23 Aug SABMiller ramps up brewing in Africa
In a bid to ensure it is able to harness the ongoing strong demand in Africa, SABMiller has announced two major investments in the region, in Uganda and Zambia.
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22 Aug New Savanna Dark
Again leveraging the growing taste for cider, Distell has added a new variant to its popular Savanna range, Savanna Dark. [Click pic to enlarge]
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19 Aug En masse filter coffee – without the hassles or costs
Caturra Coffee has introduced a new concept to the SA food service market - a cost effective and efficient way to serve filter coffee to large groups of people.
...16 Aug More details on auction of Nestlé’s Potch SPP soy plant
Acquired in February 2011 for R106m - announced with a fair blaze of publicity and a further R150m allocated for upgrading - Nestlé South Africa has now decided to call it a day on soy protein and millk production at its SPP Potchefstroom plant. The...
15 Aug Kiss or curse for wine industry as bulk exports soar
Driven by surging demand for bulk wine, SA is looking to grow total exports to a record 500m litres in 2013, almost 100m litres more than the record set in 2012. But many market players think it's not all good news; they view the surge...
15 Aug BOS Ice Tea launches in new format
BOS Ice Tea is launching in new and convenient 500ml bottle in nationwide stores this month, complimenting the current range of 275ml cans and 1lt value pack. [Click pic to enlarge]
...18 Jul The South African who invented Johnnie Blue
There is a widely held belief that Soweto is the most lucrative per capita market for Johnnie Walker Blue Label in the world. What is less well known is that Johnnie Blue is a South African invention. Step forward marketing maven from Bakoven, Cape Town,...
12 Jul Assume nothing when it comes to the township shopper
Many FMCG companies have failed to reach the township shopper effectively due to the assumption that the same rules apply in townships as they do with traditional urban shopping, writes FMCG business consultant, Michael Wood. The brandy vs whisky issue is a case in point.
...04 Jul Pioneer’s new CEO will transform the foods group
A whirlwind has gone through the town of Paarl and it’s likely that diversified foods company Pioneer will never be the same again. The whirlwind comes in the form of new CEO Phil Roux, ex Tiger Brands, who is just short of completing...
06 Jun Red Bull tries another daredevil jump, from Everest
The last time Red Bull funded a record-breaking jump, it went over pretty well. "Stratos," the video account of Felix Baumgartner's jump from the edge of space, is the No 4 branded video of all time, according to Visible Measures. The campaign has received 194 million...
03 Jun “If it’s in a pack, it’s probably Nampak”
Nampak is breaking new marketing ground for the packaging giant, with the launch of a first brand television commercial aimed at the broader consumer market. Similarly, in the recent past, Consol Glass has also directed its marketing campaigns at the secondary consumer market, rather than...
17 Apr Distell buys top Scotch whisky producer, Burn Stewart Distillers
The Distell Group, Africa's leading spirits, wines and RTD business, has acquired a top-performing producer of Scotch whiskies, Burn Stewart Distillers Limited, for just over R2,2 billion (£160 million) from the Scottish-based CL World Brands Limited and Trinidad and Tobago based Angostura Limited, owners of...
09 Apr Drinktec comes to Africa
Munich's hugely successful trade show for the beverage and liquid food industries, drinktec, is coming to Jo'burg next year. "Food & Drink Technology Africa" or ftd Africa is the title of the new event which will be held on March 18-19, 2014, at the Gallagher...
28 Mar Government finally moves to protect rooibos in EU — eight years on
A French company’s attempt to make "rooibos" their cup of tea has galvanised the government into action to protect the term — a move it should have made eight years ago after South Africa won a similar battle with a US company, commentators have said.
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28 Mar Bowler Metcalf’s plans for Quality Beverages
In news just to hand, Bowler Metcalf in late January bought out the remaining 25,1% it did not already own in soft drink producer, Quality Beverages (QB), for R34,5m. The acqusition by the JSE-listed Bowcalf is part of a longer-term vision of vertical integration with...
07 Mar SABMiller to start building Namibian brewery
SABMiller has announced a $40-million investment in a new 260,000 hectolitre brewery in Okahandja, Namibia (71kms north of Windhoek) as part of its strategy to expand its operations across Africa. The company expects to break ground on the new site in early April...
07 Mar Clover and Nestlé SA in joint venture bottled water deal
Clover has announced the acquisition of of several Nestlé bottled water assets - in a joint venture deal that will see the latter maintain a 30% holding in the new entity. The R58m deal includes a Gauteng-based Doornkloof property, a bottled...
06 Mar It’s Liqui-Fruit Blackberry vs Ceres Apple!
Playing on the global craze for smart phones, SA's two leading fruit juice players have become embarked on humourous tit-for-tat, pun-rich marketing campaigns for two special edition launches - it's Liqui-Fruit BlackBerry vs Ceres Apple! [Click pic to enlarge]
...26 Feb New multi-million rand plant for SAB
SAB has announced a R700m investment in a state-of-the-art new maltings plant in Alrode‚ Gauteng‚ an investment, it says, that will be part of its continued efforts to support the local economy and drive job creation.
...26 Feb Pioneer Foods appoints new chief
South Africa's Pioneer Foods has named a veteran executive from its main rival as its next chief executive.
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