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Beverage Innovation

Tracking The Drinks Marketplace

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Adapts Its Ad Strategy To The New World Of Streaming TV

As the number of television viewers has slid in recent years, Coca-Cola has decided to put its ad dollars to work creatively on streaming services that don’t accept commercials. The company plans to work with services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ to create campaigns ahead of show premieres, product placement in original programming produced by streaming services, and other innovative projects outside of a traditional 30-second ad. “We want to be non-intrusive. We want to connect with consumers,” a Coca-Cola exec told industry publication Variety. “We want to be adding to what they are doing, versus coming across and just screaming at them.”[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

Coca-Cola European Partners Moves to rPET Bottles In Two More European Markets

The announcement that CCEP will transition to 100 percent recycled plastic (rPET) bottles in the Netherlands and Norway follows the company’s decision to switch to 100 percent rPET bottles in Sweden. The move is an important step toward a closed-loop recycling system that will be supported by local deposit return schemes in those countries. Beginning in October, Coca-Cola in the Netherlands will produce 100 percent rPET small bottles for brands including Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Larger bottles will follow in 2021, making it the second market to move its locally-produced portfolio to 100 percent rPET. Coca-Cola Norway will transition to 100 percent rPET during the first half of next year.[Image Credit: © Coca-Cola European Partners]

Coca-Cola’s Restructuring Aims To Streamline Operations Globally

As part of the comprehensive reorganization initiative announced last week, Coca-Cola is pruning its Africa business unit from the previous Europe, Africa & Middle East division and making it a distinct operation led by Bruno Pietracci, current Africa & Middle East business unit president. Europe will also stand on its own, led by Nikos Koumettis. The Middle East operations will be combined with Eurasia. Vamsi Mohan Thati, head of the South Pacific business unit, was appointed president of the Greater China business comprising mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Mongolia. South Korea will be paired with Japan as a single unit. Latin America, Europe, and North America will also have new operational leaders. Lastly, T. Krishnakumar, president of the India and Southwest Asia business unit, was named chairman of Coca-Cola India, and Sanket Ray, COO of the Mainland China business, was named president of India and Southwest Asia.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]

Costa Coffee Chain Plans Significant Layoffs As Pandemic Keeps British At Home

Coca-Cola’s Costa Coffee chain, which employs about 16,000 people at 1,600 stores in the U.K., announced plans to lay off as many as 1,650 workers because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plan includes the elimination of the assistant store manager position in U.K. stores. Coffee shop business in town centers and cities has been battered as many workers remain home, despite the encouragement of the British government to return to places of employment. Costa said it will try to find alternative jobs within the business for those at-risk where possible and will provide support for those leaving the business.[Image Credit: © THE COCA-COLA COMPANY]

Danone

Camacho To Leave Danone For Greener Pastures

After 20 years at Danone, the head of the dairy and plant-based food and beverage unit is leaving to pursue “outside opportunities.” Francisco Camacho has served in a variety of leadership roles at the company, most recently as EVP of Essential Dairy and Plant-Based (EDP) International. Prior to that he was EVP of Danone’s global waters business and chief growth and innovation officer.[Image Credit: © Danone S.A.]

Nestle

Nestlé SA To Sell China Water Business To Tsingtao

The Swiss company said the sale to Tsingtao Brewery Group, which will include local brand “Dashan Yunnan Shan Quan” and factories in Kunming, Shanghai, and Tianjin, is part of a strategic cooperation agreement with the Chinese brewer. Tsingtao will produce and market the Nestlé “Pure Life” brand in China as part of a licensing agreement. Financial details of the sale were not disclosed.[Image Credit: © Nestlé Waters North America Inc.]

Other Companies

Yili Now Ranks In Top Five Of World’s Dairy Companies, Rabobank Says

A survey by Dutch multinational banking and financial services company Rabobank ranked Chinese dairy producer Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd. (Yili) among the top five dairy producers in the world. According to Yili, Rabobank reported that it is one of the Asian companies “making major moves,” moving into the top five after year-on-year growth of nearly 20 percent. Yili reported a total operating income of 47.53 billion yuan ($7 billion) in the first half of 2020. Yili said recent data showed its current production and sales are “now fully recovered” from the COVID-19 outbreak.[Image Credit: © Yili Innovation]

Holy-The Wellness Drink Expands U.K. Distribution Into C-Stores


Thanks to a booming wellness movement in the U.K., the Italian soft drinks brand has expanded its distribution into U.K. convenience stores with two variants: Reset, a pomegranate, blueberry, lemon, and acerola cherry drink, and Reload, a pink grapefruit, mandarin, and acerola cherry drink. The flavors are available in recyclable glass bottles from Bestway and retail at £1.69 ($2.22).[Image Credit: © Holy Industries Limited]

Califia Farms Founder Greg Steltenpohl Cedes Company Reins To New CEO


The Los Angeles plant-based food and beverage company has named Dave Ritterbush, a CPG industry veteran, as CEO, replacing Greg Steltenpohl, a plant-based pioneer and the company's founder. Steltenpohl will remain on the company’s board. Ritterbush served most recently as president and CEO of Quest Nutrition, which was acquired in a $1 billion deal last year by The Simply Good Foods Co. Before founding Califia Farms, Steltenpohl founded Odwalla Juice Company. The fast-growing plant-based food and beverage category is valued at $5 billion.[Image Credit: © PRNewsfoto/Califia Farms]

Unilever NA To Acquire California Nutrition Company Liquid I.V.

The Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based consumer goods company said it has agreed to acquire Liquid I.V., a health-science nutrition and wellness company based in El Segundo, California. The company, founded in 2012 by Brandin Cohen, markets electrolyte drink mixes that use “Cellular Transport Technology” to enhance the rapid absorption of water and other key nutrients into the bloodstream. According to Unilever, one serving of Liquid I.V. can provide as much as three times the hydration of water alone. The drink mixes are available in three variants, including hydration, energy and sleep. All are non-GMO, vegan, gluten free, soy free, and dairy free. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Image Credit: © Liquid I.V.]
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