As The Pandemic Continues, JBS Shows Hindsight is 2020

Last Week’s Moves

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Welcome to your weekly food & beverage report, where we cover everything you’ll need to know for the week ahead. This week, Coca-Cola shows interest in deepening its footprint in the alcoholic beverage sector, JBS recons with its pandemic response, and also launches a bold new plant-based product. 

Coca-Cola is continuing to explore the alcoholic beverage segment, assessing opportunities for expansion

Coca-Cola’s (KO) management team spoke at the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference last week, focusing the conversation around alcoholic beverages. While the company definitely has its eyes on the sector, CEO and chairman James Robert B. Quincey says they’re still evaluating whether the size of the opportunity is enough to pursue. Coca-Cola does already have several experiments underway however, including Topo Chico Hard Seltzer (in partnership with Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP)) and the upcoming launch of Simply Spiked, an alcoholic version of Coke’s Simply brand. 

• Top-o the line… Topo Chico Hard Seltzer hit the shelves in 2020, achieving nation-wide distribution this past January. The partnership has already expanded the brand to include a Topo Chico Ranch Water Hard Seltzer. Coca-Cola is also partnering with Constellation Brands (STZ) to launch a Fresca-branded mixed cocktail in the US. Fresca Mixed, a ready-to-drink cocktail, will be launched later this year. 
• The alcohol arena… Two other alcoholic beverages are being tested in international markets, including Japan, Brazil, and the Philippeans. Though all endeavors are seeing success, Quincey says it’s not enough to move the needle to bring alcohol to the forefront of Coca-Cola’s core offering. Competition is fierce as Coke works to take market share from more local brands who are also in the flavored categories (alcohol, beer), the soft drinks industry, and all the other nonalcoholic categories. 
   

After a turbulent period in the pandemic, JBS is seeing innovation both within the organization, as well as in its product offerings

Fancy plants… Planterra, JBS’s US plant-based arm, is tackling the notoriously difficult plant-based bacon sector with its new Ozo line. Ozo’s plant-based bacon marks JBS’s first foray into plant-based bacon, and will be launching three different varieties: Cracked Black Pepper, Applewood Smoke, and Spicy Jalapeno. 

• Trying to bring home the bacon… JBS (JBSAY) is the nation’s second largest fresh pork producer, has five facilities that process over 90,000 hogs per day, and also owns leading bacon brands including Swift and Plumrose USA. They know bacon, and they have a reputation to uphold. 
• A substitute, not a replacement… Planterra has positioned itself as an additional choice for flexitarians since its inception, and has made it clear their mission isn’t to replace meat. However, Planterra is no stranger to leveraging partnerships to try and make their products as meat-like as possible. 

Making amends… In other news from JBS, after a congressional panel said meat companies used “baseless” claims of a supply shortage to operate plants under “dangerous conditions” at the start of the pandemic, four of the company’s US subsidiaries and affiliates have agreed to work with third-party experts to create and enact an infectious disease preparedness plan for seven of the company’s meat processing facilities to protect their workers. 

• Hindsight is 2020… JBS will use OSHA-recommended experts as well as the United Food and Commercial Workers Union to establish engineering, cleaning, ventilation, personal protective equipment, and visitor screening protocols. 
• A fine for not keeping employees fine… The initiative comes after OSHA fined the companies just under $15,000 after determining facilities in Colorado and Wisconsin did not do enough to protect workers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Other stories…

• Fronting the bill… Last Wednesday, the Biden administration announced new funding and a comprehensive overview of how it will transform the national food supply chain, focusing on consolidation busting in the meat packing sector.  
• All 50 states… In an expanded (and exclusive) partnership with Dot Foods, Tillamook County Creamery Association products will be accessible at over 5,200 distributors across all 50 states.
• Formula frenzy… Abbott Nutrition (ABT)  announced that it has resumed baby formula production at its Michigan plant in a move to address the nationwide shortage. Initial product release should come around June 20. 

That’s all we have for you this week, do you have anything for us? We’d love to hear from you with stories or recommendations for new sections to include! Drop us a line at news@barchart.com with any feedback or input.