Keurig Dr Pepper’s “strong” results driven by cold beverages

Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) has reported an increase in full-year net sales of 9.2% to $12.68 billion, citing growth for its cold beverage portfolio as a driving factor.

The company’s fourth-quarter net sales rose by 8.7% to $3.39 billion, compared with the $3.12 billion recorded the previous year. This increase reflected the company’s growth in packaged beverages, beverage concentrates and Latin America beverages.

In KDP’s coffee systems unit, 2021 net sales came in at $4.72 billion – a 6.4% increase on the previous year – driven by volume/mix growth of 6.5%. 

Packaged beverages saw a 9.7% increase in full-year net sales to $5.88 billion, compared with $5.36 billion in 2020. The unit’s fourth-quarter net sales grew 17.1%, due to “continued strong in-market execution and market share expansion across the portfolio”.

According to the beverage giant, its brands Canada Dry, Dr Pepper, Sunkist, A&W, 7UP and Squirt CSDs, Mott’s and Snapple led the Q4 net sales performance, as well as growth in Polar seltzers, Core Hydration, Vita Coco, Clamato, Yoo-Hoo and Bai.

Meanwhile, KDP’s beverage concentrates unit saw its full-year net sales rise by 12.2% to $1.49 billion, driven by increased marketing investments and the foodservice market improving, as consumers were able to dine out more in restaurants and other hospitality locations.

The company’s Latin America beverages unit witnessed a significant increase in its full-year net sales of 20.5% to $599 million, with brands Peñafiel and Clamato leading the strong performance.

“We finished 2021 with exceptional top-line momentum, driven by robust consumer demand across our portfolio and our third consecutive year of double-digit adjusted EPS growth. Despite ongoing macro and Covid-related challenges, we successfully delivered our merger commitments on or ahead of the targets we set four years ago,” commented chairman and CEO, Bob Gamgort.

“We head into 2022 with confidence in the stronger, faster-growing business we have built, poised to continue to drive outsized long-term value creation in an environment that we expect to remain challenging for some time.”