Changes in marketing direction and a quiet year with lawsuits have seen three big players in the energy category bounce back in the eyes of consumers, but what does 2014 hold for the brands?
Future Consumer Enterprise, the FMCG division of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, has been busy this week, announcing it will launch Sunkist in India, and divesting itself of Capital Foods, a major private-label brand.
D Shivakumar has been named as the new chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo India, a post that has been lying vacant since former incumbent Manu Anand quit the company in June to join Cadbury Kraft.
Sugar-sweetened and sugar-free beverages produce similar satiety in children, says a new study that challenges the oft-quoted hypothesis that artificially sweetened drinks make people crave sweeter foods or serve as an appetite stimulant.
The launch of Arla’s Bubble Latte beverage range in Denmark this summer shows future for bubbles as a dairy product addition beyond the short-lived bubble tea craze, according to Dohler.
Polish fruit juice manufacturer Sokpol has launched an aseptic line, packaged using Sidel’s “dry decontamination” technology. The move doubles Sokpol’s bottling capacity.
Mexico's Casa Cuervo has signed a deal with Russian Standard to distribute and market its Jose Cuervo tequila portfolio in Russia where demand for the spirit is soaring.
TEA ASSOCIATION OF CANADA STRESSES REGULATORY CONFORMANCE
Scientists have ‘significant concerns’ over the risk to pregnant women after finding high lead levels in a wide range of teas sold in Canadian grocery stores.
Having already formed alliances with PepsiCo, Asahi Group and others over the last three years, China’s Tingyi is looking to further boost its portfolio, according to its chief financial officer.
Italian labeling specialist PE Labellers is celebrating after Coke-owned Brazilian water brand Água Crystal scooped a packaging award that owes much to its technology.
SIG Combibloc expects its aseptic carton and filling business to “grow exponentially” in Africa in coming years as consumer demand for long-life dairy products rockets.
BEN WEISS, CEO: 'YOU HAVE TO SHOW THE CONSUMER YOUR SOUL'
The CEO of breakthrough coffee fruit-based soft drinks brand Bai 5 reveals his brand grew 400% in the past year but says he worries less about case sales than converting ‘Bai-lievers’.
WINE VISION 2013: WHAT CAN WINE BRANDS CAN LEARN FROM SPIRITS?
Absolut Vodka’s director of packaging development confesses he is surprised by the lack of innovation in wine packaging, and insists company size is no barrier to innovation.
China Huiyuan Juice Group – once a $2.4bn takeover target for The Coca-Cola Company – suspended trading in its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today due to ‘possible inside information’.
The lead researcher behind a high-profile paper showing energy drinks increase heart contraction rates has rejected claims by Monster Beverage Corp that the paper is ‘alarmist’ and stressed that “whether this increase in contractility is generally beneficial...
Krones has bought homogenizer and reciprocating pump producer HST Maschienbau, and says the deal fits its plans to upgrade its capabilities in juice and milk production.
1516 BREWING LAW COULD JOIN FALCONRY AND FLAMENCO ON UNITED NATIONS LIST
German brewers hope to have their much-vaunted Reinheitsgebot beer purity law accredited as a UNESCO world cultural treasure in time for its 500th birthday in 2016.
Swedish packaging systems supplier Ecolean sees huge potential for its new aseptic transparent pouch, and says it offers impressive shelf standout and consumer convenience.
CONSTELLATION BRANDS SLAMS 'VEXATIOUS' LITIGATION OVER UNTENABLE CLAIMS
Constellation Brands misled a Federal court by arguing that it would not co-ordinate beer prices rises to follow AB InBev after the Grupo Modelo takeover and then doing so, nine US beer drinkers claim.
A delegation from Scotland to India, on a trade mission to promote the country’s food and drink, has proved a hit with its whisky-loving hosts—not least with the announcement shortly afterwards that an Indian company would invest in a new malt distillery...
Avantium is to file a food contact application for the use of its biobased polymer in the next step of its partnership with Coca-Cola, Danone and ALPLA.
French Calvados producers are upset by a ‘vague’ European Commission response to their demand that Finnish retailers stop selling 'imitation' spirits they claim have hit exports.
Energy drinks significantly increase heart contraction rates in healthy young adults according to an ongoing study reported at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
It was revolving doors today in the Australian food and beverage industry as GrainCorp announced the departure of its chief executive, closely followed by Coca-Cola Amatil broadcasting its own new appointment.
These British émigrés all go down rather well in the US, and Britvic’s CEO now claims that soft drink Fruit Shoot is growing the $200m kids’ single-serve category where native brands fall short.
Sainsbury’s suggests it will not follow UK rival Morrison’s lead in banning the sale of energy drinks to children, but said it would follow suit if national laws changed.
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.
Tate & Lyle continued to tout its Drop by Drop flavoured ‘water enhancer’ at FIE in Frankfurt last week following on from successful product launches in the United States – but will it do so well in Europe?
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.
Coca-Cola has slammed official reports in Sri Lanka that production at the island's only bottling plant has been suspended for three months, as have all sales of the beverage on the island.
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Eminent cardiologist Gordon Tomaselli has warned against applying the results of a small study linking caffeinated coffee with better blood vessel function to other products such as energy drinks.
Irish dairy ingredients specialist Glanbia Nutritionals once filled its sights almost exclusively with the sports nutrition sector, but the explosion of interest in protein means the ‘ordinary’ mainstream food industry is a bigger and bigger target.
Consumption of sugar sweetened beverages may be associated with an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women, according to new data.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group has signed a deal with Princeton-based brand Bai 5 to extend distribution of the low calorie coffee berry-sweetened beverage across the US in 2014.
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.
CCU Chile, which works with Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, has installed a Sidel Matrix hotfill system to produce Gatorade sports’ drinks.
While consumer concerns over artificial sweeteners have been blamed - in part - for the funk the diet soda market currently finds itself in (click here), the fact remains that they are safe and effective tools for weight management, according to one obesity...
While the FDA has raised concerns about the recent proliferation of caffeine-containing products on the market, particularly those marketed at young people, new data suggests energy drinks and shots contribute “minimally” to total caffeine intakes, say...
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.
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’.
A judge has provisionally approved a $5.3m settlement between CytoSport and California plaintiff Claire Delacruz in a false advertising class action lawsuit over the marketing of Muscle Milk bars and beverages.
Big Interview: Greg Steltenpohl, CEO of Califia Farms and founder of Odwalla
“The slowdown of soft drinks is not going to be catastrophic for the beverage industry,” said Greg Steltenphol, CEO of beverage manufacturer Califia Farms and founder of Odwalla, discussing the recent slump in carbonated soft drink sales—particularly...
The FDA is preparing to finalize guidance clarifying the often hazy dividing line between liquid supplements and conventional beverages and foods as the debate over the proliferation of caffeine-containing products intensifies.
