Karpati Water, a Sydney-based company, has come up with an innovative way of producing high quality drinking water from fruit. The method utilised in making water from fruit incorporates the process of making fruit concentrates. Fruit concentrates are typically made from steaming the fruit, with 3 out of 4 litres ’steamed’ off to make the end product. Karpati Water, however, is made from a ‘pressure-chilling’ process, which reportedly retains the high quality fruit water and makes... ...Read more »

Victorian-based Cool Change Natural Spring Water has launched Australia’s first beverage (spring water) packaged in a bottle made from plants, as they seek to “go green” in an industry often criticised for a lack of sustainability. Rather than packaging a drink in PET, a polymer (plastic) derived from crude oil, Cool Change Natural Spring Water bottles are made using Ingeo PLA, derived from annually renewable sources - plants. This new material is derived from plant sugars and requires... ...Read more »

Although brands account for the majority of volume with most types, private label permeates virtually every beverage category in the United States. Private label beverages, also known as store or home brands, can now be found in the largest and the smallest of beverage categories. Although carbonated soft drinks remain popular, as the market has evolved and consumer tastes have shifted, retailers in private label have moved into more non-carbonated products, like bottled water and fruit beverages,... ...Read more »

Isklar Norwegian glacial natural mineral water has scooped the highest accolade of Best Overall Concept and winner of the Platinum Award, as well as being awarded silver in the Best New Brand category, at this week’s 2008 Water Innovation Awards. The Awards, which recognise excellence and creativity on a unique global platform, were known as the Bottledwaterworld Awards for the past five years. An international panel of experts, made up of buyers and industry leaders, judged over two... ...Read more »

Energy drinks shook up the beverage market when they connected with consumers’ interest in something new and different. A decade later, a multitude of new categories vie for attention, as companies large and small seek the next style that will rocket to beverage industry success.Many of the American aspirants represent variations on existing categories, according to a report from Beverage Marketing - ‘Up-and-Coming Beverage Categories in the U.S.’. Just as energy drinks could be... ...Read more »

Global bottled water consumption advanced 6% to 206 billion litres in 2007, according to the new 2008 Global Bottled Water report from leading drinks consultancy Zenith International. Escalating demand for pure water in emerging markets outweighed the impact of poor summer weather in the most developed market of West Europe.Asia/Australasia reinforced its position as the largest regional market with a 26.5% share, achieving a 10% increase on 2006 volumes. Volumes climbed in all other regions except... ...Read more »

A test of packaged ham bought from supermarkets found nearly all had been pumped up with added water, consumer advocates CHOICE reports. The claims have since been queried by the Australian Food and Grocery Council. The consumer body’s analysis of 46 types of packaged ham found most contained chemicals specifically added to retain extra water, including phosphates to increase the water-binding capacity of the meat’s muscle fibres. One-third of the slices reportedly contained 20% or more... ...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 »

Victoria’s largest consumers of energy and water are expected to make big resource savings through the Brumby Government’s new Environment and Resource Efficiency Plans (EREP) program. The companies involved include a host of key food industry players. Victoria’s Environment and Climate Change Minister, Gavin Jennings, said EREP is the first program of its type in Australia and more than 250 sites across Victoria had answered the call to reduce energy and greenhouse gases, water... ...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 »