In roundup of share price movements over past year we neglected one player that had eventful year: Alkaline88 marketer Alkaline Water Co. As with fellow bevco New Age, WTER actively heralded pending move into cannabiz while also orchestrating key acquisition, in this case of rival alkaline water brand Aquahydrate, whose c-store-oriented biz is seemingly neat fit with more grocery-oriented bulk brand Alkaline88. Yet for all the activity, shares essentially lost half their value in 2019, trending down from $2.75 at start of year to conclude at $1.37 by year-end. Still, there's no question WTER is co to watch in 2020, with first CBD items edging into market and revenues projected to hit $46-50 mil for full year as A88 and Aquahydrate augment each other's strengths. Whether stock recovers under aggressive ceo Ricky Wright will be intriguing plotline in '20.

Talk about priced-down probiotics: NY's influential (but struggling) Fairway Market chain is promoting GT's Kombucha at aggressive price of $1.88 per 16-oz glass bottle for those who redeem coupon blasted out by email this week. Offer is limited to 12 bottles per shopper and doesn't include Classic line of alcoholic entries. That's barely half the SRP on kombucha leader.

What does 2020 hold in bevs? We offered a smorgasbord of views yesterday but couldn't get them all in. Here are more deft insights from additional coupla movers & shakers in our space. So shake twice, then pour and enjoy.

Coca-Cola is starting out 2020 as a full-fledged dairy player in US. The big Atlanta bevco said it closed on acquisition of remaining stake in Fairlife LLC from partner Select Milk Producers, moving from 42.5% to full ownership of marketer of Fairlife-branded low-fat ultrafiltered milk and Core Power protein shakes. "This is a natural next step in our relationship with Fairlife that began in 2012, and Fairlife will continue to operate as a stand-alone business based in Chicago," under ceo Tim Doelman, a KO rep indicated this morning. Doelman, recall, was behind launch of Core Power in 2012, initially under brand name Athletes HoneyMilk.

It's time for our new year's ritual again: to offer up our evergreen resolutions for entrepreneurs who're lookin' to navigate the waters of this perilous but rewarding biz. Since by definition the winners usually are the disruptors, the main rule really is that there aren't any rules. Even what had long been regarded as ironclad rules of classic marketing seem to have gone out the window, as we recently noted in our column in BevNet magazine available here. So these are not so much rules as things to think about as you craft your strategy for 2020. As always, we credit the insights to you, our readers, who've communicated your hard-won knowledge to us over staticky cellphone calls, via semi-scrutable txt msg and brain-stimulating nootropic-based cocktails.

A year ago there weren't many positives in review of bevcos' stock trends, but with Dow Jones avg gaining 22.3% and S&P 500 up 28.9% this past year, many bev suppliers' shares either posted better trends or returned to growth. Coca-Cola shares were up 16.9% in 2019, improving on modest gains of 4% in 2018 and 10.7% in 2017. PepsiCo rebounded nicely from 6.4% decline in 2018 to gain 23.7% last year. Now nearly 18 mos after Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Keurig Green Mountain formed what struck many as a curious pairing, Keurig Dr Pepper's stock price grew 12.3% to $28.80, reflecting consistent growth that amalgamation of brands and formats shared during year in its quarterly reports.

Private-equity shop Blue Point Capital, which likes to work its regional tentacles for deals, particularly around its Cleveland hq, has acquired Akron-based juice maker Country Pure Foods and recruited co's former ceo Ray Lee to take helm again. Deal for undisclosed terms puts under Blue Point umbrella the Country Pure units Silver Springs Citrus, Natural Country Farms, Ohio Pure Foods, Ardmore Farms and Cal-Tex Citrus Juice, which collectively comprise significant player in better-for-you bevs operating primarily in private-label and foodservice spaces, particularly in growing education and healthcare markets. It produces brands like Ardmore Farms, Fun! and VitaMost, and operates plants in Akron; DeLand, Fla; Ellington, Conn; Houston, and Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. "We have been tracking CPF for over 20 years given that it is approximately 45 minutes from our Cleveland office," Blue Point partner John LeMay said in statement. "Our prior successes and current portfolio investments in the food & beverage segment and our longstanding relationship with Ray, who was the former ceo, make it a natural one for us." For his part, Lee said he's eager to implement such recent growth initiatives as Country Pure's acquisition of Sidekicks 100% fruit & vegetable juice frozen dessert line and co's expansion into almondmilk and other plant-based bevs. He'd retired from Country Pure at end of 2017, leaving helm in hands of his co-ceo Kenny Sadai. During his 20+ years at helm, he'd presided over 9 acquisitions under 5 ownership teams, growing biz from $12 mil in 1992 to over $200 mil at time he moved on, per co's website.

Swig a Pepsi as an act of self-expression, or even defiance. That's what bev giant PepsiCo is urging consumers with new tagline dubbed "That's What I Like" that posits Pepsi family of CSDs as realm of free-spirited hell-raisers who're not afraid to act out their urges in public. The campaign - first new one in 20 years - "is derived from and inspired by Pepsi's most loyal drinkers, who proudly like what they like and live their lives out loud without worrying about what others will think - whether it's clapping at the end of a movie, wearing an over-the-top costume for the fun of it, or simply enjoying a Pepsi," as PEP put it in today's announcement. Citing quantitative research conducted by lead agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, marketing vp Todd Kaplan added: "We know that our most loyal Pepsi drinkers take that enjoyment up a notch, so it is no surprise that they are more likely than non-Pepsi drinkers to belt out a karaoke song, binge-watch their favorite shows, or wear their team jerseys to a rival's home game. We created this campaign to pay homage to this unapologetic mindset embraced by our most loyal fans, with a music-forward expression to pinpoint the feeling our consumers have when they genuinely enjoy themselves in an uninhibited way."