Cozy holiday flicks and rom-com movies tend to be ripe with references to local communities. For Gillette Pepsi Companies (GPC), La Crosse, Wis., those strong local communities aren’t for a plot line but are the heart of what makes the Midwest distributor a pillar of the communities it serves.

“We maintain a balance of autonomy and connection that keeps us rooted in the communities we serve,” says Chad Mueller, CEO at GPC. “Our field teams have true ownership of their markets, while our leadership team spends a tremendous amount of time in the field — visiting stores, riding with route salespeople, and staying engaged with customers.

“Although our footprint is very rural and spans a large geography, it remains close-knit, which we view as a competitive advantage,” he continues. “It is small enough to keep us connected locally and large enough to generate the scale needed to invest meaningfully in our employees, customers, and communities.”

Serving Southwest Wis., Southern Minn., and Northeast Iowa, GPC operates three distribution centers (DC): La Crosse, Wis., Rochester, and Mankato, Minn. These DCs house the company’s warehouse, logistics, delivery, merchandising and sales operations.

These operations not only help GPC sell and deliver its more than 10 million annual cases, but they also serve as bases for connecting to the communities, which is a key attribute to what the GPC family of companies represents.

“Community involvement is central to our identity,” Mueller says. “In Rochester, our team has taken a leadership role in organizing Kids Cup, a major annual fundraiser supporting children receiving care at Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center. Since stepping into this leadership role, GPC and its volunteers have helped raise nearly $100,000 annually. In addition, we continue long-standing support for the YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, and hundreds of nonprofits across our footprint.”

Mueller further notes that service to its communities has been a defining part of the company since its founding, which dates back to 1937 in Viroqua, Wis.

“Supporting our communities gives deeper purpose to our work, strengthens our connection to the people we serve, and reflects our gratitude to the local communities that support our business,” he says. “For us, giving back isn’t an initiative — it’s simply the right thing to do.”

This community connection played a role in the Gillette Pepsi’s rebrand. In 2023, aligning with Pepsi’s 125^th anniversary and rebranding, the Midwest distributor also announced its rebranding as GPC.

Through GPC’s Dew-ing Good program, the company and its employees have supported numerous community programs and initiatives.
Images courtesy of Gillette Pepsi Companies

“The rebrand helped us better communicate who we are: a proud, independent, family-owned company deeply connected to our communities,” Mueller says. “While Pepsi unveiled a bold new global identity, GPC’s rebrand allowed us to highlight our own story alongside it. Requests for support through our Dew-ing Good program have increased ten-fold since the rebrand, which reinforced that the GPC identity resonates with our communities and strengthens our mission of service and partnership.”

For these reasons and more are why Beverage Industry has selected GPC as its 2026 Bottler of the Year.

Investing in people, operations

With approximately 360 team members, GPC recognizes how each of these team members helps support the growth and success of the distributor and embraces ways to help these team members grow with the company.

“Employee growth is part of our culture,” Mueller says. “We have a robust internal recognition platform where team members celebrate each other, and recognitions can be converted into monetary awards.

“We also present two distinguished annual honors — the Norman L. Gillette Sr. Excellence Award and the Circle of Excellence Award — to recognize extraordinary performance,” he continues. “Beyond recognition, we offer leadership development through GPC University and invest heavily in frontline training and career-path opportunities.”

In fact, being a great place to work is one of the three key pillars for the company’s goals going forward.

“We launched GPC University to support leadership development and create best-in-class training for frontline roles,” Mueller says. “We want every team member to feel supported, equipped, and valued.”

The other two key pillars are strengthening its communities and delivering exceptional customer service.

“We expanded benefits to include paid time for volunteering, continued major partnerships in all three states, and launched the GPC Foundation Inc., which will provide sustainable philanthropic support for years to come,” Mueller says. “… Our goal is to be our customers’ No. 1 supplier. To support that, we are investing in warehouse automation, technology upgrades, and systems that empower our people with better tools and insights.”

An example of these investments is the implementation of a new automated system at its La Crosse facility.

“Our new automation system in La Crosse improves capacity, accuracy and throughput,” Mueller says. “We implemented a tail sorter for slower-moving SKUs, which expanded space for growing categories. We are also commissioning an ASRS that will increase full-pallet storage capacity and automatically present pallets for layer picking and pick-location replenishment. Similar systems are in development for our Mankato facility.”

Mueller explains that GPC continually is evaluating technology that enhances safety, efficiency and customer service within its territories.

“We are exploring systems for automated mixed-SKU palletizing and upgrading digital tools for routing, forecasting, warehouse management, and field execution,” he says.

These investments and evaluations help support the distributor’s fleet of approximately 60 tractors and trailers, in addition to approximately a dozen non-CDL beverage trucks. Mueller notes that in recent years, the company has transitioned almost entirely to bulk delivery, with half-pallet service reserved for convenience stores, which enhances efficiency, accuracy and safety.

Expansive solutions

GPC’s deep connection to its communities and employee support stems from its strong relationship with its manufacturing partners.

GPC is one of the independent bottlers of the cooperative Wis-Pak, which was founded in 1969 and is owned by 35 shareholders that represent 65 Pepsi-Cola franchises across the United States. Of the 10 million annual cases sold a year by GPC, 70% of those products are manufactured by Wis-Pak, Mueller notes.

“The Wis-Pak co-op is fundamental to GPC’s success,” Mueller says. “Its manufacturing capabilities allow us to supply hundreds of SKUs at a high standard of quality and efficiency.

“But Wis-Pak’s impact goes well beyond production — we collaborate on continuous improvement, brand creation, marketing strategies and shared innovation that strengthens independent bottlers nationwide,” he continues. “It’s a partnership built on shared values and a shared commitment to customers.”  

In addition to Wis-Pak’s manufacturing capabilities, they offer strong brands such as its Klarbrunn Sparkling, which launched in 1987, and BUBBL’R antioxidant sparkling water.

Ben McAlister, director of sales and marketing at GPC, notes that the Wis-Pak brands make up a significant part of the company’s water business, with Bubblr holding a majority of that share and growth in the category.  

“Wis-Pak brands allow us to fill the needs of consumers that aren’t met by our other brand companies,” he says. “As consumers were looking for a sparkling water with functional benefits, Bubbl’r filled the need. This was the latest and most successful brand launch for Wis-Pak and it complimented our portfolio of drinking, premium and other flavored waters.”

Although these have contributed to category growth within GPC, McAlister notes that carbonated soft drinks still account for 68% of its total sales, with the Mountain Dew brand accounting for a significant portion of those sales.

The remaining share of its sales come from our non-carbonated products, led by Gatorade, tea and energy, followed by the water category, he says.

In addition to the PepsiCo portfolio and Wis-Pak, GPC also services Keurig Dr Pepper products. With such strong brands throughout each portfolio, GPC leans into customer and consumer insights to balance its efforts.

“We work hard to promote the interests of our partners while taking a customer and consumer centric approach,” McAlister says. “Our portfolio continues to expand faster than space in retail outlets, requiring a balanced promotional and executional strategy to grow and develop all of the brands.”

Even with the expansive offerings, all of these companies have contributed to standout performers in 2025 within GPC’s territory.

“For our CSDs, Mug Zero has done extremely well in grocery stores,” McAlister says. “The addition of Poppi in 2025 opened GPC up to the new and exciting realm of prebiotics sodas. We are looking forward to the growth this functional line will offer in 2026.”

McAlister notes that GPC is noticing more consumers opting for low-sugar, low-calorie options. And that functionality has become top of mind in purchasing patterns 

“The growth of gut health drinks like Poppi has been a key area of focus and will continue to be in 2026,” he says. “Flavor and variety are also significant drivers in our markets; we have increased our LTO (limited time offer) commitments in 2026, our thought is the current trend for the next thing will continue and we are ready to serve those needs with product in trucks and on the shelf.”

Furthermore, McAlister anticipates that the success from these products ― and more ― will continue into this new year.

“Bubbl’r has been a standout brand for several years and it will continue to make up a significant portion of our growth in 2026,” he says. “We also expect to see continued growth from Dr Pepper with their innovation and continued investment in the brand. GPC will also be committed to the growth of Starry [and] Mug throughout the market. We are excited to see Alani Nu in action for 2026.”

Going into 2026, GPC will build on these brands with its customers and communities in mind.

“2026 will be a year centered around the customer,” Mueller says. “We intend to streamline processes, improve key service metrics, remove barriers for our customers, and give our teams more time and tools to provide exceptional service across every channel.”