Starbucks looks to worms to recycle used coffee grounds into fertiliser
The coffee giant has unearthed a new solution for disposing of spent coffee grounds in the UK.
R&D
BE WTR pushes global expansion, launches flavour-enhancing ‘activated water’
Premium water brand BE WTR aims to “revolutionise hydration” with its filtration and flavour-enhancing technologies, as it actively sets up bottling plants across the globe on the back of new funding.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients invests in health
FrieslandCampina Ingredients aims to fuel the current consumer demand for health through proteins and prebiotics.
Should dairy drinks and RTD coffee be included in soda taxes?
The UK government is considering extending its Soft Drinks Industry Levy to milk-based drinks and plant-based alternatives: putting milkshakes and RTD coffee in the firing line. Will this move go ahead - and could other governments consider doing the same?
Innovation watch: Alcohol-free
Europe's leading the way in alcohol-free. How is innovation shaping up?
2025 Beverage trends to watch: Circana expects growth in water enhancers, functional drinks
Hydration-boosting, functional and non-alcoholic (non-alc) beverages will continue their growth in 2025, but generations are seeking out different drinks to meet their health and nutrition needs, according to a recent Circana webinar.
Do soda taxes succeed in reducing consumption among lower-income households?
Lower-income people tend to consume more sugar-sweetened beverages than average. Are soda taxes effective at reducing consumption?
Conflicting caffeine research confuses consumers
Caffeine’s effect on vascular health has been a hot topic for years, with researchers putting forward positive and negative arguments. Now, a new study is adding to the conversation. But what's the truth?
Wine and coffee by-products could power next generation batteries
Creating effective batteries is a critical part of renewable energy plans – and wine and coffee could hold the answer to cheaper, more efficient and more eco-friendly battery tech.
Wine label designs: What appeals to women?
The images that winemakers choose to put on bottles can impact how brands and the quality of the wine inside are perceived by women, according to a new study.
Researchers uncover the ancient origins of kefir
Analyzing DNA remnants of Bronze-Age kefir cheese, Chinese researchers discovered how kefir strains have evolved and the likely route of kefir into Europe.
Scientists tap into barley ‘time machine’ to help adapt the grain to climate change
Thanks to an experiment that's tracked barley over the last century, researchers have pinpointed the genes that offer ‘remarkable adaptability’ in the grain – a key ingredient in breads, breakfast cereals, beer and whiskey.
Five key opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the wine industry
New Zealand Winegrowers has set out the crucial milestones and key emission-reduction opportunities for vineyards and wineries in order for the industry to reach net zero by 2050. Where will efforts have the biggest impact?
Soda taxes: Cutting sugar is one thing, promoting healthy hydration is another…
Sugar taxes set out to reduce sugary beverage consumption. But how can that be built on to steer people towards choosing healthier options instead?
AI tech boosts biodiversity across drink giant’s blackcurrant farms
Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I (SBF GB&I) is using AI technology to improve biodiversity across five of its blackcurrant farms in the UK this harvest season.
Tea giant begins climate change mitigation and resilience field trials
A project unveiled by Lipton aims to improve tea production standards and create data and resources that can benefit the whole industry.
Brewers’ spent grain a promising snack ingredient that can be upcycled to regulate blood sugar levels – new trial
Brewers’ spent grain, particularly those fermented with tempeh mould, is a promising ingredient that not only can be used for snacks, but also reduces food waste.
Could AI take the place of winemakers and brewers?
Sommeliers, winemakers and brewers pride themselves on their craft: built up over decades of experience and training. Could AI take their place?
2D-printed plant-based milk: What, why and how?
3D printing is all the rage in plant-based, but what about 2D printing? In Germany, Veganz is scaling 2D-printed oat milk and reports orders are increasing month on month.
Could tea help to prevent COVID?
Tea has been recognised for its health benefits for centuries. It boasts links to everything from aiding cardiovascular health to boosting the immune system, but could tea also help to prevent COVID-19?
Finding the most accurate way to measure the environmental impact of coffee
A new scientific review offers recommendations on how to measure the environmental impact of coffee – with the hope of also standardizing how this is done in the future.
Will AI revolutionize how brewers create new beers?
Brewers have long championed the craft and passion behind brewing beer - but scientists believe AI and machine learning has the potential to revolutionize how the industry develops new brews. What will beer development look like in the future?
Researchers look at coffee genome to find key to climate-resilient coffee
While some 70% of the world’s coffee production is Arabica, the species has a low tolerance to rising temperatures and disease. Nestlé has developed a high quality Arabica reference genome – which is now a publicly available database – as part of the...
Coffee fix? UDA targets China growth for relaunched longevity brew designed to help reverse ageing
A longevity coffee product is set to be relaunched with a tweaked formulation in an effort to crack the lucrative China market after its first iteration achieved sales success in more than 40 countries.
Changing freshwater cycle: Are we on a collision course with disaster?
Human activity has significantly altered the freshwater cycle. But is this change reversible, and if not, what does it mean for the future of food and water supplies?
Consumer responses to coffee assessed through wearable technology
Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks. While sensory questionnaires are a tried and tested way of assessing its quality, using technology to measure physical and mental responses can reduce biases and cut out the middleman. Now, researchers...
Both sugary and artificially-sweetened beverages linked to atrial fibrillation risk
Drinking two liters or more of sugar or artificially sweetened drinks per week is linked to a higher risk of an irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) compared to adults who drink fewer of these beverages, according to a study published this week.
Coffee’s chromosome mutations: The potential for industry
Variations in the properties of arabica coffee, such as in taste, caffeine content and disease resistance, are determined by chromosome mutations, according to a recent study. But are these findings purely academic, or relevant to industry? And how could...
How much does exercise offset the cardiovascular risks of sugar-sweetened drinks?
When we exercise, we often hope to offset some of the negative effects of the unhealthy foods that we’ve eaten while we do so. However, when it comes to sugar-sweetened drinks, exercise might not be enough to offset the significant increase in...
Gin ‘fingerprinting’ could help futureproof the category
A new technique that takes a chemical fingerprint of gin in seconds could hold 'huge potential' for the industry: allowing producers to create better and more consistent gins; enable regulators to detect fraudulent products; and even help create a...
Plant-based drinks face multiple barriers as suitable dairy alternatives: NUS-led study
Plant-based beverages may be considered suitable alternatives to their dairy counterparts but must overcome challenges related to flavour, consumer health, stability and nutrient dissolution, say researchers in Singapore, the UK and China.
Researchers teach tech to taste in 'first step' towards accurate flavour modelling
Danish researchers and industry professionals design an algorithm to help personalise consumer purchases and optimise the retail environment.
Hangover-free wine? Scientists identify pigment that may be responsible for headaches
Scientists have discovered a plant pigment in red wine that may be responsible for headaches: with the hope this knowledge could ultimately help winemakers create gentler drinks.
From skincare to shampoo: World’s first coffee biorefinery creates new uses for upcycled coffee grounds
Only a fraction of the coffee bean actually goes into coffee: with the vast majority of the bean ending up as waste in the form of coffee grounds. With the opening of its coffee biorefinery, Kaffe Bueno wants to take its upcycing tech to the next level:...
Coffee grounds could hold key to creating new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
A substance derived from spent coffee grounds has the potential to protect brain cells from the damage caused by several neurodegenerative diseases: including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, according to a new study.
Study: Sodium and carb drinks offer improved rehydration in athletes
Consuming beverages with sodium and carbohydrates reduces necessary fluid ingestion quantities for recovery and improves rehydration in male athletes, a new study has concluded.
Glass to gut: Using wine leftovers to make healthy ingredients
Many would agree that a good glass of wine can take a meal to the next level, but could it take gut health up a notch too?
Crop-free liquor: Meet the start-up repurposing CO2 into alcohol ‘made from air’
Finnish start-up Aircohol is working to decarbonise the alcohol industry by producing drinks from carbon dioxide released during alcohol fermentation. The result? A crop-free liquor with up to 50% reduced carbon footprint.
‘More than mylk’: Alternatives to coffee, cocoa, salt and sugar on the table at Mylkcubator 3.0
The Mylkcubator programme has largely focused on next-gen dairy innovation to date. But for the incubator’s third edition, dairy-major Pascual wants to expand its focus to alt coffee, cocoa, salt, sugar and more.
Review hails health benefits of beer-gut alliance
Drinking beer could be good for your gut and immunity, stimulating healthy microbiota diversity thanks to the beneficial brew of compounds found in the fermented beverage.
Webinar
Free webinar: Sweetest innovations – can an AI-powered algorithm crack the sweetness code in confectionery?
In the upcoming webinar (airs 13 September), ConfectioneryNews will profile some of the key innovations in the sector that are being driven primarily by consumer trends. As R&D budgets are increased, we have seen ground-breaking innovations in the gummy...
'World’s first’ energy drink developed by artificial intelligence
In Hungary, a beverage manufacturer claims to have produced the 'world’s first’ energy drink completely designed by AI.
‘How sweet is sweet?’ AI-powered algorithm digitises taste for food and beverage makers
Israeli start-up MAMAY Technologies has developed an AI-powered algorithm capable of determining the ‘objective’ sweetness of a food or beverage product.
Evidence-based approach: Thai researchers seeking to commercialise herbal drink shown to stimulate breast milk supply
Thai research team is embarking on a long-term journey to commercialise a herbal tea that has been shown to boost breast milk production in a clinical trial.
Coffee startup ansā looks to make a “good cup of coffee” more sustainable with novel roasting technology
Tech startup ansā is in the business of creating a good cup of coffee in all senses of the word with its unique roasting method and consumer appliance that circumvents the need for traditional roasters; all in the pursuit of a greener cup of Joe, company...
Artificial intelligence designs soda for Swiss market: ‘We were gripped by AI fever’
It took just two days for Swiss beverage company Vivi Kola to develop the artificial intelligence-designed beverage using ChatGPT, Midjourney and Unreal Engine.
No short-term success: Slashing sugary drink intake yields limited metabolic health benefits across 12 weeks
Switching from sugary drinks to ‘diet’ drinks or water showed little short-term effects on metabolic or cognitive health outcomes across 12 weeks, a new study has shown.
Study shows safety and health benefits of coffee cherry pulp juice
A new study from researchers in Thailand supports the safety of coffee cherry pulp juice consumption and suggests that it may lower cholesterol in healthy adults.
Stevia sweeter news for planetary health than cane and beet sugar, suggests research
Production of steviol glycosides extracted from stevia grown in Europe produces just 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with sugar production, according a life cycle assessment.
Study: kombucha flattens postprandial glycemic and insulin response
When kombucha is consumed with a high-GI meal there is a clinically significant reduction in postprandial glycemic and insulin index (GI and II) response, when compared with water, according to new research.