Financial research concept

Beverage Bottler Customer Concentration

Beverage Bottler Customer Concentration measures how much packaged-beverage volume and company revenue depend on the largest retail customers.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 22, 2026
Research context

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Research date
Sep 22, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
12 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Beverage Bottling Operating Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Why it matters
  2. Investor caution
  3. Part of the Beverage Bottling Operating Economics
  4. See It in Company Research
  5. Continue Research

Beverage Bottler Customer Concentration measures the share of a bottler's volume or sales tied to its largest retail customers.

For 2025, Coca-Cola Consolidated reported that Walmart represented approximately 21% of bottle/can sales volume and 17% of total net sales, while Kroger represented approximately 15% of bottle/can volume and 12% of total net sales.

Why it matters

High customer concentration can increase bargaining, promotional, channel, and execution risk. Looking at both volume concentration and net-sales concentration can also reveal that the revenue value of a customer's mix is not identical to its share of physical cases.

Investor caution

Customer concentration percentages depend on how the issuer defines customer groups and affiliated banners. They are exposure measures, not evidence that a customer relationship is weak or that revenue is immediately at risk.

Source:

Part of the Beverage Bottling Operating Economics

Connect packaged-beverage revenue, standardized case volume, category mix, pricing contribution, gross margin, alternate sales channels, and customer concentration to understand beverage-bottler economics.

How the model fits together
  • Volume, pricing, and packaged-beverage revenue: Standard physical case volume provides an equivalent delivered-volume measure, while bottle/can sales and management's average selling-price contribution show how volume and realized revenue can diverge. The price contribution is an issuer attribution and should not be treated as a standardized pure-price measure.
  • Sparkling versus still category mix: Sparkling and Still sales paired with their respective standard physical case volumes separate category revenue growth from delivered-volume growth. Category definitions and package or channel mix remain issuer-specific, so the bridge does not imply standardized peer economics.
  • Revenue channels and customer concentration: Sales to other bottlers and post-mix sales show revenue outside the core direct bottle/can channel, while customer concentration shows how much direct volume and total revenue depend on major retailers. These exposures help explain revenue architecture and bargaining risk without implying that concentrated revenue is automatically impaired.

See It in Company Research

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