• Wall Street Journal, Friday, August 22, 2008 10:45 AM

Pepsi Bottling Group, the second-largest soft-drink bottler in the U.S., will distribute Crush sodas in most of the bottler's markets. The move represents a blow for PepsiCo, which stands to lose a large chunk of distribution for its own main orange soda -- Tropicana Twister -- at a time when fruit-flavored drinks are performing better than colas. Dr Pepper Snapple Group makes Crush.

The deal also marks a comeback for Crush, a well-known brand that faded from store shelves after several bottlers dropped it for other brands. PBG will gain a widely recognized brand to take on Coca-Cola Co.'s Fanta, the leading orange soda by volume.

The market for orange sodas -- which includes fruit flavors such as grape and pineapple -- only account for a 4.1% share of the market, according to Beverage Digest. But fruit-flavored sodas are performing better than other giant soda brands partly because they are popular among the growing number of Hispanic consumers in the U.S., according to Jim Johnston, Dr Pepper Snapple's president of sales. "We believe Crush has some unlocked potential," he says.

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