Breaking News on Beverage Technology & Markets

Krones posts first loss in nine years as equipment demand slumps

16-Mar-2010 - Krones has fallen into the red for the first time in nine years as demand in the packaging machinery market slumped worldwide by more than 25 per cent.

Diageo and Bacardi step up war of words over rum subsidies

02-Mar-2010 - A row between rum rivals Diageo and Bacardi escalated last week with the publication of a 13-page statement from Diageo accusing its competitor of leading a hidden campaign to sabotage its “public-private initiative” in the US Virgin Islands.

PepsiCo accepts Dr Pepper firewall to close bottling deal

02-Mar-2010 - PepsiCo has agreed to set up a ‘Chinese wall’ to ensure that the acquisition of its two largest bottlers does not jeopardise competition with rival Dr Pepper Snapple.

Coke unveils plan to buy most of its largest bottler

25-Feb-2010 - Coca-Cola has revealed plans to buy the bulk of its largest bottler following a similar move from rival PepsiCo last year.

Carlsberg beats Heineken on beer volume and profits

23-Feb-2010 - Brewing giants Heineken and Carlsberg have struggled through a tough year for beer and reported a mixed set of financial results.

Brewers brace themselves for Russian beer tax hike

22-Feb-2010 - Carlsberg and other big brewers operating in Russia are turning to premium products to protect themselves from a massive hike in excise duty on beer.

Rexam warns of beverage can weak spots

17-Feb-2010 - Rexam has warned that beer taxes in Russia and specialty can uncertainty may hold back its European beverage can sales in 2010.

News in brief

Diageo’s ‘other’ drinks outperform its priority brands

11-Feb-2010 - Diageo has reported that its group of priority brands performed worse than other brands in the latest quarter as consumers turn to cheaper options.

Kirin and Suntory break off merger negotiations

09-Feb-2010 - Plans to merge Kirin and Suntory and create a Japanese drinks powerhouse have fallen through as the companies fail to agree on terms.

News in brief

Unilever boosts year with promos and ads

04-Feb-2010 - Unilever has reported strong end of year sales on the back of a Q4 advertising drive, with particularly good progress in reestablishing volume growth in Western Europe.

Britvic drinks to sales success

02-Feb-2010 - Britvic has published revenue growth of 5.6 per cent for 2009 prompting some analysts to suggest that the soft drinks business is in a position to expand more aggressively.

Wild sells shares, plans global reach and IPO

28-Jan-2010 - Rudolf Wild GmbH has sold some shares to asset manager Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) in preparation for an eventual public listing, and plans to form a global flavour business with its US affiliate this year.

Weekly comment

Cheesed off – jingoism takes the spoils in the Cadbury battle

25-Jan-2010 - Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, quipped Mark Twain. Predictions of the demise of Cadbury following the approval of Kraft’s offer are premature and are flawed by knee-jerk anti-Americanism.

Bad weather in China contributes to flat SABMiller volumes

21-Jan-2010 - SABMiller has reported disappointingly flat beer sales as South African volumes continue to slide and heavy snow and wet weather suppress Chinese demand.

Heineken buys up FEMSA beer business

14-Jan-2010 - Heineken has acquired the beer operations of the Mexican drinks giant FEMSA in exchange for a 20 per cent share in the Dutch brewer.

News in brief

US listed Chinese fruit juice firm plans investment

07-Jan-2010 - SkyPeople Fruit Juice plans to use subsidies from the Chinese government to expand R&D facilities and invest in new processing equipment.

Tea prices could prompt over-supply, warns FAO

04-Jan-2010 - Record world tea prices in 2009 could cause some tea producers to plant more crops and lead to eventual oversupply to the market, the FAO warns.

Olam takes 20 percent stake in PureCircle

18-Dec-2009 - Olam has increased its stake in stevia company PureCircle to 20 percent, citing strong growth prospects for the company, and making PureCircle an associated company of Olam.

News in brief

San Miguel to buy Australasian packaging company

16-Dec-2009 - San Miguel Corp is poised to acquire a majority stake in Australasian packaging company Cospak Group as part of its expansion strategy in the region.

EU clears Amcor takeover of Alcan

15-Dec-2009 - Amcor’s takeover of Alcan has been cleared by the European Commission after the Australian company agreed to sell off two pharmaceutical and food packaging plants in Spain.

Heineken resolves Indian brewing conflict

08-Dec-2009 - Heineken has consolidated its investments in Asia to grow the Heineken brand in India and resolve a conflict that emerged from the Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) takeover last year.

Asahi reveals plan to join top food ranks

03-Dec-2009 - Japanese brewery Asahi has unveiled ambitious long-term growth plans that include the possibility of major acquisitions.

Nampak head delivers warning as profits slump

25-Nov-2009 - Nampak announced a 60 per cent fall in profits in 2009 as its chief warned that 20 per cent of its operations must either turnaround or face being closed or sold off.

Symrise buys into North Africa and Middle East

19-Nov-2009 - Symrise has acquired fragrance and flavours maker Futura Labs to tap into opportunities in the fast growing regions of North Africa and the Middle East.