Leading East European drinks manufacturer Kofola has selected PET
preforms from Amcor PET Packaging for two of its juice and mineral
water brands, a move designed to bring the same brand values and
image to the take-home sector as...
Mecca Cola, the soft drink producer which gives a portion of its
profits to support the Palestinian cause, has grown rapidly over
the last few years, building on anti-US sentiment across the globe.
The latest country targeted by the...
A new UK study that suggests there are significant economic
benefits in including metal cans in kerbside collection schemes has
been roundly welcomed by the metal packaging industry, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
InBev is already beginning to see the benefits of last year's
merger of Belgian brewer Interbrew and Brazil's AmBev, with volume
sales in 2004 growing at more than twice the rate of the global
beer market as a whole. And...
Preform production equipment provider Husky has contributed to the
development of the first compostable water bottle made from
NatureWorks PLA corn-based resin.
Coca-Cola, whose sugary soft drinks have left it open to
accusations of contributing to the global obesity epidemic, has
made little secret of its desire to move into product sectors such
as juice and water, viewed as less 'high...
PepsiCo has become the latest company to bow to pressure on the
food industry from the rising tide of obesity, introducing
voluntary restrictions on its advertising to children, according to
an article in today's London-based...
South African winemakers are keen to capitalise on growing interest
in their wines from US consumers - and on the predicted growth in
the market there. Their US counterparts, meanwhile, continue to
focus on Europe, where sales have...
Italian spirit maker Campari has today confirmed that it is
increasing its stake in US unit Skyy Spirits, while earlier in the
week it was the turn of brewer SABMiller to increase its stake in
Italy's Peroni group, writes Chris...
Russia's leading dairy and juice producer Wimm-Bill-Dann has
announced it will merge its juice and water businesses as part of a
restructuring plan devised to stop rising transport and raw
materials costs from damaging profits,...
InBev is outsourcing its IT infrastructure on a global basis,
arguing that this offers the best combination of cost efficiencies,
technical performance and flexibility for future growth.
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has slammed new EU
packaging standards, claiming they are likely to encourage
increased packaging volumes and do little to facilitate greater
recycling.
Disposals and currency exchange rates pushed down full-year sales
at Nestlé, the world's biggest food producer, but the decline had
no impact on profitability, which grew by a healthy 8.1 per cent
during 2004. IN order to stay...
British confectionery and soft drinks group Cadbury Schweppes is
back on the path to growth after the acquisition of confectionery
group Adams and a complete overhaul of its US beverage business.
Cost reductions, investment in confectionery...
Three of Europe's biggest beer makers have reported mixed results
this week, with Scottish & Newcastle, Carlsberg and Heineken
all underlining the need to cut costs and increase advertising
expenditure, especially for premium...
Oygenated water is becoming increasingly popular in the
health-crazy west of Europe, but its presence in the east of the
continent has been relatively limited, until now. Russian company
SoiuzSnab is to be the first local firm to...
Coca-Cola's Greek bottling subsidiary has announced it will buy its
way into Serbia's bottled water market as the trend towards healthy
living increases the importance of non-carbonated soft drinks,
reports Chris Mercer.
Danone's troubled expansion into the bottled water business
continues to hit the headlines, with news late last week that the
French dairy group was close to selling its stake in its North
American joint venture with Coca-Cola....
The completion of its nationwide distribution network and increased
investment in advertising helped brewer Baltic Beverages Holding to
shrug off a difficult first half for its Russian brewing business
and end the year with an increase...
The Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling company, which this week announced
solid sales growth led by emerging markets in Eastern Europe, has
confirmed its interest in Serbia's second largest mineral water
bottler as the company plans...
Diageo, the world's biggest spirit group, has announced a drop in
first half profits, caused by foreign exchange rates, weak demand
in Europe and the continued decline of the ready-to-drink segment,
writes Chris Jones.
Restructuring costs at Amcor's PET plastics and flexible packaging
divisions have contributed to a decline in first-half net profit,
though the Australia-based company expects an improvement in the
second half, despite the impact...
International drinks groups have been lining up to invest in China
in recent years, but almost all of their acquisitions have been in
the beer sector where there are literally hundreds of potential
takeover targets. But China's...
The European Union's highest court ruled this week that the EC had
been wrong to prohibit a merger between packaging groups Tetra
Laval and Sidel four years ago.
The maximum concentrations of compounds transferred to wine from
wood is reached after 10 to 12 months of the wine being stored in
wooden casks, according to a Spanish scientist.
Merrydown, the British beverage group whose focus on adult soft
drinks has helped it overcome the declining fortunes of cider, has
agreed to a takeover by SHS, a consumer goods sales and marketing
specialist. The group hopes that...
Non-carbonated soft drinks in emerging Eastern European markets,
especially Russia, held up sales growth during a challenging period
for the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), despite a €49
million one-off charge sending...
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will encourage
Uzbekistan to implement economic reforms by pledging nearly €3
million to improve quality and double capacity at a private
domestic brewer, reports Chris Mercer.
InBev has spread rapidly beyond the borders of its native Belgium
in the last few years, with major acquisitions in Asia, Latin
America and Europe. But the world's biggest brewer is not always
successful in its takeover bids,...
Krones, the world's biggest manufacturer of beverage bottling lines
and packaging machinery, is set to launch a series of new packaging
products at Interpack 2005.
Australian winery Southcorp has reported a 50 per cent increase in
net profits for the first half of fiscal 2005, a performance which
has allowed the company to reinstate dividend payments for
shareholders for the first time in two...
Beer was the main driving force behind a solid if unspectacular
performance from San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the
Philippines-based food and drink group, in 2004. But with the
performance falling short of many analysts' expectations,...
Fourteen foreign and domestic companies, featuring some of the
biggest names in the global drinks industry, are expected to slug
it out for control of Jinro, South Korea's biggest spirit maker.
A 15-year drive to develop a network of international breweries
continues to pay dividends for Singapore's Asia Pacific Breweries,
which has reported a 19 per cent increase in profits for the first
quarter of 2005.
Jolt, an energy drink originally marketed in 1985, is being
re-launched in an innovative new aluminium beverage package from
Rexam Beverage Can North America.
Companies seeking to do business across the Atlantic face
significant hurdles if the United States and European Union do not
work to remove non-tariff trade barriers, claimed Coca-Cola chief
executive Neville Isdell.
Danone, the French dairy conglomerate, announced today that net
profits had plummeted 62 per cent, following the costly €600
million write down of its water-cooler business last month, Tom
Armitage reports.
Tate & Lyle's Splenda brand in the news again this week as
McNeil Nutritionals, the table-top supplier of this increasingly
popular sweetener, takes the US sugar industry to court.
The UK government has proposed a three-week consultation on the
accreditation of packaging waste reprocessors and exporters, in
order to allay fears that recycling targets will not be met.
Sales and consumer awareness of sweetener from UK manufacturer Tate
& Lyle look set to rise as number one global soft drinks player
launches a new version of Diet Coke, complete with Splenda
sucralose logo on the packaging, writes...
A substantial drop in organic sales growth in Asia and continued
problems with its eponymous anis brands were the only low points in
an otherwise impressive set of financial results for Pernod Ricard
in 2004, writes Chris Jones.
Coca-Cola is suing rival US beverage manufacturer Florida's Natural
because it believes the company has infringed on the patented
plastic carafe used by its Minute Maid Simply Orange juice brand.
The French authorities have come up with a €70 million rescue
package for ailing wine producers, but as Kim Hunter Gordon and
Chris Jones report, they have once again failed to tackle the
principal problem - massive overproduction...
Sweden's Absolut vodka has consolidated its position as the world's
third-largest international spirit brand with a 5 per cent increase
in shipments in 2004 - buoyed in particular by an excellent
performance in its most...
