Sustainability

Dr José Herrera, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Malta, joined Muscat at the ECMA Congress. Photo: ECMA.

ECMA Congress 2019

Malta PM: ‘We were more prepared for the Millennium Bug than Brexit’

By Jenny Eagle

‘Your guess is as good as mine on Brexit’, said Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minster of Malta, at the opening of the ECMA Congress 2019 last week (September 19-20), ‘But what is obvious, is during the next few days there needs to be a meaningful engagement’.

PepsiCo wants to boost rPET in plastic bottles - or avoid them entirely. Pic:getty/antoninokhr

PepsiCo: 'We're radically reinventing how we think about packaging'

By Rachel Arthur

Beverage and snack giant PepsiCo says it can avoid the use of 67 billion plastic bottles through 2025, thanks to the expansion of its SodaStream business. Meanwhile, its wider ‘Beyond the Bottle’ strategy is looking at other ways it can move away from...

Pic: Getty/NikiLitov

Gen X holds more potential in alcohol than millennials

By Beth Newhart

Most food and beverage categories direct their marketing strategy toward millennials and the upcoming Gen Z generations, largely disregarding everyone older than 40. Experts say it’s the wrong move.

There are still around 35 drinking occasions over the course of a week, but beverage categories are changing. Pic: Getty/Kwangmoozaa

The last 30 years in beverages: How have consumers changed?

By Beth Newhart

While soda may have dominated shelves in the 1990s, today’s shoppers are seeking increasingly sophisticated functional beverages. Data company Kantar has analyzed consumer behavior in a new report that highlights the last three decades in the US beverage...

Instant hot coffee of the past is being replaced by higher quality ready-to-drink options.

Bringing back the brew: US coffee innovates for fall

By Beth Newhart

Coffee brands kick it up a notch in the fall, capitalizing on the category’s popularity during the colder months. From spiked cold brew to CBD infusions, US coffee is taking a fresh approach to autumn 2019.

©iStock

Sustainable brands must embrace ‘net positive’: Euromonitor

By Katy Askew

The importance of sustainability continues to rise up the agenda for food brands. A new report from Euromonitor stresses that food makers can’t offset harm done in one area with progress in another. Sustainability leaders are increasingly adopting a ‘net...

World Centric debuts compostable cold cups at Expo East

World Centric debuts compostable cold cups at Expo East

By Beth Newhart

A new line of cold beverage NoTree containers will join World Centric’s packaging designed for hot drinks. The bamboo-based cups will be introduced at the Expo East show in Baltimore this week.

Gen Z wants to consume and share beverages online that are in line with their own personal brand. Pic: Getty/Astarot

How does Gen Z respond to seasonal alcohol favorites?

By Beth Newhart

Gen Z-ers of drinking age are more traditional than they are given credit for, showing strong interest in IPA craft beers and wine moving into the autumn season, despite the noise and popularity of flavored malt beverages (FMBs) and CBD products.

Pic:getty/catlane

Guest podcast

The triple bottom line with Jackson Family Wines: Rabobank Podcast

By Rabobank Liquid Assets Podcast

Jackson Family Wines has achieved a 33% drop in greenhouse gas emissions and a 60% reduction in the water required to produce a bottle of wine over the last decade. In February the company, together with Familia Torres, launched International Wineries...

Each new drink has a single serve option, designed for lunch boxes, after school activities and snacks

Juicy Juice ups the ante for back-to-school season

By Beth Newhart

The traditional juice model is getting refreshed at Juicy Juice, a kids’ beverage brand in the US. New organic and high protein offerings are part of a better-for-you campaign.

Millennial parents with children and are thinking about their health in a preventative way, different from older people who wait until they’re sick to seek medical care.

New functional teas powered by liposomal technology

By Beth Newhart

Bio-Up, a new line of functional beverages positioned for cholesterol and cardio health, is drawing on liposome technology from the pharmaceutical industry to improve uptake of active ingredients.

Coffee child labour podcast: How widespread is the issue?

Sustainable Food & Drink Podcast

Coffee child labour: Under-researched and ‘undetected’

By Oliver Nieburg

Thousands of child labourers work in coffee, but the true levels remain under-researched. Lumina Intelligence speaks to the Sustainable Coffee Challenge about the worst forms of child labour.

Rather than steel tanks, the GoFermentor ferments inside disposable, biodegradable plastic bags.

Can winemaking go tankless and water-free?

By Beth Newhart

Wineries struggle with massive water waste during production, which is particularly hard on urban-based and small startup winemakers. The self-contained GoFermentor system wants to change that.

A potential aggressor to the market is European tariffs, particularly in wine trade with France. Pic: Getty/BrianAJackson

A healthy job market bolsters US wine and spirits

By Beth Newhart

Both large and small US wine and spirits (W&S) companies have been more progressive and competitive with work benefits and compensation than the market average, according to a talent report from ForceBrands.

Domaine Figuière is expanding thanks to a growing demand for rosé. Photo: Figuière.

Figuière: 'Provence is the ‘Champagne region’ for rosé'

By Jenny Eagle

Figuière wine estate in La Londe-les-Maures, Provence, is introducing two wines this year; a vintage red ‘Figure’ and a rosé ‘Pionniere’ aged in oak barrels, and has partnered with INRA (Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique) on a pilot project...

“A critical part of our journey is taking bigger, bolder action to be more socially responsible in all the ways we operate.”

Dunkin’ ramps up sustainability commitment

By Beth Newhart

Dunkin’ Brands, parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts (DD) and Baskin Robbins, released a sustainability report this week, updating its progress on old goals and outlining new ones.