Food and Beverage News

KPMG Survey: Food and Beverage Executives Expect Improved Revenue, Profitability This Year and Next; Majority See Small Increase In Hiring

PRNewswire:

Product, Merchandising Innovations Seen As Biggest Revenue Drivers: Most Now See Full U.S. Economic Recovery Two Years Out

NEW YORK, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Senior executives in the food and beverage industry see improved revenue and profitability this year and next, but caution that the jobs outlook in their sector will only gradually improve in 2011 according to a recent survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.

Soda taxes fizzle in wake of industry lobbying

Now, the beverage industry has momentum flowing in the opposite direction. Its lobbyists quashed every other state effort to pass a soda tax this year, including bills in Mississippi, New Mexico and New York state. In Washington state, an industry-funded initiative to repeal the new soda tax appears certified to go before voters on this November's ballot. Its sponsors turned in 395,000 signatures, much higher than the 240,000 required.

The American Beverage Association (ABA) is supporting the campaign for Initiative 1107 by funneling money to its Washington state branch, which relies on Pepsi and Coke's Northwest bottling warehouses for most of its revenue. ABA spent more than $1 million just gathering signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. Sandeep Kaushik, a spokesman for the coalition of children's health groups who advocated for the soda tax, expects the industry to pour as much as $10 million into the election.