Winemakers could seize the opportunity to create affordable global brands – along the lines of Heineken in beer – without using native grapes, as mainstream US consumers at least don’t seem too bothered by provenance.
GUINNESS BLACK LAGER IN US 'NOT THE SCALE OF SUCCESS WE WOULD HAVE LIKED'
Diageo’s beer innovation head insists the firm needs to strengthen Guinness’s premium credentials and 'reframe' the drink for a new generation of drinkers to reignite growth.
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Winegrowers in New Zealand have embarked on their largest ever research and development project in a bid to capitalise on the world’s growing taste for so-called “lifestyle wines”, which are lower in calories and alcohol.
Diageo says it see a massive opportunity for international spirits in the Asia Pacific and claims its scale lends it a significant competitive advantage in the region.
Rexam says that a move by Germany’s large discount retailers to relist cans would spur strong growth for the company in a country where can volumes collapsed suddenly in 2002.
The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says it is considering an offer by Diageo to sell most of its Whyte & Mackay whisky business to address UK retail concerns over its $2bn merger with United Spirits.
Europe is the epicentre of stevia-based beverage launches, and the sector is driving development of the all-natural sweetener, according to major supplier PureCircle.
Moonshine Drinks has launched a patented bag that allows drinkers to make 25 pints of beer simply by adding water amidst claims home brewing is the fastest growing hobby in the UK.
WINE VISION 2013: LIVE FROM THE SHOW FLOOR, NOVEMBER 18-20
Former Treasury Wine Estates boss David Dearie warns that Australian retailers Coles and Woolworths are turning the screw on the nation’s wine producers and insists the latter must consolidate to survive.
WINE VISION 2013: LIVE FROM THE SHOW FLOOR, NOVEMBER 18-20
Senior Amazon executive Bram Duchovnay says the multinational sees enormous potential in global alcohol sales but admits ‘there is a tonne of stuff that we don’t know at this point’.
Despite frequent calls from government leaders, researchers and advocacy groups to ban bisphenol A, demand for the chemical (frequently found in food packaging) continues to rise.
UK retailer Marks & Spencer is shaking-up its wine aisle and insists consumers don’t want ‘education’ but instead want to be transported, inspired and affirmed during the purchase experience.
WINE VISION 2013, LONDON SOUTH BANK, LIVE FROM THE SHOW
Marketing consultant Paul Henry, Wine Hero, says the main thing that keeps him up at night is a retail world for wine focused on three attributes – fast, good, cheap – with the latter cause for concern.
BRAND CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF COKE INVESTMENT
The CEO of Core Power – the first US dairy brand Coke invested in directly – says his firm is selling the ‘sex appeal of vitality’ with its high protein shakes, and plans further product launches.
Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes will close its Moscow brewery in January 2014 blaming a 20% slide in beer sales over the past five years due to tighter regulations that have led to excess capacity.
We caught up with Jim Beam’s social content manager Jason Miller to ask how ‘sexy’ spirits speak to different social media channels and the Beam Inc. bourbon brand’s successes in this space.
Carlsberg says the Russian beer market is ‘difficult’ and admits it misjudged the impact of kiosk closures and the blow this dealt its Baltika 7 brand in particular.
The Hong Kong government’s decision to scrap wine duty in 2008 has contributed to a 187% increase in the value of wine imports into Hong Kong since then.
Samuel Adams has launched the world’s first ever cigar seasoned with beer – notably its special edition 28% ABV Utopia brew that is finished in port and single-use bourbon casks.
BUT CONSUMER EDGE INSIGHT SURVEY SHOWS CHALLENGES FOR BEER
The US beer market is losing ground to spirits and wine among its core consumer groups but fruit-flavored brands such as AB InBev’s Bud Light Lime-a-Rita are attracting new female drinkers into the category.
DIGITAL DISPATCHES FROM E-BEV 2013, OCTOBER 23-25, DENVER
Anheuser-Busch says Facebook now beats any US broadcast network in terms of consumer reach when marketing brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light, with one key driver rapid smartphone uptake.
Simon McMurtie from Direct Wines group believes that ageing populations are the wine world’s biggest opportunity, since the drink coincides with older consumers’ desire to enjoy life.
BREWER ISSUES 'UNRESERVED APOLOGY' FOR CONCERN AND EMBARRASSMENT
Heineken-owned brand Bulmers admits it scored an advertising own goal by mistakenly using a picture of a teetotal Welsh Methodist minister instead of its founder's father to promote the cider.
Symington Family Estates joint MD Paul Symington insists it’s no good just talking about the 300 years of sweat that has gone into the firm’s stone terraces, it must adapt a traditional product to the modern world.
Molson Coors surprised the Street with its poor Q3 performance in Canada due to a high single-digit sales slump for Coors Light, but is the issue for such premium light beers secular rather than economic or climatic?
Hangover supplement start-up Alcotox, known in the UK as Vital X, exemplifies holes in theoretically unified health claims regulation within the EU, legal hounds say.
TECHNOLOGY ALSO CHILLS NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS IN CANS AND PET
Enviro-Cool has developed a device that chills drinks cans and bottles from room temperature to 4C in 45 seconds, using 80%+ less energy than standard front drinks chillers in grocery stores.
WINE INSTITUTE 'STRONGLY OPPOSES' CANADA'S POSSIBLE WINE PENALTY
Canada's minister of argiculture and agri-food warns that his country may impose retaliatory tariffs on US wines if the country does not revise or revoke controversial country of origin (COOL) labeling laws.
LONDON WINE CONFERENCE WILL HELP YOU THINK ‘OUTSIDE THE BOTTLE’
The organizer of Wine Vision says the conference has attracted top speakers including Miguel Torres and Dan Jago to help delegates think about the business of wine outside the bottle.
AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito admits the firm is suffering in Central and Eastern Europe because of an historic focus on high volume, value brands, but notes strong growth for Budweiser in Russia.
US wine drinkers who blame headaches on sulfites will pay a significant premium for bottles without them, according to a study hinting at access to a ‘substantial niche’ in the $32bn market.
Australians are forsaking domestic beer for foreign imports, according to new research of the beer segment that highlights how the public’s alcohol preferences have been changing quickly.
REUTERS ARTICLE GIVES NEW LIFE TO RUMORS OF POSSIBLE TIE-UP
SAB Miller’s association with Coca-Cola and AB InBev’s tie-up with PepsiCo in Latin America is one hurdle that could halt a mega merger between the world’s two biggest brewers, analysts suggest.
Molson Coors insists it fully complies with UK tax regulations after research organization Corporate Watch and The Independent claimed the company has avoided paying up to £67m ($108m) in UK corporation tax.
Over 320,000 people have signed a petition calling on Coke to condemn Russia’s ‘draconian’ new laws on homosexuality ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Carlsberg’s CEO says his firm remains well-positioned for future growth after breaking ground on Burma's 'first ever' international brewery and starting construction on another facility in China.
SAB Miller CEO Alan Clark says his company will work ‘over time’ to build beer demand and tap new consumption needs, stepping out of core lager and focusing on mixed-gender occasions.
‘Rampant domestic inflation’ means Argentine wine exports are under pressure, says Rabobank, but tapping new markets and targeting millennial consumers could aid competitiveness.
A US man is suing AB InBev for millions of dollars for allegedly deceiving consumers into thinking that Beck’s beer sold in the States is still brewed in Germany, although production shifted to Missouri in 2012.
Philosopher Julian Baggini has been commissioned by the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council to give his take on the serious issues affecting the industry. Here, he looks at how alcohol abuse can be tackled by using the brain more than legislative brawn.
Battle Creek-based microbrewer Arcadia Brewing Company has broken ground on a new facility set to open later this year in Kalamazoo that will initially triple its capacity and could ultimately increase it six-fold.
ANUGA TASTE THE FUTURE 2013: INNOVA MARKET INSIGHTS, PART 2
Innova Market Insights delved into its database for Anuga Taste the Future 2013 to provide an update on the flavor trends that are driving beverage innovation in Australasia and developing Asian, African and Middle Eastern markets.
Resveratrol compounds found in red wine and grape skins could make certain tumour cells more susceptible to radiation treatment, according to research from the University of Missouri.
