Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now

NEW YORK (AP) -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) says it plans to start testing a new fountain machine at restaurants that lets people create a variety of flavor combinations, such as strawberry Mountain Dew.

The test follows Coca-Cola's (NYSE: KO  ) introduction in 2009 of its Freestyle machine, which also lets customers touch a screen to pick from a wide array of flavor combinations. PepsiCo's test is set to begin at five restaurants in Denver next week.

Gina Anderson, a spokeswoman for PepsiCo, said the "Touch Tower" machines let people add up to four flavor shots -- lemon, cherry, strawberry, or vanilla -- to eight varieties of drinks. That means people could create drinks like strawberry Pepsi or lemon Mountain Dew.

She said the company has other tests planned and that the "Touch Tower" being introduced in Denver is the first in a series. The test was first reported by the industry tracker Beverage Digest.

Coca-Cola's Freestyle machine also lets people pick from a wide variety of unique drinks, such as Caffeine-Free Diet Coke with lime or Minute Maid Light Orange Lemonade. The machines are seen as a way to help restaurants and other outlets such as movie theaters boost beverage sales and customer traffic.

5 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2015: Beam Inc (BEAM)

Beam Inc. (Beam), incorporated on October 1, 1985, is a premium spirits company that makes and sells branded distilled spirits products in markets worldwide. The Company's principal products include bourbon whiskey, tequila, Scotch whisky, Canadian whisky, vodka, cognac, rum, cordials, and ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktails. The Company's portfolio consists of brands the Company identifies as Power Brands, Rising Stars, Local Jewels and values Creators. The Power Brands are the Company's core brand equities, with global reach in premium categories. Rising Stars are smaller premium brands. Brands identified as Local Jewels act as Power Brands in local markets. Value Creators include a variety of brands. The Company's three reportable segments are the geographic regions, which consists of North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific/South America (APSA). Each segment is engaged in the manufacture and sale of distilled spirits products. In May 2012, the Company acquired the Pinnacle vodka and Calico Jack rum brands and certain related assets (Pinnacle assets) from White Rock Distilleries, Inc. In January 2012, Beam acquired Cooley Distillery plc (Cooley), an Irish whiskey producer.

The Company�� Power Brands include Jim Beam Bourbon, Maker's Mark Bourbon, Sauza Tequila, Courvoisier Cognac, Canadian Club Whisky, Teacher's Scotch and Pinnacle Vodka. Beam�� Rising Stars brand includes Laphroaig Scotch, Knob Creek Bourbon, Basil Hayden's Bourbon, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, Cruzan Rum, Hornitos Tequila, Skinnygirl Cocktails and Sourz Liqueurs. The principal markets for the Company's spirits products are the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and the Company continues to invest in emerging markets such as India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Central Europe, Asia, and other geographies.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, Power Brands, Rising Stars, and combined Local Jewels/Value Creators (including non-branded sales) repre! sent approximately 60%, 15%, and 25%, respectively, of the Company's net sales. Approximately 55% of its consolidated net sales were generated in the United States (based on country of destination) during 2012. In the United States, the Company sells its products either to wholesale distributors for resale to retail outlets or, in those states that control alcohol sales, to state governments who then sell them to retail customers and consumers. In the Company's other global markets, the Company uses a variety of route-to-market models, including third party distributors, global or regional duty free customers, other spirits producers and its joint ventures with The Edrington Group Ltd.

The Company competes with Bacardi Limited, Brown-Forman Corporation, Constellation Brands, Inc., Davide Campari Milano-S.p.A., Diageo PLC, Pernod Ricard S.A. and Remy Cointreau S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CNNMoney Staff]

  Shares of Beam (BEAM) shot up after the spirits maker announced it was being acquired by Japan's Suntory for $16 billion. Beam, most well-known for its Jim Beam brand of bourbon, said the transaction was expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. Suntory is agreeing to pay $83.50 per share -- a 25% premium over Beam's closing price on Friday.

• [By Sean Williams]

  As the owner of both hard liquor and beer lines, Diageo must split its focus along two fronts. In spirits it must grapple against its two primary foes, Brown-Forman� (NYSE: BF-B  ) , maker of Jack Daniel's and Southern Comfort, and Beam (NYSE: BEAM  ) , which (surprise, surprise!) makes Jim Beam, as well as Maker's Mark and other brands of spirits. In beer, it goes up against domestic and global giants like Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD  ) and Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP  ) .

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Bourbon giant Beam (BEAM) is enjoying strong tailwinds thanks to increased consumption of its namesake spirits. The firm is the name behind Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon as well as Sauza tequila, Pinnacle vodka and Cruzan rum. Since spinning off from what was then Fortune Brands in 2011, this stock hasn't done much in the way of price, but it has made leaps and bounds fundamentally. That financial improvement paves the way for a dividend boost.

  Beam is well-positioned in the spirit business. Liquor consumers are sticky. Because BEAM owns some of the most attractive brands in the business, it's less likely to see brand attrition than others. And more recently, the embrace of drinkers' demand for "craft" alcoholic beverages has provided a fast-growing opportunity for the firm: a line of small-batch bourbons. That same small-batch approach could spill over to the firm's other liquor brands in a very positive way; Beam already has a winning model to copy, after all.

  In the last few years, Beam has essentially halved its debt, and it's kept balance sheet liquidity very healthy. As a result, income trends look very strong -- and more of that income is available for shareholder payouts rather than bank obligations. While the firm's 1.5% dividend payout it far from high-yield, investors should expect a raise in the coming quarters.

• [By Daniel Ferry]

  Few businesses are regulated as eccentrically as the drinks business. A host of state and local laws, mostly relics of historical movements like Puritanism or abolitionism, have left the United States a diverse patchwork of jurisdictions with different -- and often odd -- rules about who can sell what kind of alcohol when and in what way. For example, in many states, alcohol can't be sold on Sundays, under the sophisticated legal reasoning that you should be in church. Some of these old laws are more relevant to business than others, however, and last week a ruling came down in Missouri that could pave the way for big liquor conglomerates such as� Diageo (NYSE: DEO  ) and Beam (NYSE: BEAM  ) to better consolidate the American market.

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Ltd (MBR)

San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Limited is a Hong Kong-based company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of bottled, canned and draught beers. The Company operates in two segments: The Hong Kong operation mainly represents the manufacture and distribution of own brewed beer products and distribution of imported beer products in Hong Kong and overseas, and the mainland China operation mainly represents the manufacture and distribution of own brewed beer products in the southern part of the People�� Republic of China and overseas. Its subsidiaries include Best Investments International Inc., Hongkong Brewery Limited, Ravelin Limited, San Miguel (Guangdong) Limited, Guangzhou San Miguel Brewery Company Limited, San Miguel Shunde Holdings Limited and San Miguel (Guangdong) Brewery Company Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoffrey Seiler]

  This was a solid quarter from Aetna, highlighted by much stronger-than-expected results from its Commercial and Medicaid segments. The rebound in the Medicaid medical benefits ratio (MBR) was particularly notable.

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: WhiteWave Foods Co (WWAV)

WWF Operating Company, incorporated on March 14, 1988, is a consumer packaged food and beverage company. The Company manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy products throughout North America and Europe. The Company operates in two segments: North America and Europe. The North America segment offers products in the plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy product categories throughout North America. Europe segment offers plant-based food and beverage products throughout Europe. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dean Foods Company (Dean Foods).

The Company�� brands distributed in North America include Silk plant-based foods and beverages, International Delight and LAND O LAKES coffee creamers and beverages, and Horizon Organic dairy products, while its European brands of plant-based foods and beverages include Alpro and Provamel. The Company sell its products to a variety of customers, including grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and convenience stores, as well as various away-from-home channels, including restaurants and foodservice outlets, across North America and Europe. The Company sells its products in North America and Europe primarily through its direct sales force and independent brokers. The Company utilizes five manufacturing plants, two distribution centers, and three co-packers across the United States. Additionally, it has four plants across Europe in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, each supported by an integrated supply chain.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  So this isn't a case like that of�WhiteWave Foods (NYSE: WWAV  ) , which tried to snooker consumers by calling the sugar in its milk the creatively contrived name "evaporated cane juice." Rather, this is a company saying sugar's sugar and telling consumers how much the drink contains -- as the FDA requires it to do -- but it is still facing financial loss regardless.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Hain have gained 2.2% to $79.91 today at 11:13 a.m–and trumping other health-food stocks today.� Annie’s Homegrown (BNNY) has ticked up 0.4% to $49.61, Boulder Brands (BDBD) has risen 0.6% to $15.96 and Whitewave Foods (WWAV) has dropped 1.3% to� $18.93.

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: Alkaline Water Company Inc (WTER)

The Alkaline Water Company Inc., formerly Global Lines Inc, incorporated on June 6, 2011, is a developer of electrolysis beverage process, packaged and branded as Alkaline84. Alkaline84 is the Company's flagship product designed to encourage daily consumption of Alkaline Water through a consumer oriented bulk delivery system. The Company is engaged in the development of a national retail bulk distribution network delivering Electrochemically Activated Water (ECA) to consumers everywhere. The Company is focused on the business of distributing and marketing the retail sale of its packaged Alkaline84 branded beverage products.

Alkaline84 is available in two sizes: three liters and one gallon. Alkaline84 is a pH balanced bottled alkaline drinking water enhanced with 84 trace minerals and electrolytes. Alkaline84 is available for consumer sales at a number of major retail locations across the southwestern United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap OTC drinking water stocks Glacier Water Services, Inc (OTCMKTS: GWSV), AWG International Water Corp (OTCBB: AWGI) and Alkaline Water Company Inc (OTCBB: WTER) all offer a product that many consumer, investors and traders alike might take for granted, but everyone needs to have. However, you can build a better mouse trap when it comes to drinking water or at least that what these three small caps are attempting to do with their own unique strategies:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, WTER has shed (-4.26%) down -0.020 at $.450 with 2,336,294 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:28PM EDT September 17, 2013).

  The Alkaline Water Company Inc. previously reported that Ms. Brande Roderick has agreed to join the Company’s Advisory Board and will undertake an active role in upcoming public relations and awareness campaigns.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you've lost count of how many distributors Alkaline Water Company Inc. (OTCBB:WTER) has working for it now, you're not alone. Ditto for the number of grocers that are offering its flagship produce... one-gallon bottles of Alkaline84 water (some of the best-tasting and healthiest spring water you could ever drink). So many distributors and grocery store chains have just started carrying Alkaline84 within the past two months that it's been nearly impossible to keep up with how quickly WTER has gotten its ball rolling. There is one thing that's clear though - Alkaline Water Company has a LOT of momentum right now, up from none at the beginning of July. Take a look at all the doors the company has opened since it actually began marketing its bottled water:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), consider your dominance in the bottled water arena - via Aquafina - under a serious attack. And for The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), well, your Dasani brand's #2 position in the market share race isn't as secure as you'd like it to be either. There's a new name in town you need to watch out for - Alkaline Water Company Inc. (OTCBB:WTER). This young company is hungry... well, thirsty, and with its impressive product already making a big splash in the few markets its been introduced to, WTER is not only positioned to make a dent in the bottled water revenue being generated by the likes of KO and PEP, this little company may be serving up some solid gains for its investors as well.

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV (FOMC)

Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV (FEMSA) is a Mexico-based holding company engaged in the beverages industry. Through its subsidiary Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB de CV, the Company is active in the production and distribution of a variety of non-alcoholic beverages, bottled water and still beverages such brands as Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Powerade, Delaware Punch and other trademark beverages of The Coca-Cola Company in Mexico. Through FEMSA Comercio SA de CV, it operates the OXXO convenience-store chain in Latin America. The Company operates in a number of Latinamerican countries and in Philippines. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Canadian Value]

  Also interesting is that the duration of rising rate environments is distinctly shorter after 1982. The average duration declines to 14 months from 40 months prior to 1982. A possible explanation could be changes in the monetary mechanism influencing interest rates. In 1982, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) first referenced a targeted federal funds rate.7

• [By CanadianValue]

  Former Philadelphia Fed President Edward Boehne elegantly described the approach at a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in late 1989:

  ��ow, sooner or later, we will have a recession. I don�� think anybody around the table wants a recession or is seeking one, but sooner or later we will have one. If in that recession we took advantage of the anti-inflation (impetus) and we got inflation down from 4 1/2 percent to 3 percent, and then in the next expansion we were able to keep inflation from accelerating, sooner or later there will be another recession out there. And so, if we could bring inflation down from cycle to cycle just as we let it build up from cycle to cycle, that would be considerable progress over what we��e done in other periods in history.��/p>

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: Celsius Holdings Inc (CELH)

Celsius Holdings, Inc., incorporated on April 26, 2005, is engaged in the development, marketing, sale and distribution of functional calorie-burning beverages under the Celsius brand name. The Company focuses to combine nutritional science with mainstream beverages by using its thermogenic (calorie-burning) MetaPlus formulation. The Company does not directly manufacture its beverages, but instead outsource the manufacturing process to established third-party co-packers. The Company provides its co-packers with flavors, ingredient blends, cans and other raw materials for its beverages purchased by the Company from various suppliers. Celsius, Inc. and Elite FX, Inc. are the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company.

The Company�� Celsius is a calorie-burning beverage. Celsius is available in seven flavors, lemon-lime, ginger ale, cola, orange and wild berry (which are carbonated) and non-carbonated green tea raspberry/acai and green tea/peach mango. Its beverages are sold in 12 ounce cans, although it has begun to market the ingredients in powdered form in individual On-The-Go packets. The Company�� customer�� include on-the-go women, age 25 to 54, who are looking for a way to burn calories and gain energy with beverages and natural alternatives to diet sodas, as well as sports enthusiasts of both sexes, who are seeking low sodium, preservative-free alternatives. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company developed its MetaPlus formulation into a powder that can be mixed with water.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, PepsiCo, Inc., Nestl茅, Waters North America, Inc., Hansen Natural Corp., and Red Bull.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), a mid cap marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages, has been a monster of a performer since the end of the financial crisis as the stock is up around 308% over the past five years, but could new or overlooked players like small cap beverage stocks�Jones Soda Co (OTCMKTS: JSDA), Celsius Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: CELH) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) repeat that performance? A look strictly at the long term performance of all three small caps might have you thinking otherwise. After all, none of these small cap beverage stocks are profitable while�the beverage industry can be a long hard expensive slog just to increase market share by one or two points when you are competing for shelf space with industry giants like Pepsi and Coke. But past performance is just that���the past and only part of the story as there is much more to consider about these small cap beverage stocks which could also make them potential acquisition targets by larger beverage players seeking to expand their product line up with innovative products: