-tea-based blend that includes taurine, ginseng, B-vitamins and 100 mg of caffeine per 8-oz serving. Available in unsweetened and sweetened formats, new platform is intended to serve as "buildable base ingredient for creative beverage innovations," as co put it. Recall that at player like Dutch Bros, proprietary energy blend dubbed Rebel provides major revenue stream in range of customizable offerings. Fast-expanding Westrock claims to be #1 supplier of coffee and tea to US restaurant operators.

Sucralose? Ace-K? Stevia? They're all useless in trying to keep your weight down, per a new guideline issued yesterday by World Health Org after extensive data review. Use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) "does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children. Results of the review also suggest that there may be potential undesirable effects from long-term use of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults. "People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages," per statement from WHO nutrition & food safety dir Francesco Branca. "NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health." Study results make no distinction on this score between artificial and natural sweeteners.

AB is leaning a bit extra on its partnership with Folds of Honor this summer in the midst of continued Bud Light fallout. New limited-edition camouflage Bud Light and Budweiser aluminum cans will be available in mkt in time for Memorial Day have an interactive QR code for consumers to learn more about Folds of Honor org and its contributions toward families of fallen/disabled veterans and first responders. Budweiser and Folds of Honor will also release a "co-branded film featuring the impact Folds of Honor scholarships have had on past scholarship recipients and families." AB donated $21.7 mil to the org over the past 13 yrs, contributing to over 4K scholarships.

Tho Boston Beer brass reiterated upbeat company outlook at Goldman Sachs' 2023 Global Staples Forum, Goldman managing dir Bonnie Herzog maintained her sell rating on SAM stock and continues to see "a negative risk reward," she wrote in follow-up report yesterday. Her $225 target 12-month stock price is nearly $100 below Boston's current ~$320 per share, and the "path back to sustainable, profitable growth will be more difficult than appreciated," she believes. Still, Chairman Jim Koch, ceo Dave Burwick and coo/interim cfo Matt Murphy charted optimistic outlook as co "implements significant operational changes" to simplify its biz, stabilize Truly and return to long-term growth.