All news articles for September 2012

RTS identifies growing market for natural flavour materials

RTS identifies growing market for natural flavour materials

By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Market research firm RTS has identified a burgeoning market for natural flavour materials as companies increasingly move away from artificial ingredients – but its first report on the market is intended to open discussion rather than clearly define market...

Coke wows Kiwis with personalized PET bottles

Coke wows Kiwis with personalized PET bottles

By Ben Bouckley

Coca-Cola New Zealand is selling PET bottles of Coke personalized with one of 150 names popular in the country, and encouraging Facebook fans to 'share a virtual can'.

Picture Copyright: Brian Turner/Flickr

PepsiCo savors $363m US tax triumph over IRS

By Ben Bouckley

PepsiCo has won a US Tax Court judgment against the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which claimed the firm owed it circa. $363m in unpaid tax relating to operations in Europe and Puerto Rico.

ABA slams sugar-sweetened beverage obesity studies

ABA slams sugar-sweetened beverage obesity studies

By Mark Astley

The American Beverage Association (ABA) has slammed a series of studies that link sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and obesity, accusing them of doing “nothing meaningful” to help address the issue.

Downsize me: Will NYC-style portion curbs help battle the bulge?

Downsize me: Will NYC-style portion curbs help battle the bulge?

By Elaine WATSON

The row over Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial plan to curb sales of super-size sodas in New York City has intensified with the publication of new research debating the role that sugary drinks play in the nation’s expanding waistline.

Picture Copyright: Pepsi Australia

Stevia sweetened Pepsi NEXT hits Australia in cola first

By Ben Bouckley

Pepsi NEXT has been launched in Australia, but intriguingly the drink has been formulated with stevia for this market to achieve a 30% sugar reduction, rather than the 60% effected with other sweeteners in the US.

PRNewsFoto/Rexam

Goddess Energy flirts with hoodia in energy drink

By Ben Bouckley

US firm Goddess Energy has launched an energy drink for women called Flirt, which is on East Coast sale as a dietary supplement with one interesting appetite-suppressing bioactive, Hoodia Gordonii.

Top analyst predicts FDA wriggle room in supplement-beverage guidance

Top analyst predicts FDA wriggle room in supplement-beverage guidance

By Ben Bouckley

With the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) poised to publish guidance on distinguishing between beverages and liquid dietary supplements, one analyst tells BeverageDaily.com he doesn’t see the agency cracking down too hard on traditional energy drinks.

 Brown-Forman has moved like greased lightning to secure a new distributor in Japan (Picture Copyright: Admiralspalast Berlin/Flickr)

'Suntory dreams ripped at the seams, but oh…'

By Ben Bouckley

After drinks giant Suntory Liquors said yesterday that it would step out with rival Beam Inc in Japan, Brown-Forman quickly swopped one distribution relationship for another, heralding a new fling with Asahi Group from 2013.

Pernod Ricard subsidiary slams Czech spirits ban

Pernod Ricard subsidiary slams Czech spirits ban

By Ben Bouckley

Pernod Ricard’s Czech subsidiary Jan Becher (JBKB) says the Czech government’s decision to ban all strong spirit sales in the country, following 20+ methanol-related deaths linked to local bootleg liquor, is disproportionate and will hit sales of its...

Czech methanol liquor deaths spur FSA warning

Czech methanol liquor deaths spur FSA warning

By Ben Bouckley

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising travelers to the Czech Republic to avoid locally produced bootleg spirits following a spate of methanol poisonings the country and over 20 deaths, as one local producer said the crisis had hit his business...

Gevo and Butamax in legal battle over isobutanol

Legal fight over bio-based isobutanol production

By Joe Whitworth

Two chemical companies are locked in an ongoing legal battle over the production of bio-based isobutanol, a substance used in the production of plastic bottles for soft drinks.

Mayor Bloomberg: Bold action is needed as 58% of adults and nearly 40% of city public school students in New York City are obese or overweight

Soft drinks giants mull legal options as NYC soda ban gets green light

By Elaine WATSON

Beverage makers have blasted New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “discriminatory ban” on sales of super-sized sodas, while supporters have dismissed the industry’s “professionally manufactured outrage” and urged other states to follow suit.

'NZ spirits industry ripe for investment'

'NZ spirits industry ripe for investment'

By Ankush Chibber

A growing number of investors are eyeing New Zealand’s nascent spirits industry, with many small and medium-sized firms jostling to replicate the successes of the country’s wine growers, a new report has revealed.

Aung San Suu Kyi: iconic Burmese opposition leader and chair of Burma's National League for Democracy

Burma now awash with Sprite as well as Coca-Cola Light

By Ben Bouckley

The Coca-Cola Company has relaunched Coca-Cola onto the Burmese market, while Coca-Cola Light and Sprite are also now available, as it works to found a bottling venture with a local soft drinks firm.

Asian Tiger ThaiBev poised to pounce on F&N?

Asian Tiger ThaiBev poised to pounce on F&N?

By Ben Bouckley

ThaiBev said today it is exploring the possibility of making an offer for Fraser & Neave (F&N) with an unnamed third party, in a move that could still disrupt Heineken’s multi-billion dollar move for Asia Pacific Breweries (APB).