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 »

American multi-national beverage corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, today reported strong third quarter and year-to-date 2011 operating results Releasing its third quarter results today, The Coca-Cola Company reported worldwide volume growth of 5 per cent in the quarter and 6 per cent in the year up to Tuesday 18 October 2011. It reported third quarter net revenues of US$12.2 Billion. The Coca-Cola Company reported growth in its sparkling beverages brands, with worldwide brand Coca-Cola volume growth... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola Amatil Australasia (CCAA) has invested A$35 Million in new “blowfill” technology at its Thebarton production facility in Adelaide, enabling the company to design and manufacture its own bottles using less raw materials. CCAA’s Managing Director, Warwick White, described the new technology as the single largest capital investment in the company’s history, adding that it will fundamentally change the nature of manufacturing in the business. He said, “The introduction of this technology... ...Read more »

In a world-first Australian experiment, Coca-Cola is replacing the “Coke” branding with one of 150 of Australia’s most popular personal first names for its next summer marketing campaign. The company has allocated 268 million bottles and cans for personalisation. The campaign will include the use of Youtube and Facebook, encouraging people to promote the personalised bottles and broadcast their own names via SMS for display on a major advertising sign in Sydney’s King’s... ...Read more »

The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partner, Coca-Cola Hellenic, today announced a new Russian investment program of US$3 billion over the next five years, commencing in 2012. The announcement coincides with the opening of Coca-Cola Hellenic’s newest plant, located in the Rostov region of Russia. Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent said, “The Coca-Cola Company is proud to be serving this great nation’s 140 million-plus consumers. Our system is part of the fabric... ...Read more »

The Coca-Cola Company and its Chinese bottling partners today announced a new investment of US$4 billion over the next three years, commencing 2012. By the end of 2011, Coca-Cola and its China bottling partners Swire Beverages Ltd. and COFCO Coca-Cola Beverage Co. Ltd. will have invested more than $3 billion in China over the last three years, bringing the total investment to $7 billion between 2009 and 2014 in the largest and fastest-growing consumer market in the world. Chairman and CEO of The... ...Read more »

The Coca-Cola Company has launched new plant-based recyclable plastic bottles for its Dasani bottled water and Odawalla juices, juice drinks, smoothies and protein drinks across the US. The new PlantBottle packaging is made from sugarcane ethanol instead of fossil fuels. Single-serve Odwalla packages are made from “up to 100 percent” plant-based materials with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. PET bottles for Dasani are made with “up to 30 percent” plant-based materials. The... ...Read more »

2011 can be a profitable year for consumer packaged goods brands but they must learn from 2010′s successes and failures. Research by Datamonitor identifies these successes and failures and the key factors behind why 2010 was a bumper year for some brands and the end of the road for others. Mark Whalley, consumer analyst at the independent market analyst said: “2011 will be a difficult year for brand innovators, so they can’t afford to make errors and will need to identify exactly... ...Read more »

The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company, and Chromocell Corporation, a company focused on using proprietary technologies to discover and develop novel flavor ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries, announced today that they are collaborating on flavor innovation research. This partnership agreement includes the discovery and development of sweetness enhancers, natural sweeteners and other flavor ingredients. This partnership is central to The... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola Amatil, the Australian-based bottler and distributor for Coca Cola across Oceania, has announced plans to invest A$100 million in Indonesia over three years, doubling the company’s investment in the country. The announcement was made at Coca-Cola Amatil’s annual investor presentation in Indonesia yesterday. “The opportunity for CCA in the Indonesian market is to participate in the growth in the consumption per capita of commercial beverages through increasing theavailability... ...Read more »