Physical health benefits associated with reduced alcohol consumption is helping drive demand for ‘low to no’. But could there also be something more holistic at play?
South Korea consumers are drinking more alcohol alone at home amid COVID-19, a trend which has driven fruit wine imports up but not managed to stop a downward slope for imported beers.
The UK’s Discarded Spirits has just unveiled a grape-based vodka, made using waste-products recovered from the wine making process, in an attempt to tap into consumer desire for zero waste ingredients.
Matching the complexity of wine’s flavors and aromas poses a sizeable challenge for low and no alcohol alternatives. But Muri – a range of NoLo wine alternatives launching in the UK – is drawing on fermentation techniques from kvass and kombucha to offer...
Belgian beer brand Grimbergen has unveiled its new Grimbergen Abbey Brewery: marking the first time in 200 years that beers have been brewed inside the walls of the abbey.
Kirin’s wine subsidiary Mercian Corporation has developed its first non-alcoholic sangria drink, designed to capture the attention of younger consumers.
Singapore-based Lion Brewery Co has tapped its e-commerce business and new concepts including subscription services to drive craft beer sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once the ABV of kombucha exceeds 0.5%, it’s classified as an alcoholic beverage. The KOMBUCHA Act would raise that threshold to 1.25% ABV, enabling brands to sell ‘authentic’ raw kombucha using traditional methods without becoming subject to federal alcohol...
Molson Coors Beverage Company has announced investments to increase hard seltzer production capacity in its Canadian operations by 300% and balance Canadian hard seltzer production between owned facilities and trusted third parties.
Just as the man made globally famous by a Netflix documentary outlining how he conned wine collectors out of millions of dollars was deported to his native Indonesia, a team of scientists from Australia believe they have found a fast and simple method...
For 20 years, Penderyn Distillery - The Welsh Whisky Company – based in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales, has been working to bring back the spirit of the original Welsh Whisky distillery at Frongoch, near Bala, which closed more than 100 years ago due...
From e-commerce to lower alcohol products, Jamie Williams, managing partner at London advertising agency isobel, explores five post-COVID trends to watch in the wine industry.
Pulpex, a sustainable packaging tech company established by Diageo, and Stora Enso are partnering to industrialize the production of eco-friendly paper bottles and containers made from wood fiber pulp.
AB InBev’s Beyond Beer business – which includes brands such as Mike’s Hard, Flying Fish and Bud Light Seltzer - generated more than $1bn in 2020 and grew by more than 40% in Q1, 2021.
As last year’s sober-curious, zero-proof alcohol movement took off, with some consumers seeking to cut down their alcohol consumption, global ingredient supplier Kerry experienced a surge in demand for its Botanical Collection ZERO portfolio of distillate,...
UK’s premium mixer brand Fever-Tree is ramping up its Asia-Pacific expansion with a launch into South Korea this year, and rolling out its low-calorie range into more markets.
On-trade beer sales in Europe plunged 42% in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Getting the hospitality industry back up and running will be key to the beer industry’s recovery in 2021, says the Brewers of Europe.
Product names or descriptors such as ‘CBD gin’ or ‘rum infused with CBD’ could prove problematic in the UK, says the Portman Group, as it sets out guidance on marketing CBD.
Heineken will ensure it offers two zero-alcohol options in the majority of its markets by 2023: driven by Heineken 0.0 and a portfolio of 130 non-alcoholic line extensions.
The New Zealand wine harvest is nearing completion, and although it is still too early to confirm final numbers the overall crop size will be down on previous years.
Constellation Brands has formed a standalone, vertically integrated fine wine and craft spirits business unit ‘to enable its aspiration to be the #1 leader in the fine wine category and among the top portfolios in cult and luxury wine’.
Protein bar brand SOBAR, produced by California-based Zeno Functional Foods, is gearing up to launch in the US and expand into Asia this year with its reformulated products that are said to reduce alcohol absorption.
Japanese brewery giants Asahi and Kirin are reacting cautiously to the government’s push to include alcoholic content by gramme on product labels, though both will be implementing changes which experts believe will be emulated by the rest of the industry...
It’s no secret that hard seltzers are a massive US success story: but part of the excitement around the category is the continued potential for the future. “It’s not just the current size of the category, which is attention grabbing enough, but the fact...
Coca-Cola Amatil (Amatil) is putting its sale to Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) to the vote next month, and the company has told shareholders the deal is as good as it gets, warning that share prices could fall if it doesn’t go ahead.
Corona is launching sustainable, renewable packaging made from surplus barley straw in South America this month, an innovation that it hopes to roll out globally in the future.
By Émilie Steckenborn, founder and host of the Bottled in China podcast
A significant proportion of wine's carbon footprint comes from packaging. Could paper bottles reduce its impact? In this guest article, Émilie Steckenborn asks whether a transition to paper could happen in the near future.
Processed fruit products and wines topped the list of food and beverage imports into South Korea last year, whereas past star performers beer and imported kimchi numbers suffered severe drops as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A keen sense of taste and smell is a fundamental part of being an oenologist - or working just about anywhere in the wine industry. So what happens when a professional - who depends on these senses - loses them from COVID-19?
For those who know Cachaça, it is usually associated with a Caipirinha cocktail. But the drink has far more to offer: and promoting the diversity and versality of the Brazilian spirit to bartenders, distributors and consumers can help it achieve its potential...
Coca-Cola Amatil does not expect any major changes to its recently-published 20-year sustainability plan even if its takeover transaction with Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) plays out as planned and ownership of the firm changes.
AB InBev’s Brazilian beer business delivered strong performance in 2020, despite the challenges of the year. A combination of speedy innovation, premium brand strength and digital developments have been the key to success in the country, says the company....
