Last month Plzensky Prazdroj, the biggest Czech brewer, announced
that it was to hike the price of all of its domestic beer brands,
reversing a reduction made in May. But fears that other brewers
would follow suit appear to be unfounded.
EU steel producers are likely to push through price increases in
the new year, and packaging firms and machinery makers will have no
choice but to accept them, writes Anthony Fletcher.
The recent move to ban beer advertising in Russia is just one of a
number of challenges facing brewers there, but a recent survey of
the country's leading operators suggests that most of them are
relishing the challenges to come....
A groundbreaking £8 million initiative to stimulate innovative
packaging design and at the same time significantly reduce food and
packaging waste has been launched in the UK.
Coca-Cola Services S.A. has applied to the UK's novel foods
committee seeking approval to market fruit juices, fruit nectars
and tomato juice with added plant sterols.
Grimsby, a UK town known for its food production, believes it has
the ideal transport infrastructure, customer base and cold storage
capacity to become the country's brewing capital.
The Scotch Whisky Association says that China has helped contribute
to a 2 per cent increase in exports for the first six months of
this year. The news comes despite the fact that a downturn in the
South Korean economy has led to...
Third-party logistics (3PL) providers must adopt innovative and
leading solutions such as radio frequency identification (RFID) if
they are to continue achieving supply chain efficiencies, according
to a new report.
Health-promoting compounds found in honey could make this
ingredient a more attractive option for food makers currently using
bulk sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup and looking to
jump on board the growing health foods trend,...
The EU Commission's announcement this week that Germany will be
referred to the European Court of Justice unless it establishes an
effective, simple and non-discriminatory deposit system for
beverage packaging is music to the...
An international task force meeting in Brazil last week under the
aegis of Codex Alimentarius, the global food standards body, clears
a decision after difficult discussions on defining the identity of
reconstituted orange juice.
AFSSA, the French food safety authority, has called for a
significant reduction of sugars added to processed foods alongside
stronger backing for foods containing wholegrains and high fibre.
For decades, Moldova has been the biggest exporter of wine to the
Russian market, dominating the market with a share as high as 70
per cent. But the arrival of more sophisticated wines from
countries such as Australia, Argentina or...
Slovenia's wine makers, buoyed by the news of EU funding for their
vineyards, face a long struggle if they are to conquer foreign
markets and compete effectively against the titans of the world
wine business - but one man is...
Vodka is more than just another drink to most Russians - it is a
way of life, an embodiment of the national sprit. But such a
fanatical following also has a downside, with per capita
consumption at the very limit of acceptable norms...
West Europe's functional soft drinks sector has become a force to
be reckoned with, shows a new report, with nutraceuticals showing
the fastest growth of all categories.
Wine players are getting bigger and exposing their businesses to
greater risk as consolidation in the industry continues and to
ensure quality remains constant, Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen
claims to offer the solution through...
Food makers alert to the levels of a potentially carcinogenic mould
commonly found on crops as scientists back an extension barrier
levels for ochratoxin A to grape juice, coffee and wine.
Six of the new EU member states are set to receive more than €20
million in EU funding so that they can improve and expand their
vineyards, helping them to make better quality wine and compete
more effectively in both their home markets...
A blow moulding pilot plant to offer manufacturers of polypropylene
(PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyester (PET) bottles a
one-stop-shop has been established in the US.
It is over a month since the Russian authorities clamped down on
beer adverts, and the impact is already being felt. But there is
worse still to come for Russia's brewers, with the legislators
preparing more rules which will...
Steel packaging recycling in Europe increased by 1.3 per cent last
year to reach just over 2.1 million tonnes, though the EU15
countries remain way ahead of new member states.
Teenagers frequently opt for healthier drinks if given a choice,
claims the UK's food watchdog, after testing the response to
vending machines that offer fruit juices and milk in British
schools.
An editorial in the British Medical Journal this month that
concludes criticisms of aspartame are 'unfounded' adds fuel to the
ongoing debate surrounding this popular sweetener used widely in
food and beverage applications.
Double-digit growth rates are expected in the beverage sector
throughout central and eastern Europe over the next decade, fuelled
by growing consumer spending power and the arrival en masse
of major western drinks groups. But it is...
The need of ingredients and equipment suppliers to reach Russian
food manufacturers is becoming increasingly urgent, but in the
absence of established B2B advertising channels, few avenues have
been open. Now a new alliance between...
Investors monitoring the huge growth potential and high profit
margins of China's burgeoning wine market are beginning to dip
their toe in, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Vietnam is banking on burgeoning tea exports to Russia, earmarking
it as a primary market for the future. With exports growing at 30
per cent in the last year, the Vietnam Tea Association (VTA) wants
to push total exports up to 15,000...
Artificial sweeteners will lead the growth in the food additives
market on the back of rising consumer demand for functional foods,
closely followed by nutraceuticals and food preservatives, but
flavours will remain, by far, the largest...
More science is needed to encourage food and drink makers to invest
in new formulations using third generation whey products, finds a
new report that suggests more clinical trials and documentation
could overcome this barrier to growth,...
A new campaign to reduce sugar levels in foods and consumer diets
in order to tackle the national obesity problem is reportedly being
considered by the UK government, to run after the current attack on
salt is over, writes Chris Mercer.
The drinks industry believes fortified beverages are the answer to
claims that Americans are increasingly drinking sweetened soft
drinks at the expense of more nutritious alternatives.
Researchers exploring the flavour thresholds of orange juice have
made strides towards designing more precise flavour profiles for
better quality citrus juices that will ultimately cut costs for
beverage manufacturers and provide...
Danish ingredients giant will shut down beverage flavour operations
in Sweden as tough competition bites and business is impacted by
growing consumer demand for health positioned drinks, reports
Lindsey Partos.
A report on Germany's packaging regulations claims that single-use
PET beverage bottles are as ecologically sound as refillable glass,
making a mockery of the controversial deposit system, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Eastman Chemical, the world's leading supplier of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) for packaging, claims to have made a
breakthrough in the manufacture of PET resin.
Dutch ingredients company DSM revealed yesterday that its muscle
recovery ingredient PeptoPro will be marketed in a new range of
products worldwide by Europe's biggest sports nutrition company
Haleko.
Packaging giant Alcoa has published five regional sustainability
reports for Australia, Jamaica, Suriname, Brazil and Primary Metals
Canada, which it believes shows that the group is environmentally
on message.
Baltika,
Russia's leading beer brewery, has announced the start of
production at its newly constructed malt processing facility in
Tula, central European Russia. The project aims to up the company's
own supply of...
Research suggesting a link between soft drink consumption and
rising levels of diabetes in the US has sparked fierce criticism
from consumer groups and beverage industry associations. Scientists
with an axe to grind have manipulated...
Thailand's tropical climate has fuelled the country's thirst for
soft drinks, with consumption growing steadily in recent years,
according to market analysts Canadean. Bottled water and
other 'healthy' drinks are...
Italy is western Europe’s biggest bottled water market, with both
the highest overall volumes and the largest per capita intake. But
despite this flood of water, the market is far from reaching
saturation as Italians turn increasingly...
Despite a cold winter and spring, Russia's soft drinks market
continued to grow healthily in 2003, helped primarily by the
booming nectars category, where consumption is now almost eleven
times greater than it was in 1994, according...
As the 2004 Olympic Games get under way, Philippa Nuttall
speaks to Frost & Sullivan's Savithri Ramalinga, about the
challenges facing the sports beverage industry in North America.