American Beverage Association

The American Beverage Association (ABA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association and a lobbying powerhouse bankrolled by the largest players in the soft drink industry including Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. (ABA’s full membership directory can be viewed here.) The D.C.-based ABA is currently led by Susan K. Neely, President and Chief Executive Officer.

In numerous localities, the ABA partners with U.S. Chamber of Commerce affiliates like the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and local chambers like the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Statewide retail and grocery groups like Illinois Retail Merchants Association and PA Food Merchants Association have also been active. In Michigan in 2017, farm groups and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) took a leading role on a state level bill to prevent soda tax initiatives. In Arizona in 2018, a host of business groups including the Arizona Beverage Association, Arizona Retailers Association, Arizona Restaurant Association, Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, and more worked to pass another state level bill to prevent local soda tax campaigns. See below for more.

Broad Anti-Grocery Tax Measures on the Ballot in Washington and Oregon, 2018

Seattle's soda tax took effect in January 2018. Since then, more kids and adults are drinking water, and it brought in more than $10 million in revenue for use on educational and health programs in its first six months. But in February 2018, a committee with the name "Yes! To Affordable Groceries" was launched to make sure the public health measure would not be adopted by any other local governments in Washington. Initiative 1634 was a deceptively simple anti-grocery tax measure that has been run through the corporate spin machine; it opened with the line, "Whereas access to food is a basic human need of every Washingtonian." The soda industry raised over $20 million for the effort, with little organized opposition on the other side. Initiative 1634 was passed November 6, 2018 by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.

As of November 30, 2018, "Yes! To Affordable Groceries" had raised $22,114,513.97 and spent $20,204,044.02.

The top donors to "Yes! To Affordable Groceries" were:

• The Coca-Cola Company: $10,562,245.13
• Pepsico, Inc.: $7,963,710.08
• Keurig Dr. Pepper (Fka Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.): $2,393,488.00
• Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.: $911,021.38
• Red Bull North America: $59,535.41

Heavy-handed industry tactics were also on display in Oregon in 2018, where grocers and the ABA raised at least $6.5 million on an overly broad constitutional amendment that would not just have impacted soda taxes but could be read as prohibiting taxes at all stages in the chain of commerce, permanently preventing the state and its cities and counties from levying any taxes related to distribution or sale of groceries. Under the name "Yes! Keep Our Groceries Tax Free!," the ABA kicked in two enormous cash contributions of $500,000 each towards the end of the campaign. The Oregon bill failed on November 6, 2018.

The top donors to "Yes! Keep Our Groceries Tax Free!" were:

• Wilson Grand Communications: $3,980,604.05
• ABA: $3,295,345.71
• Albertsons Safeway: $985,917
• Kroger: $970,917
• Morning in America: $751,243.16

Opponents of the measures on the ballot in Washington were unable to muster the kind of big money wielded by the soda industry. But health groups like the American Heart Association in Oregon have had some success in educating the media and voters.

One headline in the Seattle Times summarized what was on the line for local democracy campaigns: "Vote for this initiative and you may as well bow down to your corporate overlords."

Cities with Soda Taxes

Cities and counties have long played a valuable role as laboratories of democracy for important public policy innovations, including public health policies. As cities and counties across the county introduce taxes on sodas and sweetened beverages to counter the rise in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other serious public health challenges, they are facing sophisticated opposition campaigns spearheaded by the deep-pocketed American Beverage Association (ABA) and allied groups.

Many U.S. localities have implemented a soda tax to reduce obesity and related public health problems. In each locality, the ABA has bankrolled a big dollar PR campaign against the tax.

• Berkeley, California.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• San Francisco, California.
• Oakland, California.
• Albany, California.
• Boulder, Colorado.
• Santa Fe, New Mexico, tax defeated 2017.
• Cook County, Illinois, repealed in 2017.
• Seattle, Washington.

Led by the ABA, the soda industry spent $48.9 million on recent soda tax opposition campaigns in Cook County, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Boulder, CO; San Francisco, CA; Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA, Santa Fe, NM; and Albany, California, according to a November 2017 report by the watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Recent Campaign Websites

The ABA itself maintains a strong internet presence with a website, Twitter account, Facebook account, and YouTube account. In addition, the organization creates and maintains a large number of “campaign websites” with linked social media accounts.

Below is a list of the some of the more recent ABA campaign websites.

• No on V, Enough is Enough: Don’t Tax Our Groceries (San Francisco)
• Ax the Bev Tax (Philadelphia)
• No on HH: No Grocery Tax (Oakland)
• Can the Tax Coalition (Cook County)
• Better Way for Santa Fe & Pre-K
• Keep Seattle Livable for All
• No on 2H: Stop the Beverage and Grocery Tax (Boulder)

Tactics in the ABA Playbook

Because most of the soda taxes that have been implemented were enacted by ballot initiative, the ABA has spent most of this money on television advertising campaigns. When the fight shifts to a state measure to preempt these local ordinances, it is likely that the ABA will inflate campaign and lobby spending as well in an attempt to influence state lawmakers.

In each locality that introduces a soda tax, the ABA quickly sets up a “grassroots” public relations front group whose primary purpose is to shields brand-name soda companies, like Coke and Pepsi, from responsibility and culpability. The Center for Media and Democracy calls the practice of a big dollar PR industry campaigns acting like an organic grassroots operation “astroturfing.”

In Richmond in 2012 for instance, the ABA front group fighting a soda tax referendum on the ballot was called “Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes.” In El Monte in 2012 the ABA front group was called “El Monte Citizens Against Beverage Taxes.” The overall PR campaign is also given a name, and TV ads, campaign websites, and social media accounts are created and commonly themed. Because residents only see the front group name or campaign name such as “Can the Tax Coalition,” the public is not generally aware of that it is industry behind the ads.

If one industry tactic is to hide behind a front group with a diverse array of spokespersons, another is to use the front groups to shift the terms of the debate or refocus the debate on a different topic altogether. Thus, we see ABA front groups and ad campaigns working hard to shift the discussion from “soda tax” to “grocery tax” and from the public health impacts of sugary drinks to the “high cost of living.” Many ABA ads in soda tax campaigns across the nation pound the “grocery tax” theme, claiming that it hurts small business and all consumers, even those who don’t drink soda. Learn more about industry tactics from the Center for Media and Democracy publishers of Sourcewatch.org in this article Bills to Ban Local Soda Taxes Are Moving In the States, Coke and Pepsi Borrow from the Tobacco Playbook.

State Preemption of Local Ordinances

When all else fails, powerful industries sometimes move to ban local control of policies they do not like, including nutrition-related policy. In this tactic, industry is taking a page from the big tobacco playbook. Tobacco has battled across the nation to preempt all sorts of local tobacco controls, for instance, twelve states preempt local smoke-free ordinances that are stronger than state standards.

There has been preemption of local ordinances related to nutrition in at least 12 states (see the "State Preemption of Local Ordinances, At Industry's Behest States Move to Ban Local Soda Tax Ordinances" section of the SourceWatch article on Soda taxes for more).

• Alabama
• Arizona, 2018
• California, 2018
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kansas, 2016
• Michigan, 2017
• Mississippi
• Ohio
• Utah
• Washington state, 2018
• Wisconsin

Recent state level bills interfering with local democracy, banning local food and nutrition ordinances including soda taxes:

1. 2016 Kansas bill HB 2595/SB 366 preempted local regulation of “food nutrition information, consumer incentive items, food-based health disparities, the growing and raising of livestock or crops, and the sale of foods or beverages,” according to Grassroots Change. The author of the bill was Rep. Gene Suellentrop (R-27), a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Campaigners report that some of the language and concepts in this large bill appear to be borrowed from a 2012 ALEC “model bill” called “The Food and Nutrition Act,” which was a response to the Mayor Bloomberg’s effort to get calorie count labelling in the city of New York. Learn more about this bill here.
2. 2017 Michigan House Bill 4999 sponsored by Rep. Rob Verheulen in the House and R-Walker, Sen. Peter MacGregor, R-Rockford, was introduced Sept. 20 and signed into law on Oct. 31. The bill bans an excise tax “on the manufacture, distribution, wholesale sale, or retail sale of food for immediate consumption or nonimmediate consumption.” A host of agricultural interests registered in favor of the bill including the Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan Sugar Company, Michigan Sheep Producers, Michigan Soybean Association, Michigan Cattlemen’s Association, Michigan Potato Growers and more making it a “farm interests” bill. In addition, the Michigan Manufacturers Association was involved as was the National Federation of Independent Business. NFIB testified in favor of the bill and was credited by the media as being a major play. NFIB is a large trade association that has worked to preempt paid sick days and city-based minimum wage hikes.
3. 2018 Arizona HB 2484, authored by Rep. T.J. Shope. This bill broadly discusses food taxation not just a beverage tax or a soda tax. The groups registered against the bill include: Arizona Retailers Association, Arizona Restaurant Association, Arizona Beverage Association, Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Arizona Tax Research Association, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, United Dairymen of Arizona. CMD has submitted an open records request to the bill authors for more information.
4. In Washington State, industry started a state wide ballot initiative campaign that would prevent other cities in the state from implementing a similar tax. The initiative committee Yes! To Affordable Groceries was registered February 26, 2018.

Other Groups Involved

The ABA is getting help from many groups who have been previously involved in preemption battles. Affiliates of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been active in local fights along with restaurant and grocers associations. Front group propagator and master propagandist Richard Berman cut ads in Sante Fe for a State Policy Network “think tank,” prompting an ethics complaint. State Policy Network groups have been producing and promoting questionable research saying that the soda tax harms the economy. An ALEC legislator successfully preempted local food and nutrition policies with an ALEC “model bill” in Kansas. And the National Federation of Independent Business, which has been battling paid sick leave ordinances, lobbied in favor of soda tax preemption in Michigan.

Related Organizations

• American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America
• Americans Against Food Taxes
• Americans for Food and Beverage Choice
• American Beverage Association Fund for Consumer Choice
• American Beverage Association PAC.

Core Financials

2016

• Total Revenue: $125,425,727
• Total Expenses: $104,837,946
• Net Assets: $55,769,675

2015

• Total Revenue: $78,938,044
• Total Expenses: $75,309,660
• Net Assets: $34,095,108

2014

• Total Revenue: $84,621,486
• Total Expenses: $81,079,630
• Net Assets: $32,467,331

2013

• Total Revenue: $64,708,873
• Total Expenses: $62,473,827
• Net Assets: $30,114,761

Personnel

Executive Staff

As of April 2018:

• Susan K. Neely, President and CEO
• Mark Hammond, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
• Amy E. Hancock, Secretary; General Counsel / Executive Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs
• Kevin W. Keane, Executive VP, Government and Public Affairs
• Karen Bailey-Chapman, Senior VP, Political Affairs
• Sean Krispinsky, Senior VP and Deputy General Counsel
  

The full staff can be viewed here.

Board of Directors

As of April 2018:

• Jeffrey Honickman, Chairman; CEO at Pepsi-Cola
• Kirk Tyler, Vice Chairman; Chairman at Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company
• Susan K. Neely, President and CEO at American Beverage Association
• Amy E. Hancock, Secretary; General Counsel / Executive Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, American Beverage Association
• Mark Hammond, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, American Beverage Association
• Ralph D. Crowley, Jr., Treasurer; President & Chief Executive Officer, Polar Beverages
• Rodger L. Collins, Ex-Officio; President, Packaged Beverages, Dr Pepper Snapple Group
• Albert P. Carey, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo North America
• Brian Charneski, President, L & E Bottling Company, Inc.
• Matthew Dent, President and Chief Operating Officer, Buffalo Rock Company
• James Dinkins, President, Coca-Cola North America, The Coca-Cola Company
• Paul Finney, President & Chief Executive Officer, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, LLC
• Steve Ford, President & Chief Executive Officer, LinPepCo
• Brad Goist, Chief Operating Officer, Refresco
• Mark Francoeur, President, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England
• Seth Goldman, Co-Founder & TeaEO Emeritus, Honest Tea
• Walter Gross, III, Sr. Vice President, On-Premise, G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers
• Sally Hargis, Chairman of the Board, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company
• J. Frank Harrison III, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Coca-Cola Consolidated
• James J. Johnston, President, Beverage Concentrates and Latin America Beverages, Dr Pepper Snapple Group
• John Kalil, Vice President, Kalil Bottling Co.
• Stefan Kozak, Chief Executive Officer, Red Bull North America, Inc.
• Stuart Kronauge, President of USA Operations & Senior Vice President of Marketing, Coca-Cola North America, The Coca-Cola Company
• Jeffrey S. Laschen, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Coca-Cola Bottling
• Jeffrey Miles Minges, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, Minges Bottling Group, Inc.
• J. Andrew Moore, Co-President, Bigfoot Beverages
• Claude B. Nielsen, Chairman of the Board, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc.
• Jack Pelo, President & Chief Executive Officer, Swire Coca-Cola, USA
• Cliff Ritchie, President & Chief Executive Officer, Carolina Beverage Corp.
• Gary Smith, President & Chief Executive Officer, Big Red, Inc.
• Kirk Tanner, President & Chief Operating Officer, PepsiCo North America Beverages
• Troy D. Taylor, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC

Contact Information

American Beverage Association
1275 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, SUITE 1100
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (202) 463-6732
Website: https://www.ameribev.org/
Email: info@ameribev.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmeriBev
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmeriBev/

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2016

2015

2014

2013

Center for Media and Democracy Articles

• Reporters Memo: Coke and Pepsi Play Hardball in Attempt to Prevent the Spread of Soda Taxes
  
• Trampling Local Democracy: Beverage Industry Pushes Soda Tax Ban in Harrisburg
  
• Bills to Ban Local Soda Taxes Are Moving In the States, Coke and Pepsi Borrow from the Tobacco Playbook
  
• Soda Money Flows Into Cook County Races, But Comes Up Flat

Websites

Website of Grassroots Change and the “Preemption Watch” newsletter Website of Local Solutions Support Center