Spain's soft drinks market is expected to grow by around 7 per cent
this year, a slight slowdown compared to 2003's heatwave-boosted
performance but nonetheless healthy growth driven by premium and
functional products.
A recent market reports shows that in the Czech Republic - one of
the most developed markets in Central and Eastern Europe - the
consumption of soft drinks is rapidly catching up with the western
Europe average.
Last year's stockpiling of bottled water in advance of the Iraq war
had a beneficial effect on first quarter sales at Nestlé Waters,
the Swiss-based bottled water group, but meant that this year's
figures showed a significant...
Agilent Technologies and Swiss-based Metrohm have developed a
high-sensitivity method of detecting perchlorate in surface and
drinking water. Perchlorate, an explosive propellant used in rocket
fuel, is a widespread and potentially...
The Baltic drinks market is awash with activity at the moment, with
both Coca-Cola and A. Le Coq making new soft drink launches and
Saku signing a co-operative agreement enabling it to access the
lucrative Finnish beer market.
The active, controlled and intelligent packaging sector in the US
has experienced significant growth over the past few years,
according to a new report published this month. Does this signify a
trend towards the widespread adoption...
British consumers are now drinking more bottled water than ever
before, attracted by the healthy image of the product. And it is
this image which is likely to protect natural mineral waters such
as Evian or Vittel from the impact...
Bottled water, new age beverages and energy drinks are driving
growth in the global soft drinks market, but carbonates are losing
their appeal, according to a new report from market analysts
Datamonitor.
Increasing concerns about the healthiness of soft drinks may have
done little to dent sales of colas and other sugar-laden fizzy
drinks (not least because of the proliferation 'low and light'
variants of these drinks) but...
Soft drinks are set to become the biggest beverage sector in the
world, overtaking hot drinks, with consumption rising by around 5
per cent a year, according to a new report from Zenith
International. But while the US remains the...
France is the home of some of the world's biggest mineral water
brands - Perrier, Vittel, Evian, Volvic, to name just four - but a
new entry into the market early next year is likely to give brand
owners such as Danone and Nestlé...
French soft drinks sales will undoubtedly be boosted this year by
the summer heat wave, but a recent report shows that there was
plenty of growth in the market even before the hot summer.
Energy drinks are adding a touch of zest to the European soft
drinks market, with Mintel's Global New Products Database revealing
an array of weird and wonderful names, ingredients and marketing
ploys.
Danone's move into the high profit home and office delivery sector
of the bottled water market made little impact on first half
results which were instead reduced by negative exchange rates and
disposals.
British consumers are drinking nearly three times as much bottled
water as they were just five years ago - but few drink anywhere
near the recommended daily intake, according to Mintel.
Feldschlösschen, the Swiss unit of Denmark's Carlsberg group, is to
sell its soft drink unit to compatriot juice and cider maker
Thurella in order to focus on its core beer and mineral operations.
An exceptionally hot summer in India last year was good news for
soft drink producers, in particular carbonate manufacturers who saw
sales surge by 20 per cent.
Baltika, the leading Russian beer brand, is to launch its own brand
of bottled water, Khrustalnaya, in a bid to win a share of the
fast-growing mineral water market in Russia.
Mounting animosity to mandatory deposits for non-refillable drinks
containers has been highlighted by criticsm from Europen, the
European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment, in an
address to the European Commission and...
The need for good quality water from a trusted source is driving
bottled water sales in the Asia and Middle East regions, according
to a new report from Zenith International.
Soft drinks consumption in Poland has grown almost exponentially in
the last 10 years, but despite this, growth shows no signs of
slowing as retail networks improve and more new products are
launched.
A small US water bottling company, Kolob, claims to have tripled
productivity and significantly reduced costs following investments
it has made in automation equipment sourced at last year's Pack
Expo in Las Vegas.
Australian bottled water company Neverfail Springwater is reported
to be looking for buyers in Europe, the US and Asia in an effort to
ward off a hostile bid from Coca-Cola Amatil.
A year of acquisitions and growth has helped Nestlé Waters extend
its leadership of the bottled water market in 2002 - a performance
which the company has already continued into the first quarter of
the current year.
Wimm-Bill-Dann is to launch its own brand of bottled mineral water
in Moscow and St Petersburg, marking the company's entry into a
market with significant potential.
Australia's Gowrie Mountain Estate is preparing to release wine in
cans to the US, UK and Japan - not a new concept, but one that is
still deemed to be unusual.
Austrian mineral water consumption continued to rise last year,
topping 90 litres per capita. With 2003 designated 'Mineral Water
Year', the aim is to push consumption above 100 litres for the
first time.
A device developed by the US Agricultural Research Service that
measures how much water chickens receive through automatic watering
systems has been previewed at the International Poultry Exposition
in Atlanta, Georgia this week.
Further evidence of the growing importance of the enhanced water
market has been revealed this week as Gatorade announces that its
Propel Fitness Water brand had exceeded sales of $100 million
(€99.9m) in the US.
Health concerns are leading to increasing consumption of bottled
and bulk water, so much so in fact that water is set to overtake
carbonates as the leading soft drink within just three years,
according to a new report by Canadean.
Already the world's leading water cooler supplier, France's Danone
has further strengthened its business with the acquistion of the
Canadian firm Sparkling Spring, giving it strong positions in the
UK and the Netherlands...
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.
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...
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.
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.
