Self-cooling packs and cabbage aid drink innovation

The consumer analyst said consumers are increasingly looking beyond brand identity to demanding new types of beverages along with innovative methods to serve and consumer them. To cater for this demand, a growing number of drinks manufacturers are moving to push innovative new products into the market. One example of this is Coca-Cola, which hopes to roll out new packaging in the UK market that cools some of the company's beverages like Sprite from the inside. According to the soft drink maker, the feature will create ice directly from the beverage. The Sprite Super Chilled brand will be aimed at expanding the market for extra cold beverages into soft drink production to target younger consumers, before being possibly expanded to a wider range of drinks, the report added. On the theme of keeping cool, German brewer Gaffel Becker & Company is targeting the party crowd with a five liter keg it claims does not need to be refrigerated. The barrel, which will be sued to store the company's Gaffel Koelsch brand, uses a pressure sleeve that when wrapped around the keg cools the beer to drinking temperature, the company claims. According to Gaffel Becker, the keg can remain cool for up to three hours. PepsiCo by contrast, is looking past packaging with the launch of its G2 sports drink, which has been designed to offer a low calorie alternative to the Gatorade brand. The company claims that the product contains only 25 calories and will broaden the appeal of its isotonic sports beverages from beyond full-time or part time athletes to the general consumer. Brewer Heineken is also attempting to diversify demand for its products with a sparkling cider aimed at female drinkers, which it claims will be marketed as an alternative to wine. However, Product innovation is not just specific to major US and European manufacturers, with groups like Singapore-based the Wild Bunch & Company introducing a new line of 100 per cent organic juices . The products range from a cabbage based beverage that also contains celery and fennel, to a carrot, pea and parsnip concoction that the company expects can attract the increasingly health conscious consumer to its brands. Datamonitor add that Unilever, through its Knorr label, is also moving to expand into production of fruit and vegetable juices with the recent launch of a new summer drink. The beverage, sold as part of the Knorr Vie line, comes in a peach, carrot and coconut flavour, which according to Unilever, also offers 50 per cent of the daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables.