Top 100 Beverage Companies of 2017
AB InBev sits comfortably in No. 1 spot
Beverage companies on Beverage Industry’s Top 100 Beverage Companies of 2017 list are focused on new product development, packaging and all the details – large and small – that go into expanding operations and increasing sales in an increasing competitive marketplace. We invite you to take a closer look at the state where most companies reside – California is No. 1 – find out the impact of social media on a brand, top cap ex spenders and much more.
View the 2017 Top 100 beverage companies list
Top Beverage Brands
Coca-Cola maintained its spot as the No. 1 beverage brand on the U.K.'s BrandFinance Global 500 list for 2017 with a value of more than $30 million. Pepsi and Moutai remained No. 2 and No. 3 on the list. Bud Light and Budweiser moved up on the list while NesCafé dropped to the seventh spot. Johnnie Walker fell three spots and Gatorade moved up a spot to round out the Top 10.
| (Brand value, U.S. $ millions) | |
| Coca-Cola | 31,885 |
| Pepsi | 18,470 |
| Moutai | 12,283 |
| Red Bull | 6,738 |
| Bud Light | 6,608 |
| Budweiser | 5,863 |
| NesCafé | 5,364 |
| Heineken | 5,237 |
| Gatorade | 4,573 |
| Johnnie Walker | 4,548 |
Source: BrandFinance Global 500, 2017
Top 10 beverage Facebook pages
Fans are coming out in masses to support their favorite beverage brands on social media. Consumers continue to show their love, or should we say "like," through Facebook. Coca-Cola surpassed the 100 million mark and continues to distance itself from other brands. This year also saw Pepsi narowly eclipse NesCafé to claim the third spot while Starbucks fell from No. 3 to No. 5 on the list.
| (By number of fans) | |
| Coca-Cola | 107,577,164 |
| Red Bull | 48,998,598 |
| Pepsi-Cola | 37,814,214 |
| NesCafé | 37,716,951 |
| Starbucks | 37,159,821 |
| Monster Energy | 26,446,055 |
| Heineken | 24,442,815 |
| Sprite | 22,868,714 |
| Fanta | 19,887,456 |
| Jack Daniels | 16,952,129 |
Source: Search conducted May 10, according to socialbakers.com and individual page visits.
Top 100 by category
Once again, juices are the top contender among beverage categories when it comes to Top 100 companies. The breakdown paralleled last year's other than hard cider dropping to the last spot below liquid concentrates.
| (Number of the Top 100 companies that produce) | |
| Juice and juice drinks | 33 |
| Wine | 25 |
| Beer | 22 |
| Tea and RTD tea | 20 |
| Water | 19 |
| Spirits | 17 |
| Coffee and RTD coffee | 15 |
| Soft drinks | 14 |
| Energy drinks and shots | 13 |
| Sports and protein drinks and shots | 11 |
| Dairy-based drinks and alternatives | 8 |
| Flavored malt beverages | 7 |
| Beverage mixes | 6 |
| Liquid concentrates | 6 |
| Hard cider | 5 |
Top 100 by location
California continues to be the home state to the most companies among Beverage Industry's annual Top 100 report. Although the total number is down from last year because of mergers and acquisitions, the Golden State still resides comfortably at the top of the list.
| California | 16 |
| New York | 10 |
| Illinois | 6 |
| Washington | 5 |
| Canada | 4 |
| Colorado | 4 |
| Texas | 4 |
| United Kingdom | 4 |
Top cap ex spenders
Beverage companies continued to invest in their operations in 2017. This year's Top 2 spenders held their spots, while Davide Campari jumped to No. 3. moving PepsiCo Inc. to No. 4. Heineken N.V. held its spot at No. 5, as did No. 6 Unilever Group. The Coco-Cola Co. fell to No. 7 and Molson Coors made the list this year at the No. 9 spot.
| (Public companies, U.S. $ millions) | |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | 4,124 |
| Nestle SA* | 4,010 |
| Davide Campari | 3,830 |
| PepsiCo Inc. | 2,969 |
| Heineken N.V. | 1,998 |
| Unilever Group* | 1,910 |
| The Coca-Cola Co. | 1,675 |
| Starbucks Corp. | 1,159 |
| Molson Coors | 1,449 |
| Danone Group | 1,141 |
*Includes cap ex spending against non-beverage products
Source: Reported and publicly available information via 2017 annual reports
Number of employees
Maintaing a strong team is essential to beverage companies looking to succeed. This year, the list stayed relatively consistent to 2016, but Nestle SA claimed the No. 2 spot, moving PepsiCo Inc. down to the No. 3 spot. Anheuser-Busch InBev, Unilever Group and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton maintained their same positions as last year. Danone Group moves up to the No. 7 spot, moving Heineken N.V. up one spot at No. 8. The Coca-Cola Co. moves down to the No. 9 spot, making room for Diageo PLC to make the list at No. 10.
| Nestle SA* | 323,000 |
| Starbucks Corp. | 277,000 |
| PepsiCo Inc.* | 263,000 |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | 200,000 |
| Unilever Group* | 161,000 |
| LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton* | 153,000 |
| Danone Group | 100,000 |
| Heineken N.V. | 80,425 |
| The Coca-Cola Co. | 61,800 |
| Diageo PLC | 30,400 |
Source: Reported and publicly available estimates of numbers of employees
*Includes employees in non-beverage divisions
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