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Miami Herald
26-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Coca-Cola rival shares big news on three canceled soda flavors
Usually a product gets removed from shelves when demand falls. Every inch in a grocery store is valuable, and products that don't move lose their spots. Companies tend to stay ahead of this because they don't want to lose that shelf space. That's why many snack or beverage companies introduce new or seasonal flavors. Related: Taco Bell launches spicy new menu item featuring a hot partner When people get bored with Double Fudge Oreos, the cookie company brings out Strawberry or, for some reason, Selena Gomez. The same happens with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Both companies want to claim as much shelf space as possible. That's why they rotate out flavors and bring out new ones. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Coca-Cola (KO) and Pepsi seem to be battling an endless array of new companies trying to sell everything from healthier sodas to energy drinks. If offering Cool Ranch Coke or Pepsi Grey for a few months keeps one of those rivals out of a store, that's good for the beverage giants. It's not common for popular soda flavors that are selling well to be pulled from store shelves. That, however, is what happened to three flavors offered by a growing Coca-Cola and PepsiCo (PEP) rival. Ghost, which markets its beverages as "feel good energy," offers a lot of flavors. That includes classics from Iced Tea Lemonade, Electric Limeade, and Welch's Grape to wackier offerings like 'Merica, Pop, Strawbango, and Sour Pink Lemonade. The company offers energy drinks, but it's also trying to present them as healthy. Ghost describes its beverages as "authentic flavors, zero sugars, and no BS." It's hard to detect whether a drink has any "BS" in it, as there's no FDA standard for that, but the company tries to explain its mission on its website. "The fully transparent, fully loaded, feel-good energy drink we've all been waiting for," the company shared on its website. In the interest of transparency, the company shared some bad news in early May. More Food & Dining: Iconic Warren Buffett candy store suddenly closing after 30 yearsWalmart's Sam's Club makes a Costco-style food court changePopular Trader Joe's wine brand has bad news, making harsh choice "Yesterday, @ghostlifestyle announced that Mondelēz International (parent company to Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, @oreo, @chipsahoy, @nutterbutter, and many others) was not interested in moving forward with their long-standing product licensing deal," the SodaSeekers Instagram page reported. That means Ghost will have to stop making its Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish flavors and will no longer be able to bring customers those authentic flavors. At the time that news was shared, it was unclear whether Ghost was going to be able to sell off its remaining stock. Cans that were already shipped to stores were not pulled, but no new shipments were scheduled. Now, it appears that fans of the three discontinued flavors will get more chances to enjoy them (or fill their basements with as many cans as they can hoard). "A few days ago, the CEO of @ghostlifestyle stated that an agreement had been reached to 'soft land' the @mondelez_international collaborations over the next 12 months, including the three Ghost Energy flavors seen here," SodaSeekers reported. Exactly what that means remain a little unclear. "While firm details have not come out on what that 'soft landing' entails, this likely means that Ghost has been permitted to sell the remaining stock of these collaborative products while supplies last. No further product will be produced," the Instagram page shared. Many fans remain upset that the flavors are being pulled. Related: Popular pizza maker closed after Chapter 11 bankruptcy moves forward "I'm still salty about this. Legit took away the 3 best flavors in my opinion," itz_thomas84 wrote. Many people suggested that Ghost would bring the flavors back under different names. Haven_I_price has a more cynical view: "They'll bring it back after a few months or a year or so to spike demand for a quick buck," they posted. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks Makes Major Update to Its Drink Policy, Effective Today
Starbucks is rolling out another big change to its policies today, but fans will likely enjoy this one. On Monday, Jan. 27, the global chain of cafés' new approach to refills officially went into effect. With it, more customers are entitled to a free drink refill—but there are a few stipulations they need to adhere to before trying to score another cup. Previously, only Starbucks Rewards members were eligible for the complimentary drink refill, but not anymore. Now, anyone who orders hot or iced coffee or tea to stay can ask for another cup during that same visit for no additional charge at participating locations. To-go orders are not eligible for refills, and neither are specialty drinks; only hot brewed or iced coffee or hot or iced tea will be offered free refills, according to a statement shared directly with Parade. Starbucks will also only serve free refills to those whose first orders were served "in a ceramic mug, glass, or clean personal cup." Other items excluded from the free refills are its Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew, Iced Tea Lemonade, flavored Iced Tea, and Starbucks Refreshers bases. "Our green aprons are on, our playlists are ready, and our mugs are waiting to be filled—and refilled—with the finest Starbucks brewed coffee. So, pull up a chair, grab your favorite drink and stay awhile," the company said on Monday. Jan. 27 also marked the official return of Starbucks' self-serve condiment bar and handwritten names on cups, two other amenities the new CEO had previously hinted at returning in an effort to beef up foot traffic. The revised refill policy follows several other updates to Starbucks' code of conduct for its employees and customers, including a controversial walk-back on its "open-door" policy that now makes it so non-paying customers are no longer welcome to just hang out inside the store. Other changes Starbucks recently rolled out include its decision to waive the fees associated with swapping out a dairy product for a non-dairy alternative when customizing a drink and more transparent mobile pricing and pickup. Additionally, the coffee stop overhauled its menus with the addition of several new and returning seasonal menu items—including a highly-requested unsweetened version of its matcha tea—and the removal of its divisive olive oil-based drinks. New year, new Starbucks? Next:
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks offering free refills to all customers, bringing back condiment bar
Starbucks is implementing new and old policies at its cafes in the United States and Canada to improve the customer experience. Beginning on Monday, customers who order a 'for here' beverage can also get free refills of hot or iced coffee or hot or iced tea during their visit. The drink will also be served in a coffee mug, glass or clean personal cup brought from home. However, according to the company's website, Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew, Iced Tea Lemonade, flavored Iced Tea and Starbucks Refreshers are excluded from the free refill program. Starbucks is also bringing back the condiment bar, complete with creamer, milk and various sweeteners. The chain has also implemented a 'Coffeehouse Code of Conduct' policy, which prohibits panhandling, consumption of outside alcohol and drug use, including vapes. Changes at the coffee chain come after Starbucks' new chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said he wanted to recapture the community coffeehouse feeling it used to have. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
