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Business View Magazine
American Beverage Association
Representing the country’s non-alcoholic beverage industry
The non-alcoholic beverage industry plays an impor-
tant role in the U.S. economy, with a direct impact of
more than $169 billion annually and the employment
of nearly 240,000 people. In addition, the beverage
companies that produce and distribute non-alcoholic
beverages in the U.S., and those they directly employ,
contribute nearly $1.6 billion to charitable causes in
communities across the nation.
The American Beverage Association (ABA) is the trade
association that represents the industry and serves
as a liaison between beverage producers, distribu-
tors, franchise companies and support industries; the
government; and the public. Recently, Business View
Magazine had a conversation with Susan Neely, the
ABA’s current President and Chief Executive Officer.
Can you begin by giving me a little bit of history of
the Association? What was in the mind of its found-
ers, what was its original mission, and what is its
current mandate?
“We will be celebrating our 100th anniversary in just a
few years. We were founded in 1919 as the American
Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages. At that time there
were about 600 bottlers who formed the Association.
Their motivation was exactly what it is today for a lot
