At a time of unprecedented tumult in bevs and the broader economy, are companies overlooking a key potential resource as they seek to fill key organizational gaps? That's the opinion of Peter Strahm, just off the task of winding down his NY-metro distributorship Drink King. Peter brings a unique blend of supplier and distributor experience going back to significant jobs at Snapple and Red Bull - tho, he points out, depending on how long you've known him, he may even have once been your Pepsi guy.

With its commitment to live sports like Vans Parks Series on hold due to pandemic, Jones Soda is hedging its bets a bit with move into esports via title sponsorship of Torque Esports' Lance Chance Qualifier. It's 5-week "sim racing" series in which racing superstars from Nascar, IndyCar, Super GT and other series compete remotely with simulation system . . . Soft drink bottlers in Carolinas are donating 2-liter PET bottles to local hospitals after learning that they're perfect configuration for repurposing into face shields for healthcare workers. Participating are Minges Bottling Group and Pepsi of Greenville, SC, along with co-op partner Carolina Canners, per local reports . . . Vermont's Agency of Commerce & Community Development is directing large retailers such as Walmart, Target and Costco to cease in-person sales of non-essential items like arts & crafts, carpets, furniture and toys to help reduce store traffic, per local reports. "We are directing these stores to put public health first and help us reduce the number of shoppers by requiring on-line ordering, delivery and curbside pickup whenever possible, and by stopping the sale of non-essential items," per statement reported by Specialty Food Assn.

Consumer Edge Research's Brett Cooper has been balancing the puts and takes of Coca-Cola's situation and finding the challenges - particularly in foodservice - are balanced by opportunities, including a portfolio of productive allied brands in Monster Energy and Body Armor that it may be able to augment on more affordable terms as the economic downturn chills valuations.

Recent NY Times survey of supplement segment offered glimpse of booming product categories even as author warned that items like those are not likely to do much good in warding off COVID-19.

Hard to see how this one might eventually be ready-to-drink-worthy, but it seems to be for real: South Korean cheap-coffee concoction called dalgona seems to be sweeping the ranks of millions of bored stay-at-homes under hashtags like #quarantinecoffee and spawning scores of TikTok and YouTube tutorials. It's made by whisking mixture of instant coffee or espresso powder, sugar and hot water into custard-like consistency, then layering it atop glass of milk - "like a cappuccino turned on its head," as BBC put it. Highly Instagrammable concoction is named after Korean retro sponge candy it resembles, a comfort item that serves well as "the beverage of choice for the socially distant," as Canada's National Post described it. Pics and recipes can be found here and here.

The on-premise biz may have entered a deep freeze in grip of pandemic, but LA-based Icelandic Glacial has moved ahead with recruitment of former Anheuser-Busch exec Andrea Schaefer to serve as on-premise sales dir, key step in assembling on-premise team at A-B-allied brand that so far has focused heavily on retail. After spending a year out of school at Chicago-area craft distiller FEW, Schaefer moved to A-B's Chicago office, first on craft/import side, then natl acct mgr for lodging and then for transit, overseeing top 26 airports. Icelandic Glacial ceo Reza Mirza said that, with brand scoring key on-premise wins like Hard Rock cafes and hotels, it was time to assemble dedicated on-premise team, augmenting biz-development team and retail/wholesale execution teams that already are in place. Tho timing is ironic, Reza said co was intent on making good on offer extended before pandemic arrived. A-B has been minority investor in Icelandic, whose bottled waters move mainly thru A-B system in US . . . Josh Mohr has moved on from 2-year run as marketing vp at Revive Kombucha, seeking next gig. Among high points of role was launch of canned sparkling extension. Prior to Peet's-controlled Revive, Mohr had spent 4 years as field marketing mgr for Red Bull North America, then 8 years at Muscle Milk marketer CytoSport, where he was involved in development of Evolve natural brand. Josh, who's based in Bay Area, didn't give reason for departure from Revive in LinkedIn post.

With cannabis having been deemed by authorities to be an essential product during pandemic, cannabis-infused bevs seem to be building some momentum within category, edging past cannabis flower in growth, +14% vs +12%, per new data on total adult use from analytics firm Headset. With edibles up a category-leading 28%, edibles/bevs together have become largest segment within cannabis, Headset reported. And gender balance is starting to tilt from two-thirds male now that females have upped their spending even more than males during current pandemic. It's not clear whether that signals pantry load or longer-term direction; as Headset notes, "it could be speculated that females were less likely to have cannabis products on hand and more likely to feel a sense of urgency to stock up." Among other categories, vape pens saw daily sales during pandemic period rise 9%, capsules 7%, tinctures & sublinguals 6% and concentrates 4%; on down side, pre-roll sank 11% and topicals 13%. The data tracked avg daily sales for period since coronavirus bump hit (Mar 7-31) vs before (Jan 1 to Mar 6).

With c-store traffic waning during pandemic even as supermarket shopping gets more challenging, more and more c-store operators are tilting their biz toward serving as alternative means of procuring grocery staples, new survey from Natl Assn of Convenience Stores finds. Survey conducted from late Mar thru yesterday found that the channel has tilted from items typically consumed within an hour (usually 83% of mix) to items that can be brought home: 52% say they're adding more cleaning and toiletry items, 31% are emphasizing ready-to-heat meals and 28% are showcasing multi-pack or bulk items, all departures from usual mix in space-constrained stores. At same time, NACS reported, c-stores have dramatically scaled back restaurant functions, including public seating and dining areas, and foodservice functions like self-serve coffee, fountain drinks, bakery items and roller grill. So far, they say their existing distribution system is holding up, despite radical shift in item assortment: some