PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, has announced a ‘Productivity for Growth Intiative’ expected to provide the company with savings of US$1.2 billion. The expected savings are to be invested in brand building, long-term R&D, innovation and growth initiatives in key markets. Approximately 3,300 jobs will go worldwide as the American company seeks to improve on their third quarter net revenue growth of 11 per cent - which failed to meet expectations.... ...Read more »
After almost a decade of research and 4 years of submissions, CQUniversity’s efforts have paid off with approval of the natural sweetener steviol glycosides (stevia), as an ingredient in foods and beverages in Australia and New Zealand.The Australian food authority FSANZ has approved the use of the natural sweetener and this will be gazetted tomorrow, October 9. The stevia plant, renowned for its extraordinary sweetness, is now being considered worldwide as a suitable substitute for sugar.... ...Read more »
The US carbonated soft drink market’s long battle to achieve growth persists and marketers are consequently placing greater emphasis on increasing the channels of distribution, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation - a leading market research and consulting firm. After six straight years of sub-1% growth, volume declined for the third straight year in 2007. Prior to 2005, the market had not declined in at least 20 years. US carbonated soft drink volume has not increased at... ...Read more »
The Council of Better Business Bureaus has released its first report on the progress that participants in BBB’s groundbreaking self-regulation program - the ‘Children’s Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative’ - have made in changing the children’s food and beverage advertising landscape. BBB has assessed the participants’ compliance with their pledges regarding child-directed advertising of their food and beverage products and concluded that the participants... ...Read more »
The use of the stevia plant to create natural sugar substitutes threatens to become the new battleground for the traditional Coke and Pepsi rivalry to play out. Coca-Cola has teamed with Cargill to create their own natural sweetener from the plant, while PepsiCo has joined with Whole Earth Sweetener to create PureVia. Pepsi’s version, derived from stevia, has no calories and provides a natural sweetener for food and drink products. PepsiCo reports that PureVia will debut in a new nutritionally... ...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 »
In a move believed to be a world first, 37 of the UK’s leading food and consumer goods companies yesterday announced a major transport collaboration that will significantly reduce the environmental impact of transporting food and groceries in the UK. Initiatives such as sharing vehicles and more efficient warehousing will result in the industry saving 48 million miles of travel by the end of 2008 alone - equivalent to removing 800 lorries from Britain’s roads - and conserving 23 million... ...Read more »