September 1, 2026
Ambev
Ambev Reports Strong Beer Growth And Digital Gains
Ambev SA reported 6% net revenue growth in the Q2 2026, on 1.4% volume growth, and 7% revenue growth for the first half, with volumes up 0.7%. Normalized EBITDA was up 8.9% for the quarter and 9.6% for the half. Premium beer volumes grew nearly 20%. Brazil's non-alcoholic beverage volumes fell 4.4%, which management linked to a slower-than-expected commercial recovery and adverse weather. CEO Carlos Lisboa said Ambev expects a stronger non-alcoholic beverage performance over the remainder of 2026.
Asahi
Asahi Targets Beverage Growth After Cyberattack Setback
Asahi is targeting growth in its beverage business and a planned East Africa acquisition to recover from a September 2025 cyberattack that contributed to a 36.4% profit decline and a 1.5% revenue drop in its FY2025 results. CEO Atsushi Katsuki said the company aims to push profit past 2024 levels within 2026, while building annual growth in the mid-to-high single digits. Growth plans center on Beer Adjacent Categories, including non-alcohol beer-taste drinks, RTD beverages and adult soft drinks, a segment Asahi said grew at a 4.8% CAGR from 2010 to 2025. In East Africa, Asahi is acquiring Diageo Kenya and a 65% stake in East African Breweries PLC for about $3 billion, adding 10 manufacturing sites.
Brands
Asahi Brings Draft-Style Can To Chinese Mainland
Asahi Super Dry is bringing its Nama Jokki Can to the Chinese mainland, with singer and actor Henry Lau serving as launch ambassador. Already popular in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the can has a lid that fully opens and has a distinctive interior coating, letting foam form naturally to recreate a draft-beer experience. Kinyi Choo, who leads Asahi Beer Asia as managing director, called it a way to combine "precision brewing with the authentic enjoyment of draft beer."
Carlsberg
Carlsberg Expands PepsiCo Bottling Deal To Azerbaijan
Carlsberg's partnership with PepsiCo is growing, with an agreement to become PepsiCo's bottler in Azerbaijan and take over manufacturing, sales and distribution for its soft drinks portfolio. The plan is to expand the Xirdalan brewery to handle the new PepsiCo range, a move expected to double Carlsberg's business in the country. Carlsberg now holds PepsiCo bottling agreements across 15 markets across Europe and Asia, with more on the cards in the coming years. Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said the agreement adds PepsiCo's brands to the company's local beer portfolio. PepsiCo International Beverages CEO Eugene Willemsen called Carlsberg a partner with strong local expertise.
Carlsberg Files Confidential Papers For IPO
Carlsberg took an initial regulatory step toward listing its Indian business, submitting confidential draft papers to India's Bombay Stock Exchange in preparation for a $700 million initial public offering. Reports value Carlsberg's Indian unit at roughly ₹30,000 crore, compared with a ₹35,377 crore market capitalization for United Breweries, which holds half of the country's beer market. Ahead of the filing, Carlsberg spent the past year preparing for the listing, adding four directors to strengthen governance and adopting public limited company status ahead of a planned stock market debut.
Companies
Varun Beverages Posts Strong Quarterly Profit Growth
Varun Beverages Ltd posted consolidated net profit of Rs 1,521 crore for April to June, a 15.5% gain versus the year-ago period. Revenue from operations grew 21% to Rs 8,650 crore. Consolidated sales volume grew 19.8%, with India up 14.4% and international markets 38.4%, which includes nearly 12 million cases from South Africa's Twizza. Chairman Ravi Jaipuria credited continued investment in manufacturing and distribution, and confirmed its exclusive PepsiCo bottling license now runs until April 2049.
Suntory Oceania Outlines Plans For Growth
A year after its $3 billion multi-beverage venture launched a year ago, Suntory Oceania is now in second place in Australia's RTD category, according to new managing director Ashish Gandham. 21 new products supported the growth alongside higher production enabled by a $400 million manufacturing site at Swanbank near Brisbane. Gandham described Australia as an "ultra-dynamic market" and outlined three growth pillars: high-end whiskey, on-premise refreshment built around Japanese serves, and RTD beverages.
Carlsberg Britvic Launches Pepsi Ice Cream Retailer Competition
Carlsberg Britvic opened a nationwide competition for retailers to mark the debut of its Pepsi Zero Sugar Ice Cream Flavours line, which spans Cherry & Vanilla, Raspberry Ripple and Salted Caramel varieties. Running from mid-July to mid-August 17, entry is via the company's At Your Convenience platform. Three winners will each receive a £250 experience gift card. David Laidler, brand director-carbonates at Carlsberg Britvic, said the competition rewards retail partners during a key trading period while celebrating the new range.
Carlsberg And Sapporo Form Strategic Joint Venture
Carlsberg Group agreed a strategic joint venture with Sapporo Breweries covering Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, along with a separate partnership in the UK. This extends a collaboration since 2024 selling Sapporo Premium Beer in those markets; the venture also covers Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Sapporo will separately license Carlsberg to sell Sapporo Premium Beer in Myanmar and the UK. Carlsberg takes a 75% stake and operational control, receiving US$643 million in cash from Sapporo. Carlsberg and Sapporo hope the deal will provide the basis for exploring opportunities for the brand in other European and Asian markets.
Lotte
Lotte Chilsung Launches Happiz Prebiotic Soda
Happiz from Lotte Chilsung Beverage is a prebiotic soda aimed at growing demand for wellness carbonated drinks, particularly in North America. Each can contains 2.5g of dietary fiber and no sugar or calories. It uses a patented strain along with five fermented ingredients: green tea, brown rice, barley, ginger and citron. Happiz comes in 355ml cans and three flavors, Lemon Lime, Tropic Mix and Popping Cherry, available nationwide in hypermarkets, convenience stores and online. Stray Kids member Felix is the brand ambassador.
Lotte Chilsung Revamps Hot6 Package Design
Lotte Chilsung Beverage renewed the packaging design of its energy drink brand Hot6 for the first time since 2023, with new graphics that reinterpret the brand's phoenix imagery. Alongside the redesign, the company is running a brand campaign built around the message "Light the hottest flame," supported by about a month of outdoor advertising in Seoul's Seongsu and Gangnam districts. A company official said the goal was for a trendy, high-energy look that keeps Hot6's brand identity intact.
RJ Corp
Varun Beverages Acquires Kenya Dairy Business
A Varun Beverages Limited unit, VBL Industries (Kenya), agreed to buy the packaged drinking water, juice and dairy beverage operations of Devyani Food Industries (Kenya) for US$32 million, with the deal expected to close in August. Manufacturing takes place at a 52-acre facility in Nakuru, Kenya, where the local unit plans to start producing carbonated soft drinks too. The deal follows Varun's recent South African entry with its Twizza purchase.
Suntory
Suntory PepsiCo Opens $300 Million Vietnam Plant
Suntory PepsiCo opened its biggest Asian manufacturing site near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The $300 million investment has a footprint comparable to 25 football fields and will eventually have an annual capacity of 1.24 billion liters, producing seven beverage lines, including Pepsi, Aquafina and 7Up. Suntory CEO Josuke Kimura said the investment anticipates demand tied to Vietnam's expanding economy, with the project set to generate 3,000 local jobs.
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