Breaking News on Beverage Technology & Markets

‘It’s our fault’ if we can’t grow US business, bullish Coke CEO insists

21-Oct-2011 - Coca-Cola Company chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent insists that if Coca-Cola can’t continue to grow sales in the US then the company only has itself to blame.

Nestlé performance in Europe surprises analysts

20-Oct-2011 - Nestlé’s sales for the nine months to the end of September rose 7.3% to reach CHF60.89bn (€49.24bn), slightly short of expectations, but its positive European performance blindsided analysts.

Crown braves bad weather and tough macroeconomic conditions

20-Oct-2011 - Multinational food and beverage metal packaging firm Crown Holdings has braved bad weather and tough economic conditions in Europe and the US to grow third quarter (Q3) net sales by 10 per cent compared with the same period in 2010.

News in brief

Developing market beer boost helps SABMiller

20-Oct-2011 - SABMiller has reported trading in line with expectations as it updated the market yesterday on its performance for the 6 months ending September 30.

Sugar and fruit concentrates spur Südzucker profit jump

13-Oct-2011 - German ingredients group Südzucker reports a sharp rise in profits for the first half of its financial year, citing gains from its sugar and fruit segments as being particular growth drivers.

Synergy expands US flavors empire with Sethness Greenleaf acquisition

12-Oct-2011 - Synergy has expanded its US flavors empire with the acquisition of beverage flavors expert Sethness-Greenleaf less than three weeks after snapping up natural extracts specialist Sensus, almost doubling the size of its US business overnight.

Givaudan confident price hikes will offset crippling input costs

11-Oct-2011 - Flavours and fragance house Givaudan, while posting third quarter results, said its decision to increase its prices will soften the impact of higher raw material input costs for products such as citrus and orange oil in 2011 and fully cover them in 2012.

Anheuser-Busch InBev unveils $1bn US investment plan

05-Oct-2011 - Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev) has announced plans to invest more than $1bn in its US breweries and other facilities from 2011-14.

Chavez military move sees O-I summon Venezuela to tribunal

30-Sep-2011 - Bottle producing giant Owens-Illinois (O-I) is taking Venezuela to a World Bank Tribunal, after the socialist country’s hostile nationalisation of 2 of the company’s plants last October.

Australian wine giants call for tax changes

28-Sep-2011 - Australia’s Premium Wine Brands and Treasury Wine Estates call on the government to reform the current value-based levies and abolish the wine equalisation tax (WET), as the country’s tax summit looms on the horizon.

$3bn Russian investment makes perfect sense for Coca-Cola, analyst

27-Sep-2011 - Coca-Cola’s continuing expansion in Russia makes sense from an economic standpoint, while the risks to consumer goods firms of doing business in the country are over-estimated, according to an analyst.

News in brief

Ingredients group Sudzucker reports earnings hike of 9%

27-Sep-2011 - German food ingredients giant Sudzucker, in a trading statment in advance of its results, reports positive earnings for the half year.

Cargill flavours buy not transformational but good fit for Kerry, analyst

26-Sep-2011 - Kerry’s acquisition of Cargill’s flavour systems for €168m ($230m) is by no means transformational but will boost the Irish ingredient firm’s beverages and dairy flavours portfolio, claims an analyst.

City unsurprised by Foster's board approval for new SABMiller offer

21-Sep-2011 - SABMiller announcement yesterday that it had agreed the terms of a recommended cash offer for Foster's with that firm's board of around A$9.9bn (€7.42bn) came as no surprise, according to one City analyst.

PureCircle sales fall, awaiting EU stevia approval

21-Sep-2011 - PureCircle said that a “delay” in regulatory approval for stevia in the EU was a factor contributing to lower-than-expected sales for the year.

News in brief

Rocket Fuel re-enters UK market

15-Sep-2011 - Food Brands Group has re-launched its Rocket Fuel coffee product, which comes packaged in self-heating cups, onto the UK market.

Nestlé battles Kraft to retain global hot drink dominance

14-Sep-2011 - Despite its status as the world’s largest hot drinks manufacturer, Nestlé faces a tough battle for global dominance with Kraft in coffee due to the rising popularity of fresh coffee, according to Euromonitor International.

Wild Flavors to acquire mint specialist A.M. Todd

14-Sep-2011 - Wild Flavors has said it will acquire certain assets of natural mint flavor specialist A.M. Todd Group to allow it to expand into new markets and better respond to its customers’ demands.

PepsiCo agrees to sell stake in $548m Thai soft drinks firm

12-Sep-2011 - PepsiCo has agreed to sell its majority 41.5 per cent stake in Thai soft drinks and bottling firm Serm Suk (SSC), after ThaiBev (THBEV) announced plans to acquire the latter for $548m last week.

Coca-Cola reaffirms €17m French investment plan

09-Sep-2011 - Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has reaffirmed its plan to invest €17m in its Les Pennes-Mirabeau facility in France.

Australian takeover panel rejects SABMiller Foster’s complaint

08-Sep-2011 - The Australian Takeovers Panel has rejected SABMiller’s claim that Foster’s published “misleading and deceptive” information in its financial results last week.

Néstle Waters hit with $50m class action

06-Sep-2011 - Néstle Waters is the subject of a $50m class action, filed by a US customer who has accused the drinks giant of an 'oppressive and fraudulent scheme' regarding late payment fees, in a complaint filed with New Jersey Federal Court.

Pernod Ricard steadies European ship

05-Sep-2011 - French spirits giant Pernod Ricard has successfully grown European sales in 2010/11 after a worrying 5% slump last year, due to a “recovery in consumer spending”.

Diageo profits boosted by emerging market growth

25-Aug-2011 - Spirits giant Diageo posted a 17 per cent rise in annual revenue, fuelled by strong growth in emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa and Asia.