Content about Soft drinks

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Peeps candy, a Just Born brand, will roll out two new summertime flavors to retailers nationwide, the company announced today. Just Born also announced Mike and Ike Lemonade Blends will return for its fourth consecutive summer.

The new Peeps products include Peeps Bubble Gum-flavored Marshmallow Chicks and Peeps Sweet Lemonade Marshmallow Chicks.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new sugar-free beverage with added fiber, according to a report from the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

PLANO, Texas — Dr Pepper Snapple Group announced today the new Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning line of juice drinks to hit store shelves.

The new Aloha Morning line provides a good source of vitamins A, C and E, and each variety contains 40% less sugar than other juice drinks. Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning comes in three flavors: orange citrus, mixed berry citrus and strawberry citrus.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo is testing the waters of a new beverage segment with Kickstart, a new breakfast drink that's a mix of Mountain Dew and 5% real fruit juice. The beverage comes in two flavors, orange citrus and fruit punch, and has 80 calories per 16-oz. can, about half the calories found in a typical soda.

So far, Kickstart is being positioned as an alternative to coffee or juice, and not as an energy drink.

Consumers still have a thirst for bottled water. "Bottled water is performing moderately well with respectable growth," said John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest. Dollar sales of bottled water were up 7% across food, drug and mass outlets for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 2, 2012, according to SymphonyIRI data. Sicher said he expects bottled water to grow modestly over the next few years.

PLANO, Texas — As an extension of Dr Pepper Ten, the soft drink company will launch 10-calorie versions of five of its biggest soda brands, beginning January 2013. Sunkist, 7-Up, Canada Dry, RC Cola and A&W Root Beer are all getting makeovers.

Unlike other artificial sweeteners, the 10-calorie sweetener mix used by Dr Pepper Snapple Group contains enough high-fructose corn syrup to appeal to those consumers who have reservations about the taste of diet drinks, the company said.

ATLANTA – Coca-Cola and Sanofi are partnering to launch a line of "beauty drinks" in France under the Oenobiol Beautific brand. The drinks claim to "help strengthen hair and nails, embellish skin, lose weight and improve vitality."

The beauty drinks will be sold in a "small scale pilot" to a limited number of pharmacies in the country, according to a statement from the Coca-Cola business unit in France. Coca-Cola declined to provide further details.

SAN RAMON, Calif. — Fever-Tree has expanded its lineup of premium mixers.

Naturally light ginger beer and sparkling lemon join the brand's portfolio, which currently includes such flavors as Indian tonic water, naturally light tonic Water, Mediterranean tonic water, club soda, bitter lemon, ginger ale and ginger beer.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola is giving fans a chance to get an insider's look at Team USA through its London 2012 Olympic Games campaign.

LOS ANGELES — Unique Beverage Co. has expanded the availability of its Cascade Ice zero-calorie water beverage line.

The Cascade Ice portfolio — which includes zero-calorie sparkling water, organic zero-calorie sparkling water and sparkling cocktail mixers — now is available for purchase at Albertson's, A&P, Safeway and more. The beverages also are slated to be available Winn-Dixie stores in the coming months.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell's is making its V8 V-Fusion line bubbly.

New V8 V-Fusion Sparkling juice drinks are carbonated beverages that tout 50 calories per serving and provide a combined serving of fruits and vegetables without any added sugar, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, the company said.