Just a few months after the launch of its distilled water brand
BonAqua in Spain, Coca-Cola has signed a bottling agreement with
Italian water group San Benedetto which will step up the pace of
the brand's introduction there.
The effects of a downturn in German imports and the events of 11
September took their toll on Bordeaux wine exports in 2001/02,
according to the latest CIVB data.
Although the future of the EC Merger Regulations Committee might
have been thrown into doubt, the recent overruling that allows
Tetra Laval to go ahead with its plans to acquire Sidel paves the
way for an increased presence in the...
At a time when Europe's leading brewers are growing bigger and more
international on almost a weekly basis, smaller companies are
finding it increasingly hard to expand their own businesses. We
spoke to Michael Hoffmann of the...
With per capita consumption of wine of less than one litre a year
in China, but with a market set to grow by 10-15 per cent in the
next three years, there is major potential for Spanish wines in
China, especially in the bottled wine...
Nine month results at Belgian brewer Interbrew were helped by a
16.8 per cent rise in volume sales, but like-for-like results were
impacted by the sale of the Carling business in February.
Ball, the US-based global food packaging provider, has reported
third quarter earnings of $50 million (€51.2m) on sales of $1.039
billion, compared to $35.7 million on sales of $1 billion in the
same period a year ago.
An investment approaching €1.6 million has just been completed at
Berryman's glass treatment plant in West Yorkshire, UK, which the
company claims has created the largest colour enhancement facility
in the country.
In the UK, Rockware Glass has created a sleek new bottle shape and
contemporary presentation to give the Thatchers Single Variety
Cider range fresh impact in the cider market.
Siku, which means 'ice' in Greenlandic, is the brand name of a
range of drinks - a beer, a vodka and a bottled water - made using
water from the Qualerit glacial ice field in Greenland.
Ocean Spray, the US co-operative group best known for its cranberry
juices, has launched a new grapefruit juice which it claims can
give drinkers an energy boost and meet all their vitamin C
requirements.
The success of J&B Twist and Smirnoff Ice in Spain has
convinced Diageo that RTD products are the way forward in a market
where it has been steadily losing sales in recent years.
Vin & Sprit, the Swedish producer of Absolut vodka, is to buy
the Polish distillery Polmos Zielona Gora, maker of the Luksusowa
brand, as the sell-off of the former state-run spirits business
continues.
Higher volume food and beverage flavour product sales to existing
customers contributed to a net increase for the third quarter for
flavours company Technology Flavors & Fragrances.
Poland has agreed to reduce the import duties levied on spirits
imported from the EU - but only up to a limit of 3,000 tons, a mere
fraction of the 20,000 tons exported there each year. The decision
is puzzling, to say the least,...
New report reveals that growth in value-added products designed for
specific applications is set to drive the food additives market in
the US. Flavours will gain nearly fifty per cent of the market,
with alternative sweetners revealing...
A new study by Organic Monitor finds that the European organic
juices market has been expanding at over 20 per cent a year since
1998 and by the end of the year, sales of organic juices in Europe
are projected to reach €90 million.
US maker of herbal and medicinal teas Flora is introducing Bija
Healing Teas to the American market. The teas, which come in nine
different formulas, will create a new category, according to the
company - functional teas.
In Zone Brands is one of the many companies from the US attending
this week's SIAL show in Paris in a bid to garner interest for its
products from buyers on this side of the Atlantic - which should
not be difficult for its striking...
Molson Canadian is introducing to the US market what it claims is
the first beer bottle designed to 'talk for you'. The beer bottles
feature an additional label on the base, aimed at starting
conversations.
With increasing numbers of thefts each year from Spanish stores,
retailers are turning to modern technology to help to solve the
problem, and are asking the wine sector to play its part as well.
Philippines group San Miguel Corp plans to invest $140 million
(€144m) to build two glass plants in Australia, according to a
report in the Australian Financial Review.
The Brussels authorities has ruled that the acquisition of French
Champagne house by Frere's CNP company will not lead to any
dilution of competition in either the wine or the perfume sectors.
France has one of the worst drink driving records in Europe, and
the government has recently redoubled its efforts to get the
'designated driver' message across to consumers. Now the country's
leading wine and spirits...
Pepsi Bottling Group, the world's largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola
drinks, said on Wednesday it plans to buy family-owned Kitchener
Beverages of Ontario, further expanding its presence in Canada.
Speakers at a recent conference on the draft wine law currently
going through the Spanish parliament have stressed the beneficial
effects the law is likely to have on improving quality and reducing
over-production.
Carlsberg's head of supply chain, Jette Knudsen, is to leave the
group in December after a disastrous summer season which saw the
company recall millions of cans of sour-tasting beer from the
domestic market.
Several months of talks over the acquisition of ailing UK coffee
shop group Coffee Republic by sandwich bar owner Benjy's have ended
in failure, leaving Benjy's still looking for a means to expand.
The 1968 limited edition of Bunnahabhain Auld Acquaintance Scotch
whisky is expected to sell out within months of its release - just
like its two predecessors.
Exchange rate concerns kept nine month sales growth at LVMH to just
2 per cent, but the company, whose brands include Hennessy Cognac,
is predicting further gains for the second half as a whole.
Worse-than-expected performances at home and abroad, and from both
new and existing products, will mean pre-tax profits at UK cider
maker HP Bulmer falling at least £14 million short of expectations
in 2003.
Strong performances in Poland and Russia helped French spirits
group Belvedere to end the first half of the year back in the
black, at the operating level at least. Further restructuring and
acquisitions in Eastern Europe also bode...
Claims by the Russian Trade Ministry that Ochakovo beer contained
an illegal preservative have been quashed by a Moscow court, but
the case serves to highlight the problems facing the country's
burgeoning beer market.
The European Commission gives the go ahead to Diageo to sell its
last remaining food-related business, leaving the UK group free to
strengthen its position as the world's leading spirits and wine
producer.
Martell, the latest priority brand to join the Pernod Ricard
stable, will see a quarter of its workforce axed in the coming
months, a move Pernod says is necessary to keep the company
competitive.
Pepsi-Cola North America (PCNA) and Marion Pepsi-Cola Bottling said
on Thursday that they have reached an agreement to settle legal
action, pending since June 1999, involving the two long-time
business partners.
Expanding sales to the many countries which border with Russia, as
well as those further afield, is the order of the day at the
country's leading brewery, Baltika.
Two years after the town of Kutna Hora bought the local brewery in
order to maintain jobs, the business has been acquired by the
Drinks Union comapny which now plans a major increase in output.
A Spanish company offering to sell alcohol to consumers in Finland
could prove a rival to the state monopoly. But the fact that
delivery of the drinks could take up to two weeks - to say nothing
of moves to close the legal loophole...
Producers in the US passing off their fortified wines as sherry or
other Spanish products are affecting sales of the authentic
products there, prompting two denominations in Andalusia to
petition the EU authorities.
The sharp rise in sales in advance of the Millennium, and the
subsequent drop in turnover in 2001, have made life hard for
Champagne producers over the last few years, but things appear to
be getting back to normal in 2002, says the...
Germany's Eckes group has announced plans to sell its alcoholic
beverage business in order to focus on its fruit juice operations,
citing increasing competition and declining margins as its main
reasons for the sale.
William Grant & Sons, distiller of the Glenfiddich brand of
Scotch whisky, has added the Gibson's Finest Canadian rye whisky to
its portfolio, buying the brand for an disclosed sum from Diageo.
Six months after putting its food and beverage business up for
sale, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has found a buyer - the
UK's ABF group. The Ovaltine brand, jewel in the crown of the
acquisition, should benefit from...
The fluctuations of the sparkling wine market, which have affected
cava as much as Champagne in recent years, have prompted Spain's
Codorniu group to expand into other wine regions - most recently
the Ribera del Duero.
