Despite the wettest summer since records began in 1914, UK soft drinks consumption dipped by less than 1% in 2007 to 14,215 million litres, achieving a retail value of £12,940 million, according to the latest UK soft drinks report from leading drinks consultancy group Zenith International. The fall was due in no part to ‘health drinks’, which managed to gain ground on other sectors within the sector despite the overall fall in sales. “Health, wellbeing, functionality and convenience... ...Read more »
The first snow of the Australian ski season is many things to many people. A heavy fall of the prized white commodity is annually prayed for by devotees in the pursuit of fun - from snowboarding and skiing to throwing a fistful of it at your unsuspecting mate. Rarely is it used as an ingredient to brew beer. That’s exactly what has happened, however, as Snowy Mountains Brewery founder Kevin O’Neill used his first snow sighting at Charlotte Pass in late June to good effect, stocking... ...Read more »
A variety of weather-related problems has severely impacted the world’s supply of lemons, with shortages of around 30% expected this year, according to Givaudan, the world’s largest flavours company. This, in turn, is driving up lemon oil prices significantly. Compared with 2004, these have increased more than fivefold, putting a particular strain on the beverage industry, one of the largest consumers of lemon oil globally. Givaudan Flavours is launching its solution to help... ...Read more »
The introduction of more environmentally-friendly packaging is beginning to lead to changes in the beverage industry, particularly within the bottled water sector. Traditionally plastic bottles have been made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a petroleum-based plastic, but new options are beginning to crop up. One such example is made from Ingeo, a plant based natural plastic. NatureWorks LLC, the makers of Ingeo, claim that if all plastic PET beverage bottles made from crude oil sold today... ...Read more »
A website has been set up by the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) to highlight the millions being reaped by the Federal Government following the introduction of the controversial alcopops tax. In the wake of concern about binge drinking in Australia the Rudd Government announced a 70 per cent increase on taxes imposed on alcopops (ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages), which was introduced before being passed through the Senate. It has since been attacked by some as being... ...Read more »
Pressure has been mounting on caffeinated alcohol beverages as US consumer groups look to ban such products. With binge drinking a concern, it appears the focus has now spread from alcopops to caffeinated alcohol products. Anheuser-Busch has announced that they will remove the caffeine, guarana, and ginseng from their flavored malt beverages Tilt and Bud Extra. The move comes as part of agreements reached with the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which in February threatened... ...Read more »
The energy drink market has become increasingly competitive, as beverage companies seek to capitalise on the desire for consumers to find an energy boost during their day. The global energy drink industry, which has been one of the top performing beverage sectors over the past decade, is still dominated by Red Bull despite several attempts by beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola to take a chunk out of their market share. In Australia and New Zealand ‘V’, owned by Frucor Beverages,... ...Read more »
InBev have reaffirmed their interest in Anheuser-Busch via a letter prodding a response from the American company. The unsolicited takeover bid, which values Anheuser-Busch at US$46.3b, was made two weeks ago, but Anheuser-Busch has since remained coy about their possible response. It has been reported that members of the Busch family are divided about the potential takeover, while the company’s second largest shareholder, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, had been in support of... ...Read more »
The American Beverage Association, a trade organization representing manufacturers and distributors of non-alcoholic drinks, has criticized the decision by a committee of the US Conference of Mayors to discourage the use of bottled water as “sound-bite environmentalism”. The resolution was reportedly passed narrowly after contentious debate amongst mayors and will result in a phase out of city spending on bottled water and an attempt to reduce purchases of the beverage. The bottled... ...Read more »
The Australian Government is not the only government making policy changes to curb binge drinking rates as concern spreads worldwide. Like the Rudd Government, the American Government has increased alcopop taxes, while England is considering increasing prices of alcohol in supermarkets. Scotland, though, are planning to go further, with a range of initiatives planned to limit binge drinking. The Scottish Government yesterday launched its new approach with the aim of changing Scotland’s... ...Read more »