Breaking News on Beverage Technology & Markets

News in brief

Britvic creates 60 jobs at Rugby canning factory

15-Feb-2011 - Britvic has taken on around 60 new staff at its soft drinks canning factory in Rugby in preparation for a switch to round-the-clock production to meeting growing demand.

Soft drink rivals send out commodity cost warnings

14-Feb-2011 - PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Company have warned of cost inflation going into 2011 as both companies face up to commodity price increases.

Weak Euro economies dampen Diageo results

10-Feb-2011 - Diageo has taken a hit in the last 6 months of 2010 from weak performance in the struggling economies of Iberia, Greece and Ireland.

GLG says Chinese demand could help boost 2011 business by up to 60%

02-Feb-2011 - Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has said its business is likely to increase by 50 to 60 percent in 2011 compared to a year earlier, mainly due to increased demand in China.

News in brief

Rexam shares jump on contract negotiation news

01-Feb-2011 - Shares in Rexam rose sharply yesterday on news that customer contract negotiations in the North American division of its beverage can business have been completed successfully.

UK cold snap contributes to Britvic UK’s tough quarter

31-Jan-2011 - Britvic has blamed last year’s snow and ‘adverse weather conditions’ for the drop in sales in its UK drinks sector during the company’s last quarter.

News in brief

PepsiCo gains Russian approval for Wimm-Bill-Dann deal

27-Jan-2011 - PepsiCo has received all the necessary regulatory approvals from the Russian authorities required to close its acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann.

Kirin enters new soft drink joint venture in China

25-Jan-2011 - Kirin Holdings has invested $400m in a new soft drinks joint venture with China Resources Enterprise as it looks for growth opportunities outside the stagnant Japanese market.

Refresco to take first step into Italian private label market

20-Jan-2011 - Refresco has made its first move into the Italian market for private label soft drinks by announcing its intention to buy biggest local player Spumador.

News in brief

Carlsberg ups ownership of leading Belarus brewer

19-Jan-2011 - Carlsberg Group has increased its ownership stake in OJSC Olivaria Brewery – the third biggest brewer in Belarus.

SABMiller posts better than expected European volumes

18-Jan-2011 - SABMiller has reported a three per cent increase lager volume in the third quarter, driven by better than expected volume in Europe and emerging markets.

Heineken buys up five Nigerian breweries

13-Jan-2011 - Heineken has acquired a controlling interest in five Nigerian breweries in a move that takes its share of the fast-growing market to over two-thirds.

Weekly comment

CAP reform circus re-opens - but this time it’s serious

10-Jan-2011 - Roll up, roll up, the Great CAP Reform Circus is back in town. Missing those long arguments about the future of farm support? Hungry for more debate about how best to limit spiraling European farm commodity prices?

Britvic cuts 100 commercial jobs in Irish rethink

06-Jan-2011 - Britvic has revealed plans to cut as many as 100 jobs in Ireland as the soft drinks maker comes up against an economy in freefall.

News in brief

Nichols 2010 profits to beat market expectations

06-Jan-2011 - UK-based soft drinks firm Nichols has revealed in a pre-close trading statement that its full year profits will be ahead of current market expectations.

Wimm-Bill-Dann goes east as Russia approves PepsiCo deal

05-Jan-2011 - Wimm-Bill-Dann has acquired a dairy plant in eastern Russia as the government gives its approval for PepsiCo to acquire the company.

News in brief

Pernod Ricard completes sale of New Zealand wine brands

04-Jan-2011 - Pernod Ricard New Zealand has announced the completion of the sale of Lindauer and several other wine brands to a consortium of buyers for (NZD) $89m (around €50m).

Carlsberg sells Dresden brewery, increases China investment

04-Jan-2011 - Carlsberg has sold a brewery in Dresden to Frankfurter Brauhaus in order to focus on key brands in the region. The Danish brewer has also just increased its investment in the Chinese firm Chongqing Brewery.

Big brewers were right to go on the M&A trail, says Rabobank

14-Dec-2010 - A new Rabobank report suggests that the consolidation strategy employed by the biggest global brewers is paying dividends.

News in brief

PepsiCo ups investment in coconut water firm to majority stake

09-Dec-2010 - PepsiCo has increased its investment in coconut water company O.N.E. despite supply issues that have affected the market in 2010.

Comment

PepsiCo pays a high price for a gamble in Russian dairy

08-Dec-2010 - When PepsiCo put up $5.4bn last week to acquire Wimm-Bill-Dann, it was seduced by the promise of high revenue growth but like any high-yield investment the Russian deal does not come without risks.

PepsiCo to buy Wimm-Bill-Dann in eventual $5.4bn deal

02-Dec-2010 - PepsiCo has revealed its intention to buy 66 per cent of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods for $3.8bn with plans to acquire the remaining shares following completion of the initial deal.

EC must reverse decision on out-of-quota sugar and release internally, CIUS

19-Nov-2010 - The CIUS is calling for the European Commission to act now to keep sugar supplies within the EU market rather than export the sweetener, with it claiming that EU based confectioners and other food and drink manufacturers are facing sugar supply difficulties.

Workers 'dismay' as Twinings pockets €12m EU fund for new Polish site

01-Nov-2010 - Twinings workers are “genuinely dismayed” by news that the firm has signed a contract to recieve €12m of EU funding for a new Polish site that will see UK jobs slashed.