25 Apr 2018 --- Foodex 2018, which took place at the NEC in Birmingham, UK last week, featured some of the trendiest innovations in British food and drink solutions. FoodIngredientsFirst attended the event which was strong in sophisticated adult soft drinks boasting intriguing flavors and concepts. With the UK sugar tax having just come into force, there was an impressive display of low sugar, adult soft drinks that come with health claims and fruitful flavors.
24 Apr 2018 --- East London commercial district, Canary Wharf, has unveiled the first UK on-site Deposit Return Scheme machine as part of its “breaking the plastic habit” strategy. The move coincides with the UK Government’s strategy to tackle plastic waste by introducing a European-style nation-wide Deposit Return Scheme on all plastic, glass and metal drink containers.
23 Apr 2018 --- Plastic in our oceans has been a hot topic of conversation for a number of months and Rethink Brands is on a mission to help reduce the number of plastic bottles that end up in landfills and oceans each year. Just last year, it honed in on demand for sugar-free or low-sugar beverages for children, in a world where parents are looking for healthier beverage options.
16 Apr 2018 --- In the US, over a five year period between 2011 and 2016, cold brew coffee consumption soared by more than 500 percent – and now it’s growing rapidly across Europe. Tapping into the cold-brew coffee trend, which is tipped to be even bigger this year, is France-based cold concentrations expert Ederna.
11 Apr 2018 --- Nestlé has committed to making 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. The world’s largest food and beverage company aims to avoid any of its packaging, including plastics, ending up in landfills or as litter. It will instead adopt a circular economy model in which packaging, particularly plastics, are actively reused. Nestlé highlights the need to minimize the impact of packaging waste on the environment as its motivation.
06 Apr 2018 --- Today marks the start of the long-awaited sugar tax on soft drinks in the UK – and as consumers brace themselves for price rises, the burning question is “What impact will the implementation of sugar levies have on consumption?” And as industry monitors early reaction over the next few months to see the choices UK consumers make, Innova Market Insights has carried out a survey examining what factors influence consumers by when making soft drink purchasing decisions.
03 Apr 2018 --- A controversial sugar tax billed as a new health-promotion levy by the South African government has just started. Designed to support the Department of Health’s aim to reduce the incidence of diabetes, obesity and related diseases, the levy is 2.1 cents per gram of sugar content that exceeds four grams per 100ml (the first four grams per 100ml are levy-free) and sugar content includes added sugar and other sweetening matter.
29 Mar 2018 --- England will introduce a deposit return system (DRS) on all plastic, glass and metal drinks containers, the UK minister for the Environment, Michael Gove has announced. Such schemes have successfully been running in neighboring countries Germany and Sweden and Scotland announced a similar plan last year. These schemes have managed to boost collection rates for beverage packaging to over 90 percent in some states. The announcement has been met with positive feedback amid concerns over the potential costs of implementation.
20 Mar 2018 --- Current innovation across the beverage category is centered around health and wellbeing, as sugar reformulation and the broader idea of “lighter enjoyment” continues to dominate new product development. Globally, producers are tapping into the growing consumer demand for enjoyable soft and alcoholic drinks that have been given a clean and clear label makeover as innovators continue to dump sugar and reformulate with more natural alternatives.
15 Mar 2018 --- Landmark discoveries from New Orb Media have found potentially harmful plastic particles in the water bottles of 11 leading global brands, including Dasani (Coca-Cola), Epura (PepsiCo), Aqua (Danone) and Nestlé Pure Life and San Pellegrino (Nestlé). Exclusive testing was conducted on more than 250 bottles from nine different countries, with 93 percent found to have contained plastic debris the size of the width of a human hair, including polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
08 Mar 2018 --- Coca-Cola is breaking a 130 year plus tradition by launching the companies' first alcoholic beverage in the world in Japan. The soft drinks maker has said that the alcopop type beverage will be similar to “Chu-Hi,” a canned sparkling flavored drink that includes a local spirit called shochu.
06 Mar 2018 --- In March 2017, the Netherlands became the very first country in which Coca-Cola revamped Sprite as a completely no-sugar and no-calorie soft drink. According to the company, the target group wants less sugar and more choice in low-calorie and no-calorie soft drinks. In the past year, Sprite played an important role in satisfying this demand. One year after its reintroduction, there is an excellent match between supply and demand. Last year, Sprite realized volume growth of 4.4 percent (Ex-factory week 11 – week 52, 2017).
14 Feb 2018 --- DDW “The Color House “ has launched an EmulsiTech cloudy paprika to its portfolio of liquid color emulsions, specifically designed for orange beverages. The non-GM, palm-free, water-dispersible coloring delivers a cloudy orange hue for soft drinks.
08 Feb 2018 --- Just a few months before the UK sugar tax begins, Coca-Cola European Partners is making a move into plant-based drinks, with a new range, designed and marketed to appeal to millennials.
08 Feb 2018 --- The market for beverages is continuously growing around the world. The main drivers in the category are fruit juices and fruit juice drinks, which are seeing disproportionate growth. Hydrosol has launched all-in compounds which let beverage manufacturers benefit from this growing demand. The company's Stabifruit systems contain all the important components for making refreshing fruity drinks and offer many advantages over concentrates.
22 Jan 2018 --- Coca-Cola has pledged to recycle a used bottle or can for every one the company sells by 2030 as well as working towards making all its packaging recyclable, as the soft drinks giant joins a global movement to reduce waste.
11 Jan 2018 --- On-trend bold botanical, fruit and spice flavors like mango, lime, ginger and blood orange, are the key components of new-look Diet Coke as the iconic brand goes through a transformation which also includes sleek new packaging.
19 Dec 2017 --- Private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners has partnered up with Dunn’s River Brands to create a new strategic beverage platform. As part of the venture, the companies have acquired the Sweet Leaf Tea and Tradewinds businesses from Nestle Waters North America. Dunn’s River Brands said Sweet Leaf Tea and Tradewinds are expected to serve as the base for additional acquisitions of smaller high-growth brands in the fast-growing ready-to-drink tea category.
13 Nov 2017 --- Brand new research from Britvic has revealed that almost half of consumers (45 percent) are set to buy more soft drinks at Christmas as figures show that over a fifth (21 percent) plan to drink less alcohol. With 37 percent also planning to spend more on soft drinks at Christmas than previous years, increasing to over half (56 percent) of consumers aged 16-24, seasonal soft drinks sales are set to soar this Christmas and Britvic is advising leisure operators to be prepared.
08 Nov 2017 --- Symrise Flavors’ Marketing and Consumer Insights group recently conducted a study addressing what is driving the growing acceptance of craft products among US millennials, with a focus on craft beverages.
