Another write-down charge hits French firm Danone, taking the gloss
off a rise in dairy and beverage sales, as rumours of a take-over
bid by PepsiCo subside, reports Chris Mercer.
Bottled water sales are booming in Britain thanks to a new
generation of consumers who see the sector as more than glorified
tap water and better for their health and well-being than fizzy
drinks, reports Chris Mercer.
US-based PepsiCo has engaged investment banks Morgan Stanley and
UBS to advise on a possible takeover of Danone, the French bottled
water, yoghurt and biscuits group, according to a report today
inthe Financial Times.
Cadbury-Schweppes looks set to try and sell its European soft
drinks arm, again, but whoever buys it may have a tough time
improving the division's rather average performances, reports
Chris Mercer.
The first wrangling over EU sugar reform proposals by agriculture
ministers saw protests and a passionate debate in Brussels
yesterday, but the opposition looks increasingly isolated,
reports Chris Mercer.
As Chinese producers move in on western markets, the first response
by many established players is to protect and defend their previous
market positions. It's a doomed strategy.
Danish packaging company Superfos says it is expanding its
packaging production in Poland as part of a focused growth strategy
that targets all consumer packaging including food and drink
products, reports Simon Pitman.
The prospect of a UK-wide smoking ban in pubs by the end of 2008 is
daunting but new research suggests the threat to trade may be
exaggerated, and trade can be maintained if firms adapt, writes
Chris Mercer.
Crisis in the French wine industry is spurring producers'
acceptance of aggressive marketing strategies that, whilst perhaps
long-overlooked, could be worrying for foreign producers on an
increasingly competitive world market,...
Reports from a fresh Italian study alleging aspartame could pose a
cancer risk are not in harmony with the extensive research that
exist on aspartame, say suppliers of this popular sweetener.
Grasping the booming opportunities in the Chinese food and beverage
market, Japanese food conglomerate Kagome has linked up with
Chinese firm to bring vegetable and fruit juices to the market.
Proposals to put cigarette-style health warnings on soft drinks to
highlight the harmful effects of too many sugary beverages has been
called patronizing by the American Beverage Association, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Whiskey and beer producers across the UK may benefit from a £1.8m
research project aiming to identify, and improve, the genetic
make-up of barley, one of their most commonly used raw materials,
reports Chris Mercer.
Food makers opt for the latest darling of the sweetener industry,
sucralose, for their new products with fresh data showing this
sweetener gained ground over aspartame and Acesulfame K in new
launches using sweeteners, for the...
Customers of Alcan's plastic bottle business have been put on
notice that the company plans to sell the unit as part of an
ongoing restructuring of its food packaging operations.
A society that views food as taste-bud entertainment rather than a
basic of well-being was always bound to run into health problems.
But with obesity now afflicting 300m people, and diabetes set to
reach similar numbers within two...
Russian firm Sanserite will import new, Spanish wines aimed solely
at Russia as demand for foreign wine increases thanks to rising
consumption, higher disposable incomes and a declining domestic
wine industry, reports Angela Drujinina.
The FDA has urged the soft drink industry to review the ingredient
statements on their soft drink labels following the withdrawal of a
proposed "and/or" ruling on sweeteners.
UK brewer Greene King has shown how the right mix of a few flagship
brands and ownership of various pub chains can make real ale a good
money spinner in Britain, despite diehard opposition, writes
Chris Mercer.
Drinks industry consolidation aptly took on greater importance this
week as Diageo announced tough trading conditions in a sign that
cost-savings and pricing will be crucial, reports Chris
Mercer.
The lack of food science recruits in the UK is unsustainable if the
country wants to remain a centre for innovation and avoid becoming
the food industry's global admin office, says the head of Britain's
most prestigious...
Weight and health concerns continue to propel the market for
low-calorie sweeteners, with a host of recent global product
launches showing the popularity of sugar replacer aspartame in new
sugar and sweetener formulations, reports...
Never mind the pressure group fury, Anheuser Busch's caffeine beer
faces UK consumers who are sceptical about flavoured beer and a
tough advert code that will stop the product displaying its 'best'
assets, writes Chris...
Food makers and ingredients firms will benefit from a new European
platform that will prioritise research and development initiatives
to keep the €800 billion food and drink industry
competitive,reports Lindsey Partos.
A tester being marketed by a UK company can detect cracks within
five minutes in heat exchangers used to pasteurise products such as
milk and juice, according to a spokesman.
Drinking green tea is highly unlikely to help prevent breast,
prostate or any other type of cancer, the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) said last week, after reviewing the evidence
to support a health claim, reports Dominique...
It is time to draw on science to establish once and for all whether
food intolerance is just a source of succour for hypochondriacs, or
whether it is genuinely a modern scourge.
Constellation is planning to launch newly acquired Robert Mondavi
wines across Europe after it helps sales soar in the US, and Pernod
Ricard finally has Allied Domecq in its sights, reports Chris
Mercer.
Semicarbazide is not a threat to human health says the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) but the food industry still faces an
August deadline for its elimination from packaging.
Militant French vintners may be grabbing the headlines, yet new
research claims small-to-medium wineries in Australia are also on
the track to financial ruin, as the big boys march calmly on,
reports Chris Mercer.
Consumers are rapidly falling in love with bona fide, 100 per cent
juice across developed markets, yet it is private labels that are
reaping the benefits in Western Europe, says new research,
writes Chris Mercer.
A mouse study conducted at the Washington University School of
Medicine suggests that drinking pomegranate juice during pregnancy
may reduce the hypoxia ischemia-related brain injuries in babies,
writes Jess Halliday.
Soft drinks makers looking to replace sugar with sweeteners to
reach health-conscious consumers could save time and money with an
award-winning new technology from UK supplier Pursuit Dynamics,
reports Chris Mercer.
While the Western European market for plastic caps and closures may
be growing, cosmetics and personal care companies will have to be
less choosy when picking their supplier, report Ahmed ElAmin and
Simon Pitman.
The European Commission has approved Pernod Ricard's bid for Allied
Domecq, but will force the firm to dump extra whiskey brands and
distribution agreements before a deal goes through, reports
Chris Mercer.
Sweeping changes to EU sugar regime would put Europe's cereal
starch sweetener industry at risk, threatening job losses and even
possible business closures, warns the industry this week,
reports Lindsey Partos.
Caffeine increased the cyclists' absorption of carbohydrates from a
sports drink in new UK research, writes Dominique Patton,
offering a new area of innovation for manufacturers of sports
products.
Animosity is hotting up on America's stagnant beer market as
SABMiller lowers prices and attacks Anheuser-Busch in adverts, yet
productive responses to market pressures are still needed,
reports Chris Mercer.
Coca-Cola can no longer negotiate exclusive supply deals for its
fizzy soft drinks in the EU and must open its coolers to rival
brands as the European Commission tries to improve competition,
reports Chris Mercer.
Proposals to slash EU sugar prices make sense, but jobs will
continue to go in UK food and drink firms unless bolder moves to
abolish quota systems are introduced, says the UK Soft Drinks
Association to Chris Mercer.
Food and drink makers could soon expect cheaper sugar ingredients
with Brussels expected to publish its proposals on EU sugar reform
today, writes Lindsey Partos.
VinExpo may have begun under a gallic cloud in Bordeaux, but French
agriculture minister Dominique Bussereau has entered the lion's den
to assure wine makers that reform is coming, reports Chris
Mercer.
Bordeaux - VinExpo, described as the largest gathering of wine and
spirits buyers and sellers in the world, is this year also a
showcase of the industry's response to a rapidly changing consumer
market, reports Ahmed ElAmin in...
Certain polyphenols abundant in fruit and vegetable juices may play
an important role in delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease,
reports Dominique Patton.
The image of secret radio chips planted inside the home from larder
to bathroom, transmitting data freely to Corporation Inc, is enough
to curl the toes of more than anti-capitalism activists.