News briefs: Pepsi, Pernod and space age hangover cures

By Neil Merrett

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Chief executive officer Pernod ricard Executive officer

In this week's briefs, PepsiCo targets Ukrainian juice demand,
Pernod Ricard shakes up its management, and hangover cures go
intergalactic.

PepsiCo sharpens juice focus inUkraine​PepsiCo continues to expand its presence in production of non-carbonated beverages, with the announcement this week that it has obtained the remaining 20 per cent of shares in the leading Ukrainian juice manufacturer Sandora. The company, in collaboration with its PepsiAmericas said it had spent $136.7m (€93m) on securing the transaction, which it claims provides improved opportunities for future profit growth in the region. The purchase will grant the company full control of Sanodra's two productions plants situated in Nikolaev, along with its sales and distribution capabilities. In July this year, PepsiCo announced it was stepping up its presence in the burgeoning Eastern European soft drinks market by acquiring an 80 per cent stake in Sandora for $542m (€406m). In March, PepsiCo teamed up with its Russian bottling arm to form a joint venture to take greater control of all aspects of its operations in the high-growth soft drinks market in the country. Lion Nathan steps up Australian focus ​Australian brewer Lion Nathan looks set to take advantage of a shifting focus in the local Asian beer market by acquiring Tasmania-based J Boag & Son for AUS$325m from San Miguel. The deal, expected to be completed following the purchase by parent company Kirin, will allow the company to expands it presence in the region as well as in Australia, according to group chief executive officer Rob Murray. "We intend to invest to grow the business,"​ he stated. "As owner of the J Boag & Son brands and the distribution channel, we intend to leverage our sales coverage and focus, and our distribution reach to make these great beers available to more Australians."​ Lion Nathan says that the purchase would allow it to strengthen its share in the market for higher value premium beer brands. Pernod Ricard chairman announces step-down plans ​The chairman of spirits group Pernod Ricard yesterday used the company's general shareholders meeting to announce he will restructure the management system for the company when relinquishes his executive duties. Patrick Ricard said he would step down from his current role at the end of next year's general meeting to be held in November 2008. Ricard added that upon his resignation, he wished his position of company chairman and chief executive officer to be split between two people. If the restructuring goes ahead, Ricard would become chairman of the board of directors, while Pierre Pringuet would become the new chief executive officer. Space age hangover cure revealed ​Red wine lovers could get an unlikely boost from a new system that uses technology originally designed for finding life on mars to prevent the obligatory wine headache. Researchers form the University of California, Berkeley say that have devised a system that can pin-point chemicals believed by some scientists to be responsible for those post-wine woes, according to the journal Analytical Chemistry. The naturally occurring chemicals called biogenic amines, appear in a number of prized food and beverage products, ranging from wine and cheese to nuts. The journal adds that scientists currently believe that there are several of these ingredients that could be responsible, with amines like tyramine and hittamine top of the list. While there is currently no conclusive scientific proof on the topic, experts are said to believe that amines are most likely to be responsible for reactions like headaches when consuming that one more bottle of red. The report says the universities suitcase sized detector can determine the presence of these amines in a single drop of wine in just five minutes. The technology originally used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to detect life on mars.

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