Lion, the Kirin-owned food and drinks company, has reported a 6.7 increase in volumes for its Australian beer, spirits and wine operations during the first quarter. Announcing its alcohol and business Q1 results for the 13 weeks ending 1 March 2012, Kirin said that despite the total beer market in Australia declining, its alcohol and beverages business grew revenue and profit, with a 4.6 per cent increase in sales to AU$502.5 million for the quarter. Lion’s core trademarks performed well, with... ...Read more »

The world’s largest beverage company, the Coca-Cola Company, has denied media reports that it has been in talks to acquire Monster Energy Corporation. Monster Beverage Corporation manufactures energy drinks and fruit drinks including Monster Energy. The company manufactures products both in the United States and internationally including Australia. Were it to go ahead, the acquisition would be one of the biggest in Coca-Cola’s history. In Australia, Monster Energy drinks are distributed... ...Read more »

A wide-ranging survey by Australian consumer advocacy group Choice has found a that quarter of juice box products (also known as ‘juice poppers’) contain 25 per cent or less fruit juice. Choice compared the percentage of juice, sugar content, serving-size, vitamin C, additives and price of 100 juice box products sold in Australia. Commenting on the survey’s findings, Choice said parents should think twice before packing juice poppers (also known as juice boxes) in their children’s... ...Read more »

People in the UK are significantly misjudging the amount of sugar in popular drinks, particularly those perceived as “healthy” options, according to new research by the University of Glasgow, in Scotland. The researchers asked 2,005 people from across the UK to estimate how many teaspoons of sugar were in some of the UK’s most popular drinks. Whilst people generally slightly overestimated the amount of sugar in carbonated drinks, they significantly underestimated the sugar levels in a milkshake,... ...Read more »

One of Australia’s leading consumer product surveys, Product of the Year, today released its third annual survey results for innovative new products in the Australian supermarket retail industry. Product of the Year was established 25 years ago in France and currently operates in 28 countries worldwide. For a product to be eligible for the survey, each product must be one that has launched 18 months before the survey and a proven established product in the relevant market. Seven thousand Australian... ...Read more »

Australia is presently suffering a severe shortage of CO2 required for soft drinks to bubble. Ironically, the Australian Federal government recently passing a law to impose a carbon tax (still to come into effect) and this law aims to discourage production of carbon dioxide (CO2). In actual fact, the current shortage is  a consequence of necessary State government protective measures responding to non-comformances with environmental safety laws  by an upstream supplier to the CO2 plant.The temporary... ...Read more »

Australian governments have been investigating the concept of a Container Deposit Scheme that will encompass the whole country. Currently, the Northern Territory is due to implement its own CDS system on 3 January 2012. In South Australia, Australia’s first Container Deposit Scheme began operating operating in the State of 1977. An investigation by Australia’s Environment Ministers has now found that the cost of a national Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) would be between A$1.4 billion and A$1.8... ...Read more »

International research body, Innova Market Insights, has identified five key trends that it claims will impact the Australian food and beverage market through 2012 and beyond. According to Innova, the top trends for 2012 relate purity, authenticity and sustainability, as consumers continue to look for products with added value, despite the ongoing economic uncertainty. Innova’s top five trends are as follows: ‘Pure’ is the new ‘natural’: Natural products are becoming the rule rather... ...Read more »

The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have given their approval for the use of steviol glycosides, a natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant, as an ingredient in foods and beverages in the European Union. The new regulatory policy will enter into force twenty days after it is published in the EU Official Journal.  This means that products sweetened with steviol glycosides could be available to consumers across Europe by as early as 3 December 2011. Steviol glycosides are considered... ...Read more »

The Canadian Government has announced it will reform the way it regulates energy drinks in Canada. Energy drinks are non-alcoholic beverages characterised by the addition of ‘energy enhancing’ ingredients. These may include a number of water-soluble B vitamins, amino acids and other substances, and caffeine. The proposed Canadian legislation includes: A cap on the amount of caffeine that can be included in an energy drink at 180 mg per single serving. In addition to current labels that... ...Read more »