Beverages

Interview

'Barrels are bullshit' says next-gen Aussie cooper with eyes on Asia

24-Apr-2014 By RJ Whitehead

While wine barrel innovator Flexcube is targeting New World wineries in the Americas for half of its international sales, the Australian company has not forgotten about vineyards across the Asia-Pacific region.

Major breakthrough for Scotch in battle to beat Aussie fraudsters

16-Apr-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Scotland’s whisky industry is celebrating a “major breakthrough” in Australia, where this the spirit was registered as a certification trademark. The move comes after a long battle by Scotch Whisky Association to counter fakes, for which Australia has...

Beer consumption at near 70-year low in Australia

09-Apr-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Consumption of beer in Australia has reached its lowest level since 1946, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Capri-Sun adds final Indian BRIC to emerging market edifice

02-Apr-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Capri-Sun will launch in India this month via a partnership with SDU Beverages, and the brand says it has tremendous potential to tap fruit juice growth of 49% over the next five years.

India’s tea industry gets a new code

01-Apr-2014 By Ankush Chibber

The Tea Board of India has announced a new set of guidelines for Indian tea growers under a voluntary code, with an aim to improve the quality of tea produced in the country.

Asia driving global malt whisky growth

31-Mar-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Strong growth in Asia has driven the world’s malt whisky sector, which grew by 46.7% between 2003 and 2012, according to a new report from just-drinks and The IWSR.

'Trade conflict turned business partnership!' China ends EU wine war

28-Mar-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

China has agreed to end its year-long investigation into subsidies on and alleged dumping of EU wine exports in a move that will relieve France in particular.

US firm hopes deal will open up market for californian wines

VATS the way I like it! Constellation Brands inks China wine deal

26-Mar-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Constellation Brands has signed a long-term strategic deal with China’s VATs Liquor to develop the world’s best-selling table wine Robert Mondavi in the country.

Mineral waters and mixers adding fizz to Aussie bubbly drink market

24-Mar-2014 By RJ Whitehead

New market research suggests that Australia’s love of bubbly drinks could now be fizzling out.

Putting the chai into Dubai: Rise of the world’s tea re-export capital

18-Mar-2014 By RJ Whitehead

The order given by Dubai’s ruling sheikh in 1959 to dredge the Creek, the water channel that flows into the heart of what was at the time a sleepy fishing village, is commonly seen as the move that would transform the Gulf state into an economic powerhouse.

‘Hedonic Expectations’: How to drive healthy drinks sales in China

14-Mar-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

The Chinese place more trust in big beverage brands to deliver safe products, link ‘naturalness’ to single-flavor varieties and are increasingly willing to pay more for quality, safety and nutrition.

The FoodNavigator Forum

How does sugar affect health? Find out at FoodNavigator’s Sugar Debate: Separating Fact from Fiction

12-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Sugar – at least in excess – has been blamed for everything from heart disease to obesity and cancers in recent months. But is it as bad as all that?

MOVE FOLLOWS RECENT UAE STEP TO BAN SUPERSIZE SODAS

Red Bull 'surprised' by Saudi Arabia energy drinks advertising ban

04-Mar-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Saudi Arabia has banned energy drink advertising altogether and will limit their distribution and sale, while brands including Red Bull will now be forced to carry health warnings.

WORLD BANK INVESTMENT ARM 'TROUBLED' BY REPORTS OF CHILD TRAFFICKING ON PLANTATIONS

Angry TATA Global Beverages instructs lawyers over Tetley tea slavery allegations

03-Mar-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

TATA Global Beverages is instructing defamation lawyers after a video documentary in The Guardian online claimed its Tetley tea brand is supplied by a plantation paying such pitiful wages that girls are driven into slavery.

Researchers develop tool to unlock genetics of grape growing

03-Mar-2014 By RJ Whitehead

University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new web-based tool to help unlock the complex genetics and biological processes behind grapevine development.

Editorial

The Big B backs Complan after historic split with Pepsi comes to light

19-Feb-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Hopefully Amitabh Bachchan’s relationship with Heinz India will fare better than his ambassadorship did for Pepsi now the Bollywood screen legend has been signed to endorse its health drink, Complan.

Svedka vodka arrives in India

19-Feb-2014

America’s second most popular imported vodka will now appear on Indian bottle shop shelves after owner Constellation brands tied up a deal with local distributor Mohan Brothers to bring Svedka to India.

Cut and reduce sugar in drinks, don’t tax them, say NZ adults

19-Feb-2014 By Ankush Chibber

Most adult New Zealanders prefer to reduce the amount of sugar in drinks and also their size to imposing a sugar tax to deter their demand, a new survey has revealed.

EU spirits industry keen to tap ‘unfulfilled potential’ in Vietnam

13-Feb-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

spiritsEUROPE tells BeverageDaily.com that the EU is keen to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam to help members including Diageo, Beam Inc. and Pernod Ricard open up a ‘priority’ market.

‘We’ll be the No.1 can player in China!’ Crown Holdings

05-Feb-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Crown Holdings expects to become the leading beverage can producer in China this year and is bullish on the nation’s growth prospects despite low prices for its products.

Kangshifu steals march on Coke in global soft drinks struggle

04-Feb-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Tingyi's successful Chinese brand Kangshifu is gaining ground on Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Sprit in the bottle for world soft drinks domination, according to new Canadean research.

Rabobank sees ‘huge upside’ in China milk tea opportunity

30-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Global tea companies will have to hit the M&A trail to unlock opportunities in important tea markets including China, Russia and India, according to Rabobank.

Australian government rejects bailout appeal from SPC Ardmona

30-Jan-2014 By Ankush Chibber

The Australian government has rejected a plea by beverage maker SPC Ardmona for an AU$25m (US$21.8m) bailout package, calling on the firm’s parent company to the rescue of its local subsidiary. 

Fast food chains slammed for ‘cashing in’ on high-sugar frozen drinks

30-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Health groups in Australia have hit out at fast food chains that they say are “cashing in” by promoting seductively cheap frozen drinks that in many cases contain what they call “surprisingly large” amounts of added sugar. 

China now the world’s biggest red wine consumer

30-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

With consumption almost tripling over the last six years, China has leapfrogged France and Italy to become the world’s biggest red wine market, with surging demand for the variety in stark contrast to that for its inauspicious white counterpart.

Coke India bottler fights site wrecking order

27-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Coke subsidiary Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) has filed a petition before a district magistrate challenging a government order demanding the destruction of a site in Northern India.

‘Mad Men effect’ driving younger Aussies to gain a taste for whisky

24-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Top whisky brands have been seeing a seismic market-share shift in Australia with Mad Men-watching younger drinkers quickly developing a taste for premium whisky.

Singleton red faced as SAB Miller Aussie subsidiary pulls Bluetongue

23-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Australian entrepreneur John Singleton is reportedly furious that SAB Miller subsidiary Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) has chosen to axe its once successful Bluetongue beer brand.

Coopers’ figures strong in face of bad year for Aussie beer

23-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Coopers Brewery has bucked the domestic beer trend and enjoyed record year for beer sales in 2013, surging past the 70m litre mark for the first time in the company’s long history.

CUB denies Aussie beer lock-out as brewers face probe

22-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating the nation’s brewers to find out if certain players have been locked out of the off-premise market.

AB InBev splashes $5.8bn cash on Cass, buys South Korea’s No.1 brewer

20-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Anheuser-Busch InBev will pay $5.8bn for South Korea’s largest beer player Oriental Brewery and says the deal provides a platform to export brands including Cass more widely.

EXCLUSIVE: 150TH ANNIVERSARY FACTORY VISIT

Nestlé Waters excited by Perrier's ‘hyper-premium’ appeal to Chinese sophisticates

15-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Nestlé Waters tells BeverageDaily.com it is excited by Perrier’s growth prospects in China where the carbonated mineral water commands an ultra-premium price.

‘Unprecedented in its potential impact’: Could new anti-cancer study re-ignite the kava market?

10-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

A patent-pending blend of compounds from kava with none of the potentially adverse liver effects may see the much-maligned herb re-emerge in the dietary supplement space, say researchers from the University of Minnesota.

Asia dominates world beer label demand

10-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Asia dominates the world market for beer labels but the market is still dominated by old-style wet glue applied labels, but pressure-sensitive labels continue to make inroads in North America.

Study: SSB tax could dramatically reduce diabetes incidences in India

09-Jan-2014

India could prevent an estimated 400,000 people from contracting diabetes over the next 10 years if the government were to impose a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), a new study has suggested.

Australians give marks for beer advertising

07-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

From the legendary “matter of fact, I’ve got it now” Vic Bitter ads to the notorious Toohey’s Dry “tongue” commercial, the history of Australian TV beer advertising is long and illustrious.

Tea-loving China quickly moving towards instant coffee gratification

03-Jan-2014 By RJ Whitehead

With coffee consumption of little more than two cups per year per person, according to latest figures, China presents a clear opportunity for manufacturers of the beverage as European and American markets stagnate.

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.