19 Oct Deciphering the beerhemoth: the SABMiller-AB InBev merger
The battle lasted one tumultuous month. In September SABMiller, the world’s second-largest brewer, said it was the target of a takeover by its bigger rival, AB InBev. There followed a volley of bids, skirmishes in the press and tense private talks...
18 Oct Mintel identifies top global food and drink trends for 2016
Mintel is first past the post with a trends outlook for 2016...
07 Oct Clover enters soft drink market, buys stake in Frankie’s
Dairy and beverage group, Clover, has acquired 'retro' South African drinks brand, Frankie’s Olde Soft Drinks, for an undisclosed sum.
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18 Sep Take-outs from Cape Wine 2015
What a tonic! Two days at the vibrant Cape Wine 2015 expo, South Africa's triennial wine showcase to the world, crammed with eager international buyers, traders and media, quickly set aside the fog of gloom that sits heavy on many a South African psyche...
17 Sep Now what about fermented coffee?
Camille Delebecque is founder and CEO of Afineur, a Franco-American startup, who raised more than $50,000 on Kickstarter to produce a coffee with a unique flavour created through controlled fermentation; in effect, to produce Indonesia's famed civet-poop coffee, kopi luwak, without the civet and all the...
17 Sep Move over, kettle: Unilever to sell €179 Lipton tea machine
Unilever has launched a single-serve Lipton tea machine to help reinvigorate the struggling brand and challenge Nestlé, which has already spent five years pushing a similar Nespresso-like device for tea.
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17 Sep Food + Drink: Trends and Futures
Food and drink consumers have never known such an abundance of choice, and food has probably never been so central to popular culture — yet its future has rarely seemed so controversial. The newest report from the Innovation Group, J Walter Thompson's in-house creative think...
17 Sep Craft beer: South Africans wake up late in their search for authenticity
In 1997 South Africa boasted two craft brewers - and now there are more than 150, many shipping their products around the country. There are even online services where you can order home delivery of craft beer and it is becoming commonplace to...
17 Sep Why SABMiller’s $250bn mega deal may just happen this time
A tie-up between SAB Miller and ABInbev the two biggest global beer producers, a thumping $250bn merger idea, has been rumoured so often there is bound to be some scepticism. But this time, just maybe, it might just happen.
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16 Sep Coca-Colanisation: A day in the life of a South African endocrinologist
With up to 10-million South Africans either suffering from type 2 diabetes or in the pre-diabetic stage, a wholly preventable epidemic is about to swamp our already strained public healthcare system. Kevin bloom spent a day at the diabetes clinic of a major public hospital,...
15 Sep KWV partners with innovative start-up Brannas Draught
Brannas Draught captured the local NPD imagination with its launch of the first brandy and cola served as a draught in February this year. The roaring success of the start-up, serving SA's archetypal favourite tipple, has lead to a partnership with premium brandy producer KWV.
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03 Sep Terrific new flexible liquid packaging concept comes to SA
Last year Dow Packaging launched the innovative flexible packaging alternative to rigid bottles, PacXpert, at the giant Interpack expo in Dusseldorf. It's now coming to South Africa via a licensing agreement signed with Astrapak who believes it could be a a big new hit for...
03 Sep Zero alcohol Guinness on trial in Asia
Diageo is trialling an alcohol-free variant of its Guinness stout in Indonesia, in a move designed to get round the country's new restrictions on the sale of alcohol.
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02 Sep Can you avoid hangovers after heavy drinking?
Are some people immune to hangovers, and can eating or drinking water after heavy drinking prevent a hangover? The answers appear to be 'no' and 'no' according to new research presented recently at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) seminar in Amsterdam.
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02 Sep Tetra Pak’s paper-based Tetra Top makes its US and water debut
Tetra Pak has brought its Tetra Top paper-based bottle to the US market for the first time, with the launch of new spring water brand Just Water.
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02 Sep inGENIUS wine carton is ingenious!
CTP Cartons & Labels in Cape Town has come up an innovative product called inGENIUS – a functional pack designed to make any beverage or wine brand, or any brand, stand out in a crowd.
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01 Sep Now Jamie Oliver takes on sugary drinks
British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who has instigated highly-publicised campaigns to improve school dinners, is to launch a campaign highlighting the dangers of consuming too much sugar.
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30 Aug US: PepsiCo debuts use of Sweetmyx flavour enhancer
After many years in development, the much-heralded flavour enhancer called Sweetmyx is set to make its debut in two PepsiCo-owned soda brands in the US.
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23 Aug Milk in tea will keep teeth white
A new study claims that adding a drop of milk to your tea can is more effective than bleaching products or whitening toothpastes.
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23 Aug New London bar where you can imbibe via an alcoholic cloud
A new pop-up bar in London makes imbibing easier than ever. Created by “culinary wizards” Bompas & Parr, the installation features a room filled with a gin and tonic mist that gives guests that boozy buzz with a few deep breaths.
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