Articles by Stephanie Cernivec

Although more consumers are doing their best to trade sugary beverages for healthier options, one thing they’re not willing to sacrifice is taste, says Bob Yates, president and chief executive officer for Pulse Beverage Corp., Denver.

As Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Living Essentials LLC’s 5 Hour Energy brand suggests in its advertising, “that 2:30 feeling” can be difficult for many consumers to overcome. In fact, that mid-afternoon slump, or “post-lunch dip,” is a natural part of humans’ internal clock, which creates the urge to sleep approximately seven hours after waking, according to a 2007 New York Times article.

During the first quarter of 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported 316 food recalls, according to Stericycle ExpertRecall, Indianapolis.

When the recession hit, consumers started purchasing fewer items on shopping trips, in effect adding importance to a product’s packaging to get shoppers to pick up the product and examine it, says Charles Pavia, director of marketing for Proactive Packaging & Display, Ontario, Calif.

Although some segments of the beverage industry often are associated with the obesity epidemic in America, more than half of consumers believe they are responsible for their own weight, according to research by The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash.

When it comes to consumer packaged goods, thinking big with a positive attitude could be the key to innovation.

Imagine having the ability to pick up a beverage and examine it without ever touching it. Thanks to next-generation vending machines, this idea of virtual selection is becoming a reality.

It’s amazing how much can change in a year’s time. As our staff began compiling Beverage Industry’s list of the Top 100 beverage companies (page 24), I realized the magnitude of changes that have taken place in the beverage realm within the last year.

When the MillerCoors facility in Golden, Colo., experienced a small flood in its basement a few years ago, little did the company know what it was about to stumble upon.

Representing the “Tenth” reference in Tenth and Blake Beer Co., the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee is one of the company’s smallest, most experimental breweries, says Tom Cardella, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based MillerCoors division of craft and import brands.