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Beverage Innovation

Tracking The Drinks Marketplace

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola India Embarks On Home Delivery Program As Part Of Localization Initiative


The company has partnered with government-sponsored Common Services Centers (CSCs) to deliver its beverages to homes in rural India. CSCs, under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will now list Coca-Cola products such as Fanta, Sprite, and Coca-Cola on its Grameen eStore platform the products will also be available via local entrepreneurs and e-kirana stores. CSCs serve as an access point for e-delivery of education, groceries, and agriculture in India’s villages. Coca-Cola India has planned a pilot project in five states: Andhra Pradesh & Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.[Image Credit: © The Coca Cola Company]

Seven Of Sprite’s APAC Markets Have Switched To Clear PET Bottles

Coca-Cola has switched from the iconic green Sprite bottled to clear PET bottles in seven APAC countries, following recent expansion to Singapore. Beginning in the Philippines in late 2019, the switch to clear PET bottles has taken place in Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Fiji, Hong Kong, and now Singapore, where the clear bottles are available in the 500 ml and 1.5 ml formats. The bottles are made with 10 percent recycled PET (rPET) and are 100 percent recyclable. Packaging experts say that while colored PET bottles can be recycled, transparent PET bottles are more valuable in the after-use market. This also means that the plastic can be repurposed or reused many times, creating a circular solution.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

CCEP Goes All-Natural With Capri-Sun Ingredients

Coca-Cola European Partners announced it has eliminated artificial ingredients – including flavors, colors, sweeteners, and preservatives – from its Capri-Sun portfolio. The Capri-Sun range – including Capri-Sun and Capri-Sun No Added Sugar – will now be made with100 percent of natural ingredients. The move will be supported by a £6 million ($7.5 million) marketing campaign later this year, using television and social media, as well as in-store materials. The Capri-Sun No Added Sugar Nothing Artificial range includes Orange and Apple & Blackcurrant.[Image Credit: © Capri Sun AG]

Coca-Cola Discontinues Minute Maid Smoothie Brand Odwalla


Bowing to what it calls a “rapidly shifting marketplace,” Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid Business will discontinue the juice/smoothie brand Odwalla at the end of the month “despite every effort to support continued production." The company said it has been assessing Odwalla’s business for several years, and decided consumers just aren’t that into smoothies anymore. The company said the decision has nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic, although food companies are cutting back on product offerings during the crisis to streamline operations and meet growing demand for more popular items. To preserve freshness, Odwalla products were transported by a fleet of 230 refrigerated trucks, complicating the supply chain. Minute Maid is dissolving that distribution network as well.[Image Credit: © Odwalla Inc.]

12-Year Coca-Cola Veteran Bruno Pietracci Takes The Reins At Africa & Middle East Unit


Coca-Cola has named 46-year-old Bruno Pietracci as president of Africa & Middle East. He is succeeded as business unit president for the Southern & East Africa region by Matrona Filippou, a 24-year veteran of the company. In separate statements, the two executives emphasized the importance of growth in the “extremely challenging” times of the coronavirus pandemic.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

Danone

Evian Drops Plastic Label, Debuts Water Bottle With Engraved Logo

As part of its efforts to be a fully circular brand, with all bottles made from 100% recycled plastic by 2025, Evian has launched a label-free 400 ml bottle that features an “Evian pink” bottle cap. Since labels or the adhesives they use are typically non-recyclable, their presence on a bottle complicates recycling. The new Evian bottle sidesteps this by engraving the logo and tag as the bottle is being formed.

This is an elegant solution to the label problem, but raises a couple of issues. One is that the cap is still made from non-recycled material. The other is that the bottle does not have a bar code, which means it cannot yet be sold in stores. Instead, it’s suitable for online sales where barcodes are not needed. As well as restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues.  The company did not provide any insight into the additional cost entailed by this process, but did say the innovation took about two years to implement. The bottle will be available in France beginning this month, and in additional countries from September.

 A Danone research engineer said the new engraved logo preserves the natural beauty of the bottle and brings it “closer to the water’s purity.” “Our revolution makes old plastic the ultimate new innovation,” he added.[Image Credit: © Evian (Danone S.A.)]

Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper Sponsors ”Polypropylene Recycling Coalition”

The Burlington, Mass., beverage maker said it has committed $10 million over the next five years to improve the recovery and recycling of polypropylene plastic in the U.S. The Coalition’s goal is to solidify polypropylene's status as a standard curbside recycling material through projects that enhance collection, sortation and processing in recycling facilities. The result would be an increase in the value and supply of recycled polypropylene (rPP) and a reduction in the need for virgin plastic in packaging. KDP has also invested in the American Beverage Association's Every Bottle Back initiative, the Closed Loop Fund and several initiatives led by the Recycling Partnership, Keep America Beautiful, and the World Wildlife Fund.[Image Credit: © Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.]

Monster

Monster Beverage Contemplates Alcoholic Drinks Market

An industry analyst says energy drink maker Monster Beverage is considering an entry into the alcoholic beverage market, “most likely” with a value-added hard seltzer. “We think Monster is likely to seek distribution via a large beer network, with a product rollout in 2021,” said Stifel Financial analyst Mark S. Astrachan. The hard seltzer segment is valued at more than $2 billion and continues to grow at triple-digit rates. The analyst said Monster may launch a non-alcoholic sparkling water under the Monster brand, but an alcoholic version could be a new brand, such as Reign Total Body Fuel, without the Monster name.[Image Credit: © Monster Energy Company]

Nestle

Nespresso To Spend Millions To Upgrade Swiss Production Facility

The espresso machine and capsule maker is investing CHF 160 million ($170 million) to expand its five-year-old, 368-employee Romont production center in Switzerland “to meet increasing consumer demand for its high-quality premium coffees.” Construction of the second production hall, set to start in June 2021, will add 10 lines producing Nespresso coffees for the Vertuo and Professional ranges. The first new production lines are expected to be fully operational by June 2022.[Image Credit: © PRNewsfoto/Nespresso]

Nestlé Canada Sells Pure Life To Canadian Bottled Water Producer

The sale of Nestlé Pure Life bottled water business to family-owned water producer Ice River Springs of Shelburne, Canada, includes two Pure Life factories located in Puslinch, Ontario and Hope, British Columbia, along with a well in Erin, Ontario.  The sale follows a Nestlé Canada decision in late 2019 to focus on its international brands: San Pellegrino, Perrier, and Acqua Panna. Ice River Springs produces private label bottled water for retailers and markets the Ice River water brand. The company also runs a plastics recycling operation, BMP Recycling. The sale is contingent on completion of the regulatory review process and the deal is expected to close in Q3 2020. Until completion of the regulatory review, the Nestlé Pure Life bottled water business will continue to be run by Nestlé Canada.[Image Credit: © Nestlé Waters North America Inc.]

Wahaha

Food And Beverage Giant Wahaha Ponders Billion-Dollar IPO

Chinese beverage company Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. is considering an initial public offering that could raise more than $1 billion, Bloomberg reports. An adviser is working with the company on the IPO, which would probably take place in 2021. Wahaha markets products ranging from bottled water, yogurt drinks, and juice to instant noodles, sold in more than 30 countries, including Canada, Singapore, and the U.S. It maintains 80 production plants and employs about 30,000 workers. Bloomberg notes that Wahaha joins fellow Hangzhou-based beverage firm Nongfu Spring Co. in seeking a first-time share offering. Nongfu filed for its Hong Kong IPO in late April and plans to raise about $1 billion.[Image Credit: © Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co.,Ltd.]
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