In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a two-day superstorm that left a trail of destruction in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut including snow storms, floods, power outages, fires, billions of dollars in property damage and an estimated 110 U.S. deaths to date, according to a Nov. 4 article on CNN.com, beverage companies are doing their part to send relief aid to the affected Northeast communities.

PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., announced the opening of a new food and beverage innovation center in Shanghai. The state-of-the-art, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) facility, which is PepsiCo's largest research and development (R&D) center outside of North America, will serve as a hub of new product, packaging and equipment innovation for PepsiCo's businesses throughout Asia.

Lipton Iced Tea, a brand of the Pepsi Lipton Partnership North America joint venture between Unilever Group, London, and PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., announced a new nationwide sweepstakes to get consumers on their feet and dancing.

PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., reported core earnings per share of $1.09 for the fourth quarter of 2012 and $4.10 for the full year, with organic revenue growth of 5 percent for both the quarter and the full year. Overall, the company reported net revenue of approximately $20.2 billion for the quarter and $66.5 billion for the year. Its beverage division reported net revenue of approximately $6.3 billion for the quarter and $22.4 billion for the year.

Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo and two of its independent bottlers, Raleigh, N.C.-based Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC (PBV) and the Honickman Group's Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York (PCNY), College Point, N.Y., announced their intent to transfer certain franchise ownerships in New York, North Carolina, Idaho and Vermont in order to drive local growth.

Within the last five years, global launches of carbonated drinks have grown significantly, according to a December 2012 report by the Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights titled “Carving New Niches for Carbonates.”

As a whole, Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. reported net revenue for the first quarter of 2013, ending March 23, at nearly $12.6 billion, which is a 1 percent increase from the first quarter of 2012. Its beverage offerings increased 3 percent in volume during the time frame, with 1 percent organic growth.

Mountain Dew, a brand of Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, and New York-based Complex Media announced a partnership that will support the evolution of Mountain Dews’ legacy programs Green Label Sound, Green Label Art and Green Label Exclusives. The duo will offer a new digital destination, www.Green-Label.com, that will feature the voices and stories of today's youth culture, the companies say.