Aaron Doster/Reuters
Coca-Cola is taking a majority stake in sports beverage brand BodyArmor.
It marks the soda giant's first acquisition since it cut brands and laid off employees last year.
The sports drink market is lucrative for Coke, and BodyArmor is a chance for it to challenge PepsiCo's Gatorade.
Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Coca-Cola is upping its sports drink game.The beverage giant said Friday that it would raise its stake in BodyArmor to majority ownership from a minority position. That makes the brand Coke's first acquisition since cuts last year, including a decision to cast off 200 brands, including Zico coconut water. The deal was first reported by Beverage Digest based on a notice that Coca-Cola filed with the Federal Trade Commission. Coca-Cola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.BodyArmor gives Coca-Cola another tool to expand sports drink sales, which are dominated by PepsiCo's Gatorade. As of 2019, Gatorade commanded 72% of US sports drink sales, while Powerade, owned by Coke, took just 16%, according to Euromonitor. Sales in the sports drink market are $7 billion annually in the US, according to research firm IRI.
