Top 100 Beverage Companies of 2018
AB InBev holds the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row
The companies on Beverage Industry’s Top 100 Beverage Companies of 2018 all are dedicated to giving consumers the best experience possible, whether it be through new product development or eye-catching packaging. The editor’s invite you to take a closer look at the top global beverage brands, top cap ex spenders, top social media brands and much more.
Top beverage brands
Coca-Cola maintained its spot as the No. 1 beverage brand on the U.K.'s BrandFinance Global 500 list for 2018 with a value of $30 million. Chinese spirit company Moutai climbed the ranks into the No. 2 spot, knocking Pepsi down one spot to No. 3. Other Chinese spirits brand's Wuliangye and Yanghe made their way onto this year's Top 10 list, claiming spots No. 4 and 5, respectively. As a result, the rest of the regulars on the Top 10 list were knocked down an average of two spots. Nescafé rounded out this year at No. 10, resulting in Johnnie Walker being knocked out of the Top 10 completely.
(Brand value, U.S. $ millions)
| Coca-Cola | 30,378 |
| Moutai | 21,243 |
| Pepsi | 20,035 |
| Wuliangye | 14,635 |
| Yanghe | 7,795 |
| Red Bull | 7,641 |
| Bud Light | 7,377 |
| Budweiser | 7,082 |
| Heineken | 6,090 |
| Nescafé | 5,316 |
Top 10 beverage Facebook pages
After years of seeing beverage brand pages rake in the fans, it seems that the market has hit maturation. Generally speaking, most brand pages held steady or even declined slightly with the number of followers compared with 2018.
(By number of fans)
| Coca-Cola | 107,461,380 |
| Red Bull | 48,936,014 |
| Pepsi | 37,838,014 |
| Starbucks | 36,934,939 |
| Monster Energy | 26,220,129 |
| Heineken | 24,755,147 |
| Sprite | 22,792,405 |
| Fanta | 19,671,182 |
| Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey | 17,171,064 |
| Dunkin' | 15,623,948 |
Top cap ex spenders
Beverage companies continued to invest in their operations in 2018. This year's top spenders mostly maintained their positions within the Top 10. Anheuser-Busch, Nestlé SA and Davide Campari held their spots as No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, for the second year in a row. Six other brands also maintained their positions in the Top 10, with expection to Constellation Brands. Constellation Brands found its way on the Top 10 chart this year, coming in as the No. 9 top capital spender.
(Public companies, U.S. $ millions)
| Anheuser- Busch InBev | 4,649 |
| Nestlé SA* | 3,869 |
| Davide Campari | 3,760 |
| PepsiCo Inc. | 3,282 |
| Heineken N.V. | 2,124 |
| Unilever Group* | 1,856 |
| The Coca-Cola Co. | 1,347 |
| Starbucks Corp. | 1,976 |
| Constellation Brands | 1,058 |
| Danone Group | 1,057 |
Top 100 by location
When it comes to top beverage headquarter locations, California remains the champion once again. With 16, the Golden State is unchanged from last year. However, the bottom states experienced a shake-up as Florida and Massachusetts enter the fray.
| California | 16 |
| New York | 9 |
| Illinois | 6 |
| Florida | 5 |
| Washington | 5 |
| Canada | 4 |
| Colorado | 4 |
| Massachusetts | 4 |
Number of employees
Maintaining a strong team is crucial for beverage companies looking to succeed on a day-to-day basis. Although the actual number of employees fluctuated in 2018, each company's position on the Top 10 chart remained consistant with the previous year. Nestlé SA remains No. 1 with a total of 308,000 employees in its 190 markets around the world. Although a much smaller market number (75), Starbucks maintained its position at No. 2, with 291,000 employees. PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch and Unilever Group rounded out the Top 5 with employee numbers of 267,000, 175,000 and 155,000, respectively.
| Nestlé SA* | 308,000 |
| Starbucks Corp. | 291,000 |
| PepsiCo Inc. | 267,000 |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | 175,000 |
| Unilever Group* | 155,000 |
| LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton* | 136,633 |
| Danone Group | 100,000 |
| Heineken N.V. | 85,610 |
| The Coca-Cola Co. | 62,600 |
| Diageo PLC | 30,000 |
Top 100 by category
Juices continue to dominate the product mix for the annual Top 100 list; however, merger and aqusitions did impact the number populating this beverage category.
(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 |
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