Beverage Bites: news up to November 6, 2015

Diageo sells Argentina wine business, Bud Light renews NFL sponsorship, and more beverage bites

By Rachel Arthur

- Last updated on GMT

Diageo sells Argentina wine business, Bud Light renews NFL sponsorship, and more beverage bites

Related tags Coca-cola

This week Diageo announced the sale of its Argentinian wine interests, while Coca-Cola Hellenic set new water and carbon commitments. Read on for more beverage bites…

Coca Cola Hellenic sees volume growth

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company says a hot summer across many parts of Europe, alongside commercial initiatives from the company, contributed to a strong volume growth in Q3 2015.

Volumes grew 5.4%, with its developing markets (led by Poland and Hungary) boasting 10.4% growth. However, net sales revenue for the overall group decreased by 2.7% compared to the same quarter in 2014.

Dimitris Lois, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC AG, said he was encouraged by gradually improving market conditions in Europe.

Diageo sells Argentinian wine business

Diageo is selling its Argentinian wine interests to Grupo Peñaflor, it announced yesterday. The deal will also see Grupo Peñaflor appointed as distributor for Diageo’s spirits brands; and it will also produce domestic spirits brands jointly with the Diageo.

The sale includes the Navarro Correas and San Telmo wine brands, complete with production sites and vineyards. The transaction is expected to complete in early 2016.

Grupo Peñaflor is one of the top 10 wine producers worldwide; and the largest producer and distributor in Argentina.

The deal comes a few weeks after Diageo sold the majority of its US and UK wine operations to Treasury Wine Estates.  

Veggie juice

13% of Europe’s juice drink launches have been ‘vegetable flavoured’ so far this year; with the number of such launches steadily increasing over the last five years, according to research from Mintel.

Emphasising vegetable content is a way for juice brands to address concerns over sugar, says Mintel food and drink analyst Sarah Theodore. Development of vegetable juices have been concentrated in the German and UK markets, which take up a 40% share of launches this year.

However, in the UK, only 10% of consumers have tried vegetable juices - representing a big opportunity for brands, she added.

Coca cola Hellenic:  ‘Water scarcity represents a significant risk’

Coca-Cola Hellenic has pledged to reduce its water use intensity (the amount of water consumed per litre of produced beverages) by 30% by 2020 (compared to its usage in 2010). It will also reduce its direct carbon emissions intensity by 50% over this period.  

“Water scarcity is a major global issue and represents a significant risk to Coca-Cola HBC AG,” said the company. Water is central to the business: used as a primary ingredient, in the manufacturing process, while also being needed to grow the agricultural ingredients for its products.

Bud Light renews NFL agreement

Bud Light has renewed its agreement with the National Football League (NFL), in a new multi-year partnership to 2022.

As the official beer of the League, the Anheuser-Busch brand will gain additional marketing rights in the US, and will also be able to use the NFL marks internationally.

The deal will include increased presence of Bud Light across premiere league events, such as the presenting sponsor of Thursday Night Football. It will also be able to use NFL footage on digital and social media (previously it was only able to use past season footage in TV advertising).

Bud Light also introduced NFL tin cans in August, with 28 team-specific designs for the 2015-2016 season.

Read more of this week's beverage news in the related news section below. 

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