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Costco No Longer Carrying Coca-Cola Products

YumSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:15:25 -0800

If you weren't able to locate a case of Coke on your last trip to Costco, don't worry - you aren't going crazy. Yesterday, the wholesale club confirmed that it is no longer carrying Coca-Cola products in stores nationwide.

The Washington-based wholesaler is currently in the middle of a dispute with the Coca-Cola Co. Although neither would comment on the matter further, the world's largest soft drink maker said that it was involved in "ongoing negotiations" with the store.

Considering Costco is the fifth largest general retailer in the United States, I'm predicting a resolution soon. But in the meantime, customers will simply have to shop elsewhere to get their Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dasani, VitaminWater, Fresca, Minute Maid, and Odwalla fills (among others). Will you be forced to stock up on soft drinks elsewhere?

Stone Fruit Variety or Snack Food Flavor?

YumSugar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:50:44 -0700

Today Party and I were talking about Summer stone fruits, and she remarked that she thought many of the season's fruit varieties had funny-sounding names that reminded her Gatorade flavors! I have to agree - some of the fruit names bear a striking resemblance to names that you might come across in the snack-food aisle. Are you able to identify whether the name is a stone fruit variety or a snack food flavor?

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Meet 901, Justin Timberlake's New Tequila

partysugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:30:44 -0700

He's already a pop singer, fashion designer, and restaurant owner, but Justin Timberlake's latest job title? Spirits maker. Yesterday the young entrepreneur announced the launch of his new line of tequila, 901. The brand has been in development for over two years and plans to hit liquor store shelves in May.

A spokesperson for Timberlake explains that "901 is that time of night when your evening is ending, but your night is just beginning." The number also happens to be the area code for Memphis, TN, Timberlake's hometown. With more and more celebrities getting into the food industry, 901 isn't a surprise to me, and I look forward to tasting the tequila when it arrives.

What do you think of Timberlake's latest endeavor? Are you interested in sipping his tequila?

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Coca-Cola Brings Vault Drink Head to Head With Mtn Dew

YumSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:50:45 -0700

Beverage titan Coca-Cola, eager to improve flat sales of carbonated beverage Vault, is hoping to win over consumers with a campaign that employs a tried-and-true tactic: free drinks.

Although Pepsi-owned (and recently renamed) Mtn Dew carries as much as 80 percent of the market share for citrus soda, Coca-Cola's three-year-old citrus cooler Vault, with four percent of the market share, has fizzled with customers. Hoping to turn the tides for Vault, Coca-Cola will soon begin its "Don't Dew It" campaign.

In an attempt to convert Mtn Dew die-hards into Vault fanatics, the company will be giving away coupons for free 16-ounce, 20-ounce, or 24-ounce Vault drinks when customers purchase a 20-ounce Mtn Dew.

During the economic downturn, consumer coupon use has skyrocketed. Like other recent promotions, industry experts anticipate that the "Vault Taste Challenge," will see a huge participation rate from consumers. Of course, for Coca-Cola, it will come at a price - that of at least a couple million dollars.

Although I think this campaign will be successful, I'm skeptical of Coca-Cola snagging a significant portion of Mtn Dew's market share. I used to be a huge Mtn Dew fan, and Surge, Mellow Yellow, and the others just didn't do it for me. Do you think it will prove to be lucrative?

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Ben and Jerry's vs. Haagen-Dazs: A Pint-Sized Battle

partysugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:15:05 -0700

There's been some heated public debates between competing brands. The latest two companies to join the feuding? Ice cream giants Haagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's. To pay for the high costs of natural and top-quality ingredients, Haagen-Dazs has reduced the size of its pints from 16 to 14 ounces. Despite the decrease in packaging, Haagen-Dazs still calls its container a "pint." Ben and Jerry's is highly offended by this "downright wrong" move, and pledged, in a statement, to provide consumers the same quantity and quality in its product:

One of our competitors (think funny-sounding European name) recently announced they will be downsizing their pints from 16 to 14 ounces to cover increased ingredient and manufacturing costs and help improve their bottom line. We understand that in today's hard economic times businesses are feeling the pinch. We also understand that many of you are also feeling the same, and think now more than ever you deserve your full pint of ice cream.

While I understand that many brands are shrinking their products, I have to side with Ben and Jerry's; it's not fair to call something a pint when it's not one. How do you feel about the debate?

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Due to Customer Backlash, Tropicana Ditches New Logo

partysugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:15:32 -0800

Last month Tropicana debuted a clean new look to emphasize the all-natural, fresh squeezed juice. However, due to an overwhelming amount of customer outrage, the company is abandoning the changes and returning to the old packaging. Many loyal Tropicana fans were disgusted by the brand's redesigned logo - which features a glass of orange juice against a white backdrop, instead of the familiar orange with a straw poking out the side - calling it ugly, stupid, and generic-looking. According to Neil Campbell, the President of Tropicana North America, the company was unaware of its fiercely loyal consumers:

We underestimated the deep emotional bond [of the brand's original logo]. What we didn't get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumers have. That wasn't something that came out in the research. Those consumers are very important to us, so we responded.

The reaction will be quick: Tropicana plans to discontinue the redesigned packaging immediately and have the old image back on the carton by next month. The juice giant isn't the only brand to update its logo; Pepsi, Snapple, and Heinz have recently revamped their trademark images. Only time will tell if these companies fare better with consumer support than Tropicana did.

Did you notice the new Tropicana packaging? How do you feel about the controversy?

Coca Cola to Remove the Word "Classic" From Title

partysugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:00:00 -0800

Coca-Cola is perhaps the most classic of American drinks, however the company has announced their plan to remove the word "classic" from its name. "Classic" was added over twenty years ago, in 1985, to signify that the brand was making a return to using the original recipe. Now with a global approach to advertising, the word is no longer beneficial to the brand. In the current ad campaigns, "Coke side of life" and "open happiness," the word is not employed. According to a spokesman from Coca-Cola, the "classic" is totally unnecessary:

It felt like the right time. When people think Coca-Cola, they think classic. More than two decades after the introduction of that word, its reason for being a descriptor has disappeared.

The beverage company doesn't foresee any customer backlash and has already removed the "classic" from fountain drink cups. I'm not affected by the change; to me Coke is classic. How do you feel about it?

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Is It Beer or Chocolate?

partysugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:00:02 -0700

Today July 7 is chocolate day. To celebrate I thought I'd create a second round of our wildly popular beer or chocolate quiz. I hope you studied your chocolates and beers because I'm going to list a bunch of different brands. You tell me if it's a beer or a chocolate. Sound like fun? Get started!

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Can You Identify These Frozen Food Brands?

partysugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:31:56 -0800

Happy National Frozen Foods Day! While my freezer currently only has an oversized bottle of Grey Goose, I do have a weakness for Stouffer's frozen French bread pizzas. I don't consume frozen foods all the time, but I'm pretty familiar with the brands that package them. You had so much fun identifying the canned foods, I thought it would be cool to play the same game, but with frozen foods. Can you identify these frozen foods brands?

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A Conversation With Diddy

partysugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:00:03 -0800

Rapper and mogul Diddy was in San Francisco last week promoting Cîroc, his vodka brand. I was lucky enough to sit down with the musician, and we chatted about entertaining. Not surprisingly, he consumes a lot of Cîroc and his signature drink is a Cîroc and lemonade - say it fast and it sounds like a lyric in one of his songs, "ci-rocking lemonade." To find out what the Diddy had to say, read more.

PartySugar: What’s new with Cîroc?
Diddy: The newest thing with Cîroc is our success. Our success and our appeal. The sales went up 1,000% and just the appeal is becoming more recognizable to the consumer.

PS: Aren't you coming out with some new flavors?
D: Yeah. In the world of Cîroc, one of the biggest differences is the flavors. Red Berry and coconut. Now most flavors, to be honest, in the vodka industry, most flavors just haven’t been done right. They taste like cough syrup. I went down with the innovation team, and I was like, whatever we do I want to make sure that this doesn’t taste like cough syrup.
And then also make something that really tastes like what it says. If it says coconut, let’s make sure it tastes like coconut. If it says red berry, let’s make sure it tastes like red berry.

PS: Do you ever cook?
D: I cook breakfast.

PS: What music do you recommend for cooking?
D: Music for cooking? Marvin Gaye’s always good for cooking.

PS: What are your guilty pleasure foods?
D: I would probably say jello. Strawberry jello.

PS: If you had to drink one type of alcohol for the rest of your life what would it be?
D: Vodka. Cîroc.

PS: Besides yourself, who are some celebrities that know how to entertain/host a good party?
D: I never seen anybody do it how I do.

PS: What was the first alcoholic drink you ever drank?
D: Peach schnapps and orange juice, before I was enabled.

PS: What do you think will be the next big thing in cocktails?
D: Jello shots.

Stay tuned for Diddy's tips for hosting the ultimate party!