Beverage industry news

So the Packers defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. But it came down to the final minutes. Congrats to Ashley Hochadel at Mike-Sells in Dayton, OH who picked Green Bay to win the NFL Championship!

February new customers: Albion Eagles #1265, All Star Cafe 2, Circle K #6304, Dansville Mercantile, On The Go and What Up Dawg. Canada Dry Bottling Co. of Lansing values your business!

Industry News
Great documentary on supermarket retailing recently aired on CNBC. "Supermarkets Inc.: Inside A $500 Billion Dollar Money Machine" is hosted by Tyler Mathisen. The program will be re-broadcast Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. For more details, visit www.cnbc.com/id/40887785.

The Michigan State House Commerce Committee approved changing the retail pricing law with a vote of 16-3. The bill now goes to the entire state House for review. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and business leaders view the 33-year-old pricing law as outdated. The law requires all items to be individually price-marked (with an exclusion of a few dozen items). Proponents of the new bill emphasize that it costs retailers several million dollars each year to comply with the law. Michigan and Massachusetts are the only states in the country that require an item pricing law.
source: Detroit Free Press Feb 15, 2011

Meijer has rolled out a new online grocery service. This regional supermarket chain (based in Grand Rapids, Mich.) will deliver more than 5,000 non-perishable food items to customers via UPS.
source: BevNET.com

Rising prices for plastic bottles are the biggest threat to retailers and consumers for increases in the cost of carbonated soft drinks.
source: Wall Street Journal

Brand News
Jones Soda has announced that Jones Zero Calorie Zilch soda has earned top honors by Women's Health magazine.
source: BevNET.com