Consumer interest in beverages and food produced without toxic chemical pesticides, synthetic hormones, artificial ingredients, antibiotics or preservatives have turned the United States into the world’s largest market for organic products. The organic beverage market remains rather small, Beverage Marketing Corporation’s new ‘Organic Beverages in the U.S.’ report reveals, but it enjoys fierce growth and an expanding presence in mainstream retail outlets.Indeed, the organic... ...Read more »
The reputation of global coffee chain leader Starbucks has taken a hit in recent months, with declining sales leading to 600 store closures in America and a further 61 in Australia (more than two-thirds of their Australian outlets). The company is by no means in dire straits, quarterly revenue of US$2.57 billion highlights that point, but things certainly don’t look as rosy as they did just a couple of years ago. Starbucks posted their first quarterly loss on Wednesday since going public in... ...Read more »
Starbucks has announced they will close more than two-thirds of their Australian outlets by Sunday August 3. The decision to close 61 of their 84 Australian stores was finalised following a meeting of store managers yesterday afternoon, and comes at the end of a turbulent month for the company. The American coffee giant announced earlier this month that they would close 600 stores in America as part of their “transformation strategy” in the wake of declining sales caused, in part, by... ...Read more »
Starbucks cafés are set to close at 2pm this afternoon for a meeting between managers, which has fuelled speculation the company may close stores in Australia. An email sent to the Sydney Morning Herald last night suggested that store managers were asked to shut up shop at 2pm to attend a 4pm meeting, and rumours are beginning to circulate that the Seattle-based giant may even pull out of Australia. The news comes following the announcement of 600 store closures in the US at the beginning of the... ...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 »
Starbucks Corporation has announced the next step in its multi-faceted plan to transform the company, with a decision to close approximately 600 underperforming company-operated stores in the U.S. market. The decision followed extensive evaluation of their US company-operated store portfolio and includes the 100 stores targeted for closure in the company’s previously announced plans. In addition, Starbucks now expects to open fewer than 200 new U.S. company-operated stores in fiscal 2009, below... ...Read more »
The number one ground coffee brand in the US has been involved in a merger deal worth approximately US$3.3 billion. The J. M. Smucker Company and The Procter & Gamble Company yesterday announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge the Folgers coffee business into The J. M. Smucker Company. Folgers is currently owned by global giant Procter & Gamble, responsible for the Gillette and Pringles brands among many others, and is the leading producer of retail packaged coffee products... ...Read more »
McDonald’s is attempting to appeal to the growing number of Australian consumers looking for environmentally friendly products. Via their McCafe outlets, McDonald’s are planning to ensure that all the coffee they sell comes from environmentally friendly coffee growing areas. To do this they will need to source almost 500 tonnes of coffee this year from farms in South America which undergo an annual inspection by the Rainforest Alliance, an international not-for-profit conservation... ...Read more »
The world’s largest beverage company, the Coca-Cola Company, has combined with premium coffee producer illycaffé to produce ready-to-drink coffee beverages. The new beverages were released in ten European countries last month and additional countries in Europe, Asia, North America, Eurasia and the Pacific are slated for expansion throughout the remainder of 2008 and into 2009, and will be delivered via The Coca-Cola Company system. Through the joint venture, Ilko Coffee International,... ...Read more »