Hain Europe, a division of the US natural and organic food company
the Hain Celestial group, is set to launch a range of healthy
drinks, made from a mix of fruit juice and soy, on the European
market in coming months.
Despite a decline in consumer spending since 11 September, bottled
water volumes in the mature west European markets continued to grow
last year - and there is no sign of the growth slowing.
The European Commission has been forced to drop its case against
brewers Heineken and Carlsberg after failing to find any recent
evidence that they agreed not to compete in each others' markets.
Both companies have long protested...
While the major soft drink producers continue to innovate and
launch new products in saturated markets in the west, it is Asia
which is likely to power growth in the global soft drinks market
over the next five years, according to...
With the four major international bottled water groups and a
handful of strong local players all keen to grow sales, the bottled
water market in East Europe has grown strongly in spite of economic
troubles in many markets - and is...
More evidence to suggest that fortified drinks could contribute to
aiding dietary deficiencies in developing countries emerged this
week when a US scientist reported that a cheap, fortified,
orange-flavoured drink could reduce deficiencies...
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.
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...
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.
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.
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...
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.
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...
More action is needed from both government and industry alike if
the steady decline in French wine exports is to be halted, a junior
minister has warned. New World producers could soon take over as
the major exporters to Europe if...
Good weather in most of September has balanced the poor summer
period and left Bordeaux wine producers optimistic that the 2002
vintage will produce wines of good quality.
New legislation in Spain designed to restrict alcohol advertising
in a bid to reduce consumption levels will take account of the fact
that beer and wine both have a lower strength than spirits,
according to the country's food...
US fruit juice business Jamba Juice has launched a new smoothie
containing blueberries, raspberries and strawberries - a mix the
company claims offers a range of health benefits.
The US Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has named
Accelerade, made by PacificHealth Laboratories, its official sports
drink. As part of the new partnership, PacificHealth will also
develop a nutrition education programme...
Rioja wine exports grew by 8.5 per cent in the first eight months
of the year as a result of increasing demand in core markets such
as the UK and Germany. But the average price per litre continued to
fall, showing that Rioja's...
Beverage producers, wholesalers and retailers should join forces
with their respective industry associations to present a united
front on the issues of responsible drinking and taxation, says Paul
Clinton, head of Diageo's US...
The surging interest in farm wineries led to a doubling in the
population of bonded wineries across the United States in the past
decade and has now reached 2,700, according to a survey by the
American Vintners Association (AVA),...
ZonePerfect Nutrition Company is launching five new nutrition bar
flavours at the Natural Products Expo East show taking place this
weekend in Washington. The company says the new flavours are in
response to high demand for its products.
Solid evidence is mounting that drinking tea can prevent cell
damage that leads to cancer, heart disease and perhaps other ills,
scientists said on Tuesday.
South African wine sales in the UK have been growing rapidly in the
last few years, and four SA brands are now among the top 20
best-sellers there. But more can be done to promote Cape wines in
the UK, such as focusing on recognisable...
Declining consumption has prompted many observers to pronounce the
premature death of the German beer industry - with investment by
major foreign brewers seen as the only waty of resurrecting the
body. But is this really the case?...
Negotiators in Prague and Brussels are nearing agreement on the
definition and labelling of the traditional plum brandy slivovitz
once the Czech Republic joins the EU.
The different levels of taxation on wine, beer and spirits within
the European Union remains a 'distortion of the single market',
claims taxation Commissioner Fritz Bolkestein who, it seems, has
not abandoned his much-derided...
Artificial sweeteners are less likely to lead to weight gain in
overweight people than consumption of foods containing sucrose,
according to research from the US published this week. With rates
of obesity increasing worldwide, the...
Red Bull continues to dominate the western European energy drink
market with a 66 per cent share, and it also provides the model for
most of its rival brands. But despite the dominance of one brand,
the market shows no sign of stagnating,...
Starch ingredients company Cerestar formally launched a bio-organic
sweetener at Health Ingredients Europe in Paris this week.
CBio-Sweet is derived from bio-organic wheat and hydrolysed with
non-GMO enzymes.
Good weather in California throughout the summer has led to another
bumper year for the state's wine grape producers. The UK's Allied
Domecq is predicting that this year's wines will be of excellent
quality to boot.
The floods in the south of France will mean a significant reduction
in the level of wine produced there this year, with as many as
30,000 hectares of vineyards damaged in the Gard alone.
The rapid growth of Belgian beer giant Interbrew has prompted the
company to assess how best to optimise its capacity. As a result,
the group is closing one Dutch brewery and significantly reducing
production at one of its UK plants,...
Most consumers in the UK do not understand the risks of not
drinking enough water, and that the wide variety of bottled waters
available to them have more differences than simply still or
sparkling. We spoke to Ian Hall of the Natural...
A proposal which would have meant an increase in beer and wine
duties in some EU countries and a sharp reduction in others has
been scrapped by the Commission in the face of fierce opposition.
Galaxy Nutritional Foods, a producer of plant-based dairy
alternatives, has extended its UltraSmoothie range with the launch
of a single-serve version, expected to go on sale in the US from
October 2002.
Middle-aged French men who drank two or more glasses of wine
regularly after a recent heart attack were less likely to have a
second heart attack or other cardiovascular complications compared
to nondrinkers, according to a study...
With 20 new brands launched in the UK market last year alone, the
energy drink market is clearly the one everyone wants to be a part
of. And while the same growth levels are yet to be seen across the
rest of Europe, there is still...
Although most people would never consider that the effects of their
morning coffee would have any similarities to those of cocaine
recent research reveals that the two stimulants similarly alter a
specific signalling activity in the...
Wine connoisseurs have always claimed that the shape of the glass
affects how easily volatile aromatic compounds can escape and
consequently the impact on our senses- but does the glass shape
also affect the wine's chemistry?...
Pomegranate producer, Pom Wonderful, claims that its brand of
pomegranate juice has higher free radical scavenging activity, and
greater polyphenol content than red wine, cranberry juice and green
tea.
German researchers have found traces of the cancer-causing chemical
acrylamide, in coffee, although not in as high concentrations as in
fatty foods such as potato crisps, french fries or bread.
