23 Apr UK: SABMiller fast-tracks Clark to CEO after Mackay diagnosed with brain tumour
Alan Clark (left) has been installed as SABMiller's chief executive with "immediate effect" due to Graham Mackay being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
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15 Apr Coca-Cola puts faith in disruptive brands, new categories
A large chunk of the growth in the beverage category in North America over the next decade will come from products in categories that do not even exist today, predicts Coca-Cola’s Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB) team, headed by SA-born, Deryck van Rensburg. [Click pic to...
05 Apr Celebrating 75 years of Nescafé, the Nestlé brand that invented instant coffee
Nestlé Nescafé, the brand that started as an idea to solve the problem of what to do with unsold coffee, is celebrating its 75th anniversary and its position as one of the world’s favourite drinks. Today more than 5 500 cups of Nescafé instant coffee...
07 Mar UK: Coca-Cola to replace full sugar Sprite with calorie-reduced stevia-sweetened version
Coca-Cola Great Britain has announced that it is taking further action to be part of the solution to the global problem of obesity. The move includes the launch of a new, reduced calorie Sprite in the UK from this month that will contain 30% fewer...
12 Feb Making DIY carbonation sexy
SodaStream heads the list of Fast Company's [the fabulous online magazine and website that celebrates innovation of all kinds] annual list: The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food. The company has been making many waves in the US, and elsewhere, even South Africa,...
07 Feb How Coke engineers its orange juice
Don’t let the name fool you. Coca-Cola’s Simply Orange juice [a premium US brand] is anything but pick, squeeze, and pour. That cold glass of 100 percent liquid sunshine on the breakfast table is the product of a sophisticated industrial juice complex. Satellite imagery, complicated...
10 Jan Beer becomes ‘alcohol’ in Russia
Beer in Russia became an alcoholic drink for the first time on New Year's Day.
...29 Nov US: Starbucks turns to tea
On November 14th Starbucks made it largest acquisition yet, buying Teavana, an Atlanta-based tea retailer, for $620m. This is not the firm’s first foray into the tea market — its stores sell tea, of course, and it bought Tazo, a tea manufacturer and distributor, back...
23 Nov SodaStream trying to burst Big Soda’s bubble
Home carbonation beverage system maker, SodaStream International, is taking on "Big Soda" and looking to steal market share from the soft drink giants with the launch of its first global TV campaign and some posturing from its CEO.
...07 Nov Putin wages war on vodka as lifestyle death toll mounts
With smoking and drinking killing 900 000 people a year in Russia, Vladimir Putin is waging the biggest public health drive with a renewed crackdown on tobacco and drink.
...01 Nov Why India’s yuppies want Starbucks and it’s not about the coffee
Starbucks has recently opened its first store in India, in central Mumbai (left). Days after the opening, Mumbaikars, mostly the young, were still queuing for up to an hour to grab their Frappuccinos. Elitist or not, it's not so much the coffee they want, but...
11 Oct SABMiller expands investment in traditional African beer
SABMiller is taking its African beer brand, Chibuku, to ten countries across the continent, as part of its strategy to produce more affordable beer for lower-income consumers while taking market share from the “informal” alcohol sector, the brewer has said.
...04 Oct From popsicle maker to beverage billionaire, China’s richest man
Meet Zong Qinghou. He started hawking drinks outside a school 25 years ago, and has since become China's wealthiest man as founder and chairman of the Wahaha beverage group that's now searching for acquisitions beyond China, particularly in Japan and Africa. Notoriously, his joint venture...
15 Aug Reflections on Diet Coke as it turns 30
Diet Coke celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and like many crossing over into their 30s, the brand can look back on some significant achievements and forward to some daunting challenges as well, says Mintel analyst, Sarah Theodore. [This article has...
26 Jul New new Coke: Zero calories, no fake sugar and no weird aftertaste?
The winning formula could be decades away, but Coke and Pepsi are looking for a way to counter mounting health concerns over soda and get people drinking their products again....
29 Jun Coke goes big in India
Coca-Cola and its bottling partners will invest $5 billion in India by 2020 as it looks to raise its presence in one of its fastest-growing emerging markets.
...22 Jun Coca-Cola ‘not to blame for US obesity’
Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent insists his company is not responsible for the rise in US obesity despite New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recent moves to limit the consumption of sugary drinks.
...14 Jun The revival of Starbucks in the midst of a recession
Like McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Kraft and Nestle, Starbucks is a bell-weather company for the global food industry - and it was recently named as the "Number One World's Most Innovative Food Company" by Fast Company, the influential website that has as its premise: a global...
14 Jun Heineken acquires Belgian cider innovator Stassen Ciders
With the global cider market booming, Heineken has announced its acquisition of Stassen, a leading international cider innovator located in Aubel, Belgium. In addition to its strong research and development (R&D) capabilities and facilities, the acquisition of Stassen provides Heineken with cider making capacity in...
31 May The Branson genius now applied to drinking water systems
Britain's most public and famous entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, has extended his Virgin brand name from record shop ands airlines, to mobile phones, space and deep sea travel, hotels and cheeky health clubs, among several others. Now Brits will soon be finding the...