• by Danielle Oster , Yesterday

Back in August, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) announced it was acquiring JDE Peet’s, and subsequently would be separating its soft drink and coffee businesses -- under the KDP banner since the 2018 merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group -- into two separate companies.

KDP recently shared further details about its plans to split up into “two winning companies – a global coffee powerhouse and the most agile North American beverage leader," according to KDP CEO Tim Cofer in a statement.

"Since the announcement, we have also carefully considered shareholder feedback and are responding with decisive actions, including new strategic investments to strengthen our balance sheet and a refreshed approach to leadership structure, while kicking off rigorous transformation planning,” he added during an earnings report.

KDP said it anticipated that it would “be operationally ready to separate into two independent entities by the end of 2026,” following milestones including solidifying leadership teams and independent Boards of Directors for what it is currently calling “Global Coffee Co.,” and “Beverage Co.”

The company announced that Cofer will continue serving as CEO until the completion of the separation, and then become CEO of the beverage company, and that KDP’s Board of Directors has initiated an internal and external search for a CEO of “Global Coffee Co,” a departure from its previous plan to name KDP Chief Financial Officer Sudhanshu Priyadarshi to the role.

During the earnings call, KDP President of U.S. Coffee Olivier Lemire expressed excitement about an upcoming marketing campaign for Keurig launching some time during Q4.

“It will have strong in-market presence, and we believe that with consumer insights and strong data-driven campaigns we will be able to continue to unlock household penetration with premium coffee,” he said.

Lemire also shared that the company was “on the eve of launching” its first coffee brand under the Keurig name, called Keurig Coffee Collective, which he described as featuring “elevated packaging” and “30% more coffee within each cup.”

On the beverage side of the business, KDP reported it will see its ninth consecutive year of growth for 2025, which KDP President of U.S. Refreshment Beverages Eric Gourley said stemmed from “consumer obsession for” the Dr Pepper brand demonstrated “in category-leading household penetration growth as well as industry recognition for our marketing campaigns.”

The ”repeatable playbook that works… starts with Dr Pepper's unique flavor, its distinct positioning,” Gourley said, also citing its status as the top soft drink with Gen Z audiences. “We're able to take that positioning and then make meaningful connections with what consumers really care about and where their passions are right now,” he added, something he said is evident “any given Saturday”  through the brand’s “college football-focused “Fansville” campaign.

Yet,“As good as the marketing has been on brand Dr Pepper, we honestly believe it could get even better,” Gourley said.

“This year we have begun to leverage some of our new capabilities in precision and personalized marketing…allowing us to reach target consumers with relevant content in a hyper-efficient approach,” with the use of AI-powered data and analytics.

“Now it's also allowing us to create highly relevant personalized content and creative,” he added, which the brand introduced into this year’s “Fansville” campaign. “We think it's a repeatable model that we can go apply to other parts of our portfolio.”