What’s piquing the attention of BeverageDaily readers? Here’s a round-up of our most-read articles from May.
What’s piquing the attention of BeverageDaily readers? Here’s a round-up of our most-read articles from May.
At the beginning of this month, Swiss police seized more than 500kg of cocaine which had been found in a delivery of coffee beans to Nestle’s Nespresso factory in Romont.
The cocaine – with a value estimated at more than CHF 50m ($51m) – is believed to have come from Brazil.
A Nestle spokesperson emphasised that the bags of cocaine were quickly isolated and did not come into contact with Nespresso production.
Bad weather conditions in the EU hampered wine production in 2021 but the southern hemisphere recorded record highs in production: balancing out wine production figures at a global level.
Italy, France and Spain retained their positions as the world’s top wine producers: although France in particular took a hit from adverse weather conditions.
Global wine exports reached a historic high in both volume and value in 2021: but unfortunately that doesn’t guarantee equal success in 2022 given global supply chain disruptions and rising energy prices.
The figures, published by international wine organization OIV this month, showed exports rose 4% in volume terms in 2021 and value was up 16%.
Spain was the top exporter in volume terms, while France took top spot in value.
But trade disruption between the EU and Russia is set to hit these mega-producers, among others, in 2022.
Having done plenty of work in reformulating and innovating for the UK sugar tax, the soft drinks sector is well-placed to turn upcoming HRSS regulations into an opportunity rather than a challenge, says UK manufacturer Britvic.
While the introduction of most of the regulations have since been shunted back to next year instead of October this year, rules limiting the placement of ‘unhealthy’ foods in shops will still go ahead as scheduled.
But – thanks to innovation and reformulation to reduce sugar – around 79% of spend on soft drinks is actually already HFSS compliant. That’s way above other affected categories such as confectionery where only 2.7% of spend is compliant.
That means soft drinks can occupy restricted spaces and are in a ‘strong place’ to help replace lost sales from HFSS items, says UK soft drink manufacturer Britvic (90% of its portfolio is already compliant).
Hard seltzers and RTD alcohol is booming in the US: but AB InBev sees the chance to use its might and muscle to grab the opportunities abroad.
Mike’s Hard portfolio, for example, has expanded to reach 10 global markets. Corona Tropical has launched in Latin America and the UK. South Africa boasts spritzer Brutal Fruit and hard seltzer Flying Fish.
The category is interesting to AB InBev not only because of consumer interest in such products, but also because they offer a great canvas for premiumization. “We have the knowledge from developed markets; we have the innovation and liquid capacity; we have distribution; and we can take advantage and really lead this expansion lever globally,” says the company’s CEO.
Bear in mind, however, that AB InBev still considers itself ‘first and foremost’ a brewer, with such products still only accounting for a drop in the company’s overall revenues.