Nielsen reads: Bang, Keurig Dr Pepper and Constellation Brands outperform

The latest batch of Nielsen data showed the continuation of some recent trends across beverage categories.

In the energy drink category, Bang outpaced Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ:CELH) in the latest Nielsen update on scanner data at retail outlets in the U.S. For the four week-period that ended on August 24, Bang saw sales up 13.4% year-over-year vs. +5.9% for Celsius Holdings (CELH), +2.5% for Red Bull, and -2.5% for Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) (not including Bang). Bang saw 14.5% year-over-year volume growth offset a bit by a 0.9% decline in price/mix, while Celsius saw its volume growth hit by an 18.5% decline in price/mix. Of note, Bang Energy is owned by Monster Beverage (MNST), which acquired its parent company, Vital Pharmaceuticals, in July 2023 for $362 million. The acquisition followed Vital’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2022, primarily due to significant legal liabilities and declining sales. Bang Energy, launched in 2012, quickly gained popularity and became one of the top-selling energy drinks in the U.S. before struggling.

In the soda category, Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) clawed out some market share, with sales +2.5% vs. Coca-Cola (KO) +2.1% and PepsiCo (PEP) -3.3%.

In the beer category, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) was on top, with 3.3% sales growth vs. -2.4% for Anheuser-Busch InBev, -6.4% for Boston Beer (SAM), and -7.0% for Molson Coors (TAP).

In the spirits category, Brown-Forman (BF.A) (BF.B) underperformed the broad category, -4.7% vs. +0.3% total spirit sales, as consumers kept to the recent trend of trying new non-mainstream products.