BIG BEER HIT BY TAX HIKES, ADVERTISING & KIOSK SALES BANS

Coca-Cola Hellenic expects Coke sales to fizz as beer falls flat in Russia

Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH) insists its brands will continue to take market share in Russia from PepsiCo, as well as brewers hit by taxes and alcohol advertising and kiosk sales bans.

News in brief

Bacardi USA partners Coke and MIT to bring ‘spirits into digital age’

Bacardi USA has partnered with the Coca-Cola Company and university researchers to created a robotic bartending system called Makr Shakr, and says it can help ‘bring spirits into the digital...

Coca-Cola to offer low/no-calorie options in every market as it commits to 'being part of the solution' to obesity epidemic

Coca-Cola has pledged to offer low- or no- calorie beverage options in every market following criticism that it is still aggressively promoting full-sugar products in emerging markets while offering healthier options...

CCA boss defends Aussie Coke prices after blistering Coles attack

Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) MD Terry Davis has responded to an attack from the CEO of retail giant Coles, who claims that Coca-Cola costs Australian consumers too much at a 60%...

News in brief

Soft drinks stall in France as consumers trade down: Canadean

The French soft drinks industry has been hit hard by the government’s introduction of a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, according to market research firm Canadean, with consumers trading down to...

Coca-Cola Enterprises could cut up to 288 UK distribution jobs

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has warned that it could make up to 288 UK staff redundant as it exits its direct store delivery (DSD) operation serving the foodservice sector towards the...

DISPATCHES FROM THE 2013 INNOBEV GLOBAL BEVERAGES CONGRESS, WARSAW, POLAND

‘Many people are trying to put chains on our freedom’: UNESDA president

New UNESDA president Dominique Reiniche, also president of Coca-Cola Europe, warns that opponents ‘trying to put chains on our freedom to innovate’ risk stifling the development of the European soft...

Coke’s Himalaya plant plans spark environmentalists' fury

AN agreement between Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages and the Uttarakhand government to set up a Rs600cr (US$110m) manufacturing plant in Dehradun’s Vikas Nagar Tehsil has drawn the rage of local environmental...

News in brief

Coca-Cola to roll out caffeine-free Coke Zero this summer

A caffeine-free version of Coke Zero will hit US stores from mid-July to give fans a “great-tasting option for later-in-the-day consumption”, says Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola to hand back US distribution networks under refranchising strategy

Coca-Cola has revealed plans to begin handing back some of its US distribution network to independent bottlers – a move that is expected to improve the company’s profitability in North...

Can demographics, Trop50 and coconut water pull the US juice category out of its funk?

While the US juice market has been “essentially flat” for five years, Packaged Facts predicts stronger growth in future driven by reduced calorie products, better-for-you premium juices and blends, and...

Diet Pepsi doesn’t want design partners to ‘overshadow’ brand

PepsiCo tells BeverageDaily.com that it seeks partnerships with ‘relevant and attainable designers’ who keep the focus on the Diet Pepsi brand rather than overshadow it. 

News in brief

‘New ideas and new thinking’: UK Soft Drinks Industry Conference

‘New ideas and new thinking’ is the theme of Zenith International’s UK Soft Drinks Industry Conference, scheduled to take place on May 8 2013 at London’s Congress Center.

SNAP COMMENT

What can Kim Jong-Un learn from Coca-Cola?

What can Kim Jong-Un learn from Coca-Cola? Not much, aside from the 'art of modern spin', suggests New Yorker magazine blogger Evan Osnos, in an entertaining online piece published yesterday.

Coke polar bear kidnapped by students; firm fights prodigious water ‘waste’ claim

Coca-Cola has responded to a controversial Belgian ‘datavisualisation’ claiming that it ‘wastes’ 176bn liters of water per year, and that Coke may increase one’s obesity risk by 60%.

Coca-Cola loses 2012 UK soft drinks share to Pepsi

Coca-Cola lost UK volume share in 2012, while Pepsi grew both its volume and value share and Lucozade and Red Bull’s success reflected growing consumer interest in functional drinks.

News in brief

Coke is bigger than Jesus: Edgy French infographic

The Christian Post has explored the basis for claims made in an edgy French infographic that 94% of people globally recognize the name Coca-Cola but only 56% the cross representing Christianity.

9TH INNOBEV GLOBAL BEVERAGES CONGRESS ADDRESSES KEY ISSUES

‘Health, Environment, Choice’ hold sway in soft drinks: Zenith International

Health, the environment and consumer choice are the three main issues facing today’s soft drinks industry, according to InnoBev Global Beverages Congress 2013 organizer Zenith International.

‘One trip throwaway’ packaging suits beverage brand image: Canadean

Drinks market analysis firm Canadean says that, while it is surprising that a growing number of beverage packages are ‘one trip throwaways’ given environmental concerns, such packaging does offer  brands...

Coca-Cola seeks to clarify high-fiber slurpee patent stories

Contrary to some media reports, Coca-Cola is not developing a new high-fiber frozen beverage, but it did help develop Slurpee Lite - a low-calorie beverage launched in 7-Eleven last May,...

Scientists engineer E.coli caffeine ‘addiction’ in beverages, say bacteria could clean wastewater

Scientists in the US have genetically modified an E.coli strain so that it is ‘addicted’ to caffeine, where it feeds on the stimulant and serves as a  biosensor to measure...

Comment

CSPI Blues: Coke. Sugar. Shock. Horror. Pepsi. Pepper. Yawn…

The CSPI last week released a report arguing that big beverage uses philanthropy to protect its image and profits, and short circuits public health and regulatory policies aimed at limiting...

Coca-Cola: ‘A third of beverage industry growth could come from disruptive brands in categories that do not exist today’

A large chunk of the growth in the beverage category in North America over the next decade will come from products in categories that do not even exist today, predicts Coca-Cola’s...

Liquid profit: Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO tops US drinks rich list

As we await the latest Forbes league tables listing US executive pay, we look back at the 2012 list that saw Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO John Brock take the laurels as...