Coca producers in Peru are creating a new application for the plant
in energy drinks and health foods, steering their industry away
from the drugs trade, according to a report.
A number of new ingredients targeting the bakery and beverage
markets in particular have been launched this month, helping bakers
improve volumes, reduce costs and lift product safety or improving
both the look and mouthfeel of juice...
A multi-functional beverage wet laboratory and an in-house data
system are two of the final touches to the new flavour Creative
Centre of the Quest Flavour business, based at the company's
international headquarters in Naarden,...
The UK's environmental regulator has cautioned food and drink
manufacturers that if they fail to comply with essential
environmental legislation they risk hefty fines. The warning comes
as a website is launched to help small...
Growth in the RTD spirit sector might be slowing in mature markets
such as the UK, but other European countries are just now starting
to see the first such drinks appear on supermarket shelves,
tailored for local tastes. In the beer-loving...
The British are the biggest consumers of instant coffee in Europe,
driven by the desire for speed and convenience. But new research
from Mintel shows that many of the new instant coffee products
launched over the last year were not...
Campari, the global player in the spirits sector, has reported an
acute increase in sales for the first quarter of 2004. The weak US
dollar had an affect on the company's results but it witnessed good
organic growth spurred on...
Plzenskly Prazdroj, part of the SABMiller group, has launched a low
alcohol lemon-apple flavoured malt drink onto the Czech market, the
first of its kind.
Narzan, one of Russia's best-known mineral water companies, has
received a loan for $12.25 million from the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development as part of a combined equity
investment scheme.
With major deals of the scale of Morrison's takeover of Safeway now
all but banned by the UK competition authority, the focus of
attention has turned to the convenience store sector, where the
regulator has been surprisingly...
People who shift their caffeine 'buzz' from a morning dose to small
amounts consumed throughout the day could avoid falling asleep, may
perform well on cognitive tests, and sleep soundly at night.
The Beverage Can Makers in Europe (BCME) has welcomed the advocate
general's conclusions in the EU Court cases regarding the German
packaging regime. He found that the discriminatory elements of the
German packaging order regarding...
Krones, the market leader for beverage filling and packaging
machinery, has reported increased order bookings, sales revenues
and profits for the first quarter of 2004 despite gloomy prognoses
for the German economy. This bodes well...
Corbett Canyon, the largest US wine brand, is converting all its
750ml bottles to Stelvin screw top closures in order to protect
them from cork taint. But with many consumers still attached to the
cork, are manufacturers too eager...
SABMiller, one of the world's largest brewery groups, has increased
its presence in the Romanian market after announcing the
acquisition of a controlling stake in leading local brewer Aurora.
Chivas Brothers, the company behind the brand Pernod Ricard has
announced the launch of new packaging for its flagship brand Chivas
Regal 12. The company said that the new look coincides with the
group's revamp of the whiskey's...
Spain's soft drinks market is expected to grow by around 7 per cent
this year, a slight slowdown compared to 2003's heatwave-boosted
performance but nonetheless healthy growth driven by premium and
functional products.
RFID has arrived. Long hailed as the next IT revolution for
industry, communicating labels are being forced into place by
retailers and legislators alike, leaving manufacturers racing to
implement a newborn technology steeped in unknowns,...
Pernod Ricard, the world's third largest wine and spirits group,
has reported a slight dip in sales for the first quarter of 2004.
The group's established brands performed well in the US and Asia
Pacific regions, but its...
Harbin, the leading Chinese brewery, has advised shareholders to
resist SABMiller's takeover bid for the company. The bid was
influenced by Ancheuser-Busch's 29 per cent acquisition of the
company earlier in the week. SABMiller...
SABMiller, the second largest brewer in the world, said it intends
to increase its 29 per cent stake in Harbin, China's leading
brewer. The announcement comes in direct response to rival brewer
Anheuser-Busch's move to secure...
Investigations into whether Coca-Cola overshipped drink concentrate
to distributors in some markets in order to inflate its financial
results has intensified. A federal grand jury has been scheduled
and employees subpoenaed according...
Anheuser-Busch has confirmed that it is to buy a 29 per cent stake
in China's Harbin Brewery Group - a deal that will increase its
presence in the world's largest beer market, but not without
treading on a few feet.
The British arm of brewing giant Interbrew will work alongside the
government to combat the problem of alcohol abuse, even though it
still remains unconvinced about the long-term effectiveness of the
government's Alcohol Harm...
Cafédirect, the UK's largest supplier of ethical tea and coffee
under the Fairtrade mark, has reported record sales for the year to
end March - a performance which confirms the growing importance of
ethical food and drink products...
After a decade of concentrating on the ready-to-drink sector,
leading alcohol brand owners in the UK are turning their attention
to other segments as RTD sales begin to stagnate. Widespread growth
in the liqueur market means that...
Exports of US wine - 90 per cent of which comes from California -
grew by nearly 30 per cent in 2003, helped by its continued
popularity in the UK. While the weakness of the dollar undoubtedly
contributed to the good growth in Britain...
Interbrew, the leading global brewer, has posted a sharp increase
in sales for the first quarter of 2004. The performance of its key
global brands, Stella Artois and Beck's, helped the group to
achieve an organic growth of 11...
Scottish and Newcastle (S&N), the UK's leading brewery, plans
to close its Tyne Brewery in Newcastle and acquire Federation
Brewery from Northern Clubs Federation Brewery (NCFB). Both plants
have been operating below industry...
A recent market reports shows that in the Czech Republic - one of
the most developed markets in Central and Eastern Europe - the
consumption of soft drinks is rapidly catching up with the western
Europe average.
Sabaté has this week unveiled the successful results of a trial of
a new natural closure which it claims should remove the risk of
wine taint caused by compounds in cork - good news for the vast
majority of wine drinkers who still...
European regulators have forced Germany to rethink its
controversial - and commercially damaging - deposit system for
one-way packaging, ruling that it contravened regulations on the
free movement of goods between EU member states....
Scotch whisky exports reached their second highest level ever in
2003, confirming Scotland's favourite spirit as one the biggest
sources of revenue for the UK manufacturing sector and the
government's coffers. All the more...
Last year's stockpiling of bottled water in advance of the Iraq war
had a beneficial effect on first quarter sales at Nestlé Waters,
the Swiss-based bottled water group, but meant that this year's
figures showed a significant...
A group of Slovakian fruit juice producers has taken it upon
themselves to implement a voluntary system to help sustain levels
of quality for their products.
French closures company Sabaté has developed a new wine cork that
has been treated with a TCA-extraction process. The technology is
designed to solve the problem of corkage, while avoiding the need
to use unpopular closures such as...
Diageo, maker of Guinness, Ireland's iconic stout drink, said it
plans to close its London brewery by the summer of 2005 and
consolidate production at its historic St James's Gate brewery in
Dublin. The company said the...
US colours and flavours group Sensient continues to feel the impact
of soft markets in North American food and beverage segments,
particularly synthetic colours, posting a further drop in income
for the first quarter of 2004. Pressure...
Sweden's Vin & Sprit (V&S) is to launch the first
ready-to-drink variant of its popular Absolut vodka brand in the
Canadian market. The launch comes at a time when global RTD sales
are on the decline, but the company...
African gum stocks dropped off at the end of 2003 driving up prices
for acacia gum - a natural emulsifier used extensively in food and
beverage applications - squeezing margins for manufacturers. French
hydrocolloid firm Colloides...
Coca-Cola is set to initiate talks with the European Commission in
an attempt to resolve an antitrust case against the group. This is
the latest difficult challenge to have emerged - Coca-Cola has
already had to deal with the Dasani...
Agilent Technologies and Swiss-based Metrohm have developed a
high-sensitivity method of detecting perchlorate in surface and
drinking water. Perchlorate, an explosive propellant used in rocket
fuel, is a widespread and potentially...
Most food companies are too short-term focused when it comes to
adopting new technology, claims a packaging expert. They need to
adopt long-term strategic planning and pay closer attention to
changing trends if they wish to stay ahead...
Swiss drinks packaging equipment provider SIG Combibloc says that
the continuing growth of the soft drinks market in Hungary is
likely to support a period of growth that will last well into next
year.
The Baltic drinks market is awash with activity at the moment, with
both Coca-Cola and A. Le Coq making new soft drink launches and
Saku signing a co-operative agreement enabling it to access the
lucrative Finnish beer market.
Starbucks, the leading coffee retailer and coffee shop operator, is
to team up with wine and spirits group Jim Beam Brands to develop
and market a Starbucks branded coffee liqueur drink. Both companies
have a good track record for...
Amersham, an international bioscience company with a background in
the pharmaceutical industry, is hoping to find new markets for a
number of its products in the food and beverage industry. First on
its list is the brewing sector,...
Roasted ground coffee is still by far the biggest category in the
German coffee market, but sales dropped by 2 per cent last year as
consumers switched to more exciting variants such as Cappuccino and
Espresso, writes Chris Jones.
A brand of wine packaged in Tetra Prisma 500ml packaging has been
launched in the US. This is the first wine to packaged in this way,
and the company behind it believes it offers consumers greater
convenience and freshness.
