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An acquisition and a split for Keurig Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper sodas are about to be split from K-Cups as Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. prepares to buy global coffee supplier JDE Peet’s for $18 billion in the first step of a corporate maneuver that will see it ultimately create two different standalone businesses — one focused on coffee and the other dedicated to all other soft drinks.

The move may not change much about the companies’ packaging requirements since Snapple iced tea and 7Up soda will still need bottles, and Keurig will continue to rely on single-use coffee pods. But officials at both companies say it will result in two new companies that are more stable and focused.

Once the companies are combined then split, the new Global Coffee Co. — expect an updated name soon — will be the world’s largest “pure-play” coffee company with sales in 100 companies worth $16 billion annually.

Beverage Co. — another name slated for change — will be an $11 billion global business.

Netherlands-based JDE Peet’s brands include Maxwell House, Gevalia, Peet’s, Stumptown, Bravo and Douwe Egbert’s.

“Both Global Coffee Co. and Beverage Co. will be positioned to deliver attractive returns to their unique investor bases through distinct financial profiles, with tailored growth and capital allocation frameworks, and optimized operating models calibrated to core categories and geographies,” Keurig Dr Pepper, based in Burlington, Mass., said.

Of course Keurig has thought it nailed down the right combination of product offerings previously. It combined with Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2018 saying it would be a market leader in both hot and cold drinks.

Triggering new sales at AptarGroup

Packaging supplier AptarGroup Inc. has embraced the trigger.

The Crystal Lake, Ill.-based company has introduced an all-plastic trigger spray option for its packaging, molded with polypropylene and polyethylene, including a PP spring.

The global trigger spray market is growing, thanks to demand for surface care and stain removal products, AptarGroup said in a news release, calling it a “strategic addition to [our] dispensing portfolio.”

AptarGroup is the third-largest injection molder in North America, according to Plastics News rankings, with $1.1 billion in sales in 2024.

 

Ping Pong and the pope

We already know that Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV is a fan of baseball — the White Sox specifically. It seems he also appreciates a nice game of table tennis.

The pope just took possession of a top-of-the-line table and set of paddles from Chicago-based luxury table-tennis supplier Killerspin LLC, our sister paper Crain’s Chicago Business writes.

Killerspin offers tables with a melamine resin finish, while its top paddles are made with layers of plywood, carbon-fiber- and glass-fiber-reinforced plastics. It also sells table-tennis balls made with ABS.

The Vatican reached out to Killerspin, which previously provided a table-tennis set for Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis. CEO Robert Blackwell met the pope and presented the table and paddles earlier this month. Officials didn’t say who’s going to be playing with the gear, but it’s safe to say that the pope, who grew up in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s, is familiar with the game.