Celsius Names Eric Hanson President & COO
Celsius Holdings, which produces the Celsius and Celsius Hydration brands of beverages — and of which PepsiCo is a primary owner — has named a new president and chief operating officer. Eric Hanson will be taking on the role of overseeing the company’s growth functions to support expansion in the functional beverages category.
Hanson brings nearly three decades of food and beverage experience, having worked with PepsiCo since 1997 — most recently as SVP of strategic partnerships. In that role, he worked with partner brands, including Celsius, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Tropicana.
He's led several leadership roles across revenue management, sales transformation, commercial planning, and strategic partnerships, according to LinkedIn. As PepsiCo's SVP of energy drinks, he helped integrate the Rockstar Energy Drink business into the PepsiCo portfolio after a $4 billion acquisition.
He will report directly to CEO John Fieldly, who said Hanson will “drive strategic collaboration among our seasoned teams and lead the integration and optimization of our acquisitions.”
The Energy Drink Market
The ready-to-drink (RTD) energy market is poised for growth, projected to reach $1.23 billion by 2032 — a CAGR of 6.22%, according to Fortune Business Insights.
Keurig Dr Pepper’s CEO Tim Cofer recently spoke on the growth opportunities for the category amid its acquisition of Ghost, a sports nutrition business. It’s a category that appeals to a wide range of consumers across all ages and demographics, including Gen Z, he said. KDP has also acquired the C4 and Black Rifle Energy brands, as well as established a distribution agreement with Nutrabold for its Bloom RTD energy brand.
