References to the term ‘cybersecurity’ in beverage companies’ filings rose markedly in the final quarter of 2021, according to recently-released data.

In the three months to the end of December, the appearance of the term was 79% higher than in the corresponding period a year earlier. For the full year of 2021, the appearance of the term was 162% higher than in 2016 when GlobalData first began to track the key issues referred to in company filings.

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Of the 20 biggest employers in beverages, Keurig Dr Pepper referred to cybersecurity the most last year. GlobalData identified 29 cybersecurity-related sentences in the group's filings, representing 0.5% of all sentences. Diageo mentioned cybersecurity the second most, in 0.4% of sentences in its filings. Other top employers with high cybersecurity mentions included Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, PepsiCo and Carlsberg.

Across all drinks companies, the filing published in the fourth quarter of last year that exhibited the greatest focus on cybersecurity came from Britvic. Of the document's 3,823 sentences, 12 - 0.3% - made reference to the term.

GlobalData also categorises cybersecurity mentions by a series of subthemes. Of these, the most commonly referred-to topic in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 'data security', which made up 100% of all cybersecurity subtheme mentions by drinks companies.

When beverage companies publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies references to disruptive forces facing industry in the coming years. Cybersecurity counts as one of these topics - companies that are investing in these areas are expected to be better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

To assess whether cybersecurity is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of drinks brand owners, GlobalData looked at the percentage of companies that have mentioned the term at least once in filings during the past 12 months - this was 90%, compared to 63% in 2016. Secondly, the company calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to cyberscurity.

This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on cybersecurity and how important the issue is considered within beverages. However, a company mentioning the term more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures in digitalisation have been successes or failures.

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