Ahead of the release on Tuesday of Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s (DPSG) results for the fourth quarter and the 12 months of 2016, here’s a look at the events that shaped the three months to the end of December for the soft drinks group.
- At the start of October, the company saw its share price slide after one of its partner companies, Bai Brands, was linked to a sale
- Also in October, DPSG increased the footprint of another of its partner brands, High Brew Coffee, in the US market. Following an initial roll-out to New York, Chicago and Texas, the ready-to-drink cold brew coffee brand is now available throughout the Midwest, Great Plains, northern California and the south-east
- Towards the end of the month, CEO Larry Young said the company’s Diet Dr Pepper brand had “continued to significantly outperform the diet category”, growing just under 1% in the company’s third quarter. Young highlighted the success of the variant’s Lil’ Sweet marketing campaign
- Meanwhile, Bai Brands rumours continued to swirl and, by the end of October, speculation was mounting over whether DPSG would make a move for the Bai-5 producer
- We didn’t have to wait long for a conclusion to the Bai Brands saga: By late-November, DPSG had agreed to acquire the company in a deal worth US$1.7bn. just-drinks outlined exactly what DPSG was getting for its money, and also took a closer look at what the acquisition would mean for DPSG going forward