Vita Coco partners with Diageo amid growing competition in the canned cocktail category

By Tonya Garcia

A partnership between Vita Coco Co. Inc. and Diageo is the latest addition to the canned cocktail craze that’s mixing hard liquor with soft drinks and other beverages.

Vita Coco Spiked with Captain Morgan is expected to hit shelves nationwide in early 2023 in three flavors: piña colada, strawberry daiquiri and lime mojito.

Coca-Cola Co. /zigman2/quotes/209159848/composite KO -0.82% has made a number of announcements in the canned cocktail space recently.

Last month , the beverage giant teamed up with Brown-Forman Corp. /zigman2/quotes/209049280/composite BF.A -2.68% /zigman2/quotes/209253695/composite BF.B -2.57% for Canned Jack & Coke. In January , Coke teamed up with Molson-Coors Beverage Co. /zigman2/quotes/205165133/composite TAP +0.16% for Simply Spiked juices, adding to an existing partnership for Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. And, also in January , Coca-Cola paired with Constellation Brands Inc. /zigman2/quotes/207737284/composite STZ -1.19% for an adult version of Fresca.

Rival PepsiCo Inc. /zigman2/quotes/208744353/composite PEP -1.04% partnered with Boston Beer Co. /zigman2/quotes/205338227/composite SAM -0.57% last year for Hard Mtn Dew.

In addition, there are a number of privately held players, like High Noon, which has both hard seltzer and canned vodka drinks, and hard seltzer leader White Claw, as well as canned wines.

Read: Boston Beer stock gets downgrade from Goldman Sachs as hard-seltzer business fizzles

Vita Coco /zigman2/quotes/230236262/composite COCO +0.12% is also riding a wave of rising demand for coconut water in the U.S.

“For starters, coconut beverages are part of the changing taste of America, driven in large part by demand from multicultural and specifically Hispanic and Asian American consumers,” said Michael Kirban, co-chief executive of the company, on the most recent earnings call in May, according to FactSet.

Kirban presented data showing that coconut as a beverage ingredient is a $2.8 billion market segment in the U.S., bigger than both almond and oat beverages.

See: Oatly beats revenue expectations as new production facilities ramp up

Also: Canopy Growth shares fall after it agrees to convert debt into stock in deal with Constellation Brands

Vita Coco stock has run up 17.2% over the past three months. Diageo /zigman2/quotes/208129584/composite DEO -1.50% is down 19% for the period. The benchmark S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -1.47% has dropped 14.5% over the last three months.

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Coca-Cola Co.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 56.53

-0.47 -0.82%

Volume: 11.19M

Sept. 26, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

23.37

Dividend Yield

3.25%

Market Cap

$246.49 billion

Rev. per Employee

$532,691

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Brown-Forman Corp. Cl A

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$ 59.50

-1.64 -2.68%

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P/E Ratio

37.37

Dividend Yield

1.38%

Market Cap

$28.90 billion

Rev. per Employee

$756,429

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Brown-Forman Corp. Cl B

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$ 58.29

-1.54 -2.57%

Volume: 1.48M

Sept. 26, 2023 4:03p

P/E Ratio

36.61

Dividend Yield

1.41%

Market Cap

$28.90 billion

Rev. per Employee

$756,429

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Molson Coors Beverage Co. Cl B

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 63.04

+0.10 +0.16%

Volume: 1.22M

Sept. 26, 2023 4:02p

P/E Ratio

362.30

Dividend Yield

2.60%

Market Cap

$13.61 billion

Rev. per Employee

$673,349

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Constellation Brands Inc. Cl A

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 253.40

-3.05 -1.19%

Volume: 593,170

Sept. 26, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

1.40%

Market Cap

$47.01 billion

Rev. per Employee

$897,664

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PepsiCo Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 172.52

-1.81 -1.04%

Volume: 5.21M

Sept. 26, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

30.25

Dividend Yield

2.93%

Market Cap

$239.98 billion

Rev. per Employee

$286,162

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Boston Beer Co. Cl A

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 378.25

-2.18 -0.57%

Volume: 80,334

Sept. 26, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

71.58

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$4.65 billion

Rev. per Employee

$767,929

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Vita Coco Co.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 25.30

+0.03 +0.12%

Volume: 419,042

Sept. 26, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

50.54

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1.43 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.73M

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Diageo PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 150.61

-2.29 -1.50%

Volume: 433,995

Sept. 26, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

19.13

Dividend Yield

2.68%

Market Cap

$84.97 billion

Rev. per Employee

$680,012

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-63.91 -1.47%

Volume: 0.00

Sept. 26, 2023 5:09p