Beverages

Aussies now prefer mulling over wine and adopting new booze brands

02-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Australia is now a nation of booze browsers as consumers there become less tied to the brands they know well and are starting to look wider for new names and tastes. 

Red Bull targets China for expansion (UPDATED)

17-Dec-2013 By Maggie Hennessy

Red Bull is planning to roll out its best-selling energy drink in China after gaining the necessary permissions, and is building an office in Shanghai, a spokesperson told FoodNavigator-USA. The news was initially reported in Austrian newspaper Kronen...

Australian winemakers reeling under supermarket domination

16-Dec-2013 By Ankush Chibber

Australian winemakers have come out punching against the country’s dominant supermarket chains with a new action plan framed to move the wine industry towards greater profitability. 

Future Group gains Sunkist, kisses goodbye to Capital Foods

11-Dec-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Future Consumer Enterprise, the FMCG division of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, has been busy this week, announcing it will launch Sunkist in India, and divesting itself of Capital Foods, a major private-label brand.

PepsiCo India finally fills CEO role

11-Dec-2013 By RJ Whitehead

D Shivakumar has been named as the new chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo India, a post that has been lying vacant since former incumbent Manu Anand quit the company in June to join Cadbury Kraft.

Tingyi looking to continue acquisitions spree

09-Dec-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Having already formed alliances with PepsiCo, Asahi Group and others over the last three years, China’s Tingyi is looking to further boost its portfolio, according to its chief financial officer.

Acai and brain health: Has study unlocked Amazonian fruit’s neuroprotective effects?

04-Dec-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

The potential brain health benefits of açai (Euterpe oleraceae Mart.) may be linked to an inhibition of the aggregation of beta-amyloid proteins, says a new study from Australia.

Scotland—and its whisky—attractive to Indian partners

03-Dec-2013 By RJ Whitehead

A delegation from Scotland to India, on a trade mission to promote the country’s food and drink, has proved a hit with its whisky-loving hosts—not least with the announcement shortly afterwards that an Indian company would invest in a new malt distillery...

GrainCorp loses CEO to Coca-Cola Amatil after Treasury halts ADM move

02-Dec-2013 By RJ Whitehead

It was revolving doors today in the Australian food and beverage industry as GrainCorp announced the departure of its chief executive, closely followed by Coca-Cola Amatil broadcasting its own new appointment.

Nobody any the wiser over Sri Lankan court’s Coca-Cola sales ban

28-Nov-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Coca-Cola has slammed official reports in Sri Lanka that production at the island's only bottling plant has been suspended for three months, as have all sales of the beverage on the island.

NZ begins process to ferment place as leading lifestyle wine exporter

27-Nov-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Winegrowers in New Zealand have embarked on their largest ever research and development project in a bid to capitalise on the world’s growing taste for so-called “lifestyle wines”, which are lower in calories and alcohol.

Liquid lucre: Diageo prizes scale as basis for Asia Pacific success

26-Nov-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Diageo says it see a massive opportunity for international spirits in the Asia Pacific and claims its scale lends it a significant competitive advantage in the region.

Beer, baby and dairy: Australia’s top food export future

25-Nov-2013 By Ankush Chibber

Food is expected to be one of Australia’s top five exports in the next decade, at a time when Asian markets are expected to remain the top export destinations for the country, a new report from research firm IBISWorld has said. 

Soft drinks losing their fizz among younger Australians

14-Nov-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Soft drink marketeers may need to reconsider their targeted advertising and replace volleyball-playing, festival-going twentysomethings with canasta-playing, arts-loving, Australians in their 40s, new research shows.

HK’s booming wine industry launches QA scheme

13-Nov-2013 By RJ Whitehead

The Hong Kong government’s decision to scrap wine duty in 2008 has contributed to a 187% increase in the value of wine imports into Hong Kong since then. 

Indra Nooyi laughs off ‘irrelevant’ Pepsi v Coke competition talk

13-Nov-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Indra Nooyi says people should forget PepsiCo’s Coke rivalry in India and welcome both firms’ $10.5bn investment in the country, where the middle class will exceed that of the US, UK and France together in five years.

Tiger beer sales soar in Asia-Pacific as Heineken changes tack

06-Nov-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Heineken attributes booming Tiger beer sales of 20% in Asia Pacific to a more mainstream market positioning slightly below its eponymous brand.

Australian beverage demand flat, says Coca-Cola

05-Nov-2013 By Ankush Chibber

Once-surging demand has slowed among Australian consumers over the last quarter, according to Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), the maker of Coke in the country. 

Aussies steering away from amber nectar in favour of imported beers

04-Nov-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Australians are forsaking domestic beer for foreign imports, according to new research of the beer segment that highlights how the public’s alcohol preferences have been changing quickly.

SODA BEHEMOTH MEETS 'INCREASINGLY DIVERSE' CONSUMER DEMANDS

‘Major milestone’ as Coke inaugurates largest China bottling site

28-Oct-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

The Coca-Cola Company is set to open a $106m site in China’s Hebei province and says its bottling activities across five provinces although it to meet ‘increasingly diversified’ consumer needs.

India’s highest court orders regular checks on fizzy drinks

24-Oct-2013 By Ankush Chibber

India’s highest court has directed the country’s top food safety watchdog to conduct regular checks on carbonated soft drinks sold in the country.

Carlsberg breaks ground on Burma's 'first international brewery'

22-Oct-2013 By Ben Bouckley

Carlsberg’s CEO says his firm remains well-positioned for future growth after breaking ground on Burma's 'first ever' international brewery and starting construction on another facility in China.

From Kant to the 6 o'clock swill: creative ways to limit alcohol abuse

21-Oct-2013 By Julian Baggini

Philosopher Julian Baggini has been commissioned by the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council to give his take on the serious issues affecting the industry. Here, he looks at how alcohol abuse can be tackled by using the brain more than legislative brawn.

Wine for cats launched in Japan

17-Oct-2013 By Mark ASTLEY

Cat lovers need never drink alone again thanks to Japanese pet supplement company B&H Lifes, which has developed a wine product for felines.  

ANUGA TASTE THE FUTURE 2013: INNOVA MARKET INSIGHTS, PART 2

From Pina Colada to Apple Vinegar: Top trends in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australasia

15-Oct-2013 By Mark ASTLEY

Innova Market Insights delved into its database for Anuga Taste the Future 2013 to provide an update on the flavor trends that are driving beverage innovation in Australasia and developing Asian, African and Middle Eastern markets.

Crown China expansion sees rise in aluminium cans

10-Oct-2013 By Jenny EAGLE

Crown Holdings has opened three beverage can factories in Heshan (Guangdong province), Ziyang (Sichuan province) and Putian (Fujian province), bringing the total number of plants in China to seven.

Parle returns to carbonated drinks with India’s first fizzy coffee

26-Sep-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Twenty years after it exited the carbonated soft drinks business, Parle Agro has now revealed it will return to the market with a coffee flavoured fizzy drink—a first for the Indian market.

A wine and a prayer: NZ’s new boozy approach to religion

25-Sep-2013 By RJ Whitehead

It is now more common for alcohol to be served at religious events in a bid by New Zealand churches to attract more members, a researcher has found.

PepsiCo eyes expansion with new AMEA CEO

24-Sep-2013

PepsiCo has appointed a new chief executive officer for the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region as it aims to bolster penetration in the region.

Beer hits a 66-year low as Aussie taste for wine continues to grow

23-Sep-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Australians might have been developing a taste for wine over beer, but on the whole the country is drinking less alcohol, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Scientists find genetic link between sugary drinks and gout

20-Sep-2013 By Ankush Chibber

Scientists in New Zealand have for the first time discovered a genetic link between sugary drinks and the occurrence of the debilitating arthritic disease, gout, in men.

ANALYST WARNS BRANDS MUST BE 'EXTRA VIGILENT'

Chinese fake seizures prompt Red Bull response

11-Sep-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Red Bull insists it watches the Chinese market closely to guard against fakes after authorities arrested 13 people in August and seized thousands of counterfeit energy drinks, as an analyst warns the issue is a serious problem in 'virtually every...

More than 25% of young Kiwis have a drinking problem, says new study

11-Sep-2013 By Ankush Chibber

A new study in New Zealand has revealed that up to a quarter of Kiwis aged 21 to 30 have a subclinical alcohol problem, which affects their daily life to some extent.

Labels on energy drinks inadequate, says Australian health group

09-Sep-2013 By Ankush Chibber

One of Australia’s premier health advocacy groups has said the country’s current labelling regulations for caffeinated energy drinks are unclear about possible health issues. 

Special report

Cheap whiskies haunted by India's new found love of premium spirits

09-Sep-2013 By Raynah Coutinho

In spite of India’s weighty whisky market, which was worth an estimated 170m cases alone last year, manufacturers have been waking up to other often-ignored and newly opened segments like brandy and rum.

Oz industry to government: Leave caffeinated energy drinks alone

06-Sep-2013 By Ankush Chibber

Australia’s peak body for beverage manufacturers has come out strongly against media claims that the country’s teenagers may be at risk with over consumption of caffeinated energy drinks. 

Botanicals

Monteloeder launches drinkable skin protection ingredient

04-Sep-2013 By RJ Whitehead

A new variant of Monteloeder’s NutroxSun cosmeceutical product has been launched and claims to protect the skin from the sun when taken in liquid form. 

Australia’s health department trains guns on caffeinated energy drinks

04-Sep-2013 By Ankush Chibber

Australia’s Federal Department of Health has released a new discussion paper aimed at the regulation and availability of caffeinated energy drinks in Australia and New Zealand. 

BEVERAGE GIANT CUTS LOSSES AND DROPS ACTION

Coke hired snooping private eye in Aussie Honest Tea trademark fight

23-Aug-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

The Coca-Cola Company today admitted defeat in an 18-month trademark battle that pitted its US Honest Tea brand against a small Australian firm using the same name run by a Sydney mum, but not before putting a private eye on her tail.

Heineken: 5% rise in Asian drinkers by 2015

22-Aug-2013 By Jenny EAGLE

The Asian beer market is the greatest potential for growth in the future, says Heineken as it expands its Sidel canning line. 

Greenpeace Australia attacks Coke with spoof recycling website

21-Aug-2013 By Ben Bouckley

Greenpeace has launched a spoof website attacking Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) for opposing a national container deposit scheme in Australia and alleging the firm is doing all it can ‘to block it forever’.

Australian scientists serve cyclists healthier ‘hydrating’ beer

20-Aug-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Australian scientists have created a healthier more hydrating beer by adding electrolytes and lowering the alcohol content to reduce the dangers of drinking.

Coca-Cola Amantil hoping for a beer buzz after drinks war hits profits

20-Aug-2013 By RJ Whitehead

On a day when Coca-Cola’s Australian distributor admitted that a soft-drinks price war had significantly hit its first-half earnings, it also revealed it will make a big-chips return to the local beer market.

FSANZ seeks opinions on fungal chitosan use

14-Aug-2013 By Joe Whitworth

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has called for submissions on a proposal to use fungal chitosan as a processing aid.

Emerging market healthy food 'faux pas': Too much pleasure, too soon

14-Aug-2013 By Shane STARLING

“The most common mistake by western fast moving consumer good (FMCG) companies who launch new food and beverage brands in emerging markets is that they jump straight in to a Pleasure position with their brands.”

China eyes US's top spot in packaged water following massive growth

14-Aug-2013 By RJ Whitehead

In data that has surprised many industry analysts by the speed of its growth, China’s packaged water consumption has been skyrocketing, to the point that the country poised to become the world’s biggest consumer. 

Coca-Cola Amatil ‘right on trend’ with Indonesia Minute Maid flavors

13-Aug-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Still drinks continue to attract new consumers in Indonesia and Coca-Cola Amatil was smart to expand its Minute Maid range with new flavour variants there last year, Canadean insists.

COKE ALLAYS FEARS, INSISTS WITHDRAWN DRINKS SAFE

Coke recalls Minute Maid in China after Fonterra botulism scare

06-Aug-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

The Coca-Cola Company has recalled a Minute Maid line in China after New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra warned that whey protein used in the drinks could cause potentially fatal botulism.

Nestlé's Special.T tea maker to be given debut in gadget-loving Japan

31-Jul-2013 By RJ Whitehead

Nestlé will introduce its premium-portioned capsule tea maker, Special.T, to consumers outside Europe for the first time when the brand goes on sale in Japan later this year.

New growers centre aims to help Philippines keep up with coffee demand

30-Jul-2013 By RJ Whitehead

In a country where demand for beans far outstrips supply, a new Nescafé’s coffee centre of excellence in the Philippines has been designed as a starting point to improve the quality and quantity of the local crop.