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Nigeria 46From a soft drinks investor’s perspec-tive, Nigeria should represent an attrac-tive proposition, albeit a long term one,reports Richard Corbett.

Hot Fill 48A well-recognised and simple methodof filling and sterilising products, hotfill no longer presents a challenge forPET packaging.

Promoting Brands 50For brand owners, PET’s design flexibil-ity has been critical to its success,according to APPE.

Predicting Shelf Life 52Scott Steele discusses computer model-ling of multiple package scenarios andhow it assists brand owners to under-stand risks and cost trade-offs.

Bangladesh Recycles 54Akij Food& Beverage has recently installeda Krones bottle-2-bottle system, the firstPET recycling line of its kind in Asia.

Unleash The Monster 56ELGA Process Water worked closelywith CCE’s Project Management Team toensure that the plant would meet thespecified quality.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 1ConTEnTS

Europe 4Africa 8Middle East 10India 12Asia Pacific 14Americas 16

Ingredients 20

Juices & Juice Drinks 24Energy & Sports 26Waters & Water Plus Drinks 28Carbonates 30Traditional 33

Process Plant 58Packaging 60Environment 62People 66Events 68

Juices And Nectars 34The fruit/vegetable juice category is set tomaintain its current strong growth trend,reports Richard Haffner.

Berry Inspirational 36Berries offer beverage manufacturersdiverse ways to innovate with some of theworld’s most popular and healthy fruits,according to Ocean Spray.

Super Fruit, MaximumPotential 38DSM assesses the key issues associatedwith superfruit processing and identifieshow producers can successfully overcomethese hurdles and ensure they maximisethe superfruit’s potential in their endproducts.

Stone Fruits 40Michael Britten-Kelly, offers a fascinatinginsight into the origin and application ofstone fruits.

Private Label 42The growth of the European market for pri-vate label has dramatically changed theplaying field of the ingredients and pack-aging industry, writes Koen de Jong.

news

regularsComment 2BSDA 7&44From The Past 69Bubbling Up 70Buyers’ Guide 71Classified 73

features

The leading English language magazine published in Europe, devoted exclusively to the manufacture, distribution and marketing of soft drinks, fruit juices and bottled water.

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Soft Drinks International (1997), formerly Soft Drinks Management International (1988),was originally founded as the Soft Drinks Trade Journal in 1947, incorporating The British &Colonial Mineral Water Trade Journal (1888) with the Soft Drinks & Allied Trade Review, formerly the Mineral Water & Allied Trade Review (1873).

The entire contents of Soft Drinks International are protected by copyright and no part may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in Soft Drinks International is accurate, the editor and publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent thoseof the editor or publisher. The fact that product names are not identified as trademarks is not to be taken as an indication that suchnames are not registered trademarks.

2 Soft Drinks International – March 2011CoMMEnT

International food and grocery analyst, IGD reports that nine out of 10 UK shoppersthink food prices will be higher in the next 12 months; a third believe food will bemuch more expensive. Compared to 18% in October 2010, 25% now say they willbuy more of the lowest-priced supermarket private label products in the next 12months.Statistics released by food and drink research specialist MMM Research show that

30% more UK shoppers look for health claims than ethical ones: free range is twiceas looked for as Fairtrade, although 90% recognise the Fairtrade logo. ‘Healthy’ is byfar the most looked for product claim (51% of people) followed by ‘low or no fat.’UK consumers, it seems, are anticipating price rises, but will want 'healthy' value-

for- money products. With well-reported rising commodity prices (see page 00 forthe impact on Britvic) combined with higher living costs, shoppers will be keeping aclose hold on purse strings. Healthier choices have to be made more affordable. Outside the UK, IGD tells us that Brazil, Russia, India and China are forecast to be

in the top five grocery markets for the first time by 2015. China’s strong growth isset to continue with its grocery market forecasted to overtake the US in 2012, largelydue to the impact of the prolonged recession in the US and quick recovery in China;this will make it the largest market in the world, worth €1,042billion in 2015.Growth in Russia's grocery market is predicted to double in value from

€194billion in 2010 to €394billion in 2015. The Indian market, which has beensteadily climbing up the ranks in recent years, is predicted to reach third place at aworth of €428billion whilst Brazil, currently ranking fifth, has overtaken France forthe first time this year and is set to retain this position in 2015 with an estimatedvalue of €330billion.IGD further reports that by 2015 the top four global grocery retailers – Walmart,

Tesco, Carrefour and Metro – will account for €717,208million of turnover, of which43% will be derived from their international operations.The world’s largest retailer will remain Walmart, with a CAGR of 4.7% taking

global sales to €401,753million; Tesco is forecast to grow sales to €106,074millionby 2015 (compared to its €73,777million in 2010); Carrefour’s new hypermarketformat, Carrefour Planet, and strong growth in emerging markets, will support itsposition at number two in the global rankings; whilst Metro will rely on itsinternational operations which are predicted to grow faster than its domestic ones.All good news for these supermarket giants, but they must not lose sight of their

moral and ethical responsibility to customers: to market, promote and sell healthybeverages and food items in an open and transparent manner, at a price theconsumer can afford.

EARTHQUAKESThe scale of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan unfolds as we go to press.Previous natural disasters have always illustrated the swiftness of relief aid from thesoft drinks industry (see page 14 for the help given to Christchurch, New Zealand).The Coca-Cola Company, for instance, has immediately pledged 600 millionJapanese yen (US $7.3 million) in cash and product donations including more than7million bottles of needed beverages.

The price has to beright

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Soft Drinks International – March 2011

Late BulletinThe Coca-Cola Co is to allow its shareholders to have their

say on executive pay. The US soft drinks giant said in a regula-tory filing that shareholders can now vote to register eithertheir approval or disapproval of the company's most recent paypackages and the frequency of votes in the future. The proce-dure will begin at the company's next annual meeting on 27thApril.

PepsiCo has laid claim to having developed the first PETplastic bottle made from plant-based, fully renewableresources. The bottle is recyclable, PepsiCo said, and is madefrom bio-based raw materials, including switch grass, pine barkand corn husks. The company hopes to broaden the renewablesources used to create the bottle to include orange peels, potatopeels, oat hulls and other agricultural by-products from itsfoods business.

Pussy Drinks is set to launch a marketing campaign in theUK for its namesake energy drink brand. The campaign will becreated by newly-appointed marketing agency BeattieMcGuinness Bungay (BMB). As part of the deal BMB hasbecome a shareholder in the business, the firm said, withoutspecifying the size of BMB's stake. The campaign will includea nationwide social media, digital and experiential campaignto launch in April.

National Beverage Corp has recorded a healthy rise in netprofits for its third quarter. For the three months to 29thJanuary, profits climbed by 34% to US$7.4m. Sales in the peri-od edged up by 0.3% to US$131.9million. Meanwhile, for thefirst nine months of National beverage's fiscal year so far, prof-its increased by 26% to $29.7million, while sales rose by 0.9%to $448million.

Coca-Cola Enterprises is set to apply for a second listing, inEurope, to complement its presence on the New York StockExchange. The Coca-Cola marketer, distributor, producer andbottler, which sold its North American business to The Coca-Cola Co last year, confirmed that it will seek a secondary list-ing of its ordinary shares on the 'Professional Segment' ofNYSE Euronext in Paris.

The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership, a joint venture betweenPepsiCo and Unilever, has signed Swedish golfer AnnikaSorenstam as sponsor of its Lipton ready-to-drink (RTD) iceteas for the US. As part of the deal, Sorenstam will make mar-keting event appearances and feature in regional advertising forthe iced tea range.

Jones Soda saw its full-year net losses narrow in 2010 andhas said that it is confident it can now begin expanding itsmarket share in the US. In the year to the end of December, theUS soft drinks maker reduced its net losses by 42% toUS$6.1million. Operating losses were also cut, by 37% to$6.6million. Sales in the period slid by 33% to $17.5million.

Nichols has acquired the remaining 50% of Dayla LiquidPacking as it looks to build on strong rises in sales and profitsin 2010. For the 12 months to the end of December, Nichols'net sales rose by 16% versus 2009 to UK£83million(US$134million). The group said that operating profitsincreased by 24% to UK£14.8million, while net profits leapt by29.5% to UK£10.8million.

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Europe

InDUSTrY nEWS


Weather and rawmaterial impactsperformanceSUBSEQUENT to announcing its first quar-ter results at the company's AGM, BritvicSoft Drinks has warned that full year profitswould be lower than expected because ofthe recent rapid rise in raw materials, mainlyplastic and sugar. Paul Moody, CEO, isreported to have said that although full yearprofits would be lower than forecast, he stillexpects operating performance to be mate-rially ahead of last year.

At the AGM Gerald Corbett, Chairman,said adverse weather affected trading in thefirst quarter, particularly in Great Britain'sPub & Club channel where revenues grewby 0.8% against a challenging comparativeperformance of 15.4% revenue growth.

GB take-home market volumes grew by3.4%, broken down into carbonates cate-gory volumes up by 5.8% and stills categoryvolumes up by 0.8%. Britvic’s take-homeshare was flat in the period, although thecompany posted a further 2% volume sharegain in the GB Impulse market.

Carbonates performed well led by the2010 launches of both the new 600ml PETrange and Mountain Dew Energy. “Our GB

carbonates performance was, in par t,impacted by increased promotional activityfrom the competitor set, which contributedto a Britvic GB Carbonates volume declineof 0.2%. However, our maintained focus onvalue over volume, as well as further on-the-go distribution gains, meant that ARPgrew by 4.6%.”

Adverse weather conditions was given asthe reason why single-serve GB Stills port-folio within the Pub & Club sector saw avolume decline of 3.5%. The resulting impacton both product and channel mix of salesled to a 0.7% fall in the GB Stills ARP.

Britvic's international business, however,delivered exceptional revenue growth of41.5% with ARP growth bolstered by theinclusion of a first-time revenue contributionfrom Fruit Shoot franchise revenues. Under-lying ex-franchise volumes were up by16.9% as the company's Nordic andNetherlands operations continued to put ina strong performance.

The Irish soft drinks market showed amodest improvement in the quarter, withRepublic of Ireland (ROI) market groceryvolumes and value up by 2.8% and 0.7%respectively. But, the rate of decline in theROI Pub & Club channel slowed in thequarter, with a 7% fall in both volume andvalue. In line with its expectations, BritvicIreland volumes declined by 9.9%, althoughARP grew by 1.1%, the result of a period ofintense Britvic promotional activity.

Meanwhile, Britvic France, acquired inMay 2010, delivered comparative quarterlyrevenue growth in excess of 5%. The Frenchtake-home market delivered a volumeincrease of 3.2% in the period.

Coinage delayTHE Automatic Vending Association (AVA)has been informed by Justine Greening,Economic Secretary to the Treasury, thatthe implementation of the new 5p and 10pcoins will be delayed until 1st January 2012.

This successful lobbying of the UK Gov-ernment is good news for the vending andcoin machine industries because it allowsthem more time to update coin mecha-nisms, providing a saving of £16.8million tothe vending industry.

Jonathan Hilder, Chief Executive Officer,Automatic Vending Association, said: “I’mabsolutely delighted that this constructivedialogue with the Royal Mint and the Treas-ury has resulted in this common senseapproach which is vital to the vending andother coin using industries. It’s a great signthat our economic arguments are being lis-tened to and that with the right approachwe can change policies that harm ourindustry.

“The Association’s established workingrelationships with both the Royal Mint andthe Treasury will continue to be developedover the coming years, and will see furtherdividends in exploring how we can work

Aseptic buy combines expertiseSEALED Air Corporation (SAC) of Francehas acquired majority ownership of ProAsep-tic Technologies, a Barcelona-based companythat designs and manufactures packaging andfilling equipment for aseptically and ultra-clean filled food and beverage products.

SAC provides solutions for the packagingof fluids in hot and cold fill from 100ml to10litres, and up to 1,000 litres. Recently it haspioneered and marketed retort and asepticflexible packaging for high and low acid fluidsin food service.

The systems developed by ProAsepticTechnologies produce aseptic/ultra cleanstand up pouches with fitment in various for-mats, particularly adapted to the retail formatfrom 100ml up to 1litre.

Their combined expertise and Sealed AirCryovac global sales and technical profes-sional network means customers can benefitfrom a total equipment and film system foraseptic packaging provided from a singlesource in all regions of the world.

“This is an opportunity to strengthen ourcommitment to the growing aseptic processing market,” commented Jean-MarieDemeautis, President Sealed Air Food Solu-tions. “Additionally, ProAseptic Technologies’aseptic pouch systems will compeiment ourgrowing food solutions portfolio.”

Aseptic/ultra clean stand up pouch.

Whey investmentVOLAC, the leading supplier of whey pro-tein to the lifestyle sector in Europe, hasinvested in a £2.5 million upgrade andexpansion of its factory in Felinfach, Wales.

This move, combined with the £10millionjoint investment being made with Milk Linkat its Taw Valley Creamery in Devon, willincrease production capacity of whey pro-tein isolate by 100%, responding to increas-ing sector demand for premium fat-freeprotein.

The new microfiltration and ultrafiltrationmembrane systems at the heart of theexpansion at Felinfach have been designedin-house and fabricated by Axium Process inSwansea, which has been working with Volacsince 2007.

together to reduce counterfeit £1 coins. Itwill also provide a better conduit of infor-mation for the Treasury and the Govern-ment to assist their understanding of thevending industry of Great Britain.”

Jonathan Hilder.


Düsseldorf, Germany12 – 18 May 2011

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH Postfach 1010 0640001 DüsseldorfGermanyTel. +49(0)211/45 60-01Fax +49(0)211/45 60-6 68www.messe-duesseldorf.de

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nutritional acquisitionROYAL DSM NV, the Dutch global life sciences and materials sci-ences company, and Martek Biosciences Corporation have enteredinto a definitive agreement under which DSM will acquire all the out-standing shares of common stock of Martek for US$31.50 in cashper share for total consideration of US$1,087 million. The transactionis expected to close in the first or second quarter of 2011.

The purchase of Martek, a US-based producer of high value prod-ucts from microbial sources that promote health and wellnessthrough nutrition, will be the first major acquisition by DSM after itssuccessful transformation into a life sciences and materials sciencescompany. It is in line with DSM's strategy for its nutrition cluster "con-tinued value growth" and adds a new growth platform for healthyand natural food ingredients for infant formula and other food andbeverage applications, especially focused on polyunsaturated fattyacids (PUFAs) such as microbial omega-3 DHA (docosahexaenoicacid) and omega-6 ARA (arachidonic acid).

With the acquisition DSM becomes a leading player in the field ofmicrobial PUFAs.

The two companies have a longstanding relationship as DSM sup-plies Martek with the key base material for its ARA product. DSMhas complementary intellectual property to the broad range ofpatents and intellectual property Martek owns, which will furtherextend the competitiveness of the combined company's proprietaryproducts.

Further, Martek's algal and other microbial-based biotechnologyplatform and its robust algal technology pipeline which complementsDSM's own biotechnology portfolio, is expected to deliver new nutri-tional and non-nutritional (industrial) growth opportunities.

Martek is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, US and hadannual net sales of US$450 million for its fiscal year which ended31st October, 2010. Martek has five principal locations and some 600employees.

nestlé posts buoyant figuresREPORTING from Switzerland, the Nestlé group has announced astrong 2010 performance with 6.2% organic growth and increasedEBIT margin. Growth was recorded in all regions and categories.

Paul Bulcke, Nestlé CEO, said: “In 2010, we delivered another yearof strong top and bottom line growth, outperforming the market.We increased investment in our brands, our operations and ourpeople. We continued to drive efficiency and effectiveness in bothdeveloped and emerging markets while at the same time accelerat-ing innovation, serving well over a billion consumers a day across theworld.

“We are starting 2011 with continued momentum, well placed toface uncertainties ahead, including volatile raw material prices. Weare therefore confident of achieving the Nestlé Model in 2011:organic growth between 5% and 6% and an EBIT margin improve-ment in constant currencies."

Food and Beverages achieved good growth with market sharegains in all categories and regions. Significantly, organic growth inemerging markets stood at 11.5% compared to 5.7% in the Ameri-cas, 3.7% in Europe and 10.2% in Asia, Oceania and Africa.

Nestlé Waters achieved growth in all three zones, with momen-tum building throughout the year, as growth returned to the industryin the developed world and continued to be very strong in emerg-ing markets. The company gained market share in Europe and NorthAmerica, as well as in most emerging markets. Nestlé Pure Life, thebiggest water brand in the world, had another year of double-digitgrowth. There were good performances also from Perrier and S. Pel-legrino, as well as many regional brands.

In Europe, all markets improved their growth levels over 2009,and it was double-digit in the UK. France, where Vittel and Contrexperformed well, saw mid-single digit growth and a gain in marketshare.

6 Soft Drinks International – March 2011InDUSTrY nEWSSome diary datesl The new Portuguese trade fair Alimenta-ria&Horexpo Lisboa which combines thefood, distribution, hotel and catering businessand food technology sectors will take placefrom 27th to 30th March 2011 in FIL's venue(Feira Internacional de Lisboa). The organis-ers, Aliminetaria Exhibitions, reports there areexhibitors from more than 20 countriesheaded by Spain, followed by France, Italy, theUK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria,Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania and Mexico. Amajor new feature of the show is the addi-tion of groups from Argentina, China, Korea,Thailand, Romania and Morocco, taking partfor the first time. Highlights include thereturn of the group of exhibitors from Ger-many after a brief absence.

l The European Vending Association willhold its bi-annual conference, EurOps, on14th and 15th April 2011, in Lisbon, Portugal.The conference theme is 'Getting more fromless, opportunities to raise the profitability ofvending operating'. The conference pro-gramme will be divided into three sessionson vending operating, entitled Efficiencies,Opportunities and Finance Management

The conference aims to provide operatorswith first-hand information from fellow col-leagues on how to improve their businessprofitability. The EVA will be running its veryfirst 'Image of Vending' award. Applicationsfor the award are now open to the EVA’s members and national associationmembers (http://www.vending-europe.eu/en/events/eva-conferences/image-of-vending-award.html).

l European Bioplastics, the association ofthe growing bioplastics industry in Europe,has announced that the 6th European Bio-plastics Conference will take place on 22ndand 23rd November 2011 at the MaritimproArte Hotel in Berlin. Representativesexpected at this year’s conference will bepresented with excellent networking plat-

forms and a product exhibition claimed thebiggest event of its kind. “We aim to set anew attendance record with 400+ partici-pants in 2011”, said Hasso von Pogrell, Man-aging Director of European Bioplastics. Lastyear European Bioplastics welcomed over360 participants from more than 170 com-panies around the world to its conference.Registration for the 6th European BioplasticsConference opens in April 2011.

l An overview of the latest developmentsin bottling and wine making market will bedisplayed at the SIMEI – International Enolog-ical and Bottling Equipment Exhibition – from22nd to 26th November 2011 in the halls ofFiera Milano in Rho. The focus will be on ver-satility and flexibility to suit the differentproducts and containers, such as personalisa-tion to satisfy each customer’s requirements,and automation and computerisation. Theseare some of the trends that characterise theproduction of bottling machines, thattogether with the beverage producing andpackaging sector is at the heart of the bien-nial Milan exhibition.

2012l Alimentaria, the International Food andDrinks Exhibition, will return to Barcelonafrom 26th to 29th March 2012. The event'sorganising committee has now been estab-lished – although new additions with ties tospecific sectors are anticipated. This body willset the guidelines for the show in preparationfor the event. The trade fair is warming up fora new edition that will focus all its strategicattention on competitiveness, internationalexpansion and brands in the food and drinksindustry.

Josep-Lluís Bonet, Chairman of Fira deBarcelona and Freixenet, is once again Presi-dent of the Alimentaria 2012 OrganisingCommittee. The committee includes newmembers Bernard Meunier, Managing Direc-tor of Nestlé España, and Horacio GonzálezAlemán, Secretary General of the FIAB(Spanish acronym for the Spanish Food andDrink Industry Federation).

l Bta, Barcelona Food Technology, and His-pack, International Packaging Exhibition, will beheld from the 15th to 18th May 2012 at Firade Barcelona's Gran Vía venue. The two trien-nial shows have joined forces to create oneof the largest business platforms in the Euro-pean Union for the food and drinks manufac-turing industry. The supply side is representedby more than 2,000 packing machinery, pack-aging and food technology companies. Over45,000 visitors are expected to attend. Bta.2012 is organised by Alimentaria Exhibitions, ajoint venture between Fira de Barcelona andReed Exhibitions. The event includes threeshows encompassing the entire range ofmachinery and technological solutions for thefood and drinks manufacturing industry: Tec-noalimentaria-International machinery andtechnology show for manufacturing and thefood and drinks trade; Tecnocárnica-Interna-tional machinery, technology, equipment andsupplies show for the meat and meat prod-ucts industry; and Ingretecno-Internationalintermediate food products show for thefood and drinks manufacturing industry.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 7EUROPE

British Soft Drinks Association Industry Lunch 2011

Tuesday, 7 June 201112 noon

The Underglobe at

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Keynote speaker:

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12:21

Unification inrebrandingREADING Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) hasundertaken a rebranding exercise. The UKReading-based consultancy has unified thecompany's services under one brand, reflect-ing the cross-over that already existsbetween services offered to RSSL's food,pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical indus-try clients.

A new logo has been designed thatevokes a sense of RSSL's scientific tradition,but also illustrates the intimate and valuablelink between its analytical, training and con-sultancy services. It also demonstrates theexpertise that RSSL can share across differ-ent industry sectors, bringing best practiceideas to bear in every situation. New corpo-rate literature is also available.

“For many of our clients, RSSL is the tech-nical and scientific hub for everything theydo,” said Tracey Gale, General Manager.“They know they can trust RSSL for helpand advice on a whole range of technical

issues related to product quality, perform-ance and safety. When RSSL first entered themarket in 1987, we provided expert analysisin a few key areas for the food industry. Ourold logo only spoke of our analytical service.So much has changed since then, and therebrand is a clear statement that RSSL iscommitted to innovation and providingmore mission-critical services to our clients.Today, we are a strategic partner for manu-facturers in a wide range of industries, andour analytical testing now supports andinforms the value-added consultancy andtraining services we provide."

RSSL has also announced a significantinvestment over the next two years. This isin addition to the extension of its headquar-ters which is already underway with therefitting and upgrading of eight laboratories.

SIDEL has inaugurated a new training labat its Parma site, dedicated to themanufacture of fillers and end-of-lines forliquid foods, thereby enhancing itsclassroom and hands-on training servicesfor customers and group experts on itsrange of standard or aseptic fillers. TheParma site is already home to one of theSidel Group’s main training centres.Nearly 200 sessions are held each year bymultilingual expert trainers, with morethan 1,000 customer-trainees trainedyearly within the training centre of Parma.The site has expanded its training centrein order to help customers acquire hands-on knowledge by letting them deal withreal situations on machines and sub-assemblies.

Send your news to:[email protected]

8 Soft Drinks International – March 2011INDUSTRY NEWS

AfricaPepsi in MoroccoINDIA’s RJ Corp, which last year expandedits soft drink interests into the fast-growingSri Lankan market, has taken a further bigstep with the purchase of the Pepsi-Colafranchise bottling operations in Morocco. Thecompany sees this move as a launching padfor large-scale market development, not onlyin Morocco but also elsewhere in Africawhere the group is already very active.

It bottles Pepsi brand beverages in Zambiaand has built a new bottling plant and ware-house in the Chinika area of Lusaka, the cap-ital. This began production in September lastyear. The group’s local subsidiary, Varun Bever-ages Zambia, has plans to build further facili-ties, having pledged to invest at leastUS$30million in Zambia over six years.

It is currently working with the ZambiaDevelopment Agency on a project to set upa juice concentrate plant in the MwinilungaDistrict, an area of the NorthwesternProvince well known for its pineapple grow-ing. Since an earlier pineapple processing

plant closed down in the 1990s, much of thecrop has been sold at unprofitable prices andoverall output has dropped.

RJ Corp is closely aligned to PepsiCowhich is very keen to build sales in Africaand has indicated confidence that RJ Corpwill be successful in building market share,especially in the ongoing battle with Coca-Cola. The company's wide-ranging interests inAfrica also include Pepsi bottling in Mozam-bique, KFC fast-food in Nigeria and dairyproduct marketing in Uganda and Kenya.

Headed by Ravi Kant Jaipuria, a charismaticand entrepreneurial businessman, RJ Corp isthe biggest Pepsi bottler in South Asia, withplants in many cities around India and inNepal, as well as Sri Lanka. It holds franchiserights in India for KFC, Pizza Hut and CostaCoffee, and has interests in education, icecream, brewing, healthcare, hospitality andreal estate.

The group is structured largely in twoarms, named after Jaipuria’s children Varunand Devyani. US-educated Jaipuria had a suc-cessful business in Canada before returningto India to run the family soft drink opera-tions which had started in the 1960s. Hesoon built this into a major conglomerate. RJCorp’s headquarters are in Gurgaon,Haryana, which is about 30km south of NewDelhi and part of the National CapitalRegion.

Kisumu plantsgiven green lightTWO soft drink production facilities ownedand operated by Equator Bottlers, a KenyanCoca-Cola franchisee, were forced to closewhen complaints were filed with publichealth authorities alleging contamination.

Following an inspection by officers fromthe Ministry of Health and analysis of sam-ples, the two plants in the inland lakeside(Lake Victoria) city of Kisumu wereinstructed to cease production and under-take a comprehensive cleaning of all equip-ment and premises. The directive also calledfor a rethink of hygiene standards and apresentation to the ministry of new opera-tional regulations.

Equator Bottlers sought a short delay inclosure, to protect batches of Coca-Colaand other beverage essences already in thesystem. This was granted by the ministry butwith a warning that production must not beextended further.

The Coca-Cola Company and EquatorBottlers both indicated quickly that theplants would be given a full work-over andthis was done within two days, winning aministerial green light to resume operations.TCCC and Equator Bottlers did, however,say they would be working further with theMinistry of Health to investigate the com-plaints of impurities in some drinks.

“We maintain the highest quality stan-dards in the world in every aspect of pro-

duction and services, and take all mattersrelating to our products very seriously,” saida spokeswoman from TCCC’s regional officein Nairobi. “The ingredients and manufactur-ing process used in the production of ourbeverages are rigorously regulated by gov-ernment and health authorities in the morethan 200 countries in which we operate.”

Kisumu, Kenya. Photo: Victor Ochieng.

Familiar brandschange handsSOUTH Africa’s Tiger Brands, whose softdrinks interests include Energade, Halls andOros, is buying the Davita Trading powderedbeverages and seasonings business, dependenton regulatory approval and other conditions.

Its Davita (premium powdered beverages),Jolly Jus (mass-market beverages) and Benny(seasonings) are among several well-knownSouth African brands in the food and bever-age sector to change hands in recent months.The Davita brands are familiar beyond SouthAfrica; they are sold in nearly 30 countriesaround Africa and the Middle East.

This is a key reason for the purchase. Tigerexplained in a statement announcing the deal

that it was in line with itsstrategy to expand beyondits South African homeland.“Tiger Brands has been pro-gressively building its salesand marketing infrastructure

to service Africa,” the statement noted. “Thishas resulted in strengthened regional salesand market representation across large partsof the continent, enabling the company toincrease brand awareness and improve prod-uct activation for new products and markets.”

Davita has an established distribution sys-tem which Tiger will leverage, as well as usingits own export operation to boost sales andextend into further markets. Davita is alsobeing seen as a potential manufacturer ofsome products for Tiger Brands’ South Africanbusiness units.

In another deal, fast food giant FamousBrands – which also produces juices and min-eral water for the South African retail tradeas well as its own franchise outlets – hasbought the Juicy Lucy chain brand.

“Juicy Lucy is a well-loved niche SouthAfrican brand which affords us the opportu-nity to fill a gap in our portfolio,” said KevinHedderwick, Chief Executive of FamousBrands. “We have for some time been evalu-ating a range of specialist and stand-alonehealth food-focused type brands and arehappy that Juicy Lucy offers the group entryinto this category.”

Juicy Lucy was purchased from Java Brands,along with the Milky Lane casual dining ice-cream brand.

Africa’s Big Seven (AB7), claimed to be thebiggest Food and Beverage Expo on theAfrican continent. will take place at the Gal-lagher Convention Centre in Midrand fro 17thto 19th July,

For the past decade, this seven-in-one tradeshow has attracted hundreds of exhibitorsand thousands of visitors from around theworld. Last year attracted 300 exhibitors from42 countries and 7,600 visitors.

Drink Tech Africa

For the last three years AB7 has been co-located with SAITEX (Southern African Inter-national Trade Exhibition), and AB7 2011 willbe 47% bigger than last year’s expo, accordingto the organisers.


Juice plant for UgandaBRITANIA Allied Industries, the Uganda juice producer whose Splashrange is becoming familiar throughout many countries in Africa, is plan-ning a new plant in Mukono which would mostly process mango andpineapple juice. The project is being planned in partnership with theUganda Investment Authority. Mukono District is in central Uganda; itsmain town, also called Mukono, is about 30km from Kampala.

Britania Allied Industries intends to work with farmers in severalareas to increase fruit production, choosing Mukono as a hub which canbe easily reached by road. Production will be both for Ugandan andexport markets. Currently, Britania Allied Industries produces its juices ata complex in the Ntinda district of Kampala, the capital. As well asSplash, it also offers juice drinks under the Yo-Jus brand and the Sunsipsquash range. It began production of Refresh mineral water in 2006.

Owned by the House of Dawda, which is headed by HasmukhDawda, Britania Allied Industries was formed in 2002 through themerger of Britania Products and Britania Foods. It is also a major pro-ducer of biscuits, confectionery and health powders.

Another Uganda producer of juices, mineral water and biscuits,Riham, is also on the expansion trail, with plans to introduce carbonatedsoft drinks and other juice drinks. Riham recently received ISO9001:2008 and ISO 2200:2005 quality management systems and foodsafety management systems certification.

Community support in GhanaOUR industry has done a huge amount for sports development inAfrica. Cargill, which has a cocoa processing operation in Ghana, hasfurthered that reputation by holding a week-long football training clinicfor youngsters from six schools in the Tema region. Cargill opened aworld-class plant in Tema in 2008.

Coaches from the Chelsea Foundation, an offshoot of the ChelseaFootball Club, helped the young players develop their skills and alsoheld a training session for football coaches and physical educationteachers. The programme culminated in a gala football tournament.

“At Cargill, we are committed to supporting and enriching localcommunities where we operate,” said Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, ManagingDirector of Cargill Ghana. “One of our key focus areas is to promotehealthy lifestyles, particularly for children.”

Also in Ghana, the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation in partnership withUNIAID and other organisations, has built a video learning centre fora group of schools in the Ga East district of the Greater Accra Region.The learning centre is also open to the public, benefiting the areawidely and boosting interest in education.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and its partners have been veryactive in the Greater Accra Region over recent years, providing teach-ing aids and other assistance to many schools. The foundation is alsoinvolved in clean water, sanitation and anti-malaria projects both in theregion and other areas of Ghana.

Young players attending a football clinic sponsored by Cargill and theChelsea Foundation.


Middle East

InDUSTrY nEWS

new juice facilityfor DubaiAMERICAN food processing solutions special-ist JBT FoodTech is working on two completehigh-speed lines for Aujan Industries in Dubai.They are scheduled to be operational in thethird quarter of 2011.

The lines will process Aujan’s unique bever-age recipe of smooth juice with real fruitpieces, notably as featured in the enormouslysuccessful Rani range. JBT Corporation, theparent company of JBT FoodTech, said thatthe contract was worth around €6.1 million.

The processing solution enables the unload-ing of citrus pulp cells, the dosing and mixingof both intact pulp cells and juice at constant

Rani juice, one of Aujan Industries’ mostsuccessful soft drink ranges.

Bottler helps launchFursa ProgramPEPSICO Jordan has formed a partnership withthe kingdom’s Vocational Training Corporationto launch a programme aimed at providing highschool graduates with theoretical and practicaltraining opportunities, as well as helping thememploy their skills in various fields.

Participants in the Fursa Program will haveaccess to several benefits such as a monthlysalary, social security, health insurance, voca-tional training certificate and the possibility ofa career with PepsiCo-Jordan. Training courseswill be held at VTC’s training and assessmentinstitute in Marka, near Amman.

At the signing of the agreement betweenthe two organisations, Sufian Al Salman,Human Resources Director for PepsiCo East

Signing the Fursa Program agreement inAmman are (left) Sufian Al Salman and MajedAl Habashneh.

Med and Africa, praised VTC “as it has provenitself to be very capable in supplying the localmarket with trained and qualified labour”.

Majed Al Habashneh, VTC’s General Man-ager, in turn commended PepsiCo-Jordan forits ongoing support of initiatives to enhancelabour skills and to employ young Jordanians.

PET producer toexpandOMAN-based OCTAL, one of the world’slargest PET manufacturers, is proceedingwith phase two of its expansion strategy. Thisfollows the signing earlier in the year offunding arrangements with six Middle East-ern banks. OCTAL has secured a US$296million senior term loan from the banks, aswell as a junior debt facility of US$15 millionfrom existing shareholders.

The expansion programme focuses onthe PET resins and sheet packaging facilityopened in January 2009 in the sultanate’ssouth-eastern port city of Salalah, renownedfor its pleasant climate. The plant currentlyhas an annual capacity of 400,000 metrictonnes. This will grow by a further 527,000tonnes, making OCTAL the world’s biggestPET producer and the Salalah facility thelargest producer of PET resins on one site.

“In less than five years, we have estab-lished a world-class manufacturing complexand export operation in the sultanate, serv-ing more than 40 countries,” noted SheikhSaad Suhail Bahwan, OCTAL’s Chairman. Hesaid the plant generated diversified growthfor the region, as well as making a significantcontribution to the development of theSalalah Free Zone and the Port of Salalah.

Abdul Razak Ali Issa, Chief Executive ofBankMuscat which is part of the fundinggroup, said it was excellent to see an Omanicompany become a genuine world player inits industry.

The expanded plant will be commissionedfrom June 2012.

Sharjah’s foodgroup activeTHE Sharjah Chamber of Commerce andIndustry’s food trade and industry workgroup, set up to improve the performance ofthe emirate’s food and beverage sector aswell as establishing best practices and overalldevelopment, is now under way. One keyaim is to attract further investment into thesector, and to foster partnerships betweenthe public and private sectors.

“The food industry is one of Sharjah’sstrategic sectors and plays a key role inboosting the emirate’s GDP,” said the Cham-ber of Commerce’s Assistant Director Gen-eral of Economic and International Affairs,Mohammed Ahmed Amin. “Its major seg-ments include dairy, vegetable oils, meats,seafood, cereal and fodder, chocolate andsweets, pastry, soft drinks and mineral water.

“The industry’s diversity was the mainmotivation for establishing the food tradeand industry work group which provides aplatform for us to hear the points of view ofall stakeholders and aim for greater collabo-ration.”

Chiquita signsagreementCHIQUITA has signed an agreement with UAEbeverage producer and food marketing com-pany Agthia Group with gives Agthia exclusiverights to manufacture and distribute a range ofnatural fruit juice products under the Chiquitabrand. The arrangement covers the UAE, otherGCC countries, the Levant and Egypt.

“With the goal of becoming UAE’s leadingfood and beverage company, we believeAgthia’s partnership with Chiquita is in line withits expansion and diversification strategy,” saidAgthia’s Chairman, Rashed Mubarak Al Hajeri.

The licensing agreement is another step inAgthia’s beverage portfolio expansion.

For Chiquita the link also makes goodsense. “Expanding our geographic presence in

the GCC is part of our strategy to leverageChiquita’s brand and to expand our healthy,fresh products around the globe,” said BrianKocher, President of Chiquita Europe and theMiddle East.

“We believe Agthia has a well-establisheddistribution network in the UAE, world classmanufacturing capabilities and a professionalmanagement team.”

Agthia and Chiquita executives signing thelicensing agreement.

ratios, the pasteurisation of the pulpy fruitbeverage, and the filling into retail containers.

“We are very pleased with the opportunityto continue supporting Aujan’s impressive suc-cess in pulpy fruit juices and beverages,” saidJBT FoodTech’s Juan Podesta, noting that thelong relationship had led to steady improve-ments in process efficiency and product quality.

JBT Corporation currently operates in over25 countries.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 11MIDDLE EAST

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The machines of the ErgoBloc L have been awarded the

enviro seal, by virtue of their minimised media consumption.

Crashed Ice inQatarRED Bull Crashed Ice is a combination of icehockey, downhill skating and boardcross(snowboarding), all done at a fast pace andfollowing unique rules. Crashed Ice wasinvented in Sweden 10 years ago, with onecommentator describing it as a sport of thenew century; it has evolved constantly.

This year’s world championships will beheld in Quebec in late March. They have beenpreceded by a series of qualifiers, one ofwhich was – for the first time ever – in Doha,capital of Qatar.

Skiing and other snow or ice sports areincreasingly popular in the Middle East, withpurpose-built facilities – such as an indoor ski-field in the heart of Dubai, with the appear-

ance of an Austrian or Swiss ski village – bothcatering for this interest and building it further.

The Doha qualifier was held at the Gondo-lania Ice Arena.

Greater awarenessof ingredientsA REPORT from Frost & Sullivan, which billsitself as ‘the growth partnership company’,says that the higher demand for innovativefood and beverage ingredients is catalysingthe growth of health beverages and foods inthe United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.Enhanced consumer awareness about thebenefits of healthy dietary habits, changinglifestyles and a rising per capita income haveencouraged consumers to switch to healthyfood alternatives.

“The market has got a boost from thegrowing preference for foods with healthand wellness advantages to offset the seden-tary lifestyle due to urbanisation,” saidResearch Associate Srividyaranjani V.

“Functional ingredients, in particular, aregoing a long way in hiking the sales of healthfoods and beverages, and this trend isexpected to continue as consumers becomemore aware of the greater functional bene-fits of ingredients.”

He said it was important for manufactur-ers to position their products strategically“to create brand loyalty and product nichesthat will reduce confusion about products.Better positioning to differentiate healthfoods from the conventional variants of theproduct will not only ensure greater productclarity but also attract traditional customerswho are sceptical about consuming suchproducts.”

Red Bull Crashed Ice qualifier, Doha.

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Many industrysponsorshipsBEVERAGE producers and marketing com-panies in the Middle East have long beenactive in community sponsorships but recentmonths have brought a series of newarrangements. Among these is the sponsor-ship agreement between juice producer AlRabie Saudi Foods and the British Interna-tional School in Saudi Arabia, allowing thebottler to offer nutritional beverages to theschool’s students.

As well as encouraging the youngsters topay more attention to healthy drinks andfoods, the agreement also covers assistancefor activities such as basketball and volleyball.The UAE’s Al Ain Mineral Water Companyhas become official mineral water sponsorfor the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Champi-onships.

Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director ofDubai Duty Free, said the bottler had signedas sponsor until the end of 2012. Heexplained that the championships “firstbegan with the ATP men’s week back in1993 and we have been fortunate to retainmany of the same sponsors since the verybeginning. We hope to continue that tradi-tion with Al Ain Mineral Water.”


India

INDUSTRY NEWS

Groundbreaking forcarton facilityTETRA Pak has held a ground breaking cer-emony on a state-of-the-ar t packagingmaterial factory in Chakan near Pune. The€100 million (INR 600 crores) plant isdesigned to meet growing demand for car-ton packaged dairy beverages and fruit-based drinks in India, South and SoutheastAsia and the Middle East.

The new plant will have an initial annualproduction capacity of 8.5 billion packages,with the potential of increasing to 16 billion

packages. The Indian commitment followssimilar recent investment to increase pro-duction capacity in China, Pakistan, Russiaand Brazil.

Driven by economic growth, a rising mid-dle class and increasing demand for theconvenience of packaged drinks, the marketfor carton packaged dairy beverages andfruit-based drinks is expected to grow from757 million litres in 2010 to 1.3 billion litresby 2013 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The same trend is taking place in Southand South East Asia, where this market isexpected to rise from 3.6 billion to 5.4 bil-lion litres during this period. In the MiddleEast, it is expected to increase from 8.3 bil-lion to 10.6 billion litres.

“We are committed to supporting ourcustomers to meet growing consumerdemand in these regions and all over theworld,” said Alejandro Anavi, Executive Vice-President, Supply Chain Operations, TetraPak. He noted that “in addition to the con-venience of packed dairy beverages and

India sales help PepsiCo post98% gainPEPSICO has reported an almost two-foldjump in its net profit at US$1.43 billion forthe quar ter ended on 26th December,2010. The company said that volume, rev-enue and profit growth for the fourth quar-ter and the full year of 2010 were drivenby gains across its worldwide snacks andbeverage businesses, and from the acquisi-tions of its anchor bottlers earlier in theyear.

Beverage performance for the quarterwas led by high double-digit growth inIndia, single-digit growth in West Asia and9% growth in China. For the full year, bev-

erage volume was led by double-digitgrowth in India and China. The net revenuegrew by 34%, net income rose by 6% andcore constant currency net income rose by15%

Commenting on the results, PepsiCoIndia Chairman Sanjeev Chadha said thatthe company's strategy of focusing on inno-vative products and establishing a deeperconnect with consumers in a difficult yearpaid off.

“Our brands did well across the industry.However, Mountain Dew, Nimbooz and MyCan stood out from the rest and did reallywell,” he said. He added that the companygained market share significantly in India,but did not reveal the details.

The company gained one CSD sharepoint in China, and gained relative shareversus its closest competitor in India in themost recent quarter. The company further

Tackling vitamindeficienciesSIGHT and Life, a non-profit humanitarianinitiative of DSM, and Vitamin Angels areworking together in an effort to attack vita-min A deficiencies in India.

Sight and Life's mission is to ensure a sus-tainable and significant improvement inhuman nutrition, health and well-beingthrough its commitment to fighting micronu-trient deficiencies amongst the world’s poor.Vitamin Angels' mission is to mobilise anddeploy private sector resources to advanceavailability, access and use of vitamin A, bynewborns, infants and children most in need.“Through this partnership Sight and Life’sadvocacy and technical expertise and Vita-min Angels’ successful implementation of uni-versal vitamin A supplementation projects,

aims to reach millions of those in India whohave to date not had access to life-savingvitamin A,” said Dr Klaus Kraemer, Directorof Sight and Life.

Some 535 million children around theworld, between the ages of 6 months and 5years, suffer from moderate to severe vita-min A deficiency, making it a global public

health problem. Thirty seven percent ofthese children live in India, making addressingvitamin A deficiency in India a critical com-ponent of the global challenge to eliminatemicronutrient deficiencies. While the Gov-ernment of India fully supports initiatives forvitamin A supplementation and a large pro-portion of infants, children and lactatingwomen receive supplementation, thereremains a significant portion of the popula-tion that have yet to be reached.

While a visible indicator of vitamin A defi-ciency is xerophthalmia, an eye disorder thatcan lead to permanent blindness in children,many more suffering from vitamin A defi-ciency show no signs of xeropthalmia, buthave a reduced ability to resist infectionsthat can and do result in death and disability.Hence the reason that eliminating vitamin Adeficiency is considered a critical interven-tion for child survival and maternal healthprogrammes.

Smiling children in India.

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fruit-based drinks, more people are becom-ing aware of the nutritional benefits ofaseptically processed and packaged milk.”

To date Tetra Pak has invested approxi-mately €24 million in the existing Puneplant, which has been in operation fornearly 14 years and is reaching its fullcapacity. “With strong economic growth, adynamic consumer base and modernisationof distribution and retailing, there is a highdemand across all categories,” said KandarpSingh, Managing Director, Tetra Pak India.

Among its facilities the new packagingplant will have a Machine Rebuilding Cen-tre, and a Product Development and Inno-vation Centre (PDIC), featuring alaboratory, a pilot processing and packagingplant.

The new plant will also tout several envi-ronmentally efficient features such as theuse of renewable and non-conventionalenergy and materials, heat recovery to gen-erate air conditioning and rain water har-vesting.

strengthened its position in India throughthe formation of a joint venture with TataGlobal Beverages to develop and markethydration beverages for the India market.Full-year operating profit was negativelyimpacted by the lapping of the gain fromthe formation of a joint venture with Cal-bee in Japan in the third quarter of 2009,as well as from marketplace investmentspending.

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pany has undertaken in the areas of commu-nity development and sustainability and Iwould be happy to play a part in furtheringthe cause.”

Tendulkar, whose endorsements are man-aged by sports management firm WorldSport Group, charges about US$1 million peryear for every deal. The 37 year-old right-handed batsman currently endorses a host ofbrands and companies, including Toshiba, ITC,Boost, Canon, RBS, Reynolds, Jaypee Cementsand Aviva.

Coca-Cola has another Indian cricketer,Gautam Gambhir, among its list of endorsers.Its rival, PepsiCo, has already released a high-visibility campaign featuring its star ambassa-dor, Dhoni.


retail training getsCoca-Cola boostCOCA-Cola India has signed a Memorandumof Understanding with the Indian School ofBusiness (ISB), to establish the Coca-Cola ISBRetail Academy. The aim is to educate andtrain mid-level professionals in the retail sec-tor in India and takes forward the company’scommitment to strengthen the sector follow-ing its successful retail training programme,Parivartan

The announcement was made in the pres-ence of Ahmet C. Bozer, Group President,Eurasia and Africa group, The Coca-ColaCompany, Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, AjitRangnekar, Dean, ISB and Deepak Chandra,Deputy Dean, ISB.

Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, ISB, explained: “TheISB will provide cutting edge pedagogy thatwill help them to drive the capability of theretail sector in India to ‘world-class’ compe-tency levels and benchmarking against thebest globally. We are delighted to associatewith Coca-Cola India in developing this pre-

mier retail training programme in India.” A detailed diagnostic study to understand

managerial capabilities and requirements atvarious levels in retailing organisations wasundertaken by the ISB, which revealed certainshortcomings in the skill sets of retail sectorprofessionals. The Academy has designed theprogramme so as to establish it as the 'goldstandard' in retail training in India.

According to Ahmet C. Bozer, “This initia-tive lays the foundation for a well-roundedretail management training programmethereby contributing to quality of future retailmanagers. This will be an important drivingforce for the sector and the Indian economyand we are proud to partner with a premierinstitute like ISB on this important initiative.”

The first session of the programme willcommence in July 2011 with an initial intakeof 40 professionals. This will subsequently bescaled up in the next three to four years. Thecurriculum is a 25 day programme spreadover a period of six months. The programmewill be governed by a council comprising emi-nent retail practitioners and academicians. TheAcademy will also conduct retail research andconduct online programmes.

'Happiness' ambassadorCOCA-Cola has recruited Indian cricketerSachin Tendulkar as its ‘happiness ambassador’.Tendulkar is understood to have finalised athree year endorsement deal estimatedaround Rs 120 million (US$2.6 million) withCoca-Cola, after rival PepsiCo dropped himabout two-and-half years back.

“Sachin Tendulkarwill play his part inthe company’s variousstrategic communica-tion initiatives, includ-ing its corporate, CSRand brand campaigns,”the company said in astatement. The state-ment also adds a

comment from Tendulkar, saying, “I am awareof the several significant initiatives the com-

l Engel, India has recorded exceptionallyhigh level of orders in the financial year2009/2010. “Investments in high-qualitymachines are constantly increasing in India,”reports Jitendra Devlia, Manager of EngelMachinery India Pvt. Ltd. In what the com-pany describes as a “highly dynamic marketenvironment,” it has grown to be a leadingimporter of high quality injection mouldingmachines. The company said it has receivedmajor orders for caps and closures, a sectorin which Engel is anticipating strong growth.

In brief…

THE Delhi High Court has dismissed a peti-tion filed by PepsiCo against Heinz Indiaover similar taglines that both use for differ-ent products.

The trademark action was filed by Pep-siCo stating that it had registered the threewords ‘rehydrate, replenish, refuel.' in 2004.

The court said the words ‘Rehydrate,replenish and refuel’ are a common descrip-tive expression and rejected the appeal. “Thecourt has held that the words are com-monly used to describe the character andquality of an isotonic drink and no one canclaim monopoly over these,” said AnuradhaSalhotra, Managing Partner of the Lall Lahiri& Salhotra, the law firm specialising in intel-lectual property rights which representedHeinz.

PepsiCo plea dismissed



Asia Pacific

ACCC says no toAsahiPROPOSALS by Asahi’s Australian holdingcompany to acquire P&N Beverages Aus-tralia, a major bottler which produces car-bonated soft drinks both under its ownbrands and for other private labels, havebeen halted by the national regulatoryauthority. The Australian Competition andConsumer Commission (ACCC) said its key

Industry support in Christchurch disasterEXTENSIVE global news coverage of the cat-astrophic earthquake in Christchurch, NewZealand, brought home just how badly hit thecity had been....and how thousands of liveshad changed in an instant. One of the fewheartening aspects of the tragedy was thespeedy response of local people, other NewZealanders, international rescue teams andmilitary personnel, and thousands of compa-nies, both in New Zealand and overseas.

Prominent among them were key playersin the Australasian food and beverage indus-try, providing much-needed sustenance tohomeless and injured Cantabrians(Christchurch is the focal point of the Can-terbury region) and to the thousandsinvolved in rescue, body recovery and dam-age mitigation.

At our deadline, a final death toll was farfrom being settled, as the search of ruins

continued, but even with some good news –no bodies were found in the iconic central-city cathedral, for instance, where 20-plusdeaths were considered likely – it is possibleit will reach 200.

Bottled water was one of the immediaterequirements in the wake of the earthquake,because much of the city’s water supply wasdisrupted, in some cases for weeks. Whilemany stores were able to supply water andother soft drinks, in some cases giving themaway as happened in last year’s earthquake,other retail outlets were destroyed orclosed temporarily, including a few keysupermarkets.

The industry swung into action, workingwith agencies such as the Red Cross, CivilDefence and military services, as well ascommunity groups such as a volunteer ‘stu-

NZ Defence Force helps with distribution ofbottled water, milk and food,.

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Pokka integratingwith SapporoTHE Asian beverage brand Pokka, which isheadquartered in Japan but also has a majoroperation in Singapore and is activethroughout Asia, is to become a subsidiaryof Sapporo Holdings. This is a step towardsintegration of the two beverage companies’management structures by April next year.

Their aim is to create a stronger businessentity to compete more effectively in a chal-lenging business environment, both on theJapanese markets and around Asia. Sapporo,which is also a major player in the Japanesebeer sector, sees expansion of its soft drinksinterests as a means to counter the sluggishdomestic beer market. The companyreported a net profit for 2010 that wasdouble that of 2009 but much of theimprovement came from cost cutting.

As at early February, Sapporo held 21.4%of Pokka, a stake it acquired in Septemberlast year. It has come to an agreement withinvestment fund Advantage Partners andfood group Meiji Holdings to buy Pokkashares from them, boosting its stake to amajority 85.5%.

Pokka is a major producer of juices, icedcoffee, green tea, functional drinks, Asianbeverages and other soft drinks. Its extensivenetwork of vending machines in Japan givesit a strategic advantage which is sure to beleveraged by Sapporo.

dent army’.The dairy giant Fonterra sent trainloads of

water from its plants to Christchurch, as wellas UHT milk. It also mobilised emergencyteams from several factories, many of themwith urban search and rescue experience.

Frucor, which reported its warehouse washarder hit than during the region’s Septem-ber 2010 earthquake which caused exten-sive damage but no deaths or serious injury,provided bottled water and other softdrinks, as well as donations from within theSuntory group, both corporate and staff.Some of Frucor’s Christchurch staff weredeeply affected by the earthquake, losinghomes or experiencing heavy damage.

Coca-Cola Amatil was another to providebottled water and other beverages in bulk.George Adams, Managing Director for CCAin New Zealand and Fiji, went personally toChristchurch to help with the daily distribu-tion.

Unilever dispatched refreshment trucks togive away Lipton Iced Tea and Streets icecream, while Nestlé also sent refreshmentvans from around the country. PepsiCodonated money and goods, Charlie’s sentpallets of water and juices, Vitasoy providedsoymilk, Otakiri Springs provided bottles ofits water. Many other companies gave eithergoods, services or financial donations, or insome cases all three, along with staff volun-teers.

worry was that the acquisition would“remove a vigorous and effective competitorin the markets for the supply of CSDs andcordial”. It referred to Asahi’s Australian pro-duction already including the Schweppes andPepsi ranges, as well as Cottee’s cordials.

Graeme Samuel, ACCC’s Chairman, saidthat if Asahi were to own P&N, this would“result in Asahi and Coca-Cola Amatil beingthe only remaining significant competitors inthe CSD market”.

ACCC had concluded, after extensiveinvestigation, “that no other CSD is likely toexpand sufficiently to replace the lost com-petitive constraint in the foreseeable future,”said Samuel. “In particular, other smaller sup-pliers of CSDs lack the scale, infrastructureand brands to act as a competitive con-straint on Asahi post-acquisition.”

The ACCC was also worried about lossof competitiveness in the cordial sector, saidSamuel. “P&N has been successful in growingits market share through discounting andproduct innovation. While there are othersources of competition in the cordial mar-ket, such as Golden Circle and private labelcordial, the ACCC concluded that theseconstraints would be insufficient to replacethe competition lost from the removal ofP&N.”

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 15ASIA PACIFIC

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Mountain bikes at twilightA CROWD of around 500 gathered at KentRidge Park in Singapore for the country’sfirst evening mountain bike downhill compe-tition, the Red Bull Dark Knights. Forecastedrain fortunately did not materialise, givingthe 30 elite riders a chance to clock impres-sive timings on the challenging 300 metrecourse which snaked through the thickfoliage.

The event was won by Daniel Sprague ofAustralia, the former BMX world champion,who saw off home crowd favourite TanHong Chun and Indonesia’s Hildan AfosKatana. Red Bull Dark Knights, Singapore.

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Closure demanddriven by AsianboomA NEW report from Canadean, 'Innovationin Beverage Closures 2011', says that Asia isnot only the largest current market for bev-erage closure sales, but is also the fastest-growing. The report suggests that annualgrowth between 2003 and 2015 will bearound 7%, which is double the global aver-age. Despite the economic slowdown inmany markets over the past two years, thereport notes that beverage closure demandhas continued to grow steadily.

Reasons for this include the sustained shifttowards pre-packaged beverage consump-tion in many developing markets and thecontinuing increase in popularity of the plas-tic ‘bottle plus cap’ format, especially PETbottles in smaller on-the-go sizes. Canadeansaid the mature markets of North Americaand West Europe have only eked outgrowth.

Beverage closure production in 2010totalled about 1055 billion. Of this, ring-pullcan ends accounted for 24%, plastic closures42% and metal closures 31%. All other bev-erage closures totalled a little below 40 bil-lion, while there are still an estimated 210billion beverage containers sold each yearwithout dedicated closures, such as sachetsand perforated cartons.

Soft drink closures are anticipated toexperience a CAGR of around 4.1%, anincrease on the 3.9% recorded between2003 and 2010.

nSF ShanghaiTesting LabNSF International, the global not-for-profitpublic health and safety organisation, hasopened a new facility in Shanghai whichallows it to expand its services to includetesting of food equipment, dietary supple-ments and ingredients, and consumer prod-ucts. The NSF Shanghai Testing Laboratoryand its staff will also be utilised for trainingin food safety, dietary supplement manufac-turing and other fields.

The new lab complements NSF’s existingcertification services in China. NSF pointsout that manufacturers and suppliers inChina require independent system registra-tion and product certification to access inter-national markets. NSF helps companies

A colourful lion dance during the laboratory’sopening ceremony.

navigate the global marketplace and alsohelps bridge western companies with theAsian market. The new lab features manysustainable design elements, includingenergy-efficient lighting.

l The first UTZ certified cocoa beans havebeen delivered to Cargill’s buying station inChau Thanh District of Vietnam’s Ben Treprovince. Harold Poelma of Cargill Cocoa &Chocolate, described the deliveries as “animportant milestone in Vietnam’s develop-ment as a producer of high quality cocoabeans and in particular of certified sustainablebeans. We are looking forward to the certifi-cation of more co-operatives in Vietnam,which will enable us to scale up the produc-tion of sustainable cocoa in the years aheadand increase the choice that we can offer ourcustomers”.

l Colorpak, the Australian packaging com-pany, has moved into the number one marketposition in Australasia after completing theacquisition of Carter Holt Harvey’s foldingcarton operations. With four additional plantsto feed its sale growth, Colorpak’s marketshare has already moved from 11.2% to 31%.“The integration of CHH’s operations intothe Colorpak business gives us the platform

In brief…

to build our market leadership in this sector,”said Managing Director Alex Commins. Thedeal did not include CHH’s Smithfield, NSW,plant, after due diligence found it was not anoptimal fit for the core Colorpak business.

l Malaysia’s Pepsi bottler, Permanis, cele-brated the Year of the Rabbit’s arrival in any-thing but timid style, organising a Rev-UpChinese New Year Sampling Convoy whichstopped at popular rest areas to offer sam-ples of Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Revive andTropicana Twister. The convoy of four low-deck semi trailers from Biforst Logistics wasaccompanied by cruisers from two radio sta-tions which broadcast live from each stop.

l Hotel, Hospitality & Food Sri Lanka will beheld in Colombo from 27th to 29th Octoberthis year. Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry hasbeen experiencing strong growth since thecountry’s civil insurgency ended, both interms of patronage and the number of estab-lishments.


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Coca-Cola acquiresrest of Honest TeaTHE Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) hasexercised its option to acquire the remain-ing portion of Honest Tea. The move com-pletes a transaction which began threeyears ago when Coca-Cola, led by the Ven-turing and Emerging Brands (VEB) unit ofCoca-Cola North America, purchased aminority stake in the company. Financialterms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Honest Tea, the leading organic bottledtea company, will continue to be based inBethesda, Maryland. It will operate as astand-alone business under current TeaEOSeth Goldman, his management team, andcurrent Honest Tea employees. Goldmanand VEB have developed a unique operat-ing model that allows Honest Tea auton-omy to continue to run its day-to-dayoperations while accessing the scale bene-fits of the Coca-Cola system in variousareas, including manufacturing and distribu-tion. As part of the VEB team, Honest Teawill also begin to sell current VEB brands tothe natural channel.

Under an arrangement with TCCC, Gold-man has chosen to reinvest most of hisproceeds from the sale back into HonestTea. Goldman's co-founder, Barry Nalebuffand Gary Hirshberg, CE-YO of Stonyfield

Farm, will remain with Honest Tea as part ofthe Advisory Council.

“We started Honest Tea 13 years agowith an ambitious mission to create a deli-cious, healthy beverage alternative producedwith the health of our planet and our con-sumers in mind," said Seth Goldman, co-founder, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea.“Over the past three years, it has beenexciting to see the reach and impact of ourmission expand as a result of our partner-ship with The Coca-Cola Company.”

During that time Honest Tea's distributionhas grown from approximately 15,000 out-lets in 2008 to more than 75,000 today. Thecompany has also introduced a plastic bottlethat uses 22% less material, and doubledthe number of offerings as well as the salesof organic, zero-calorie drinks. Further, Hon-est Tea has committed to seeing its entiretea line become Fair Trade Certified by theend of this month.

Sparkling resultsfor Coca-ColaTHE Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) hasreported strong fourth quarter 2010 oper-ating results, with worldwide volume growthof 6%. For the full year, reported worldwidevolume grew 5%, ahead of TCCC's long-term growth target. Excluding the benefit ofnew cross-licensed brands in North Amer-ica, primarily Dr Pepper brands, worldwidevolume grew 5% in the quarter and 5% forthe full year. The company achieved broad-based volume growth of 14% in Eurasia andAfrica, 5% in Latin America, 2% in Europe,1% in Pacific and 8% in North America (3%excluding the benefit of new cross-licensedbrands), its third consecutive quarter oforganic growth.

TCCC recorded strong growth in carbon-ates with a worldwide volume increase of5% in the quarter (3% excluding the benefitof new cross-licensed brands in NorthAmerica), and international volume increas-ing 4%.

Worldwide still beverage volumeincreased 9% in the quarter, led by growth

Sporting benefitsin EcuadorTHE Coca-Cola Foundation in Ecuador andthe country's Ministry of Education havesigned an agreement to develop the secondstage of the 'Apúntate a Jugar ' (Sign Up toPlay) programme which benefits studentsand teachers with sports kits and trainingand fosters physical activity and sports inEcuadorian schools.

The initiative involves thedelivery of Coca-Cola bottledwater and juice products with

the aim of prioritising such beverages in thestudents' diets and choices at school. Theagreement between Coca-Cola and theMinistry marks the second stage of 'Apún-tate a Jugar' aimed to encourage the enjoy-ment of sports among Ecuadorian students.

The agreement also involves a Coca-ColaEcuador grant of 50 sports kits and 1,200manuals for basic education teachers. Thefirst phase of 'Apúntate a Jugar' in Ecuadorwas developed in 2009 with the support ofthe Ministry of Education.

across the portfolio, including juices and juicedrinks, sports drinks, teas and water brands.Still beverage volume in the quarterincreased 11% internationally and 7% inNorth America with the continued strongglobal performance of sports drinks, drivenby Powerade (+12%). Sports drink growthin the quarter was balanced across keyregions led by North America (+20%),South Korea (+43%), South Africa (+21%)and Mexico (+14%) as TCCC continued tobenefit from its FIFA World Cup sponsor-ship and product innovation like PoweradeZero in the US. Minute Maid Pulpy per-formed well, achieving 23% growth in the

quarter and 31% growth for the full year. Vit-aminwater was another strong brand in thequarter, with double-digit growth interna-tionally and 10% growth in North America.

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, said:“We once again delivered strong results thisquarter, with volume growth realised acrossall five of our geographic operating groups.Importantly, we achieved solid growth in ourdeveloped markets with 3% growth inNorth America, 2% growth in Europe and2% growth in Japan. Together with our globalbottling partners, we are decisively executingour 2020 Vision, and I am pleased that wemet or exceeded all of our long termgrowth targets for both the quarter and theyear, all while we completed our acquisitionof CCE's North American business, begansuccessfully integrating Coca-Cola Refresh-ments and operated in a still uncertainglobal economic environment.”

Kent said the company entered 2011, its125th anniversary year, with solid momen-tum.

“The fact that we are a thriving businessafter nearly 125 years is a testament to ouryouth, not our age. There is something spe-cial indeed about an enterprise that is in astate of constant renewal and dynamicgrowth. And while we recognise that chal-lenges remain in our worldwide market-place, we are confident that we areadvancing our global momentum to deliverlong term sustainable growth and value forour shareowners.”

Strong performers, Powerade andVitaminwater.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 17AMERICAS

Latin American supportPEPSICO Inc and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), thelargest multilateral provider of development financing for Latin Amer-ica and the Caribbean, have announced a landmark partnership tospur social and economic growth in 26 countries across Latin Amer-ica and the Caribbean. The partnership’s inaugural project waslaunched in Mexico with an agriculture initiative that seeks to signifi-cantly expand commercial sunflower production.

The five-year partnership between PepsiCo and the IDB will markthe first time a private-sector organisation has participated in theIDB's innovative regional trust funds for development activities. Theagreement was signed at a ceremony in Mexico City attended byMexican President Felipe Calderón, IDB Group President Luis AlbertoMoreno and PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.

“PepsiCo has a long history of doing business throughout LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, and we’re proud to demonstrate ourcommitment to this vitally important region through our first-of-its-kind partnership with the IDB,” said Indra Nooyi. “Our initiative todevelop the Mexican sunflower market is a powerful example of howwe can bring together the resources of public and private sectors towork together to deliver real value for local communities, for ourconsumers and for our business. We look forward to collaboratingwith the IDB on a wide range of sustainable development projectsacross the region.”

In addition to the Mexican sunflower programme, the partnershipwill expand on successful projects across the region, such as theWaste Pickers programme launched two years ago in Peru andColombia. Waste Pickers promotes recycling by creating a sustain-able market for recycled materials and providing the training localrecyclers need to generate a sustainable income stream. Waste Pick-ers will roll out in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and the DominicanRepublic as part of the new partnership.

Further, the PepsiCo Foundation and the IDB together will addressa variety of critical issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, includ-ing water and sanitation, recycling, youth development, disaster reliefand recovery, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and food security, andsharing knowledge and best practices about sustainability.

Indra Nooyi, left, with President Calderon at the signing ceremony.

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Encouraged DPSDR PEPPER Snapple Group Inc hasreported fourth quarter 2010 diluted earn-ings of US$0.49 per share compared toUS$0.44 per share in the prior year period.For the quarter, reported net sales increased4% reflecting sales volume growth, positivepricing and deferred revenue recognisedunder the PepsiCo Inc and The Coca-ColaCompany licensing agreements. For the year,reported net sales increased 2%; dilutedearnings per share were US$2.17 in boththe current and prior year.

DPS President and CEO Larry Young said:“As we look ahead, I'm encouraged by someof the improving trends we're seeing in con-sumer spending and in the economy gener-ally and by the momentum of our brandsand business. We accomplished a lot in2010, from the opening of our regional cen-tre in Victorville, California to the newlicensing agreements with PepsiCo andCoca-Cola, to increased availability of ourproducts in take-home, immediate consump-tion and fountain. “With key foundationalinvestments now behind us, we are focusedon building our people capabilities and deliv-ering even greater customer value throughour developing Rapid Continuous Improve-ment initiative. This, combined with stronginnovation, the national launch of Sun Dropand continued marketplace investments,gives me great confidence in our ability togrow and enhance the returns of this busi-ness in 2011 and beyond.”

Sprite's slam-dunkIN partnership with basketball star andbrand ambassador, LeBron James, Sprite haslaunched the first phase of the Sprite SparkParks Project. With an investment of US$2million, the Project plans to construct, refur-bish and refresh more than 150 neighbour-hood parks, athletic fields, playgrounds andbasketball courts in 2011.

Caren Pasquale Seckler, Vice-President,Flavour Brands Portfolio, Coca-Cola NorthAmerica, said: “Our goal is to improve com-munities in inspired ways and we're relyingon people around the country to help usidentify the places where we can make thebiggest impact. As more people get involved,the project will become more powerful.”

The programme has begunwith a chance for people tonominate their local basketball

court for renovation by logging on towww.Facebook.com/Sprite to designate acourt in their area for consideration.

Approximately 70 finalists will be chosento be part of a nationwide fan vote toselect the courts that will be refreshed. Atleast 21 courts will receive funding in 2011for items such as new rims, backboards,blacktop surfaces and art installations. Sevencourts (with one winner coming from sevendifferent regions across the country) will be

awarded a US$35,000 grant. An additional14 locations will receive US$20,000 each.

Sprite Spark Parks is supported by TVadvertising starring James.

Looking ahead, in April families can startcollecting green tabs found on speciallymarked Sprite cans and send them to Spriteto contribute to the building and refreshinghomes and active spaces for Habitat forHumanity. For every tab received, Sprite willdonate 10 cents to the organisation, with aminimum donation of US$250,000.

In mid-summer, Sprite will give families achance to win a refurbished playground orathletic field for their local school. Peoplecan enter their local schools by submittingthe My Coke Rewards codes found onSprite and Sprite Zero Fridge Pack and 2 litre products.

Hispanic soccerWITH the launch of Plaza Coca-Cola, His-panic soccer fans have a meeting place tocelebrate their favourite game. The specialfan zone made its debut at the first stop ofthe Mexican National Team's (MNT) fivecity US Tour in Atlanta. At each MNT gamePlaza Coca-Cola will be part of FutbolFiesta, an interactive zone that spans morethan 120,000 sq ft and includes live music,games, celebrity appearances and prize give-aways.

A 25ft replica of the Angel de la Indepen-dencia El Ángel (a victory column locatedover Paseo de la Reforma in downtownMexico City) will be a signature part ofPlaza Coca-Cola. Built to commemorate thecentennial of Mexico's War of Independ-ence and later converted to a Mausoleum,El Ángel is one of Mexico City's mostrecognisable landmarks and a focal point forcelebrations across the country.

El Ángel and Plaza Coca-Cola will travelaround the country following the MNT as itplays its first five games outside Mexicosince the FIFA World Cup.

“Coca-Cola has developedstrong roots in communitiesacross the country by hosting

events that are important to people andconnect with their passions and dreams,”said Reinaldo Padua, Assistant Vice-President,Hispanic Marketing, Coca-Cola NorthAmerica. “Plaza Coca-Cola gives fans a spe-

cial venue where they can enjoy a Coke,Open Happiness and celebrate their passionfor Futbol and their teams in the presenceof an authentic link to their heritage.”

More cans in BrazilLATAPACK-Ball Embalagens Ltda, the BallCorporation's majority-owned beverage canjoint venture in Brazil, has announced plans tobuild a new beverage can manufacturing plantin Alagoinhas, in the Brazilian state of Bahia.The plant will initially operate one manufac-turing line with the capability to make multi-ple aluminium can sizes, and is expected tostart up in early 2012.

“The beverage can continues its stronggrowth in Brazil, and Alagoinhas is located innortheast Brazil, one of the fastest growingregions in the country,” said Raymond J.Seabrook, Executive Vice-President and COO,Global Packaging Operations. “Increasingdemand for specialty sizes in Brazil is provid-ing additional opportunities for the can, andthe output from our first line is contractedunder a long term agreement. The durable,lightweight and 100% recyclable beverage canis a perfect match for the developing Brazilianmarket and is the package of choice for con-sumers there and elsewhere in the world.”

Latapack-Ball currently operates two bever-age can plants in Brazil, in Jacarei and TresRios, and a can end plant in Salvador. The TresRios plant started up in November 2009 andadded a second production line during thefirst quarter of 2011.

COCA-Cola's new global televisioncommercial is called 'Walls'. It depicts theteenage ritual of grabbing a Coke,cranking up the stereo and enjoying amoment of release through music at theend of the day. Emerging talent OneNight Only has written and recorded abrand new track called 'Can You Feel It'for the TVC.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 19AMERICAS

In brief…

l SVZ-USA, international producer andsupplier of fruit and vegetable ingredients forthe global food industry, has announced itwill install a new aseptic production line in2011, enabling the plant to run both lowand high acid raw materials into aseptic for-mats. In addition to frozen vegetable pureesand juice concentrates, the new line willlaunch SVZ into the aseptic vegetable ingre-dient market. The Washington state-basedcompany says it is well positioned to con-tract-grow large volumes of vegetables inthe state and build on the strong growerrelationships established over the past 10years. The extensive range of aseptic fruitand vegetable ingredients offers greater reli-ability and continuity of supply to countervolatile crop cycles. Production will com-mence on the new aseptic line in the fourthquarter of 2011.

l Savoye Inc, a Chicago-based subsidiary ofSavoye of Dijon, France, has completed anagreement to purchase all outstandingshares of Retrotech Inc, a privately heldengineering services firm based in New YorkState. Savoye, an international logistics engi-neering company with 550 employees andover 1,000 customers globally, earned rev-enues of US$110million in 2009 primarilyfrom equipment manufacturing, systemsengineering and software development.

The company integrates equipment forautomated order preparation and fulfillment,mechanised packaging for shipping, high-speed sorting and pallet handling. The firmalso develops software solutions for ware-housing, transport and supply chain flows.Retrotech pioneered the Automated Stor-age / Retrieval Systems (ASRS) modernisa-tion business in 1985 and it hascommissioned some of North America’slargest automated warehouses.

PET training forgrowing BrazilianmarketPLASTIC Technologies Inc (PTI), of Holland,Ohio, a global leader in PET design, develop-ment and engineering services, is partneringwith the Centro de Tecnologia de Embalagem(CETEA) to produce a second technicaltraining conference for the rapidly-growingBrazilian marketplace.

The course, 'PET Packaging for Hot andAseptic Filling of Sensitive Beverages’, will beheld from 5th to 8th April, 2011 in Campinas,

São Paulo and will feature three modules:PET Technology; Hot-Fill and Aseptic Technol-ogy; and PET Recycling and Sustainability.

Last year, PTI announced that it had signeda training agreement with CETEA, a State ofSão Paulo packaging technology researchinstitution, which is part of ITAL, the FoodTechnology Institute. The April 2011 event willbe held at ITAL’s headquarters in Campinas.

“We are looking forward to working withCETEA on this second training session. PTIwill be sharing its three decades of experi-ence with Brazilian brand owners and plasticprocessors to help these companies developa new level of expertise,” said Marcio Ama-zonas, Manager of Latin American opera-tions, PTI.

Clear on caloriesTHE 'Clear on Calories' initiative, a voluntarycommitment to make calories more visibleon front of pack, is being boosted by a newadvertising campaign from the American Bev-erage Association (ABA) called 'Journey'.

Explained Susan K, Neely, ABA's Presidentand CEO: “Our delivery drivers from lastyear are back. This time they deliver bever-ages with calorie labels to the grocery store.We think this new ad about the industry’sleadership provides a perfect contrast to ourmama in the grocery story who tells policy-makers to “give me a break” when it comesto talk of soda taxes.”

Commenting on 'Clear on calories', Neelysaid: “By putting the calories on the front ofbeverages, we're making it easier for con-sumers to make informed choices. It's onemore way that America's beverage compa-nies are doing their part to help peopleachieve a healthy weight by balancing theirdiet and physical activity.”

The new calorie labels began appearing onsome beverages last autumn. The companiesexpect to have the calorie label on the front

of all of their major brands and more thanhalf their product volume by June of this year- and on all brands and packages by early2012 as committed.

In February 2010, ABA joined MichelleObama at the White House as she launchedher 'Let’s Move!' campaign. Then the Associa-tion pledged to add a calorie label on thefront of every bottle and can to help con-sumers choose the beverage that’s right forthem.

The 'Clear on Calories' initiative hasrequired a significant manufacturing, distribu-tion and resource commitment by the partic-ipating companies: The Coca-Cola Company,PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, SunnyDelight Beverages, Nestlé Waters NorthAmerica, Cott Beverages and Honest Teawho are are actively redesigning and con-verting the package labels across their broadportfolios of products.

Michelle Obama launches ‘Let's Move’.

The calorie label was developed last yearand tested with consumers to make sure itprovided clear and easy-to-use information.The industry worked with the White Houseand its agencies throughout the label devel-opment process and remains in contact withthe administration throughout implementa-tion of this initiative.

To discuss advertising opportunities contact:[email protected]

The SDI Media Pack can be downloaded from:www.softdrinksinternational.com/advertise

20 Soft Drinks International – March 2011DEVELOPMENTS


IngredientsPremium rtd teaPLANTEXTRAKT and the DöhlerGrouphave developed a new generation of teadrinks and announced a strategic partner-ship to market the concept, True Tea.

The market-ready tea concept focuses onan authentic tea flavour. It is made fromfreshly-brewed tea, which is not concen-trated. The full flavour profile of the tea isretained and forms the basis of a new seg-ment, premium quality tea drinks, and is inkeeping with the trend for naturalness andauthenticity.

True Tea is the result of a strategic part-nership, in which the DöhlerGroup andPlantextrakt are combining their expertise inthe development of new tea bases and suc-cessful product applications. Plantextrakt, abusiness unit of the Martin Bauer Group,brings well-developed and comprehensiveknowledge to the partnership, from rawmaterials to the production of high-qualitytea bases. Döhler’s expertise in developmentand application stretches back decades andis available to customers in 21 applicationcentres. Both partners are well known asbeing market leaders in their businesses.

GrAS approvalSTRATUM Nutrition of Missouri USAreports its chitin-glucan fibre ingredient,Artinia, has received self-affirmed GenerallyRecognised As Safe (GRAS) status. There arenow numerous food and beverage cate-gories for which Artinia is approved for useincluding: beverage and beverage bases suchas energy and sports drinks, fruit juices andmeal replacement drinks; and milk productssuch as smoothies, yogurt and yogurt drinks.

“Achieving GRAS approval is a majormilestone and a testament to the rigorousand extensive scientific and technical infor-mation associated with Artinia,” commentedDr Joseph L. Evans, Manager, Pharmacology,Stratum Nutrition.

The ingredient is a high-purity, natural,chitin-glucan fibre featuring the benefits ofboth soluble and insoluble fibres. A 12 weekanimal and 30 day human pilot study havebeen completed, and each study demon-strates that Artinia provides substantial ben-efits for arterial and overall heart health,including a reduction in oxidized-LDL.

Artinia as chitin-glucan has also received apositive opinion by the EU Commission as anovel food.

Innovation at IFEAT this month's IFE show taking place atExcel, London, the DöhlerGroup's stand willfocus on the current trend for natural andhealthy drinks. For fruit juices, smoothies, nec-tars and still drinks the company is showcas-ing new applications ranging from breakfastsmoothies and nectars with differentiatingtop flavours through to still drinks with cellsand pieces.

For carbonates Döhler has developed arange of modern applications which spanfrom natural carbonates to 'Aqua Plus' formu-lations using natural sweetening solutions withstevia. New alternatives such as malt-based

beverages like an 'all free' beer will be avail-able at the Döhler stand for sampling and todiscuss. A wide range of new energy andsport and nutritional beverages will also beunveiled.

In addition the company is showcasing awide range of beverages sweetened withstevia.

Döhler and the market leader for stevia,PureCircle, have entered into a global strategicpartnership for stevia-based sweetening sys-tems whereby Döhler contributes its compre-hensive know-how in sweeteners, sweeteningflavours, product formulations and applications.MultiSweet® Stevia are tailored combinationsof premium stevia extracts with the sweetnessimproving technology developed by Döhler.

Döhler's emphasis is on natural and healthy drinks.

Adding moresparkleCARBONATED soft drinks are the largestvolume segment in the Middle East. At lastmonth's Gulfood event Wild presentedpremium products with fruit pulp and newflavours especially for cola drinks. This port-folio includes new ideas for still drinks aswell. For instance, concepts combining milkand juice deliver a high mouthfeel whichhas an especial demand regionally.

“The market of carbonated soft-drinks ishotly contested. We believe that thosemanufacturers who succeed offer premiumproducts with a natural image and newflavourings,” said Jochen Bitzel, Vice-Presi-dent Eastern Europe and Middle East atWild.

Throughout the Middle East, consumersprefer viscous drinks which provide a highmouthfeel indulgence and have an intensiveflavour profile. To support manufacturers inmeeting the regional trends soft drinks withfruit pulp are one of the product ideas thecompany displayed. Using citrus juices andfruit pulp provides a distinctive mouthfeeland an exceptionally fruity flavour that

offers a competitive edge over classic citruscarbonates.

Besides carbonated soft drinks, the stilldrinks category is a large volume segment.Wild says manufacturers can distinguishthemselves and add value to their productsby combining milk and juice in their prod-ucts. This provides an especially creamy, highmouthfeel and new taste experiences.There is a variety of flavour options, bethey very popular regional flavours, newexotic ones or superfruits such as pome-granate or cranberry.


A bright makeoverROYAL DSM N.V, has introduced a new company brand: ‘Bright Sci-ence. Brighter Living’, to reflect the company's transition from a chem-ical company into a life sciences and materials sciences company.

The new brand stands for the company's strategy, culture and theway DSM wants its employees to work together. It represents thecompany’s sustainability value, the One DSM philosophy (based on therealisation that DSM can only fulfill its strategic goals if it operates asone united team across the globe) and it fits with the DSM mission tocreate brighter lives for people today and for generations to come.

Feike Sijbesma, CEO and Chairman of the DSM Managing Board,said: “With the portfolio restructuring completed, with our new strat-egy that focuses on growth, with the culture change on the road, andwith our One DSM philosophy, this is the time to mark the new DSM,internally and externally.”

The tagline: 'Bright Science. Brighter Living.' sums up how DSM usesits science and innovation in partnership with its customers to createproducts and solutions that make a positive difference to people’s lives.

The new logo with its mix and overlay of colours aims to represent thediversity of the workforce and the combination of global talents andtechnologies, working together to create innovative and sustainablesolutions. It also conveys a sense of movement because the company isconstantly looking to evolve in an ever-changing world.

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Truvia dealSILVER Spoon, part of Associated British Foods, and Cargill, haveannounced an exclusive strategic partnership for UK distribution andmarketing of Truvia branded tabletop, the first, stevia-based, zero caloriesweetener. This announcement comes ahead of anticipated EUapproval of stevia extracts later this year.

Silver Spoon will jointly market the product with Cargill, buildingbrand awareness through advertising and in-store programmes. Underthe terms of the partnership, the sweetener will be co-branded withthe Silver Spoon and Truvia logos appearing on packaging.

After only two years on the US market, the Truvia brand hasbecome the leading stevia-based sweetener.

BI Nutraceuticals of Long Beach, California has received a SQF 2000(Safe Quality Food) certificate from NSF. The SQF programme pro-vides independent certification that a supplier's food safety and qual-ity management systems comply with international and domesticfood safety regulations. SQF 2000 certification is a Global FoodSafety Initiative recognised scheme, which was launched to enhancefood safety, ensure consumer protection and strengthen consumerconfidence.

“This globally trusted food safety and quality certification provides anadditional level of assurance and commitment to our customers thatBI's ingredients have been produced, processed, prepared and handledaccording to the highest possible quality standards across all levels ofthe supply chain,” noted George Pontiakos, President and CEO, BINutraceuticals. “BI is the only nutraceutical raw material supplier toattain this certification and we are very pleased that our industry lead-ing quality and sourcing programmes are recognised by SQF.”

nSF certified

22 Soft Drinks International – March 2011INGREDIENTS

ObesityAker BioMarine has announced the publica-tion in Nutritional & Metabolism of a newstudy investigating the effect of krill oil onthe endocannabinoid (EC) system inhumans. The EC system is comprised of agroup of lipids (fats) and receptors that actwithin the nervous system to help modu-late a number of physiological processesincluding appetite and mood. In this study,normal weight, overweight, and obese sub-jects were given two grammes of krill oil,menhaden fish oil, or olive oil per day forfour weeks. Obese persons have elevatedlevels of plasma ECs compared to normalweight individuals, which was confirmed inthe current study. The results demonstratefor the first time that a relatively low doseof omega-3 fatty acids (< 400 mg EPA +DHA), have beneficial effects on EC levelsin obese persons when given in the formof krill oil.

The company's Superba Krill Oil providesthe majority of its omega-3 fatty acids inthe form of phospholipids, whereas othercommon marine oils contain omega-3 fattyacids in the form of triglycerides or ethylesters.

Osteoporosis The Osteoporosis Prevention Using Soy(OPUS) intervention study, funded by theUnited States Department of Agriculture

Functional forum…(USDA), has confirmed that regular supple-mentation with soy hypocotyl isoflavonesover long periods does not cause adverseeffects. It can thus be regarded as safe.These results are especially interestingbecause they mean that recent discussionsabout isoflavones promoting different formsof cancer can be considered as baseless.

Focusing on the effects of soy isoflavoneson osteoporosis prevention, the major sec-ondary outcome measured in the OPUSstudy was safety. No increased risk wasobserved for breast cancer or endometrialcancer due to supplementation. The scien-tists therefore concluded that long termsupplementation with soy isoflavones issafe. The OPUS study was a multicentre,randomised, double-blind, placebo-con-trolled trial following 403 menopausalwomen for two years. Three different treat-ment groups were given either 80mg/day,120mg/day aglycone soy isoflavones or aplacebo. The scientists used the patentedsoy germ isoflavone product SoyLife fromFrutarom, and therefore the results canonly be considered as valid for this particu-lar composition.

Cognitive healthDr Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, Director of theCognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory at TheBrain Institute at The University of Utah,presented new scientific data on Kyowa

Hakko's branded brain health ingredientCognizin at the recent US SupplySide Sci-ence Tour held in Irvine, California. Shehighlighted results of a six-week study con-ducted at McLean Hospital, a HarvardMedical School designed to measure andvisualise the functional effects of Cognizinon various facets of brain function.

On the first day of testing, 16 healthysubjects aged 40 - 60 years underwentfunctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI) while completing both the Strooptask, which is designed to measure atten-tion and reaction time, and the MorrisWater Maze task, which examines spatialmemory. Subjects were then given a dailyoral dose of either 500 or 2000 mg ofCognizin for six weeks before a secondimaging protocol was conducted.

After completion of the second fMRItest, increased activation was seen duringcompletion of the Stroop interference task.This was accompanied by improved accu-racy in generating correct responses.Increased activation was seen during com-pletion of the second Water Maze test aswell. These results indicated that use ofCognizin resulted in better spatial memoryretrieval, in addition to increased brainmetabolism. Cognizin Citicoline is a natural,water-soluble brain health ingredient, and awell-established part of the cognitive healthcategory.

In brief…

l Cramer Productos Aromáticos, a well-established producer of flavours and fra-grances in South America, is entering theEuropean market. The company will workwith Kreglinger Specialties in Antwerp, Bel-gium, to distribute its products. Both com-panies have extensive and longstandingexperience in the industry, are familyowned, and have agreed to work togetheron a long term basis.

Products covered under this cooperationare natural flavours, natural identical flavoursfor applications in beverages and food aswell as specialty flavours from South Amer-ica, where Cramer Productos Aromáticoshas wide experience in delivering top quality,original and new flavour notes.

l Nutrition Business Journal has awardedDanisco with a Scientific AchievementAward for its range of scientifically provenprobiotics. Danisco BioActives has a dedi-cated Health & Nutrition R&D Groupbased in Kantvik, Finland, which undertakesan active and well-defined programme ofresearch collaborating with selected presti-gious research institutes. “This awardclearly demonstrates Danisco’s credentialsas a leader in the development of the sci-entific documentation required by today’s

food and dietary supplements industries. Itis also an excellent recognition for our sci-entific researchers and worldwide collabo-rators,” said Dr Julian Stowell, Vice-President Scientific Affairs, Danisco Health& Nutrition.

l Ocean Spray held its latest auction ofcranberry concentrate in January. Acrossthree contracts, pricing for Ocean Spray’sconcentrate increased an average of 17%compared to the closing prices from theOctober 2010 auction.

A total of 14 companies participated inthe auction, with Ocean Spray selling143,800 gallons of concentrate. The closingprices were US$19.50 per gallon for the firstcontract delivery period (three months),US$20.00 per gallon for the second deliveryperiod (six months), and US$21.00 per gal-lon for the third delivery period (sixmonths).

“Rising concentrate prices likely reflectthe current state of supply and demand,”said Mike Stamatakos, Vice-President Agri-cultural Supply and Development at OceanSpray. “Based on Cranberry MarketingCommittee data, demand for cranberryingredients is up, while the 2010 crop wassmaller than either of the two prior crops.”

regional tastesTHE new product concepts Symrise pre-sented at last month's Ingredients MiddleEast/Gulfood event were tailored to satisfythe taste preferences of consumers in theMiddle East and North Africa (MENA).

“The Middle East and North Africa regionis one of Symrise’s key markets. Our aim isto faster and better serve our customers.Therefore, we’ve tailored our facility we setup last year in Dubai to regional taste prefer-ences and demands,” said Ralf Streicher, Vice-President Sales EAME at Symrise.

The company’s new flavouring platform'taste for life’ was a highlight of the show.“Thanks to 'taste for life' and our consumerinsights into the MENA region, we’re able todevelop creative, market-driven product con-cepts that are tailored to consumer needs inthis region,” explained Streicher.

The concept embraces: ‘stay vital’, productsthat help maintain a healthy lifestyle such asisotonic beverages with grapefruit-lemonflavour or milk-juice blends with pomegran-ate and blood orange; 'lighten up', productsthat contribute to a balanced diet such asdrinking yogurt flavoured with green tea andmint; 'be natural’, solutions made of naturalingredients; and ‘get excited’, products thatawaken consumers’ senses such as instantdrinks with oriental flowers, herbs and roots.

KANEGRADEKanegrade Ltd, Ingredients House, Caxton Way, Stevenage,Hertfordshire, SG1 2DF, United KingdomTel: +44 (0) 1438 742242 Fax: + (0) 1438 [email protected] www.kanegrade.com

Juice Compounds & Bases

Juice Blends (Fruit & Vegetables)

Fruit Juice Concentrates & Purées

Flavours (Liquid & Powders)

Natural Colours & Extracts

Functional Ingredients

HALAL CERTIFIEDUNITED KINGDOM

Offices/factories: UK Germany Dubai India Holland

24 Soft Drinks International – March 2011ProDUCTS

Juices & Juice Drinksnew ‘Slice’ campaignINDIA PepsiCo has launched its popularmango juice drink brand Slice in Mumbai.Slice has seen powerful consumer momen-tum since its relaunch two years back, creat-ing excitement in the mango juice drinkscategory.

Slice was introduced into other key mar-kets of Maharashtra like Pune, Thane, Vashi,Nasik over the past two years in a phasedmanner. After tasting success in these mar-kets, PepsiCo now aims to solidify its marketleadership by tapping the vast potential ofone of the largest mango juice drink marketsin India – Mumbai – by extending the popu-lar formulation and communication to thecity. Slice will be available in 200ml and250ml returnable glass bottles, 500ml and1.2litre PET bottles and 200ml cartons.

In new advertising the brand has intro-duced the concept of 'Aamsutra' which cel-ebrates mango indulgence with its newtaste, logo and packaging graphics and brandproposition personified by brand ambassa-dor Katrina Kaif. She leads her on-screenpartner to a game of ‘who blinks first’ onlyto give into the taste of pure mango pleas-ure. The television commercial has been shotin a boat against the backdrop of a romanticforest, thus bringing indulgence to life.Accompanying the campaign is a marketingplan comprising of television, print, radio,outdoors and on ground activation.

Commenting on the launch, Homi Batti-walla, Director, Juice & Juice-based drinks,PepsiCo India, said, “The markets of WesternIndia are very significant contributors to themango juice drinks industry and of these,Maharashtra is the most significant. In Mum-bai, the category has always been synony-mous with the heritage of Slice Mangola.With the launch of Slice in Mumbai, we aimto strengthen our leadership further bycatering to the varied taste needs of ourconsumers through the delicious new tasteof Slice and our communication campaign.”

Designer bottleFINLAND Hartwall has begun 2011 with anumber of significant product revamps andlaunches, top-lined by the relaunch of itspopular Hartwall Jaffa orange drink in a500ml new-look designer bottle.

The new Hartwall Jaffa bottle, which wasre-designed by the Helsinki-based Mozo,modernises the product's traditional olde-world image, an image characteristic that hashelped position the Jaffa brand on top ofFinland's carbonated orange beverageleague-table since the mid-1970s.

The new Jaffa bottle's rounded upperpart is designed to resemble a fresh juicyfruit, while its tapered middle section isshaped to allow for added grip. HartwallJaffa was launched on the Finnish market in1949.

ExoticUK Calypso Soft Drinks has launchedCalypso Exotix, claimed the first range ofschool-compliant exotic juice drinks devel-oped to meet the growing trend for moreexotic, adventurous tastes with an increasing,culturally diverse population. The drinks aremade with 50% real fruit juices and purées,and natural mineral water with no addedsugar, colour or preservatives. Exotix Mangocontains the Alphonso mango, Guava usessun-ripened fruits from South Asia and Trop-ical is a combination of nine different fruitsincluding passion fruit and pineapple.

Richard Cooke, Calypso Sales and Mar-keting Director, said: “Multicultural familiesare increasingly key with a growing popula-tion, accounting for around 15% of theunder 16s population. Extensive research

showed us that young people are presentedwith traditional fruit juices in school butthere is a real opportunity to provide new,more adventurous flavours. People are alsotravelling abroad more and experiencingnew tastes and cultures which they then liketo enjoy at home.”

The range is available in 200ml combipack cartons. Calypso is supporting thelaunch with trade promotions, POS and con-sumer advertising.

Kick offSOUTH AFRICA Youngsters are beingencouraged to ‘kick off with a Frenzy’ or ‘startwith a Frenzy’ as juice packager Pacmar pro-motes its football-themed Frenzy juice range.

The theme builds on the heightened inter-est in soccer seen in South Africa since thepreparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cupand subsequently.

Frenzy Fruit Drink is made from real fruitjuice, does not contain preservatives and canbe stored unopened for up to 12 months.

Each of the seven flavours is associatedwith a ball skill: Header Goal Apple, RightDribble Orange, Goal Keeper Guava, LeftStriker Mango, Left Tackle Grape, Left DribbleTropical and Left Striker Mango/Orange.

The 200ml packs are being marketed byPacmar, which is based in the Western CapeWinelands town of Wellington, as “easy topack in the lunch box at school, as a quickrefreshment before soccer practice or evenas a treat on the way to an away-game”



Soft Drinks International – March 2011 25JUICES & JUICE DRINKS

Vegetable newcomerUK WB&CO Veg Juice is a new 100% purevegetable juice with no added fruit marketedas a healthy alternative to fruit juices andsmoothies.

“WB&CO Veg Juice offers an exciting, con-venient and natural way to help busy peopleenjoy vegetables at any time of the day,” saidWB&CO Founder and Director MarkWalker. “Our vegetable juice is slowly pressedfrom British organic vegetables and deliveredfreshly made, direct from the WB&CO press-ing plant in London. Our commitment tosourcing and manufacturing locally (within theUK) means quality is maintained from thesoil to the bottle and onto the shelf toensure customers experience the earthygoodness and natural taste you can only getwhen vegetable juice is made fresh and raw”.

WB&CO was launched in Singapore in2007, when Mark Walker, who is fructoseintolerant and so cannot drink fruit juice,spotted a gap in the market for a naturallymade range of chilled pure vegetable juice.He adapted traditional methods of makingolive oil to create a process of extractingjuice from vegetables and herbs that pre-served more of their essential nutrients andnatural taste. WB&CO’s first sale was madethrough a pop-up shop in the popular districtof Holland Village, Singapore, where each ofthe juices received rave reviews. This immedi-ate success, along with private investment,has allowed him to launch the brand interna-tionally, with a focus on Europe.

The juices contain no bits and are smoothand light with a clean fresh finish. The threeintroductory juices available in London are:Carrot and Ginger – subtly sweet with bursts

of spice; Beetroot, Celery and Carrot - a richearthy base of beetroots and carrots that isfinished with a slight saltiness from the celery;and Spinach, Celery and Parsley – a polishedtexture with a strong flavour of the vegeta-bles coming through.

The company is committed to sustainabil-ity. The glass bottle is made from a high flint

glass that can be refilled eight times at thecompany's pressing plant. Where this isn’tpossible, high flint glass can be melted downeasily and recycled to make other glass prod-ucts. Further, WB&CO donates the pulp (thevegetable matter left behind after juicing) toThe Royal Park HQ in London to be used asorganic compost.

CaribbeanUK Entrepreneur Levi Roots is building onhis £30million brand with the launch of arange of fruit juices and carbonates featuringCaribbean flavours, targeting young adults(16-34) and young families. “The range willbe for people who like something differentand like to experiment.,” said Neil Gibson,Head of Marketing for Vimto Soft Drinkswho helped develop and are now support-ing and spearheading the brand's launch.

The juice drinks, with a 20% juice content,come in 1 litre cartons for the ambient fix-ture. There are three flavours: Orange,Papaya ‘n’ Lime, Blood Orange ‘n’ Pomegran-ate and Spicy Reggae Reggae Tomato Juice.

Levi Roots said: “More and more peoplehave embraced the exotic flavours of theCaribbean that I love so much and I’ve cre-ated some delicious and exciting blends thatwill offer totally unique tastes. I want myrange to add a bit of colour, fun and sun-shine into the soft drinks market!”

Eye-catching packaging for the range uses

the bright, bold colours that are linked withLevi’s musical Reggae culture and featureshis silhouette with trademark dreadlocks.

Since appearing on the television Dragons’

Den programme in 2007 to attract invest-ment for his Reggae Reggae Sauce, LeviRoots’ has risen to become a major playerin the market and a significant contributorto the increasing influence of Caribbeanflavours within the retail sector. Vimto SoftDrinks has worked alongside Levi Roots onthe design and delivery of the products andis driving the nationwide sales and market-ing campaign for the range. The UK’s majormultiples; are already behind the launch ofthe brand with the first drinks to hit theshelves nationwide this month.

Marketing activity includes a universitysampling tour : ‘The Levi Roots Experience– Food and Music Live!’; the launch of You

Can Get It If You Really Want business bookwith national advertising; the publication ofnew cook book Spice it up; National adver-tising; and an animated cinema advertise-ment in the summer along with activity atmusic festivals. Levi Roots and his new soft drinks.

range extendedSOUTH AFRICA Pomegranate has beenadded to the range of flavours from theBerry Company distributed in South Africa byStafford Bros & Draeger.

The range was launched in South Africa inMay 2010 and has been very well received,especially for its healthy attributes. The Pome-granate juice is being promoted as high inantioxidants which fight free radicals.

Other flavours in the range include Blue-berry, Acai, Goji, Superberries Purple and Sim-plyberry Red.

26 Soft Drinks International – March 2011PRODUCTS

Energy & Sports Drinks

natural energyUK Britvic is expanding its portfolio of func-tional drinks with the introduction of Pep-siCo’s SoBe Pure Rush. The energy drinkcomes in two flavours, Apple Berry Burst andTropical Twist. Both contain naturally energis-ing caffeine, guarana and ginseng with no arti-ficial colours or flavours. Pure Rush will lookto capitalise on the SoBe brand’s successfulglobal track record worth £570 million insales. It was launched on test in Norway in2009 and has proven so successful that it isforecast to become a global brand. For theUK launch SoBe Pure Rush has beenredesigned by independent integrated designand branding agency Blue Marlin.

The new 250ml can is deliberately unisex,eschewing the usual black or blue palettefor clean, fresh white. The two entwinedlizards, which have been the icon of theSouth Beach Beverage Company sincelaunch in 1996, feature prominently on packin a more overt depiction of the infinitysymbol – Pure Rush keeps you going. This isfurther emphasised with the line 'NaturallyEnergising'.

Blue Marlin Creative Director, SimonPendry, said: “We’ve made the pack moresingle-minded and really brought the lizardsto life. The South Beach ethos is all aboutbeing comfortable in your own skin and thenew packaging reflects that, it has a relaxedconfidence.”

Britvic’s Head of Seed Brands, Jon Evans,commented: “Research shows that the num-ber of people buying stimulant drinks is indecline recently, because people don’t likehow they taste, and because they’re full of

artificial ingredients. Pure Rush has beendesigned to address this. We are confident itwill bring new shoppers into the categoryand help grow sales in the stimulant drinksegment, which is now worth £399 million.”

IsotonicUSA AriZona Beverages has launched arange of 100% natural isotonic sports drinkscalled AriZona Sports. The drinks featurepure cane sugar and a balanced concentra-tion of salts and minerals designed to berapidly absorbed by the body.

Each flavour, Fruit Punch,Lemon-Lime and Orange, con-tains key electrolytes includingsodium, potassium chloride andsodium citrate meant to helpduring physical activity whenthe body is craving replenish-ment. Like all AriZona prod-ucts, there are no artificial

colours or flavours and no preservatives.The drinks are available in 34oz clear PET

bottles. Distribution is underway in theNortheast to be continued by a nationwiderollout throughout the year.

V newcomerNEW ZEALAND The V energy drinkrange has been taken into a new sub-cate-gory in its New Zealand homeland with thelaunch of V Iced Coffee.

As the name indi-cates, this combines theguarana energy of Vwith iced coffee, liningit up for both theenergy beverage andflavoured milk shelvesof convenience storeand grocery chillers.

Packaged in a 470mlglass bottle, V Iced Cof-fee has similar energylevels as the Big V500ml: 32mg of caffeineand 120mg of guaranaextract per 100ml.

Pure for activeSOUTH AFRICA The producers of Pureenergy drink claim it ‘ignites body and soul’,a marketing tag which lines up well with theproposition that the active ingredient,guarana, releases 100mg of caffeine into theconsumer’s system over four hours.

Other ingredientsinclude apple, cherry,strawberry and lemon,all chosen for theirlow glycemic indexratings. Green tea provides antioxidantswhile tart red cherriessupply anthocyanins.

Pure is non-carbon-ated and is packagedin a transparent 300mlbottle with a screwtop.

Its ‘edgy’ associationwith an active lifestyleis being promotedthrough a series ofar tistic advertisingexecutions.

Initially Britvic will market the brand inkey on-the-go outlets, where shoppers arelooking for an energy boost; for example,BP, WHS Travel stores and urban cafés anddelis.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 27ENERGY & SPORTS DRINKS

Shot sponsorshipUSA DynaPep Energy, creator of theSupercharged Energy Micro-Shot, hasannounced its sponsorship of professionalMMA fighter, Hermes 'The Unreal' Franca.

Brazilian born Franca specialises in blackbelt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the lightweightdivision. He earned his nickname, 'TheUnreal' from his fans and sports writers

FairtradeUK Northwest-based Thirsty Soft Drinkshas announced the launch of the country'sfirst Fair trade and organic energy drink,White Tiger (WT), in 250ml cans.

Originally introduced in Sweden, WTcomes in classic and diet variants. They aretaurine free energy drinks certified by theinternational Fairtrade organisation, carryingboth organic and Fairtrade logos. The dietvariant, WT Slim, with reduced sugar and noartificial sweeteners, has 33% less caloriesthen the leading energy drink. WT Slim hasa flavour described as “light taste of cassis”. Itis also free from taurine and contains healthygreen tea and caffeine from guarana. Theproduct will be available through leadingsupermarkets, ethical and Fairtrade distribu-tors throughout UK and Ireland.

Setting the paceINDIA The country's passion for cricket isbeing supported by Gatorade Pacers, a pro-gramme run by Gatorade, the world's lead-ing sports drink, to identify and developyoung fast bowlers. Five have now beenselected who will benefit from a trainingprogramme at the ICC Cricket Academy inDubai. During seven days at the Academyresident coaches will give them tips onimproving their bowling skills and give thema perspective on competing in internationallevel cricket. They will also undergo theworld-renowned ‘Gatorade Sweat Test’ andbecome the first sportsmen from India toundergo this test.

The Gatorade Sweat Test is conducted bythe Gatorade Sports Science Institute which,over the past 40 years, has been workingclosely with sports teams, as well as hun-dreds of elite professional and amateur ath-letes from all over the world to help themoptimise their health and performancethrough research and education in hydrationand nutrition science.

Gatorade was the official nutrition partnerfor this year's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

new lookUK Rexam's aluminium bottle can, Fusion,has been chosen by ROK Natural Energyfor its natural energy drink range. The330ml Fusion bottles will be produced byRexam at its Epjovice plant in the CzechRepublic and will give the drinks a sleeknew look. They were previously sold in stan-dard 250ml cans.

Bruce Renny of ROK Natural EnergyDrink explained why they chose the bottle:“The consumer trial that we ran in 2010proved we had the beverage and the brandright, but we needed a packaging optionthat was going to represent the premiumproduct inside. Rexam’s Fusion bottle pro-vides the elegance and impact that theproduct deserves.”

The energy drink, made from 100% natu-ral ingredients and aimed at 25 - 45 yearolds, was launched in 2009 by US billionairebusinessman John Paul DeJoria, co-founderof Paul Mitchell hair care. John and the teamat ROK wanted to create an energy drinkthat appealed to a more sophisticatedpalate and had noticeable health benefits forthe consumer.

The drink is available in top end restau-rant and bars, as well as hair salons where it

is offered as a lunchtime beverage.Last year ROK began an ongoing spon-

sorship deal with the Jendens polo team,based at Knepp Castle Polo Club, with thebrand logo displayed on the team’s kit. Thesponsorship will continue throughout 2011,with ROK promoting the drink at matchesand events across the UK.

ROK says there are new products in thepipeline for 2011 including Natural EnergyLight and Natural Energy Light with Antiox-idants. They, too, will come in Fusion bottles.

new formulaUK Powerade has launched an improvedsports drink formula, Powerade ION4. Thestill isotonic sports drink, which will be usedby Team GB and ParalympicsGB to helpthem prepare for London 2012, has beendeveloped with sports scientists. It containsfluid and four of the minerals (sodium,potassium, magnesium, calcium) lost in sweatfor effective hydration, and a combination ofcarbohydrates to rapidly replenish the fuelthe body loses during exercise.

Powerade ION4 is available in threeflavours – Berry & Tropical, Cherry andOrange – and is being supported by in-storePOS and a new marketing campaign.

To celebrate its new partnership with Par-alympicsGB athlete marathon world recordholder and World 200m champion RichardWhitehead, and highlight its support for theLondon 2012 Olympic and ParalympicGames, the brand is running a new market-ing campaign featuring Team GB and Para-

lympicsGB athletes taking on the ultimatesweat test challenge.

The new commercial sees Whitehead,along with World and European heptathleteJessica Ennis and swimmer David Davies, putPowerade ION4 to the test by challengingtheir bodies in a unique, purpose-built sweatcircuit.

This is the first time a Paralympian hasjoined the Powerade stable of sportingassets and will see Whitehead promote thebrand above and below the line betweennow and 2012, beginning with ION4, theofficial sports drink of both Team GB andParalympicsGB.

because of his aggressive, focused style offighting.

DynaPep CEO, Lisa Krinsky, said: “Wechose to sponsor Hermes Franca as oneof our own since he is from Florida. Hehas performed very well in this competi-tive and dynamic arena of the mixed mar-tial ar ts. Franca represents what we are allabout: health, endurance and sustainedenergy. We are proud to have him as partof our DynaPep family.”


Water & Water Plus

ProDUCTS

Cash and carryUK The country's biggest supplier of bot-tled water, Highland Spring Group, is launch-ing a new brand created for the cash andcarry and food service sectors.

Hydr8, which promotes the eight glasses aday message, is a naturally sourced Britishwater produced from the company’srecently acquired Campsie Spring bottlingplant, near Glasgow. It comes in convenient500ml screw cap and 500ml sports bottlesand six-packs. The product will also be avail-able in a 5 litre format, which is HighlandSpring Group’s first foray into larger bottlesizes.

This is the first new brand launched bythe group since it acquired the bottledwater business of Greencore Group plc inMarch 2010.

Richard Beeston, from Highland SpringGroup, said: “Hydr8 will allow the companyto expand into a growing sector of the mar-ket. The product has excellent sales poten-tial since it comes from the Highland SpringGroup, is naturally sourced from one of our

Glasgow-based 999 Design created the newpackaging which promotes healthy hydrationand the quality and sustainability credentials ofthe product.

natural fruitFINLAND Hartwall has launched HartwallNovelle Mansikkainen, a mineral waterflavoured with natural fruit and berries. It isbeing introduced into an increasingly com-petitive segment of the natural fruit-flavoured mineral water market forwell-being beverages.

The strawberry flavoured Hartwall Nov-elle Mansikkainen also contains lemon toengender an added freshness to the prod-uct.

“The taste offlavoured mineralwater has to be gen-uine. That is why in all Novelle mineralwaters, the aromascome from real fruitand berries, but theydo not overwhelm thefine, fresh taste ofmineral water,” saidSini Orkola, HartwallNovelle Mansikkainen'sBrand Manager.

Hartwall Novellemineral waters are saltfree, have zero caloriesand are lightly carbon-ated. The product isbeing sold in 0.5 and1.5litre bottles, with1.5litre bottles avail-able as a twin-packoption.

Badminton thirstUK English natural mineral water, Iceni, hasembarked on a new relationship with Bad-minton England to become the ‘OfficialHydration Supplier’ to Team England. Theassociation sees Iceni, which is bottled atsource in South Cambridgeshire, becomethe sole water provider to Team Englandover the next two years, supporting allmajor badminton tournaments held in Eng-land during this time.

Commenting on the sponsorship BrettFleming-Jones, Managing Director of IceniWater, said: “We believe the Iceni brand tobe the perfect fit for this high pace sport.Staying properly hydrated by drinking waterduring exercise is key to achieving optimum

levels of performance. As such, Iceni hasalways had a strong link with sporting activ-ity and has been the water of choice formany top players.”

The recommendation from the FoodStandards Agency is that when exercisingyou should drink up to one litre of waterper hour of exercise (on top of the stan-dard one to two litres per day).

Team England take its physical fitness andwell-being very seriously and Iceni willensure that England’s elite badminton play-ers maintain the right amount of waterintake. At the major events Iceni will havefully branded fridges which will be posi-tioned on the courts. Iceni will also haveadvertising opportunities at the NationalBadminton Centre in Milton Keynes for theduration of the sponsorship.

SlimmingUSA Maayan, LLC, the southern Californiacompany that brought the healing power offlower essences to the US functional bever-age market, has launched MindEssential MESlim Water, an all-natural, homeopathic waterdrink that curbs the urge to overeat so youcan lose weight. The product was unveiled atthis month's Natural Expo West in Anaheim,California.

ME Slim Water combines four floweressences with natural peach-mango flavourand agave, an all-natural sweetener. Thecompany says that, together, these ingredi-ents help to reduce mindless overeating andthe tendency to eat for emotional reasonssuch as stress or boredom.

The drink contains only 10 calories perserving and no artificial ingredients, hor-mones, preservatives, drugs or chemicals.Keeping with the company’s environmentally-friendly philosophy, ME Slim Water is pack-aged in a recyclable glass bottle.

sustainable catchment areas and offershealthy hydration for price conscious con-sumers.”

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 29WATER & WATER PLUS

In the airMALAYSIA The boom in low cost carriers,the transport and travel industry’s name forbudget airlines, has brought further growth inthe sale of bottled mineral water in-flight.Passengers flying on LCCs tend to opt forbottled water and fruit juice from cabin trol-leys, rather than the limited (and oftenexpensive) selection of alcoholic beverages.

Pre-ordered meals, which those bookingonline find themselves exhorted to sign upfor, also often include a bottle of mineralwater as a non-charged bonus.

One LCC which has found itself dealing inhuge quantities of mineral water is Air Asia,a company based in Malaysia which has anextensive network reaching as far as the UKand New Zealand. Within Asia, it flies toboth major cities and secondary points, withsome services operated by part-ownedregional associates.

In fashionUSA The bottlers of Fiji Water have donea lot to ensure their brand is seen as beingin fashion, especially in its principal exportmarket, the US. But it was even more infashion as it took a high profile role duringNew York Fashion Week.

It was official water of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and was closely associ-ated with the Fall 2011 collection ofdesigner Christian Siriano.

Siriano himself was much in the news, aswinner of the Project Runway reality TVseries, ensuring that Fiji Water was alsopositioned as a winner. The bottler live-streamed the Siriano show on Facebook,organised a contest associated with the col-

Fiji Water on the catwalk.

on the runNEW ZEALAND A bottle of Pumpspring water was presented to all registeredentrants in the Round the Bays 2011 run inAuckland, New Zealand, as they crossed thefinish line after completing the scenic har-bourside route from the CBD.

The annual run is one of the world’slargest, regularly attracting some 70,000 par-ticipants.

Stay Pumped! food and drink vendorswere also stationed in the finishing area andat nearby parks where hundreds of hospital-ity tents created temporary townships. Soft

Drinks International was again represented onthe run, although not among the interna-tional elite of the first 50!

Pump has also been running a competi-tion in New Zealand over the southernsummer and early autumn, built around pro-motional bottles carrying unique codeswhich are entered via text or online.

The major prize is for one person to winthe cash equivalent of their primary grossannual pay, to a maximum of NZ$150,000.Every day during the promotion one entrantwas drawn to win $500.

UK Once again Ty Nant Natural Mineral Water, famed for its iconic cobalt blue glass bottles,was the Official Water Partner at The BRIT Awards 2011, broadcast for the first year from the O2Arena, London. The BRIT Awards is the most anticipated event in the music calendar. The brandhas a long-standing partnership with the awards providing mineral water for performing artistsand event guests.

Air Asia’s mineral water is presentedunder the Alla Fonte Minerals brand whichis produced by Vitaton, a major soft drinksproducer based in Petaling Jaya. Vitaton bot-tles water under several brands and also hasa carbonated soft drinks range.

The water is supplied to Air Asia byMofaz Dagang, a substantial conglomeratewith wide-ranging interests. Its main ownerwas involved in the creation of Air Asia.

lection, sponsored a performance art pres-entation, and paid cash-strapped design stu-dents to hand out bottles at the LincolnCenter, winning a lot of praise for this ges-ture.



To subscribevisit: www.softdrinksinternational.com or email: [email protected]


Carbonates

PRODUCTS

American IdolUSA In the 'Picture You and A Friend at theIdol Finale' sweepstakes. Coca-Cola has joinedforces with Regal Entertainment Group, aleading motion picture exhibitor owning andoperating the nation's largest theatre circuit.Now, through the end of March, by purchas-ing a large fountain Coca-Cola at a Regal the-atre, Regal Crown Club members,18 years orolder, can enter for their chance to win thegrand prize of a trip for two to attend the

American Idol Finalewhich takes place inMay.

For all its 10 sea-sons, Coca-Cola has

been an official sponsor of American Idol,the number one-rated television show.

Fashion debutUSA The new Diet Pepsi Skinny Can, nowavailable to consumers nationwide, wasunveiled during Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek held last month in New York.

“Diet Pepsi has a long history of celebrat-ing women through iconic fashion imageryseen in our infamous and historical cam-paigns, and we're proud to continue thattradition as an official sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week,” said Jill Beraud, ChiefMarketing Officer, PepsiCo. “Our slim, attrac-tive new can is the perfect complement totoday's most stylish looks, and we're excitedto throw its coming-out party during thebiggest celebration of innovative design inthe world.”

As part of the the festivities, fashion com-mentator, Simon Doonan, famous for hisstore window displays, unveiled a specialwindow installation at the Diet Pepsi StyleStudio featuring Diet Pepsi's slim new cans.

Antioxidant colaUSA Rainforest Cola has been launched asa 100% natural, antioxidant soft drink, anindustry first.

“We are pleased to offer consumers acarbonated beverage that has great taste inaddition to health benefits,” said TomBushkie, President, Rainforest Beverages.“It's different from anything on the marketbecause it's a completely natural cola thatis packed with antioxidants which havebeen known to strengthen the immune sys-tem and provide other health benefits.”

Rainforest Beverages chose to launch itsinaugural product in the Rexam Sleek canbecause it delivers brand differentiation andhelps the beverage stand out on retail

shelves. The company also wanted todemonstrate its commitment to sustainabil-ity by using the most recycled beveragepackage in the world.

AmbassadorappointedINDIA PepsiCo India has appointed Bolly-wood superstar Salman Khan as the brandambassador for Mountain Dew. This is thefirst time that a brand ambassador has beenappointed for the country's fastest growingcarbonate brand over the last three years.

Commenting on the appointment,Deepika Warrier, Marketing Director, Pep-siCo Beverages, said: “Mountain Dew isstrongly anchored in the relevant consumerinsight of ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ (whichencourages consumers to overcome theirinner fears and try something new, explorenew boundaries). Salman Khan embodiesthis philosophy and he has strong nationalappeal. We look forward to the partnershipand are confident that it will be mutuallyrewarding.”

“I love the high-action imagery of Moun-tain Dew and more importantly the fact thatit's not mindless action but there is a mes-sage at its core, 'Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai'. Ihave spent time with the Mountain Dewteam and I eagerly look forward to workingwith them,” said Khan.

The company says “challenge, a can doattitude, adventure and exhilaration” aredeeply entrenched in its brand DNA. Thebrand has always celebrated the bold andadventurous spirit of youth.

Catchphrase competitionUSA Sunkist Soda has teamed with collegebasketball broadcaster Dick Vitale – wellknown for his catchphrases – to make thecollege basketball season the most 'Slam-min', Bammin' and Jammin' ' one yet. Con-sumers can log onto SunkistSoda.com tosubmit their ideas for Dickie V's next catch-phrase as part of 'The Sunkist Catchphrasethat Pays' contest and a chance to win oneof eight US$10,000 weekly cash prizes.

“I've teamed up with Sunkist Soda to give

college basketball fans the chance to comeup with my next great catchphrase,” saidDick Vitale. “We're giving away $80,000 incash. It's gonna be awesome, baby!”

Entries will be judged by a panel includingDick Vitale.

“Sunkist knows that no oneenergises college basketball fanslike Dick Vitale, with his unrivaledpassion and truly awesomecatchphrases,” said Dave Falk, thebrand's Director of Marketing.“Now fans can be part of theaction with a chance to giveDickie V his new, signaturephrase and win cold hard cash.”

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 31CARBONATES

Holi festivalINDIA To coincide with the country's Holifestival, Fanta has launched 'Fanta - Funmas-ters Hunt', a consumer promotion runningin over 60 cities across 13 states. Con-sumers can win cash prizes by sending intheir creative responses to the question:‘What will you do to make certain seriousmoments fun and exciting?’ by calling a tollfree number and registering their response.

The consumer with the most creative andfun response will be adjudged the country’sUltimate Funmaster and will be awarded acash prize worth Rs.5 lakh. Speaking aboutthe initiative, Srinivas Murthy, Director-Mar-keting, Coca-Cola India, said: “Brand Fanta isknown for providing fun-filled, exuberantexperience to all its consumers. Through the'Fanta – Funmasters Hunt’ initiative, we aimto bring out the fun loving and playful atti-tude in today's generation and encouragethem to instil joy and fun into life's seriousmoments.”

Further sponsorshipUSA The National Basketball Association(NBA) and The Coca-Cola Company(TCCC) have announced a new multiyearextension of their long-standing global mar-keting partnership. TCCC has been a NBAmarketing partner since 1986.

In 2011, for the first time, Sprite will bethe leading brand to be associated with the

Promoting SpriteCHINA Taiwanese movie and pop super-star Jay Chou, a Sprite ambassador since2008, features in a new television commer-cial with basketball great Kobe Bryant. Theduo has also recorded a Sprite basketballtheme song, called ‘The Heaven and EarthChallenge’, which has attracted enormousattention from the Sprite demographics inChina.

Chou and Bryant have donated all incomefrom the song’s online ringtone downloadsto a charity organisation active in fosteringbasketball skills in Chinese schools.

Earlier in the year, Coca-Cola partneredwith Sony to leverage the China premiere ofthe 3D movie The Green Hornet by creatinga Sprite ‘green carpet’ walk of fame.

A promotion involving more than 3,300stores around China gave consumers achance to win movie tickets, while peoplewere invited to use 3D elements for cre-ative offerings uploaded to the Sprite web-site for voting.

Jay Chou, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.Photo: Ronnie Liew.

UK The new Levi Roots carbonates range comprises Fiery Root Ginger Beer with Lime ‘n’Honey, which is made with Jamaican ginger extract, and Caribbean Crush, which is a tropicalblend of mango, grapefruit and pineapple. Both flavours will be available in 2 litre PET bottles,500ml PET bottles and 330ml cans. Besides the grocery channel the drinks will be availablethrough the impulse channel to support independent retailers and forecourts.

NBA around the world. The world's leadinglemon-lime sparkling beverage has been theOfficial Soft Drink of the NBA in the USsince 1994.

Sprite will continue to engage fansthrough special programmes highlighting theslam dunk, including Sprite Slam Dunk atNBA All-Star and the Sprite Slam DunkShowdown amateur slam dunk competition.The brand also will conduct a variety ofNBA-themed activities, including events, digi-tal promotions, grassroots programmes andunder-the-cap promotions.

32 Soft Drinks International – March 2011CARBONATES

X-TremeMIDDLE EAST PepsiCo has extended itsMountain Dew offering in the Middle East’sGCC region with the limited edition Moun-tain Dew X-Treme.

“Innovation has alwaysbeen at the core of Moun-tain Dew’s strategic objec-tives for steady growth,”said Brand Marketing Man-ager Ibrahim Binaquil. “X-Treme was developed forthe region’s market afteranalysing what young con-sumers desire.”

PepsiCo has been using social media, tele-vision and strong retail point of sale to pro-mote the new flavour.

“Like Mountain Dew, X-Treme has apleasingly unconventional taste that invigor-ates those extreme sports enthusiasts whohave an adventurous spirit and attitude thatimpels them to continuously push them-selves to limits of physical challenges,”claimed Binaquil.

Winner meetsambassadorINDIA Superstar and Thums Up brandambassador, Mahesh Babu met the winnersof 'Thums Up Khaaleja Unda' consumer pro-motion organised at Ramoji Film City inHyderabad. The winners of the contest had athrilling day as they got a once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity to not just meet, but also expe-rience action stunts, with their favourite starand Thums Up Brand Ambassador, MaheshBabu.

Congratulating the winners, ManishChaturvedi, Area Operations Director, Hin-dustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, said,“The launch of the 'Thums Up KhaalejaUnda' initiative is part of the endeavour to

add excitement, refreshment and fun into thelives of the consumers. We are very happyto receive such an overwhelming responsefor the initiative. I congratulate all the luckywinners who, as part of the ‘Thums UpKhaaleja Unda’ initiative, got the opportunityto meet their favourite star and Thums Upbrand ambassador Mahesh Babu.”

Speaking at the occasion Mahesh Babusaid, “My association with Thums Up over theyears has allowed me to perform severaldaredevil stunts. It is a brand which is allabout action and adventure and all these ele-ments were present in my latest movieMahesh Khaaleja. I would like to congratulatethe winners of the ‘Thums Up KhaalejaUnda” initiative. I would also like to thankThums Up for giving me this opportunity tomeet my fans across the state of AndhraPradesh.”

Foxton FizzNEW ZEALAND Small-town carbonatedsoft drinks producer, Foxton Fizz, is contem-plating a return to its place of origin in 1918.It is currently bottled in another smallregional centre, Putaruru, where severalwater and other soft drinks brands aremade. The original factory still exists butneeds substantial upgrading to operate as afull soft drinks production plant.

To justify the expense, output would needto be higher than it currently is, but thecompany’s new owners are pleased thatsales are increasing steadily.

Also helping towards a return to Foxton,in the Horowhenua district of the NorthIsland, not far from the city of PalmerstonNorth, are plans to begin making cordialsand other products at the original factory. Foxton Fizz.

Limited edition for cupINDIA For this year's ICC Cricket WorldCup, Pepsi has celebrated the new unortho-dox yet immensely popular face of moderncricket with the mantra, ‘Change The Game’.In keeping with this game-changing spirit,Pepsi has introduced a limited edition bottlefor fans.

The new eye-catching, full sleeved PETbottle celebrates the fans and the cricketers’passion for the game. The blue bottle, repre-senting the men-in-blue, carries Indian teamskipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s new ‘fire-in-the-belly’ body painted image, which reflectshis energetic and unique persona on thefield. The joy of watching cricket today canbe seen on the bottle with images of fanswith funky and crazy hair styles and facepaints cheering the game.

UK Rubicon, the exotic juice drink carbon-ate from AG Barr, is running a cricket-themed promotion. The 'Love Cricket'campaign includes the ‘Spin to Win’ competi-tion which offers consumers the chance towin a number of cricket related prizes.

The 300ml promotional cans featureRexam’s Illustration Impact technology, whichallows photo like images to be printed onthe metal, to display images of cricket starsGraeme Swann and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Adrian Troy, Head of Market for AG Barr,said,“Having such big cricket personalities asGraeme and Muttiah on-pack is a great

Love cricket

boost for Rubicon as they are both worldstars, who are instantly recognisable tocricket fans and will help to drive sales.Cricket is one of the biggest sports in the

UK and continues to grow in popularity,especially with England’s brilliant perform-ance to retain the Ashes and consumerexcitement about the World Cup.”

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 33

Traditional

PRODUCTS

Ultimate maltUK Ultimalt is being introduced by leadingAfrican and Caribbean distributor KatoEnterprises.

Describing the drink, Kayode Toyinbo,Director of Kato Enterprises, said: “Ultimalt isa malt drink like no other malt drink, to beloved by everyone who, quite simply, loves amalt drink.

“Produced with the most naturally avail-able ingredients, and brewed and bottledhere in the UK, every aspect of Ultimalt iscreated with perfection in mind.”

Ultimalt is said to be a perfect combina-tion of sweet satisfaction and rich creami-ness providing a delicious malty flavour. It isenriched with B vitamins with no addedpreservatives. The drink, popular withAfricans and Caribbeans, comes in an eye-catching bespoke glass bottle.

A marketing campaign is underway toincrease brand awareness within the AfricanCaribbean community including a text-and-win consumer competition – the first of itskind in the malt category. This ‘mega give-away’ offers each consumer a chance to win£100 (a total of £100,000 to be given away)via a unique code under each promotional

new variantsUK Halewood International, the UK’s lead-ing independent drinks manufacturer anddistributor, has announced the launch oftwo new variants of the John Crabbie’sadult soft drink – John Crabbie’sDiet and ‘Twist of Orange’ – tobroaden the appeal of the brandand generate new interest in thecategory.

Diet offers consumers a prod-uct with only 1 calorie per 100mlserving, whilst the original JohnCrabbie’s Ginger Beer now has aTwist of Orange providing arefreshing twist perfect for therun-up to the summer period.The drinks are available in a70cl sharing bottle and singleserve 330ml perfect for thetake home market.

John Crabbie,experts in theginger categorysince 1801,says it uses

relaunchAUSTRALIA New South Wales producerSaxby’s has re-introduced eight-packs ofSaxby’s Ginger Beer and Diet Ginger Beer inthe grocery channel. Each pack, featuring acolourful outer, contains eight 375ml bottles.

Saxby’s said the re-introduction was inresponse to a large number of consumerrequests and enquiries. The company utilisedFacebook to encourage supporters in lobby-ing supermarkets and grocery stores tostock the packs.

Saxby’s is based in the North Coast rivercity of Taree where it was established in thepioneering days.

Stevia sweetenedAUSTRALIA Schweppes has added twoflavours to complement its long-establishedSchweppes Lemonade.

Schweppes Limeade and Orangeade haveno artificial colours or flavours and aresweetened with stevia. “Using this plantextract as part of the sweetening of carbon-ated beverages is a really exciting develop-ment that represents true innovation,”claimed the bottler.

The new drinks are being sold in 1.25litre PET bottles.

Ultimalt bottle cap. Ultimalt will also sponsor high profile

African Caribbean television programmesalong with music and comedy events in Lon-don and around the UK. Consumer samplingand direct marketing also forms part of thecampaign.

the finest, fresh ingredients from around theworld. Real ginger extract and natural limein both new products create a unique blendof invigorating flavours and tastes.

Richard Clark, Head of Innovation atHalewood International, said: “The adult softdrinks market experienced significant

growth in 2010 as consumers increasinglylooked for alternatives to alcohol due tohealth concerns and lifestyle choices whichhave led to reductions in the consumptionof alcohol both in the on trade and takehome market.”

34 Soft Drinks International – March 2011BEVErAGE FoCUS

While the global recession dominated the head-lines in 2009, 2010 was a year of recovery for

fruit/vegetable juices and drinks. Off-trade volumetrends, affected by the global recession, in 2009increased by only 2% vs. 2008 but in 2010 growthat 5% was back to pre-recession growth rates.Globally, Euromonitor International projects thatthe fruit/vegetable juice category will maintain thisstrong growth trend through 2015.

It might appear that the category is back to busi-ness as usual but that is not the case. There aremany changes happening, driven by health trendsand an increasingly affluent world. 100% juicefuels a dominant value share of the global fruit/veg-etable juice market in 2010, but to maintain thatposition it is likely to need a new global strategy.Specifically, due to its high price it depends dispro-portionately on developed markets where, due tomaturity of the business, it has experienced littlegrowth in the past five years. Unless manufacturersare successful in channelling new investmentbehind value-protection spin-offs in the high-vol-ume developed markets, 100% juice is projected tolose its leadership position in the future. By 2015the juice value leader is projected to be juice drinks(with up to 24% juice content).

Juice drinks value leadership driven by local drinking cultures

Although China surpassed the US as the leader inoff-trade fruit/vegetable juice volume in 2008, theUS maintains a strong lead in value, generatingover 20% more revenue than China in 2010. Themain reason for the difference between value andvolume is the preference in China for relatively lowpriced juice drinks (with up to 24% juice content)and in the US consumers prefer the relatively highpriced, perceived to be more healthful 100% juices.However, by 2015 China is projected to also sur-pass the US in value.

outlook to 2015

Having returnedto pre-recessionrates, thefruit/vegetablejuice category isset to maintainits currentstrong growthtrend, reportsrichard Haffner.

Juices and nectars

Euromonitor International projects more changesby 2015 in the countries where value will be gener-ated in fruit/vegetable juice. Almost US$20billion(in constant 2010 US$) in new sales will be gener-ated globally by 2015. China accounts for over halfof the global value growth and as previously statedgoes from number two in value in 2010 to the glob-al lead in 2015. The next highest growth country,Russia accounts for an additional 10% of the globalgrowth. Brazil is a distant third in global valuegrowth, contributing less than half of Russia’sgrowth to 2015.

Russia and China each have a different juice cul-ture. China is dominated by a juice drink culture.The majority of Russia’s value growth to 2015,however, will be contributed by 100% juice.

China perceives juice drinks to be healthy products

China has a strong preference for juice drinks. In2010, juice drinks comprised more than 80% oftotal fruit/vegetable juice off-trade expenditures.Juice drinks enjoy a healthy image and are abouthalf the price per litre of 100% juice and two thirdsthe price of nectars.

In China, one important driver of soft drinks vol-ume is that consumers are searching for healthydrinks. Unlike in developed markets, juice drinksare considered healthy drinks. Consumers tend tofocus more on the sugar content as well as theamount of vitamins and minerals than the juicecontent. To stimulate sales growth, manufacturershave not only relied on marketing and promotionof their products to maintain their shares, but havealso emphasised product segmentation through dif-ferent aspects to spur stronger demand for softdrinks overall. In 2010, the leading players were allactive in new product launches. However, merelyrefreshing the packaging or adding new flavours toexisting products is no longer enough, and con-sumers are searching for more interesting newlaunches.

The multi-national Coca-Cola is the leadingfruit/vegetable juice manufacturer in a highly frag-mented market with almost an 11% off-trade valueshare. Coca-Cola is highly focused on its majorfruit/vegetable juice brand Minute Maid which isprimarily a juice drink. Minute Maid successfullydifferentiated itself from other juice brands byadding fruit pulp, which helped to bring fruit pulpback on trend. The marketing activities of MinuteMaid are varied, which has contributed to theSource: Euromonitor

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 35JUICES AND NECTARSbrand’s success. In addition, new launches like thelemon and grape flavours seen in 2009, and thenew nutritional juice Minute Maid ShifenV,launched in 2010, keep Minute Maid’s brand imagefresh.

Minute Maid ShifenV was one of the mostnotable new products in 2010. Minute MaidShifenV is differentiated from other fruit/vegetablejuice products through the addition of 10 function-al ingredients, including vitamin B6, vitamin C andtaurine. The packaging is simple and clear, makingit appealing to young adults, and the new productis targeted at the high-end market, with a high retailprice of around RMB4.50 for a 420ml bottle. Thisrelatively high price may limit Minute MaidShifenV’s sales volume, but it is likely that thetrend in fruit/vegetable juice towards premiumisa-tion and multifunctionality will continue.

Juice drinks with a juice content of up to 24%will remain the major battlefield for fruit/vegetablejuice manufacturers, and are expected to witnessthe strongest volume growth between 2010 and2015. There are many manufacturers in juicedrinks, with none holding a substantial share,hence there is little chance that the leading playerswill exert a strong influence on juice drinks as awhole. The intense competition in juice drinks willspur growth and innovation through 2015. Furthercontributing to the growth of juice drinks will bethe fact that Chinese consumers tend to prefer thelight taste of juice drinks compared to that of 100%juice and nectars.

In Russia 100% juice growth depends on the economy

Fruit/vegetable juice returned to growth in 2010and is expected to continue to see a positive per-formance in the 2011-2015 period. Russians con-tinue to be focused on health issues and a healthydiet, which limits the growth of carbonates, butgives good opportunities for fruit/vegetable juice.

Over the past five years, 100% juice has been thefastest growing fruit/vegetable juice category basedon value in Russia. 100% juice has grown almost90% in value since 2005 and now accounts for halfthe value of all juice sold.

Fruit/vegetable juice consumption depends a loton the overall economic situation in Russia, whichhas a different culture of juice consumption thanother countries. Juice in Russia is not a commodityof daily demand. Many families buy juice just forthe holidays. That means that in the case of dramat-ic changes in the economy, juice consumption canvastly decrease, as happened in 2009.

Unlike in China, however, in Russia 100% juice

is perceived to be a higher quality product thanother fruit/vegetable juices due to its higher juicecontent. During the global economic crisis, whichalso hit Russia, consumers traded down to moreeconomical nectar brands (containing 25% to 99%juice). Now that Russia is recovering, consumersare going back to their preferred varieties.

Capitalising on the health trend and the desirefor higher quality products enabled by an improv-ing economy, Ya was introduced by PepsiCothrough its Lebedyansky OAO subsidiary. Ya ispasteurised 100% not from concentrate juice that ispositioned as a high-quality product, supported bythe use of glass packaging. The new product attract-ed to the market consumers of freshly squeezedjuices.

Driven by the improving economic climate100% juice will be responsible for 60% of the valuegains in the fruit/vegetable juice category compris-ing 55% of the category value by 2015.

100% juice is the fruit/vegetable juice categoryforecast to produce the best performance in the2010-2015 period. More and more people in Russiaare focused on their health and consumption ofhealthy products, and 100% juice is a good choicefor a healthy diet. Not from concentrate 100%juices are also gaining in popularity. Several yearsago they were represented by premium importedbrands, available mainly in expensive supermar-kets (Azbuka Vkusa), but PepsiCo with Ya 100%juice in glass packaging and Tropicana PurePremium are attracting more and more consumersto this category.

ConclusionsConsumer’s desire for healthier soft drinks acrossthe world along with increasing disposableincomes in developing countries provides opportu-nity for fruit/vegetable juice. However, ‘healthy’can have different connotations in different cul-tures. What is perceived as healthy in one culturemay not be perceived as healthy in another culture.This may provide opportunity for manufacturers toopen up new avenues by slightly modifying exist-ing products. For example, while a juice drink maybe off-trend in one culture, it may be possible tofind a new market and add a few ingredients tomake it particularly attractive to a different culture.Perhaps, in the future we will see more strategicalliances among second-tier companies to takeadvantage of globalisation opportunities. n

Richard Haffner is Head ofGlobal Beverage Research atEuromonitor [email protected]

Source: Euromonitor

What isperceived ashealthy in oneculture may notbe perceived ashealthy inanother.


Cultivated worldwide, berries are part and par-cel of many culinary traditions: summer

strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, autumnalblackberry and apple pie, and festive turkey withcranberry sauce. But berries account for muchmore than these traditional uses. While localgrowing conditions and taste preferences apply,berries’ fresh, fruity flavour has universal appealand has paved the way for their introduction intonew markets. Fresh, frozen, dried, puréed orconcentrated, berries offer bakers, confectioners,dairy producers and food and beverage manufac-turers diverse ways to innovate with some of theworld’s most popular and healthy fruits.

Cultivating berries is a labour intensive andcomplex process, dependent on region and orseason. Varieties of the same genus are prevalentin different areas – there are dozens of straw-berry varieties grown across Europe, the US,South America and Australasia. These differentvarieties also have varying degrees of quality interms of taste, health benefits and appearance.Heavy frosts, too much or too little rain or notenough sunshine impact on crops and can affectsupply stability. Taking all this into account, suc-cessful and sustainable berry cultivation is nomean feat.

So just how much do berry varieties differ?And what are the implications for the manufac-turer?

from local to global appeal

Packed full ofnutrients, berriesare inherentlygood for you,according toocean Spray.

Berry inspirational

Vaccinium variety Berries are generally defined as small edible fruitswhich can be eaten whole, and there are thou-sands of berry species found across the globe1. TheVaccinium genus alone comprises 450 differentberry species including blueberries, cranberries,lingonberries and huckleberries, which are tradi-tionally grown in cooler parts of the Northernhemisphere2. This Vaccinium genus is part of thewider Ericaceae family of around 1350 genera,including Scottish heather and rhododendrons3.Vaccinium berries share certain characteristicswith other deciduous, evergreen shrubs, to whichthey are closely related, but their taste profiles,cultivation, processing and health benefits differdramatically.

Three of the closest related berries in this genusare the North American cranberry or Vacciniummacrocarpon, the small/wild cranberry orVaccinium oxycoccus and the lingonberry orVaccinium vitis-idaea. All three species prefer thecooler climates of the Northern hemisphere,acidic soils with high organic matter and highwater tables. Their vine-like shrubs produce smallred berries, which are similar in appearance. Sowhat sets the North American cranberry apart?

Home grownAs the name suggests, the North American cran-berry is native to North America and is today cul-tivated in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon,Washington and Wisconsin in the US, and inBritish Columbia and Eastern Canada. Renownedfor bestowing North America with a carpet of redduring harvest season, cranberry’s popularity nowreaches across the globe. Said to be first servedwith turkey in 1621 by the Pilgrim Fathers, thecranberry is rich in tradition. Some cranberryvines are more than 100 years old and have been

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 37JUICES AND NECTARShanded down from generation to generation. Thepopular tart taste and bright red colour havefuelled innovation and cranberries are now avail-able frozen, dried, concentrated or puréed for usein a variety of applications.

The wild cranberry and lingonberry are mostwidely found in Europe and Northern parts ofAsia, including large cultivation areas in Russiaand the Baltic states. While these berries enjoycultural heritage in these regions, where it is oftenused in traditional sauces, harvesting is still doneby hand and a large crop percentage remains non-commercialised.

Brimming with healthPacked full of nutrients, berries are inherentlygood for you, and fit well with the growing trendfor living a healthy lifestyle and fulfilling yourfive-a-day. Foods which are particularly high innutrients are often marketed as ‘superfoods’ or‘superfruits’, to provide a point of difference.Nowadays the term ‘superfruit’ is sometimesviewed as dated, yet, is still used by marketers topromote new and exotic berries like the goji andyumberry, where there is still little sciencebehind their health halo. However, once the hypehas died down, it is the scientifically-backedfruits consumers will ultimately opt for.Manufacturers must therefore employ a long termstrategy to ensure product longevity. One of theoriginal superfruits, the cranberry is supported bya substantial bank of scientific research pointingtoward its multi-dimensional health benefits.Ocean Spray’s ‘One berry, Whole body’ campaignembodies the cranberry’s potential for promotinghealth throughout the body.

Containing fibre and vitamin C, and rich inpolyphenols such as quercetin and proantho-cyanidins (PACs), American cranberries mayhelp promote urinary tract, gastro-intestinal, cel-lular and cardiovascular health.

PACs are generally thought to be responsiblefor cranberry’s anti-adhesion properties.Research suggests PACs help prevent harmfulbacteria such as E.coli and H.pylori from adher-ing to cell walls, reducing the risk of infection.Compared to other berries such as strawberry andraspberry, the North Amercian cranberry’s PACcontent is superior4.

Berry versatile Berries can be used in a diverse range of applica-tions which results in many berry-containingproduct launches every year. These range fromcereal bars, trail mixes and pastries, to smoothies,yoghurts and cheese. Representing a healthy andtasty option, berries can be used by manufacturersto develop innovative products which meet con-sumer demand for healthy snacks.

The cranberry is well known for its typical tarttaste, which lends the cranberry so well to use inboth savoury and sweet applications. In America,the cranberry rocketed to success through itsThanksgiving association and popular juicedrinks. Now cranberry is used across a range ofsectors such as dairy, bakery, confectionery andcereals. The health halo of cranberry, based on 30years of scientific research, has ensured consumerpopularity.

Cranberry’s high process tolerance makes it asuccess with manufacturers. While berries likestrawberry and raspberry are easily incorporatedinto smoothies and juices, they are traditionallydifficult to add to baked goods, cereals and bars indried form. To avoid moisture and colour migra-tion, manufacturers have to resort to using extrud-ed gums and jellies. Sweetened dried cranberries,on the other hand, allow manufacturers to use realfruit which delivers on taste and texture. OceanSpray’s BerryFusions® Fruits are a cranberryinnovation which allows manufacturers to offerberry flavours like raspberry and blueberry with-out the associated processing problems.

SummaryThousands of berry varieties exist across theworld, but proportionally it is only a few whichenjoy international success. New, previouslyunheard of berries emerge from the rainforest tomake headlines as the ‘next big thing’. However, itis berries like the cranberry, entrenched in historyand tradition, that are celebrated by local con-sumers as part of their culture and heritage.Cultivated regionally for decades, these cropsensure stable and sustainable supply for manufac-turers.

For consumers in newer territories health andwell-being remain key market drivers and the sci-ence behind the cranberry’s health properties fitswell with this trend. Going forward, berries willremain a popular addition to foods and beverages,creating new and exciting traditions for con-sumers across the globe n

www.oceanspray.com

Cultivatedregionally fordecades, thesecrops ensurestable andsustainablesupply formanufacturers.

References:1. Berry fruits

http://www.fruitsinfo.com/berry_fruits.htm2. http://www.botany.com/vaccinium.html3. About cranberries http://www.cranberryinstitute.org/

about_cranberry.htm4. USDA database for the proanthocyanidin content of

selected foods Aug 2004.


Although not an official fruit group or category,superfruits continue to dominate the interna-

tional food and beverage market thanks to theirnutritional benefits and potential health claims.This influence is reflected in the category’s15.7% growth between 2008 and 2009.1 These fig-ures suggest the superfruit trend shows no signsof abating.

With this in mind, an increasing number ofdrinks manufacturers are keen to capitalise onthis trend and are looking for effective ways toenter this thriving and potentially lucrative mar-ket. But processing superfruits is not without itschallenges. This article examines the key issuesassociated with superfruit processing and identi-fies how producers can successfully overcomethese hurdles and ensure they maximise thesuperfruit’s potential in their end products.

Keeping the super in fruitDefined as fruits which have nutritional signifi-cance due to their nutrient richness, antioxidantvalue or anticipated health benefits, superfruitscome from various botanical origins and aregrown in different areas. Many fruits are nowdescribed as ‘super’ – açai, cranberries, pome-granates and aronia to name just a few. Althoughmost come in the form of berries, the majority ofsuperfruits are not consumed as such. Instead,they are processed into juices, purées or nectars.

Converting these fruits into juices is not astraightforward task, however. The unique char-acteristics of each fruit, such as a thick, hard,waxy skin, a low pH, plus the presence of antho-cyanins and other phenolics in skin cells, canimpact on processing. This can make yield opti-

overcoming the hurdles of superfruit processing

Processingsuperfruits is notwithout itschallenges,writes DavidGuerrand.

Super fruit, maximum potential

misation, rapid colour extraction and colour sta-bilisation particularly difficult. Obtaining thenutritionally important antioxidants (phenoliccomponents) is a further potential issue.

The anthocyanase issueThe addition of pectinase during juice processingis an effective method of addressing these chal-lenges. Pectinase is a type of enzyme whichbreaks down pectin, a polysaccharide substratethat is found in the cell walls of plants. It is usedduring the fruit maceration process and works bydisrupting the cell wall network. It boosts juiceyield, increases the potential to extract phenoliccompounds and facilitates further juice process-ing.

However, some pectinase preparations can pro-duce high anthocyanase activity when applied tosuperfruits. Anthocyanases are specific ß-glucosi-dase that can break off sugar units from morecomplex molecules. This destabilises the antho-cyanins present in the fruit, causing them tobecome colourless, which can have a potentiallynegative impact on the quality of the final juice.

Evaluation of anthocyanase risk prior to pro-cessing is therefore critical. There are many waysto do this, including measurement of ß-glucosi-dase activity and anthocyanin substrates, andassessment of the juice colour after processing.Enzymes which show a low anthocyanase activi-ty should then be selected if juice processors arelooking to maximise yield, ensure optimal colourextraction and stability, plus optimum antioxi-dant extraction.

The diagram pictured left, illustrates theresults of an investigation into anthocyanaseactivity in 25 pectinase preparations for fruit pro-cessing. This study assessed the estimated riskthreshold in terms of anthocyanase activity for arange of pectinase preparations, including keyenzymes in its own portfolio. Klerzyme®2 150,DSM Food Specialties’ pectinase for red berrymaceration and depectinisation, demonstrated alow anthocyanase risk compared to other avail-able alternatives. This clearly makes it a viableoption for superfruit juice processing.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 39JUICES AND NECTARSInvestigating the effectiveness

of KlerzymeTo further support these findings, Klerzyme 150has been the subject of additional investigationsto assess its effectiveness when used with arange of fruits – blackcurrant, blackberry andaronia for example.

BlackcurrantWith an annual crop of 500,000 tonnes in Europeplus extensive production in New Zealand andChina, the blackcurrant enjoys enduring popu-larity as a beverage ingredient. Most of the black-currants grown are, in fact, processed intoconcentrated juice.

Blackcurrants are rich in anthocyanins andpolyphenols (average composition 2,600 mg/lanthocyanins, 2,800 mg/l polyphenols) whichmay have potential health effects against bacter-ial infections, diabetes and cardiovascular dis-ease. However, when processed for juiceapplications these components can be reduced,in turn lowering the nutritional benefit of theblackcurrant.

A study3 demonstrated the efficacy ofKlerzyme 150 when used in the processing ofblackcurrant juice. Klerzyme 150 was added tothe fruits during maceration and delivered a totalanthocyanin content of 693 mg/l and a polyphe-nol content of 2,273 mg/l. This compares to thefigures achieved with a control enzyme – 425mg/l and 1315 mg/l respectively. Moreover,blackcurrants processed with Klerzyme 150 pro-duced an 85% juice yield when compared to thecontrol enzyme which yielded just 72%. Theseresults clearly indicate that Klerzyme 150 offersblackcurrant juice producers a proven solutionto their processing challenges.

AroniaAronia berries (also known as chokeberries dueto their astringency) are two varieties of decidu-ous shrubs from the Rosaceae family and nativeto Eastern North America. Their juice is high invitamin C and antioxidants; US aronia berriesare used in juice blends for their colour and mar-keting is based on their antioxidant properties. Itis essential therefore that any negative impact onthe berry’s colour is avoided.

An investigation by DSM into the use ofKlerzyme 150 during the extraction process foraronia berries revealed that DSM’s enzymedemonstrated better colour extraction and ismore stable throughout the storage process thanthe control enzyme. At room temperature andwhen stored at 5oC, aronia berries retained acolour intensity of 0.75 or over. [See figure 1].

Klerzyme 150 therefore enables manufacturersto optimise colour extraction and retain colourstabilisation during berry processing.

Intense pomegranate processingIn addition to work with its Klerzyme product,DSM Food Specialties has also conducted trialsinto the use of another product in its fruit pro-cessing enzyme range, Rapidase®4 Intense, aunique pectinase preparation for use in pome-granate and red berry processing.

Native to the Persian Plateau, pomegranates arenow cultivated across the globe. They are a richsource of vitamins C and E and could offer a high-

er phenolic content than grapes or blueberries. Trials revealed that Rapidase Intense outper-

formed the reference pectinase at low pH. Thismeans it performs direct juice clarification at thenatural pH of the fruit. [See figure 2]

Rapidase Intense was also shown to offer lowanthocyanase activity so ensures the rich antiox-idant properties of the pomegranate colour arereleased into the juice or pulp and not lost dur-ing processing.

ConclusionAs superfruits look set to dominate the juice mar-ket for years to come, finding solutions for effec-tive superfruit processing is crucial formanufacturers keen to enter this exciting sector. Using selected pectinases with proven qualityand efficacy, like the range offered by DSM FoodSpecialties, enables processors to overcome thechallenges associated with the processing ofthese fruits. Now, they can achieve the optimumyield, rapid and maximum colour extraction, therequired colour stabilisation plus the necessaryantioxidant extraction to produce juices with thebenefits the consumer demands. n

David Guerrand is ProductApplication Developer at DSMFood Specialties.www.dsm-foodspecialities.com

References:1. SPINS 20092. Klerzyme® is a registered

trademark of Royal DSM N.V3. Wei Dong Wang et al.,

International Journal of FoodScience and Technology, Vol44, 2009.

4. Rapidase® is a registered trademark of Royal DSM N.V.

Figure 1: evolution of colour intensity (the sum of optical densities measures at 420 nm, 520 nmand 620 nm) in aronia juices over a three months period, at two distinct storage temperatures (5°Cor room temperatures). Juices were processed without (control) or with enzyme Klerzyme 150).

Figure 2: relative pectinase activity (in %) measured at different pH levels, from 2.5 to 6.0, for aDSM reference pectinase and for Rapidase Intense.

40 Soft Drinks International – March 2011FLAVoUrS

As some of the most versatile flavours, stonefruits are a core component of many applica-

tions. With their sweet, tart and earthy flavours,stone fruits have added appeal to foods anddrinks for decades, from cherry cola to peachand apricot yogurt.

However, today’s consumers are not just con-cerned about flavour, they are also on red alert foradditives and artificial ingredients. Increasingly,they look for the term ‘natural’ on the front andback of packs. Natural and authentic ingredientsare therefore essential for creating appealing prod-ucts. With an impressive portfolio of natural stonefruit flavour ingredients, Treatt plc can help per-fumers and flavourists add the authentic essenceof stone fruits to an array of flavours.

Fruits of natureThe stone fruit category encompasses cherries,plums, apricots, nectarines and peaches in theirmany varieties. Part of the Rosaceae family, theyare harvested from the Prunus species of trees andshrubs, of which there are around 430 varieties.These largely originate from the temperate regionsof the northern hemisphere. With their character-istic five petals and sepals constituting distinctivewhite to pink flowers, Prunus species yield fruits,which are classified as ‘drupes’. Drupes can alsoinclude coffee, mango, olive and date, yet withinthis category, the term ‘stone fruits’ refers to thosespecifically derived from the Prunus gene.

Cherry-pickedOne of the most iconic and popular stone fruits isthe cherry, which is broadly classified into twocategories: sweet and sour. Dating back over 3,000

fresh, sweet and earthy flavours

Michael Britten-Kelly, offers afascinatinginsight into theorigin andapplication ofstone fruits.

Stone fruits

years, sweet cherries first grew in northern Persiaand Russian provinces south of the Caucasus, andthey are thought to have spread rapidly via birds.Sour cherries are believed to have originated innorthern Iran and Turkmenistan before beingintroduced to Roman Europe by the Persians.

Across the world, cherries are the subject ofmany traditional associations and superstitions.In Pagan beliefs, they are linked to Venus, goddessof love, as well as summer and the sun god. In theCzech Republic, it is deemed a sign of good luckif a cherry tree blossoms in late December.Similarly, during Japanese nuptials, the bride andgroom traditionally drink an infusion of cherryblossom to promote luck and fertility. Conversely,the French often link the cherry to bad luck, witha similar sense to the English ‘short straw’.

After reaching the USA via Spanish andEnglish settlers, a variety of wild cherries, calledchoke cherries were used by native Americans totreat sore throats and coughs. The choke cherrylater became an ingredient in cough drop sweetsin the mid-nineteenth century and today, cherry isstill one of the most popular flavour ingredients inmedicine.

Treatt has developed two products in itsTreattaromeTM range of 100% natural, FTNF (Fromthe Named Food) flavour ingredients that reflectthe true character of cherries. As with all productsin the Treattarome range, these ingredients arecollected using specialist, proprietary technologyto ensure maximum flavour entrapment.

Cherry Treattarome Sweet 9850 is wholly dis-tilled from sweet cherries (Prunus Avium), pro-viding a full sweet cherry flavour with cherryskin- and pit-like notes and a slight tart, greencharacter. Sour Cherry Treattarome 9851 isextracted entirely from Prunus cerasus, and thisdistillate confers a well-rounded, sour cherryflavour, with sharp, juicy, tart, cherry pie-likenotes. Both can be used to deliver a fresh cherry

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 41STONE FRUITScharacter to beverages, including teas, juices andalcoholic drinks, dairy products, confectioneryand medicines.

A peach of a fruit Another popular stone fruit is the peach, PrunusPersica. Contrary to the Latin name, peaches arenative to China and can be traced back in Chinesewritings to the tenth century B.C. A favoured fruitof the emperors, peaches frequently play animportant part in Chinese tradition and they areseen as a symbol of longevity.

Like the cherry, peaches were introduced to theRomans by the Persians and then to America byearly Spanish and French explorers. NativeAmerican tribes are credited with migrating thepeach tree across the USA. In the sixteenth centu-ry, peaches reached England, where they wererevered as a most desirable fruit. In fact, legendhas it that for Queen Victoria, no meal was com-plete without a fresh peach presented in an ornatecotton napkin.

Today, Germany is the world’s largest importerof peaches, and, after apples, peach trees are thesecond most commonly cultivated fruit trees inthe world.

Peaches are broadly categorised by white or yel-low flesh. Yellow peaches are more tangy thanwhite peaches and are generally favoured inEurope and North America. The less acidic whitepeach is more popular in China and Japan.

Treatt’s Peach Treattarome 9852 is wholly dis-tilled from yellow peaches, imparting a fresh,fruity top note with a ripe, pitty back-end for afull-bodied peach profile. Used at 0.2%, this cleanlabel flavour ingredient delivers a fruity, floralcharacter with a smooth, lactone back-end typicalof peach. Successful applications of PeachTreattarome 9852 include beverages such as icedteas, juices and juice drinks, as well as alcoholicdrinks and dairy products.

Amazing apricots With a more sweet, tart flavour than peach and astrong, flowery character, apricot (PrunusArmeniaca) is a common stone fruit. However,consumers in the USA are not particularly famil-iar with the intense flavour of fresh apricots,whereas in Europe and the Middle East, they arefrequently eaten out of hand. Apricots originate innorth eastern China, near the Russian border,where they have been cultivated for over 3,000years. In 60-70 BC, the Romans introduced apri-cots to Europe through Greece and Italy, and theywere introduced to the USA by English settlers onthe East coast and Spanish missionaries inCalifornia.

Wholly distilled from fresh apricots, ApricotTreattarome 9853 provides a full and distinct apri-cot flavour profile. It confers floral front noteswith a strong benzaldehyde middle and an apricotskin finish, which balances the benzaldehyde.Apricot Treattarome is suitable for use at varyingdosage levels. At 0.2%, for example, it imparts aluscious, fruit character with a floral back end typ-ical of apricot. This ingredient can be incorporat-ed successfully into a wide range of formulations,including beverages, alcoholic drinks, juices andjuice drinks and dairy products.

Set in stoneEnjoyed by consumers worldwide, the fresh,sweet and earthy flavours of stone fruits riseabove passing trends and are cemented on theconsumer palate. Flavourists and food and bever-age manufacturers can therefore leverage theirbroad consumer appeal, by capitalising on themove to ‘return to tradition’, as well as thedemand for natural ingredients. By incorporatingnatural stone fruit flavours into a multitude ofproducts – alone or combined with other flavouringredients for a fresh twist – manufacturers canreap the fruits of nature’s finest flavours. n

Michael Britten-Kelly is NaturalProducts Manager at Treatt plcwww.treatt.com

By incorporatingnatural stonefruit flavoursmanufacturerscan reap thefruits of nature’sfinest flavours.

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The growth of the European market for privatelabel has dramatically changed the playing

field of the ingredients and packaging industry(the material supply industry). Over the years,these material suppliers have seen a shift in theircustomer base as private label manufacturersgained importance. This turn of events requires adifferent orientation on the market and a betterunderstanding of the specific business model ofthe private label manufacturer.

Sector developmentHistorically, the manufacturers of private labelwere generally not the companies that producedthe market leading brand but, for the most part,relatively smaller manufacturers of secondary andtertiary brands. These could, without high market-ing expenses, increase their turnover and improvethe utilisation of their assets by producing privatelabels. Although in the minority, there were alsoprimary-brand manufacturers who produced pri-vate labels.

With the growth of the private label marketshare through, among other things, consolidationof the retail industry and customer acceptance,private label manufacturing companies alsoincreased in size. Small businesses, often familyowned, thus developed into private label manu-facturers of stature. Initially, the production of pri-vate label products was still combined with thatof the company’s own manufacturer brands.However, as the share of private labels in the totalproduct volume increased, the manufacturer’sown brands lost importance. In the perception ofthe retailer and the consumers, these own manu-facturer brands were reduced to secondary or ter-

a new playing field for suppliers

Koen de Jongexplains thedynamics of this marketplaceand the changesthat are evovling.

Private label

tiary brands, and were in many cases delisted.Greater competition among private label manufac-turers necessitated specialisation and an upscal-ing of production. The private label industry hasin the course of years developed into a fully-fledged sector in which often large internationaland highly professional companies are active.Immense private label manufacturers haveevolved, often with a pan-European scope andpresence.

Where the market of brand manufacturers istransparent to the supply industry, this is verymuch a different case with private label manufac-turers. Private label manufacturers behind theretailer brands of Edeka, Sainsbury’s, Delhaize,Mercadonna and the like are usually unknown astheir names do not appear on the consumer pack-aging. However, the number of suppliers behindthese labels is vast. At the annual Private LabelManufacturers Association (PLMA) trade show inAmsterdam, the world’s largest trade show organ-ised by the PLMA in 2010, over 160 manufactur-ers of juice and soft drinks participated. Thenumber of private label manufacturers in Europeis actually much higher and it is not easy for thesupply industry to find its way and to separate thewood from the trees.

Historically, private label programmes rarelyventured beyond the standard national brands.Nowadays, the goal of ensuring quality that isequal to or better than the leading brands has beenlargely accomplished. With retailers embracingmore ambitious strategies for private label growththe requirements of the manufacturers have alsochanged. Instead of assisting their retail customersin following the market with me-too copycats,more innovation is expected, not only for premi-um private labels but also for the many otherthemes chosen for private label sub-brands.

Changing relationshipsThe role of the packaging and ingredients indus-tries is becoming increasingly important in theprocess of assisting private label manufacturers intaking new and innovative products to the market.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 43PRIVATE LABELRetailers expect active support from their privatelabel suppliers as they seek products with value-added ingredients. Their objective is to furtherbreak away from national brands and the lingeringme-too mentality that has been linked to the pri-vate label industry for so long. One of the impor-tant pillars of the private label strategy of a retaileris not only differentiation and specific ingredi-ents, but also packaging, allowing one retailerbrand to distinguish itself from another.

Retailers can improve and experiment withsuch packaging and ingredients to a greater degreethan national brands. There is no doubt that manylarge private label manufacturers rely increasinglyon the expertise of their ingredients suppliers. It isnot clear though whether ingredients suppliersreally understand the unique business model ofprivate label well enough to be a major beneficialfactor.

Brand manufacturers have been workingtogether with ingredients and packaging suppliersfor many years to bring external innovation intothe company. The sharing of information,resources and knowledge is organised within aframework of confidentiality and clearly definedobjectives. So far, there has been no such relation-ship between ingredients suppliers and the pri-vate label manufacturing industry. Private labelmanufacturers tend to operate under the radar andthe supply industry sometimes has difficultiesidentifying, let alone connecting with them. Manyplayers in the supply industry are unfamiliar withthe typical business model of the private labelmanufacturer and its organisational structure.Neither do they understand the way in which theycan support them in the supply chain in order totake new products to the market efficiently.

Similarly, the material supply industry does notknow how to approach and connect with retailers.On various occasions we have experienced in ourpractice that these suppliers have difficulties inunderstanding the decision-making process onthe retail side. It is a challenge for them to figureout who is involved and who the key influencersor decision makers are in the private label supplychain. From their end, retailers need to learn andunderstand how national brands have successful-ly interacted with ingredients and packaging sup-pliers. They should take the initiative to createtheir own relationships with ingredient manufac-turers and their private label suppliers. We haveconcluded that there is a need to educate ingredi-ents suppliers as to exactly how the private labelsupply chain works and also how to better under-stand the specific business model of a privatelabel manufacturer.

Increasingly, the supply industry follows a tri-angulation approach where both the retailer andthe private label manufacturers are targeted. Asound knowledge of the two parties addressed inthe triangulation approach has proven to be veryuseful to connect with them. Traditionally, ingre-dients manufacturers sold directly to manufactur-ers and now they have to work with both privatelabel manufacturers and retailers. This can easilyresult in a delicate situation as these manufactur-ers do not particularly like material suppliers totake a position between the retailer and them-selves and may consider it like losing control. Ithas to be borne in mind that this approach willnot always be the best in all circumstances. The

retailer will sometimes listen to the ingredientssupplier and in other cases redirect this supplierto the private label manufacturer. This will varyacross the categories.

In categories, for example, where the innova-tion level is relatively high, i.e. laundry detergentsor personal care, the supply industry may be moreactive in contacting retailers directly. Those pri-vate label manufacturers that are aware of thiswill be sensitive to signals from retailers but willalso maintain close relations with the retailers’raw material suppliers. This will not only allowthem to benefit from their expertise in sourcing,technology, research and innovation but will alsoimprove their understanding of what the brandsare doing. The closer they are to both of them, themore likely it is that they are recommended as themanufacturer turns the idea into a new privatelabel product. They will be in a better position towin new contracts.

Nowadays more and more retailers follow thispattern and strike separate contracts for certainkey ingredients. This secures uniqueness andexclusivity as well as flexibility to change a sup-plier when appropriate. The fact alone that aretailer can do so significantly alters the balanceof power in the negotiation process.

Economies of scale allow for product innovation and development

Due to consolidation in private label manufactur-ing larger and more professional players haveevolved. Their scale of production and opera-tional set-up allows for a more structuredapproach to the market and to overcome restraintswhen it comes to innovation. Until a few yearsago, retailers had little desire for value-addedingredients in their private label products. Thishas changed gradually and retailers increasinglyask new private label manufacturers to develop aproduct with an added value that enables them tobe ahead of the market. When I used to work for aprivate label manufacturer, I recall that in mymeetings with Tesco and Sainsbury’s these retail-

Continued on page 45

... the supplyindustry hasdiscovered thatthe route tomarket throughprivate label canbe much easierand faster thanworking with thebig brands...

The Voice of the UK Soft Drinks Industry

The British Soft Drinks Association is the national trade association representing the collective interests of producers and manufacturers of soft drinks including carbonated soft drinks, still and dilutable drinks, fruit juices and smoothies, and bottled waters.

Join the BSDA today and have your say in your industry!

Communicating with the MediaPromoting Sustainablity

Enhancing Skills

has to offer please call us on +44 (0)207 430 0356 or email [email protected].

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 45PRIVATE LABEL

ers insisted on having new product developmentas a mandatory item on the agenda. It was ofutmost importance to them to know what washappening in our new product developmentkitchen.

Beverages has been an excellent category forretailers in which to introduce innovative ingredi-ents. These can be flavours, dietary supplementsor unique components.

In the future, product innovation will be drivenlargely by trends, themes and issues that are evi-

PRIVATE LABEL– continued from page 43

Private Label Uncovered, Taking retailers brands to the next levelThe changes that are taking place in the market for private label are irreversible and bring tremendous challenges to retailers, man-ufacturers (both branded and private label) and the supply industry. The book shares insights from academic research as well asknowledge and experience gained from practice.

Private Label Uncovered will provide a better understanding of the dynamics in the market and the complexity of running a pri-vate label business in an extremely competitive environment. It will increase the reader’s comprehension of the interaction betweenretailers and manufacturers and may assist in taking steps to fine-tune strategies and processes.

The book shares anecdotal experience and knowledge of 25 years of working with the most successful retailers and manufacturersin Europe.

Topics covered in the book include the strategic value of private labels to retailers, how retailers use their private label to competewith national brands and which tactics these brands deploy to strike back. Furthermore, the fading trend of copycatting is describedand an entire chapter is dedicated to how private label manufacturers can achieve operational excellence.

The manufacturing landscape of private label is changing due to the many mergers and takeovers. A separate chapter in the bookdiscusses this phenomenon and explains the role of private equity firms in theconsolidation process. Moreover, there is a chapter on sustainability as a key trendfor private label sub-branding. The final chapter is a contribution by Loe Limpens,former Marketing Manager Visual Identity of leading Dutch retailer Albert Heijn,and deals with the value of good quality packaging design.

In 2007 Koen de Jong wrote the book ‘Private Labels in Europe, trends and chal-lenges for retailers and manufacturers’.

Further information on the book can be found on: www.iplc.nlTitle: Private Label Uncovered, Taking retailer brands to the next levelDate of first publication: March 2011Author: Koen de Jong, with a contribution by Loe LimpensPrinted in English, 150 pages, full colourPrice: € 85ISBN 978-90-811550-2-1

The book can be ordered via the internet only: www.iplc.nl

dent in society. This counts for both manufacturerbrands and private labels. To name a few: sustain-ability, obesity and obese related diseases, the age-ing society, a dietary approach to health. Theymay all inspire new products with innovativeingredients. The strategy of marketing productclaims like the intrinsic healthful properties ofbeverages continues to be important.

In the future, more products are expected tomake specific preventive claims, like food andbeverages containing probiotics or that help dealwith age-related diminution of mental function,eyesight and hearing. Notably in the beverage cat-egory ingredients are used to address specifichealth issues in product innovation. Such ingredi-ents are: calcium, antioxidants, green tea, addedfibre, omega-3, caffeine, ginseng and the like.Other value-added ingredients are: colours, vita-mins, minerals, flavours and fragrances. All thesehave been used in national brands for quite a fewyears but private labels are now catching up fast.

Consumers will increasingly seek multiple ben-efits in the food products that they buy, such as:convenience, wellness, sustainability, anti-ageingand beautiful skin, heart and joint health, brainand energy enhancing. The supply industry willplay an important role in taking these products tothe market. In the meantime, while increasinglyworking together with private label manufactur-ers, the supply industry has discovered that theroute to market through private label can be mucheasier and faster than working with the big brandsas retailers tend to be less risk averse when itcomes to launching products with new and inno-vative ingredients or packaging. n

Koen de Jong is author of thebook Private Label Uncovered,taking retailer brands to thenext level.See below for details.

46 Soft Drinks International – March 2011MArKET AnALYSIS

From a softdrinks investor’sperspective,nigeria shouldrepresent anattractiveproposition,reports richardCorbett.

It is perhaps not surprising that the FederalRepublic of Nigeria has the highest population ofany African nation with nearly a 150 million peo-ple, when the country has the highest rate of twinbirths of anywhere in the world. Forty two percentof Nigerians fall into the 0-14 age group for softdrinks, but marketing drinks may however be anissue as there are over 250 ethnic groups inNigeria. In contrast to much of the world, the GDPhas been growing strongly but the country was farfrom immune to the global financial crisis and hashistorically been crippled with corruption.Nigeria’s oil and natural gas resources shouldmake for an affluent society but the country’s lead-ers are not very good at sharing the proceeds. TheWorld Bank has estimated that, as a result of cor-ruption, 80% of energy revenues benefit just 1% ofthe population. Richard Corbett uses Canadean’sannual Nigerian soft drinks report to focus on thecountry’s soft drinks market as one we have notexamined since early 2009.

Domestic biasFrom a soft drinks investor’s perspective, Nigeriashould represent an attractive proposition, albeit along term one. The first caveat however is a con-siderable one and it effectively rules out anybodylooking to import many soft drinks into the coun-try. In 2002 the government introduced a ban onimported juice based beverages which, althoughthere is some evidence of imported juices fromSouth Africa and the UK, remains in place todayand is a considerable obstacle. The ban has actual-ly had the desired effect and investment has beenchannelled into domestic production triggering apositive uplift in local manufacturing. As the softdrinks industry develops in the region as a whole,this will bode well for the future of the Nigerian

soft drinks industry.Production cannot rise without demand and the

consumption of soft drinks in Nigeria has beenprogressing strongly with per capita increasingfrom 17 litres to around 40 litres today. In volumeterms that means that the market has almost tre-bled in a decade to around 6 billion litres. Theextent of the opportunities that exist is illustratedby the fact that the average Nigerian consumptionof soft drinks remains half that of the average glob-al consumer. For that potential to be realised, size-able issues do need to be addressed; the ever risingcost of production combined with the lack of infra-structure (especially public electricity supply) andeconomic mishandling has continued to push upprices. Canadean reported double digit growth for2009 and more of the same is anticipated in 2010,but price hikes are encouraging consumers todowngrade to lower cost alternatives, sappingvalue out of the market.

Packaged waterThe dramatic jump in soft drinks demand isdeceiving, and even a glance at the numbersexposes just how underdeveloped the soft drinkssector is in Nigeria. Packaged water dominates,accounting for two thirds of soft drinks sales andmuch of the rapid expansion of the industry hasstemmed from this rise in water sales; in fact theimpressive growth would not look so spectacularif one discounted packaged water which has con-tributed more than 80% of the rise in soft drinksvolume. The bulk of the rise of the Nigerian softdrinks market has been brought about because thepublic water system is almost non existent anduntrustworthy. There is very little brand aware-ness in this category and consumers buy on the goto quench their thirst. As a result (not surprisingly)more than 98% of water sold is still. More thannine in every 10 litres of water sold in Nigeria isunbranded; only Coca-Cola’s Eva brand has anysizeable share, at a little under 5%. Nigerian watergrowth is driven more by need than lifestyle.

Water has been the main driver, but theadvances made by the carbonates category shouldalso be acknowledged. This sector has grown insize by one and a half times since the turn of thecentury and in 2009 recorded growth of 11%. Thegap in volume on packaged water is a great dealsmaller in value but carbonates make up aroundthree in every 10 litres of soft drinks traded. Thefact that between them water and carbonates make

packaged water and carbonatesstill lead the way

Nigeria

Nigerian soft drinks market is dominated by carbonates and water.

Source: Canadean

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 47NIGERIAup 96% of the sector further highlights how under-developed the soft drinks market is in Nigeria.

Juices and nectarsThe import ban has helped accelerate the progressof some other categories and locally produced nec-tars and still drinks have grown rapidly since theban on imported beverages came into force in2002. The ban on imported juice drinks hasencouraged more investment in local production.It is hoped that investment in local fruit farms,especially oranges, pineapples and mangoes andalso in local juice concentrate manufacturing willlessen Nigeria's dependency on imported concen-trated juice, with its attendant problems of occa-sional shortages and price and currencyfluctuations.

Energy drinksOne category which has raised its presence andprofile in recent times is the energy drinks catego-ry. In volume, energy drinks are 55 times smallerthan carbonates but in value just 20 times (2010estimate). Energy drinks are now very much a fea-ture of young Nigerians’ culture and lifestyle. It isnow commonplace to serve energy drinks at par-ties. The category, split between still and carbonat-ed, is led by the UK’s Lucozade brand. FromDecember 2008, the Lucozade brand has also nowarrived in its sports format, introducing the sportdrinks category in Nigeria. Volume is put at lessthan 1 million litres in 2009, but ownerGlaxoSmithKline has demonstrated its commit-ment to the brand with a strong marketing cam-paign.

Iced teaThe seeds of the iced tea category have also beensown in recent years. Cway (Cway Food &Beverages Co) was the only product available onthe market until Chi Ice Tea (Chi Ltd) was intro-duced in 2008. Chi is available in formal retail out-lets. The 25cl carton is sold for NGN60 while the100cl sold for NGN260 in most retail outlets, eventhough it could sell for three times that price in theHORECA channel. The brand received more pro-motional support which, given its visibility conse-quentially achieved a higher share of the categorythan Cway.

A land of opportunity?The Nigerian soft drinks market is undoubtedlydemonstrating good growth but the massive biastowards water and carbonates remains, so one canconclude that the market is very immature. Othersoft drinks categories have been introduced, so it

is now a matter of patience. Conditions do need tobe right for these new categories to prosper andthe endemic corruption that has plagued thecountry needs to be phased out. The governmentis focused on achieving this and, since 2003,Nigeria has been trying to implement an economicreform programme – the National EconomicEmpowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS).The government is hoping NEEDS will create 7million new jobs, diversify the economy, boostnon-energy exports, increase industrial capacityutilisation and improve agricultural productivity,placing the country among the top 20 developedeconomies of the world by 2020. If this can beachieved, then Nigeria will represent a consider-able opportunity. n

Nigeria per capita consumption lags behind the global average but the gap is closing.

Source: Canadean

Soft drinks are gaining share on other sectors.

Source: Canadean

Richard Corbett is a StrategicAnalyst at UK-based CanadeanLtd, the leading globalbeverage research consultants. Email:[email protected]

other soft drinks categorieshave beenintroduced, so itis now a matterof patience.

48 Soft Drinks International – March 2011PET PACKAGInG

rethinking bottle shapesand weights for PET.

No doubt you are familiar with the currentdiscussions and debates about hot fill versus

aseptic filling. Endless comparisons have beenmade to capture the total cost of ownership forboth filling technologies, focusing solely on highacid beverages. For the purpose of this article wewill focus on teas, juices, isotonic, and beverageswith a pH of less than 3.8.

Hot fill versus asepticWhat do we know? Hot fill is an inexpensive andconventional filling technology that gives arobust, extended-life performance at ambienttemperature, to sensitive beverage and liquidfood products, such as fruit and vegetable juices,nectars, soft drinks, enhanced water, and RTDteas. It is a simple, well-recognised method offilling products, ensuring that the container andclosure are commercially sterile. Products filledin this way boast shelf life capabilities similar toaseptic.

Aseptic technology is often touted as the nextevolution or what is needed as companies moveforward; however, it presents a far more compli-cated product processing system in order tomaintain aspeticity throughtout the fillingprocess. First and foremost, the filler itselfrequires advanced operator training, increasedlabratory and sampling capabilities, and an ini-tial capital investment significantly greater thanthe traditional hot fill technology.

For a line of 36,000 bph, you can probablyassume an investment of an additional three tofour million euros for an aseptic filling line, overthe conventional system. Factor in the increased

operational cost of the sterilising chemicals andwater consumed during this process, and it issometimes hard to imagine why aseptic has con-tinued to grow at the pace that it has. And ofcourse maintenance operation is far more com-plicated with aseptic technology.

Got the bottle?There is enough information comparing and con-trasting the technologies to write volumes ofinformation, but one of the key factors is the bot-tle itself.

Aseptic bottles need only perform for shelf lifeand consumer appeal, but hot fill bottles must bedesigned to resist deformation under the vacuumgenerated by product and head-space cooling.

For these reasons, glass packaging has tradi-tionally played a dominant role for hot fill,though through the use of ingenious bottledesigns, the use of PET has gained popularityover recent years. To withstand the vacuum, thePET bottles must have features to maintain shapeintegrity – the main design used today is the vac-uum panel (see Figure 1). Unfortunately, thesepanels also limit container design. Brand ownersdon’t like these panels because it affects poten-tial designs and limits the label technologies thatcan be used effectively.

But probably the least desirable by-product ofthese design features is the additional PET resinrequired. A hot fill resin bottle can weigh asmuch as 10 grams more than an aseptic 1 litrecontainer. This extra resin is often the main driv-er in the push for aseptic technology.

‘Panel-less’ designs are available but theyeffectively move the vacuum panels to the baseof the bottle. These ‘push-up-base’ bottles haveallowed for far superior designs, but still don’teffectively address the issue of the additionalweight required for the hot fill process.

Taking hot fill forwardWhat if we didn’t need these panels? Would theweight still be needed? Plastipak Packaging’s newThermoShape could be the answer. With twoinstallations already up and running, one inFrance and the other in Abu Dhabi, ThermoShapeis changing the perceptions of hot fill.

For the first time ever, Plastipak Packaging’srevolutionary patented ThermoShape™ technol-ogy has made it possible to hot fill lightweight

is here to stay

Hot fill

500 ml PET bottle during ThermoShape reforming step at Al Ain Mineral Water in Abud Dhabi.

Figure 1. Example of typicalvacuum panel PET bottle.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 49HOT FILL

PET containers, providing customers with prod-uct integrity and cost effectiveness, as well as theluxury of extensive, brand-building design flexi-bility.

Plastipak Packaging produces its containers,with a final shape and free-standing base design,by using higher crystallisation devices known asHR, or Heat-Resistant option kits, with commer-cially available PET blow-moulding equipment.

Hot off the lineProduct is filled into ThermoShape PET bottlesat normal hot fill temperatues of up to88°C/190°F. The bottle is then capped using aone-piece ‘double-lip’ closure, similar to coldfill. The heat from the product immediately ster-ilises the inner surface of the bottle. The bottle isthen titlted, as it is conveyed to the next stage toensure that the neck and closure is also ster-ilised.

After hot filling, the containers are transferredinto a closed-loop water cooling tunnel, wherethey deform under the vacuum created by theproduct, and the head space temperature drop.

Once cooled, the filled bottles are fed into theThermoShape machine – provided by Plastipak

Packaging, for a simple reshaping back to theiroriginal form.

Add-on technologyThermoShape technology allows the conversionof glass hot fill to a lightweight bottle that brandowners or any existing hot fill PET line can easilybe adapted to handle the ThermoShape process.

With 0.5 litre bottles with lightweight 38 mmneck finish reported to be 21 grams, you have ahot fill technology that can deliver aseptic pack-aging economics. At present, bottle sizes of up to2 litres can be accomodated

This is a new technology will undoubtedlychange hot fill and help the technology maintaina foothold in the marketplace. It has the potentialto sway brand owners who in the past mighthave written off the technology for the wrongreasons.

Aseptic technologies require massive quanti-ties of water, consume tremendous quantities ofsterilising chemicals and require substantialextra capital, both to purchase and to maintain.It’s amazing that aseptic grows at the rate it does.

With technologies like ThermoShape avail-able, brand owners and plant managers nowhave another option to consider, and the choiceof process is not as clear-cut as once thought. n

Using proprietory blow moulding, filling and capping equipment, the ThermoShape systemcan be integrated into most existing lines.

Bottles blown from high crystallisation resin are hotfilled, capped, cooled and reshaped to the original form

The base of the ThermoShape bottle before and afterreshaping.

Above and left: Examples of products currentlyin production.

[email protected]


PET’s designflexibility hasbeen critical to itssuccess, alongwith goodenvironmentalcredentials,according toAPPE.

PET has long been the preferred choice of con-sumers for soft drinks thanks to a multitude of

factors such as its easy handling properties, lightweight, re-sealability compared to other packagingoptions and ease of use.

The CSD market was the first to enjoy the bene-fits of PET but the material has had a significantimpact and made a vital contribution to the growthof many other sectors, including mineral waters,juices, milk and sports drinks.

For brand owners, PET’s design flexibility hasbeen critical to its success, all the more so in recentyears as competition has intensifed, making theestablishment of strong brand identity and on-shelf appeal vital factors in maximising sales.Research has indicated that consumers are morewilling to try a new product if the packaging isinteresting and are more willing to buy productsthat have attractive packaging. PET’s capability tocreate high impact designs offers manufacturersgreat scope to exploit this trend.

Indeed the transformation of the milk and juiceindustries from commodity products to brandedvarieties – with products such as flavoured milksand juice/milk mixes – owes much to PET’s designinnovations and its ability to help create a strongbrand image.

Another major advantage of PET bottles is thatthey do not break, which improves safety and cost-effectiveness on filling lines, export transporta-tion, in supermarkets and at home withconsumers.

These practical benefits combined with thescope for design and decoration make a powerfulproposition and PET’s take up by major brands isset to continue as more design innovations are

developed.Leading PET container manufacturer APPE (for-

merly known as Artenius PET Packaging Europe)is at the forefront of new developments in this areaincluding new bottle designs such as dualcoloured PET bottles, silk screening print decora-tion and special effects. The company has investedin excess of £1 million in a new printing facility forits PET bottles and containers which offers silkscreen printing in up to four colours including spe-cial effects such as metallics, while customers alsobenefit from a ‘one-stop’ service delivering readydecorated containers to their filling lines.

Preservation and protectionAnother reason for PET’s emergence in marketsincluding juices, speciality waters and sportsdrinks is the high level of product preservationand protection it can offer.

Advanced single and multi-layer barrier tech-nologies mean PET can now produce packs thatmaintain the long ambient and chilled shelf livesrequired by retailers (at least six months andbeyond) and continue to deliver a quality of prod-uct and taste perfectly acceptable to the consumer.

Research continues in this area, focusing onmaximising shelf life without compromising prod-uct quality, and there are certain to be more devel-opments in the future as new technologies areintroduced and manufacturing techniquesenhanced.

Protecting the environmentToday, however, product protection is not the onlything on manufacturers’ minds; protection of theenvironment is an equally critical consideration.

and preserving the environment

Promotingbrands

Direct printing onto PET bottles, including specialeffects such as metallics, on round, oval and conicalcontainers in a wide range of sizes, can help to create adistinctive premium quality image in competitivemarkets.

Techniques such as dual colour manufacturing underline PET’s ability to create on-shelfdifferentiation.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 51PROMOTING BRANDSWith the increasing demand for ‘green products’,sustainability remains a major driving force in thedrinks industry, and packaging is in the spotlightas one of the key areas which can have an impacton progress.

Here PET scores favourably again as it hasalways enjoyed an excellent environmental pro-file. In terms of transportation for example, a750ml PET bottle weighs around 50g compared tothe typical weight of a same size glass bottle ofbetween 350g to 600g. PET also matches glass as a100% recyclable material and offers a consider-ably lower carbon footprint even when comparedto glass bottles with the highest level of recycledcontent achievable.

All PET bottles can be recycled and it is alsoimportant to note that the advances in PET bottleproduction and recycling technologies have gonehand-in-hand. Therefore, even the more technical-ly complex multi-layer barrier bottles – incorporat-ing oxygen scavengers and other materials toprotect products – provide no obstacle to success-ful recycling.

In addition, PET manufacturers have mademajor strides to reduce the amount of materialused both through light weighting and using morerecycled PET (rPET) in the production of new bot-tles.

APPE is currently reporting a substantialincrease in the demand for recycled PET (rPET)with figures almost doubling in two years alonefrom 5% of the company’s total production in2007 to over 9% in 2009, and usage for last year isexpected to rise to 10%.

This rise in demand is being seen across manysectors, especially soft drinks, as manufacturersseek to enhance their environmental credentials inline with the industry’s drive for sustainability andalso consumers’ increasing awareness of environ-mental issues.

APPE says that a 25% rPET container can offeralmost identical levels of clarity and gloss to a100% virgin material version which means thatcustomers can continue to benefit from the func-tionality, practicality and aesthetics of PET packag-ing, while the use of rPET makes the material moresustainable and contributes to a reduction in apack’s carbon footprint.

The business is now manufacturing the majorityof its bottles with a 25% blend of rPET. Some lead-ing brands have increased this to 50% and even upto 100%, although APPE has some reservationsabout this trend in terms of the availability of highgrade material.

Billy Jansen, Group QSE & SustainabilityManager at APPE, said, “We know that 100% rPETcontent is achievable but believe it is not currentlysustainable, especially as demand is already out-stripping current levels of supply. However, asmarket leaders in the relatively young recyclingindustry, APPE is continuing to drive productdevelopment and innovation to further improvethe quality and availability of rPET.”

Meeting the environmental challenge APPE is the European leader in the production offood-grade recycled PET and has already respond-ed to the surge in demand by investing a further€10million at its dedicated recycling plant inBeaune, France. Output has been increased by40% from 25,000 to 35,000 tonnes, which is pro-duced from over 46,000 tonnes of post-consumerPET – the equivalent of saving around 1.5 billionPET bottles from the waste stream.

“APPE’s Beaune facility guarantees a consistenthigh quality supply but it is clear that the industryas a whole will look to the material collectionagencies to keep pace in order to satisfy customers’requirements. Until then, the potential for rPETwill always be limited by the amount of recycledmaterial available. An obvious solution would beto retain more waste plastics in Europe rather thanlosing this material to overseas markets,” said BillyJansen.

PET’s many practical benefits and its ability toopen up new markets and build brands have beencritical to the material’s success over the pastdecade. The fact that it can now also help compa-nies to achieve their environmental goals willclearly be a major factor in its next stages of devel-opment, although as can be seen this is bringing itsown challenges. As Billy Jansen noted, “This is avery exciting period for PET and with our plans tocapitalise on expanding markets and develop newtechnologies, the material is ideally placed to max-imise future opportunities.” n

Demand for post consumer PET bottles continues togrow.

Effective sorting of post consumer PET bottles.

The majority of APPE’s bottlescontain 25% rPET.

Kinza Sutton is MarketingManager at Artenius PETPackaging Europe.Tel: 44 1978 317378Email: [email protected] www.appepackaging.com


Computermodellingmultiplepackagescenarios canassist the brandowner tounderstand therisks and costtradeoffs, writesScott Steele.

Accurately predicting soft drink beverageshelf life has traditionally been a laborious

and time-consuming process. Brand owners testfilled bottle samples under a wide variety ofmaterial, environmental and time combinationsto determine which structure would deliver theright mix of desirable attributes. Done correctly,this time-consuming procedure typically has anegative impact on both development costs andintroduction timetables.

Time and cost reductionBrand owners now have an accurate alternativewhich dramatically impacts testing time andcost. The M-Rule® Performance Model forBeverages calculates oxygen, carbon-dioxide andwater permeation in plastic packages using aninternet-based software package. The objective isto run the various scenarios ‘virtually’ so thattime, cost and steps are dramatically reduced,while still getting accurate results.

The model can handle a wide variety of bever-age packaging materials including multilayerand barrier coatings. It also takes into accounthow the closure impacts performance. Testingfor other permeants is also possible.

Computer modelling multiple package scenar-ios can assist the brand owner to understand therisks and cost tradeoffs. For example, brandowners who start with the premise that a pack-age must have a two-year shelf life can often beshown that six months is more than adequate.This happens by quantifying the actual cost ofthe longer shelf life. Modelling also enables theassessment of multiple designs without a lot ofexpensive and lengthy testing procedures.

Here’s a quick step-by-step look as to how theprogram works.

l Package material selection. The programallows you to input one material for a mono-layer bottle or up to seven inputs for a multi-layer structure. The input capability is specificby resin family, grade and manufacturer so thatthe modelling output is precise. The model canalso provide tensile properties for the varyingmaterial compositions which are important forCO2 loss calculations.

l Coatings. The inputs allow you to selectboth inside and outside bottle coatings.Options include silicon composition, carbon,etc. Along with the type, you are able to speci-fiy thickness and the overall effectiveness ofthe coating.

l Package selection. The inputs begin with thesize and type of liquid beverage. Other variablesinclude: nominal liquid volume, brimful capac-ity, surface area, empty package weight, finishdesign, base design, moulding process and side-wall thickness. (You have the option ofinputting material distribution or you can havethe model create it for you using other inputs.)

l Closure selection. Size and type are inputfirst, followed by surface area, cap thickness,total closure weight and specific finish design.

l Closure material selection. Options are avail-able for impermeable closure, standardpolypropylene, high-density polyethylene orcustom. (The program accommodates closuresof up to five layers.) However, in certain scenar-ios, you may only care about the bottle perform-ance. In that instance, the program will allowyou to discount closure input.

l Beverage selection. Now the product’s char-acteristics come into play. If the beverage is ajuice for example, we would be looking for thefollowing data: initial carbonation volumes, ini-tial vitamin C and sugar contents, and oxygen.

Additionally, upper and lower carbonationspecs, lower vitamin C spec and relative vitaminactivity. These are typically parameters that thebrand owner assigned to the package developer.

l Storage conditions. Testing a variety of stor-age/transport conditions is critical to under-standing how the package will perform inreal-life scenarios. It is very common for brandowners to run four or five temperature/time/rel-ative humidity variations to get an accurate pic-ture. Typical scenarios include the followingenvironments: room temperature, warehouse,truck, ship, refrigerated, pantry, etc. In the caseof beverages that are going to be subjected toultra hot/humid or cold/dry environments thetesting parameters are pushed even further. TheM-Rule programme allows up to 13 tempera-ture/time relative humidity combinations.

l Filling conditions. These inputs pertain tothe specific filling line and container details.Filling conditions, temperature, time at fill tem-perature, relative humidity at filling, storagetime between blowing and filling, storage tem-perature, relative humidity during storage,induction time after blowing and nitrogen fillpressure. The programme also asks the user toselect “yes or no” for O2 degassing (beverage,headspace and sidewall). Lastly it takes intoaccount beverage fill volume (nominal, brimfulor empty.)

Now let’s look at a few output scenarios we ranthrough the model.

l Example output #1. Showing how a specificbottle looses CO2 over a particular length oftime. In this particular instance we charted aninitial rapid loss before stabilising to a slight,steady loss. This pattern is typical of PET bever-age bottles because the initial losses are due tovolume expansion and sorption of the CO2 gasby the sidewall.

via computer modelling

Predictingshelf life

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 53PREDICTING SHELF LIFE

Scott Steele is Vice-President,Global Analytical Labs,Training and Enterprise Projectsat Plastic Technologies Inc.www.plastictechnologies.com

l Example output #2. The model allows one tocompare results for varying package structures.For example, what would happen to a soft drinkbottle’s performance if it had varying levels ofnylon in a barrier layer structure? This featureallows one to quickly compare effectiveness ofbarrier options for a package.

l Example output #5. In a third example, welooked at water loss (grams) with temperatureand relative humidity variables on a 600ml PLAbottle for water. The computer modellingshowed us that higher temperatures and lowerrelative humidity have the greater impact onwater loss over time. (The scenario tested 150-plus days of storage time.)

Accelerating the development processAs you have seen from the examples above, com-puter modelling can be an excellent tool to assistbrand owners in accelerating their speed-to-mar-ket. When you combine the technique with one ormore traditional development tools such as col-laborative CAD design, three-dimensional proto-typing, finite-element analysis, etc. you furthervalidate performance deliverables before expen-sive and time-consuming prototyping. Improvingand fine tuning the design in the virtual worldhelps to accelerate the development process forany new package.

Virtual design however won’t completely elim-inate the need for prototyping. Equally as impor-tant is consumer and distribution channel testing.You want to make sure the package you put intothe marketplace gets to the consumer withoutbeing structurally compromised. Further, the con-tainer needs to be functional and facilitate repeatsales. The point now is that the prototyping andvalidating stages can concentrate on consumerand distribution needs as opposed to product andbrand quality.

Finally, as the new millennium has broughtmore focus on environmentally-responsible pack-aging decisions, it is important to understand howyour package performs in the recycling stream.Testing protocols have been created to study therecyclability of new packaging options. This issomething every brand owner should considerbefore commercially releasing a new beveragecontainer. n

l Example output #3. In a third scenario, welooked at oxygen concentration for varying levelsof an oxygen scavenger. This type of analysishelps to set targets and calculate the costs of thebarrier option to match desired performance withthe correct level of oxygen scavenger additive.

l Example output #4. Adding to Example #3,the model provides a means to study varyingstorage environments for the same packages. Inthe real world bottles are not stored at standardconditions for their entire shelf life. Rather theyare stored at varying conditions through the dis-tribution channel and the level of oxygen barriermust be set to meet the worst case conditions.

The point now is that theprototyping andvalidating stagescan concentrateon consumerand distributionneeds asopposed toproduct andbrand quality.


Why and howAkij Food &Beverage, withthe help ofKeones, startedits PETrecycling line.

One of the first Krones-built bottle-2-bottlePET recycling lines has now been success-

fully started up in Bangladesh. Akij Food &Beverage Ltd. (AFBL), subsidiary of the widelyramified Akij Group and a newcomer to the soft-drinks market, realised the opportunities openedup by recycling PET containers from kerbsidecollections. In its usual bold and visionary man-ner, in parallel to installation of its fifth Kronesbottling line, Akij invested in this high-tech linewith washing module and decontaminationmodule and is already able to substitute recycledPET flakes for 30% of the PET raw materialrequired in its in-house PET preform and con-tainer production operation. Cost savings and anever-increasing independence of the global mar-ket for PET raw material are the direct conse-quences of this investment.

The Akij Group is a heavyweight in this smallcountry with its populace of around 150 million.Named after its founding father, Sheikh AkijUddin, the company achieves a turnover of justunder €400 million with a payroll of about 50,000people. In the 1940s (when the country was stillunder British colonial rule) Sheikh Akij Uddinhad built up the group from the smallest of begin-nings: as a trader in jute, the golden fibre ofBangladesh, into a conglomerate of enterprisesoperating in 24 lines of business, which today ismanaged by his 10 sons. Akij is a major player inthe cement, printing, chipboard and tobaccoindustries, and operates the world’s biggest jutemill, which alone employs 7,000 people. As far asits corporate social responsibility is concerned,Akij is involved in five non-profit-making institu-tions, among them a hospital, an orphanage and acollege.

A newcomer to the beverage market It was only in 2004 that entry into a new marketsegment was signed and sealed, when the groupset up the Akij Food & Beverage company,“because we wanted to meet the demand for prod-ucts made in Bangladesh to global standards ofquality, and we also expected this market to offerus huge opportunities”, explains Sheikh JamilUddin, who is responsible for the group’s market-ing operations. Akij Food & Beverage concentrat-ed on soft drinks, water, fruit juices, milk andsnacks, and grouped together all of these divisionsin a new factory, located 50 kilometres outside thecapital Dhaka in Krishnapura, Dhamrai. “For ourfounder, quality had always been the top priori-ty”, emphasises Sheikh Jamil Uddin, which iswhy this visionary entrepreneur formulated thefollowing maxim: “Uncompromising quality evenin adverse market situations is the main forcebehind our success”.

First PET recycling line of its kind in Asia The ultimate decision to install an in-house PETrecycling line was arrived at by a long hard look atthe pocket calculator and by heeding the manage-ment’s sense of responsibility for the nationalenvironment, underpinned by yet another vision-ary concept from Sheikh Bashir Uddin, theManaging Director of the Akij Group. The SeniorGeneral Manager of the Akij Food & Beverage pro-duction facility, P. B. Barua, singles out three mainreasons for the decision: “Firstly, the bottom linehas to be right. And it is. At present, we’re alreadysaving up to 30% of the price per container, byusing recycled flakes. Secondly, we don’t need somuch foreign currency for importing PET gran-ules. For a country like Bangladesh, that’s anothercrucial factor. And thirdly, we help to significant-ly reduce the amount of garbage, meaning discard-ed PET containers, on the kerbside and in lakesand rivers.”

This is why AFBL installed the first PET recy-cling line of its kind in Asia. In a new aisle of thehall in the Dhaka plant, Krones built a washingmodule with an output of 1,000 kilograms perhour, plus a decontamination module for 500 kilo-grams an hour. The washing module producesnon-food-grade rPET flakes for use in the fibre,plastics or film industries. Full capacity utilisa-tion is always dependent on the market price. ButSheikh Jamil Uddin is already talking about con-verting the remaining 500 kilograms per hour of

bottle-2-bottle line commissioned

Bangladesh recycles

One of the country’s many small plastic collection points.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 55BANGLADESH REYCLES

www.krones.com

non-food-grade rPET flakes into polyester flakes,and then using these in the group’s own textilemanufactory as a cotton-polyester mixture.

The target ratio is 50 : 50The washing module can be run for as long or asshort a time as the client prefers. The downstreamdecontamination module, by contrast, whichrefines half of the non-food-grade flakes, shouldfrom an energetic viewpoint run with as few inter-ruptions as possible, due to the relatively highprocess temperatures involved. Which is what itdoes. The food-grade flakes obtained at the end ofthis process are used by Akij directly for makingPET preforms. The three Sipa and Husky injec-tion-moulding machines for in-house preformproduction are located in an adjacent hall andspecially equipped for processing flakes. At pres-ent, AFBL is working with a mixing ratio of 30 -40% rPET flakes and 60 – 70% new material(granulated). The target ratio is 50 : 50. The 30 : 70/ 40 : 60 mixture is used to make white preformsfor cola, juices and water, plus green ones for thetwo lime-based soft drinks. In future, P.B. Baruaalso aims to have brown bottles produced fromrecycled flakes, for the ‘Speed’ energy drink.

Kerbside collections The Akij Group obtains the starting material forthe recycling line – at least 12 tons a day for ensur-ing the decontamination module is supplied on apermanent basis – exclusively from kerbside col-lections in Bangladesh. About 50 sizeable collec-tion centres and innumerable smaller contactpoints have so far covered about half of thenation’s territory. The plans are to extend thecatchment area step by step to include all ofBangladesh. Akij buys the merchandise by weightfrom these subcontractors. Since the project wasstarted, the price per kilogram has already dou-bled, from around 20 to 40 eurocents, since hereAkij finds itself in direct competition with foreignrecycling companies bidding for the raw material.So the PET recycling line’s cost-efficiency is allthe more important.

The material, which arrives in the beverage fac-tory’s courtyard in big bags or already com-pressed, is in a very poor condition indeed, whichmakes it a real challenge. It is mixed with contain-ers made of different types of plastic, and collect-ed at a host of different locations in Bangladesh.The proportion of dirt and sand is very high, tosay nothing of the oil content, which is by no

means negligible, since the beverage bottles are inBangladesh often misused as oil storage contain-ers, with concomitant difficulties downstream. Sopre-sorting is very important in order to ensurethe requisite material starting quality for the recy-cling line. This separation function, sorting outnon-plastic materials, different types of plasticlike multilayer, or sorting into the differentcolours encountered, can basically be handledautomatically, semi-automatically or by hand.Akij has opted for manual presorting.

Particularly important “The approval by the Food and DrugAdministration was particularly important forus”, explains P. B. Barua. “We do, of course, mon-itor both flake quality and bottle quality on a per-manent basis, with checks on IV value, moisture,density, crystallisation and colour. What’s inter-esting for us is the fact that the system runs fullyautomatically. For the Krones process, the intrin-sic viscosity doesn’t have to be as high as for othertechnologies, a definite advantage. The recyclingline is high-tech kit, which is why we have to beable to rely on the manufacturer; we need fastfeedback and good service support.” n

In a new aisle of the hall in the Dhaka plant, Kronesbuilt a washing module (left) with an output of 1,000kilograms per hour, plus a decontamination module(right) for 500 kilograms an hour.

The bottle-2-bottle decontamination module has at Akij been installed on an area of justunder 190 square metres.

The food-grade flakes obtained at the end of this process are used by Akij directly for makingPET preforms.

...pre-sorting isvery importantin order toensure therequisitematerial startingquality...

56 Soft Drinks International – March 2011WATEr TrEATMEnT

Water quality has a majorimpact on clarity, shelf life and taste,according to Elga ProcessWater.

When pharmacist John Pemberton stirred upa fragrant, caramel-coloured liquid and

mixed it with carbonated water in 1886 he creat-ed something special. The company that wasbuilt on that effervescent drink, Coca-Cola, isnow the largest soft drinks manufacturer in theworld with an arsenal of international brandslike Sprite, Fanta, Lilt and Powerade. In 2009,Coca-Cola Enterprises (the largest global bottlerof Coca-Cola products) entered into an agree-ment with Hansen Natural, a US soft drinksmanufacturer, to produce and distribute its rap-idly growing Monster Energy Brand. MonsterEnergy is a range of caffeine based energy drinksthat was first launched in the USA in 2002, andis rapidly gaining market share, with significantexposure in extreme sports, motor cycling andmusic events. With this growth in mind, CCEinvested in new production capability at its sitein Milton Keynes.

Water quality is keyIn terms of volume, water is the principal ingredi-ent in all soft drinks, and water quality has a majorimpact on clarity, shelf life and, most importantly,taste. A key factor in the production of MonsterEnergy is the consistency of the water used in itsdrinks globally, due to delicate and unique tastecharacteristics of its products. This ensures thatMonster products taste exactly the same, no matterwhere in the world they are produced. The waterquality specification for Monster Energy is ofextremely low conductivity, which means that thetreated water needed additional processing, tomeet this specification.

The contract to supply the water treatmentplant at Milton Keynes was won against interna-tional competition by ELGA Process Water, aVeolia Water Solutions & Technologies company.ELGA Process Water worked closely with CCE’sProject Management Team to ensure that theplant, consisting of three treatment stages, wouldmeet the 40m3/h at the specified quality. In thefirst treatment stage the water is degassed in anatmospheric stripping tower to remove carbondioxide. The water then passes through a reverseosmosis plant where a membrane removes around90% of the dissolved salts as well as 99% oforganic and particulate impurities and bacteria.To ensure compliance with the quality specifica-tion, there is a final polishing stage using contin-uous electrodeionisation (CEDI), an electricallydriven process that combines membrane and ionexchange resins. The CEDI unit typically pro-duces treated water of less than 10µS/cm conduc-tivity, well within the specification. The treated

water is stored in a stainless steel tank from whichit is pumped, via a ring main, to the points of use.

CCE’s Manufacturing Manager, Paul Gleave, isresponsible for the operational transition ofMonster Energy production into the site at MiltonKeynes, and recalls that the water quality specifi-cation was revised during the contract period.“Due to the speed with which the agreement wasmade and the project delivered, the water specifi-cation was tightened after the contract had beensigned. This meant that ELGA had to do someretrofitting to guarantee that the RO Plant installa-tion met this revised standard”, he says. “It wasalways a tight programme but through ELGAProcess Water’s flexibility and technical expertise,they did everything they could to retrofit the addi-tional equipment, whilst keeping to the originaldeadline. The outcome has been very successfulfor all stake holders, with both the launch dateand the quality standard being met”.

Minimising risksMost water treatment companies can provide amaintenance and service contract which minimis-es risk. However, any emergency or loss of pro-duction on a premium product can pose a seriousproblem. CCE needed to ensure that contingencyplans were in place and having considered severaloptions for its water treatment plant, ELGAProcess Water’s ‘Aquamove disaster recoveryplan’ was selected. It identifies the requiredequipment and provides CCE with full supportand deployment of a mobile water treatment sys-tem at short notice.

Enabling the ‘emergency response’ to be imple-mented efficiently, CCE’s water treatment plantwas designed to include the necessary valved andblanked terminals which allow rapid connectionof an Aquamove MORO reverse osmosis trailer tothe mains water supply and the treated water dis-tribution system. The details, including how to getto the site, trailer parking location, connectiontype and size and where to connect the mobileplant, are held on ELGA Process Water’s computerdatabase so that, within a few hours of an emer-gency call, an Aquamove team can be on site atMilton Keynes and primed with the site’s proce-dures. With all these measures taken, the Monsterhas been released into the UK. n

ensuring global consistency

Unleash theMonster

ELGA Process Water is part ofVeolia Water Solutions &

Technologies (VWS), asubsidiary of Veolia Water. VWS

is a leading design & buildcompany and a specialised

provider of technologicalsolutions in water treatment.

Email:[email protected]

www.elgaprocesswater.com

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 57

Water: Don’t Taste Like What it Oughta

The water in Majorca may not taste like what it oughta, but bottled water certainlydoes according to the freshly updated BSDA Guide to Good Bottled WaterStandards.

The British Soft Drinks Association has revised and updated its definitive guide to therules and methods followed in producing natural mineral water, spring water, and bot-tled drinking water. The Guide covers everything from the permissible sources ofwater and extraction and bottling processes to the labelling and presentation of thewater when it is sold.

The bottled water market in the UK is in long term growth, thanks to its unique com-bination of natural hydration and convenience, but it also depends on assuring con-sumer confidence. The bottling methods are rigorous, and the rules to be followed canbe stringent and need to be followed carefully.

Although the rules may be strict, they have been drawn up on the basis of years ofbottling experience. This ensures that the protection the consumer requires can be pro-vided by an industry that is flexible and, we hope, profitable. We have all heard ofinstances of industries ruined by inappropriate regulation; bottled water, thankfully, isnot one of them.

If you are already a water bottler, or if you are thinking of setting up a bottling busi-ness of your own, the newly updated BSDA Guide to Good Bottled Water Standards isa must-have. Over 80 pages in length, this guide will provide you with up-to-dateadvice on everything you need to know in order to set up or stay in business.

Members of BSDA get free access to the latest edition of the Guide to Good Bottled Water Standards via the members’ section of theBSDA website.

The Guide to Good Bottled Water Standards is also available for sale to non-members, priced £99. It can be ordered from [email protected].

Register now to attend the ISBT Food Safety Symposium!ISBT is pleased to announce that it will produce a Food Safety Symposium that will cover several issues of interest to beverage companies and their suppliers. This symposiumwill include presentations on several critical components of food safety; regulatory requirements of the recently enacted Food Safety Modernization Act, ensuring the safety andintegrity of municipal water supplies used in bottling and canning, threat and vulnerability assessments in bottling plants and a special presentation from FDA's office ofCriminal Investigations. This is a must-attend event, especially for those involved in overseeing food safety within beverage companies and suppliers to the industry.

Presentations include:

Barbara Hiden – VP of Federal Affairs for the American Beverage AssociationBarbara will take attendees through the Food Safety and Modernization Act; explaining what requirements are already in effect and also will discuss provisions that FDA will beaddressing through formal rulemaking in the months ahead. The Act places significant new responsibilities on food and beverage manufacturers and it is critical for companiesto recognise and to take action on these new requirements.

Alan Roberson – Director of Federal relations for the American Water Works Association Alan will summarise what the water utilities have done on security and preparedness, as well as talk about events that will happen in the next few years. He will discussvulnerability assessments and the development of Water and Wastewater Agency response networks that have been put in place to improve response and recovery fromnatural disasters and man-made events. Water is the most prominent ingredient in beverages and its safety and security is critical for food and beverage manufacturers.

John Woody – Senior Policy Analyst from FDA's Food Defense oversight Team John will lead attendees through an understanding of the Carver + Shock prioritization tool. This is a system that can be used to assess the vulnerabilities within a system orinfrastructure within the food and beverage industry. This will be an interactive presentation, with hands-on experiences for attendees. This is a valuable tool designed toeducate attendees on how to better protect individual facilities through the use of this analysis.

John Hughes – Senior Advisor on Counterterrorism and Intelligence with FDA's office of Criminal Investigations (oCI), John will discuss the mission and activities of the oCI,with special focus on beverages. oCI conducts and coordinates investigations of suspected criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other relatedActs, including the Federal Anti-Tampering Act. John will present specific information on the activities of FDA's criminal investigative arm.

The Symposium will be held Thursday, April 14, 2011, from 8am-1 pm, in Grand Salon E at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel. The cost to attend is $50 for ISBTmembers. Nonmembers are also welcome to attend this event at the cost of $100. Please view the BevTech ’11 page at www.BevTech.org to register.

ABOUT ISBT – The International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) is the premier technical society for the beverage industry. As the only international society dedicated solely to the scientificand technical aspects of soft drinks and beverages, ISBT provides a unique, non-competitive forum for networking with other experts in the field at a technical level.


Process

DEVELOPMENTS

Emission controlPORVAIR Filtration Group's Pulsejet blow-down filter technology provides effectiveemission control for the loading andunloading of catalyst hoppers in a processenvironment.

Porvair designs and manufactures pulsedjet blowback filter elements and systems forrecovering and containing valuable pow-ders. Pulsejet blowdown filter technologyuses a controlled pulse of compressed gasdirected into filter element(s) via a controlventuri throat built into the open endadapter to permit the cleaning of the filtermedia in situ and therefore the ability tocontinue operating without shutdown.

The emission control system has beendeveloped for an application where catalysthoppers were filled from tankers or whencatalyst was returned to the hopper postoperation/recovery.

Traditionally the catalyst hoppers wereequipped with cyclone units fitted at theupper level of the hopper containmentthrough which the air would flow as it wasfilled. However this created difficulties dueto the fundamental principle of cycloneoperation. A bespoke Pulsejet system andfilter unit was developed to be incorpo-rated into existing plant so as to minimisethe impact upon the equipment and toeconomically justify the change to plantmanagement.

The Pulsejet system ensured that as thehoppers were pulsed clean the catalyst materialthat is removed was returned directly to themain catalyst bed and did not have to betransported separately.

Saving time andmoneyTHE Volutherm series flash pasteuriser fromthe Barry-Wehmiller Company and CBIFleetwood, which has has been well receivedin some of Europe's best known beverageand brewery companies, is now being manu-factured in the United States to US stan-dards and is available in North America.

The Volutherm series developed for thebrewery and beverage market can also beutilised in many aspects of the packagingmarket and offers customers continuous andconsistent pasteurisation for their products.

Continuous pasteurisation has numerousadvantages over the batch (vat) pasteurisa-tion method, such as time, hygiene and costof operation – energy savings. TheVolutherm series uses a high-temperature,short-time method for most continuouspasteurisation processes. The heat treatmentcan be achieved using either a plate heatexchanger or a tubular heat exchanger,depending upon the product being pas-teurised. The capacity range is 10gpm to300gpm and is sized to accommodate virtu-ally any line speed.

Right: the unit is compact in design and energyefficient – offering greater than 90% energyrecovery.

Introduction

There are myriad processes involved in

taking raw materials anddelivering end product.

With this new regular section SDI will be bringing

readers up to date withthe latest in process

developments.

email: [email protected]

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 59PROCESS

l GEA TDS has been awarded a €25 millionorder from Milco Industries Ltd (Tara) forthe construction of a new dairy plant in theNoam industrial estate in Netivot, Israel. GEATDS will supply the complete process equip-ment and render all engineering services forthis new dairy project. The company will alsoproduce all 3D visualisations required and bein charge of construction supervision. Deliv-ery and commissioning of automation equip-ment will be the responsibility of GEA TDSund Proleit. Construction start is scheduledfor July 2011; the first products should beready for delivery in late April 2012. Afterthat the integration of existing equipmentfrom Tel Aviv will begin.

l Continuing its policy of demystifying tech-nology, Alfa Laval has produced an updatedversion of its pamphlet 'The theory behindHeat Transfer' which provides a simple yetdetailed explanation of how and why heat istransferred from one medium to another.

The pamphlet explains the natural laws ofphysics which dictate that the driving energyin a system must flow until equilibrium isreached. Therefore, heat, as long as there is atemperature difference, leaves the warmer

In brief…

body or the hotter fluid and transfers to thecolder medium. It then goes on to discussdirect and indirect heat exchangers beforeconcentrating on the indirect variety, startingwith how different physical characteristicsdictate thermal performance and demon-strating how to calculate heat load and heattransfer coefficient. Copies in hard back orpdf form are available on request from [email protected]

l Parker domnick hunter, a division ofParker Hannifin, a global leader in motionand control technologies, has published twonew technology brochures providing process,plant and maintenance engineers withdetailed information on the latest energy sav-

ing systems for compressed air. The com-pressed air treatment technology brochuresexplain how energy consumption can bereduced, while simultaneously improving theair quality to ISO 8573-1 standards, throughthe use of advanced air drying and filtrationtechnologies. In addition, the brochures high-light the technical and commercial benefitsthat manufacturing and process companiescan derive from the latest air treatment sys-tems, such as Parker’s Pneudri desiccant dry-ing and Oil-X Evolution filtration units.

The guides are available from Parker Han-nifin Ltd, Industrial Division, Dukesway, TeamValley Trading Estate, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear,NE11 0PZ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)191 4029000.

MILESTonESl ONE of the UK’s largest suppliers ofprocess systems and engineering solutions,Braby, has celebrated the shipping out of its5000th silo in early 2011. Since beingfounded in 1854, Braby has led the UK in themanufacture and supply of silos, bulk storageand process systems. The shipping out ofBraby’s 5000th silo commemorates all thatBraby has achieved and developed over thelast 150 years.

Braby has offered bespoke, process andengineering solutions designed specifically fora company’s needs to a vast range of indus-tries. The latest delivery of three silos for thefood industry brings the total number of silosmanufactured at its Bristol site to an impres-sive 5000 units. Commenting on achievingthis milestone, Braby's Managing DirectorJohn Lee said: “Although they make uponly one element of the total process engi-neering package that we supply to cus-tomers, Braby is internationally renowned forits silos. To have manufactured 5000 of thesemassive structures is an achievement ofwhich the whole Braby team is immenselyproud.”

l US Magnetic Products Inc (MPI), based inHighland, Missouri, a worldwide provider ofboth magnetic and non-magnetic materialhandling solutions, will celebrate its 30thanniversary in 2011. Since starting operationson 7th February 1981, MPI has delivered afull complement of services centred on thedevelopment, engineering and building of

John Lee, Managing Director, and the Braby Team celebrating the shipping of their 5000th silo, seenin background.

inventive magnetic and other forms of mate-rial handling equipment used in a host of dif-ferent industries worldwide.

“Reaching this milestone in our company'shistory is proof that our business modelworks,” said Keith Rhodes, MPI Founder andPresident. “As it has over the years, MPI willcontinue to listen to its customers and pro-vide the technologically superior solutionsthey require. We’ll continue to seek newtechnologies and add ‘best-in-class’ productlines that will help our customers to improveprocesses and increase productivity.”

To advertise...

email: [email protected]

or call: +44 (0)1202 842222

60 Soft Drinks International – March 2011DEVELOPMENTS

Packagingnew closuresaddress consumerneedsTETRA Pak introduced three new closuresat Gulfood: DreamCap, LightCap and Heli-Cap.

DreamCap has been ergonomicallydesigned for on-the-go consumption. Thecap’s high neck and over-the-edge designoffer the consumer easy access to the spoutand a comfortable fit to the face and lips.The company says the DreamCap’s large(26mm) opening and ridge engage the lipsallowing consumers to drink in the way theyprefer, with improved control of the liquidflow into the mouth.

“Combining DreamCap with the TetraPrisma Aseptic 330 results in a visuallyappealing and highly portable package, ideallysuited to on-the-go beverage consumption,”said Monther Al Harthi, CEO, Al Rabie SaudiFoods Co. Ltd, the Middle East’s largest juicemanufacturer. “In taking the time to listen toand learn from consumers, Tetra Pak hascreated a comfortable on-the-go consump-tion solution that ticks all the right boxes for

today’s busy lifestyles.”Aimed initially at the drink-at-home mar-

ket, LightCap is also designed to meet theneeds of both consumer and producer. Byusing the minimal amount of plastic to keepcosts at a minimum and improve environ-mental performance, it is particularly suitedto larger-sized openings, which are easier tohandle and pour from.

Benefits are possible because of TetraPak’s industry-first combination of Pre-Lami-nated Hole (PLH) and Direct InjectionMoulding Concept (DIMC) technologies.DIMC technology allows the base of the capneck to be moulded as flat as possible tothe underside of the packaging material, pro-viding the maximum pouring area. Combin-ing this technology with PLH-basedpackaging materials makes LightCap ideal for

DreamCap, LightCap and HeliCap.

the ambient distribution of milks and oxygensensitive products, such as vitamin-enrichedmilks, flavoured milks, soya beverages, juices,nectars and still drinks.

HeliCap, initially aimed at the drink-at-home market, provides a one-step screw capthat brings convenience and confidence toconsumers by combining easy-to-open func-tionality with security features. HeliCap has agood grip, a clearly visible tamper evidencering and concentrates a low opening forceon the first turn of the cap, enough for theconsumer to feel the tamper ring breaking.

HeliCap’s advanced PLH based packagingmaterials allow for a simplified filling machineset up, resulting in higher line efficiency. This,combined with reduced glue consumptionby nearly 50% lowers overall productioncosts.

natural packagefor dairyACCORDING to the Austrian dairy consor-tium ARGE Heumilch, superior product pro-tection and an emphasis on natural purityare key features of the packaging solutionsthat dairy businesses select to sell their qual-ity products. Austria is the EU's biggest pro-ducer of pasture milk. Around 8,000 pasturemilk farmers and more than 60 dairies areaffiliated to ARGE Heumilch, and supplyaround 400 million kilograms of pasture milkeach year, accounting for 15% of Austria'stotal milk production.

ARGE co-ordinator Andreas Geisler com-mented: “The packaging concept has to fitthe product and its characteristics. The mate-rials used also play a key role in retaining theflavour of the milk. Packaging made out ofcardboard is an environmentally friendlysolution that is manufactured largely fromthe natural, renewable raw material wood”.

Aseptically packaged in carton packs,products can be stored for a long periodeven without refrigeration. “These are keyrequirements for positioning premium pas-ture milk products internationally as well”,added Geisler.

Katharina Fersterer, Marketing Officer forAustria at SIG Combibloc, said: “All over the

world we're seeing that, particularly when itcomes to nutrition and a healthy diet, con-sumers are attaching much greater value tonatural purity and authenticity in the foodsthey buy. In view of this, we believe the pas-ture milk concept has the potential to besuccessful outside Austria as well”.

Austrian company Käserebellensell’s'Bergbauern Heumilch' (Mountain Farmers'Pasture Milk) in a carton pack with a screw capfor convenient opening and secure re-closing.

APTAR has launched the 1881 lightOriginal Sport Closure offering weightsavings of 25% compared to the 28mmPCO/BPF version. The lower profile neckfinish also means weight savings on thepreform. The closure retains the same highperformance and aesthetics of the OriginalSports Closure: pressure holdingcapabilities of 3 bars; high flow rate; activehinge; high transparency and two colouroption for enhanced shelf appeal. Theclosure is available with a standard 7mmorifice or with SimpliSqueeze formaximum flow control. The SimpliSqueezesilicone beverage valve is compatible withthe PET recycling process.

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 61PACKAGING

LightweightingaccoladeHUSKY Injection Molding Systems has beenawarded the Best Innovation Award byCoca-Cola China. Xiuju Luan, CEO, COFCOCoca-Cola Beverages Limited and Dan Coe,Chief Procurement Officer, China BottlersProcurement Consortium presented theaward to Husky representatives as part ofCoca-Cola China’s Supplier SustainabilitySummit that took place in Shanghai lastNovember.

“Husky has been a highly respected longterm supplier to our growing business inChina. The Best Innovation Award presentedto Husky was for the development of itsEcoBase preform, which helped us toprogress our lightweighting initiatives in Chinato another level,” said Dan Coe. “What Ireally like about the EcoBase preform is thatit is both an advance on the sustainablepackaging front, as well as a way to helplower the cost of our packaging.”

“We are delighted to have been honouredwith the Best Innovation Award from Coca-

Adhesives warningWITH little evidence that the upward trendin raw material price rises is abating, 2011looks set to be another challenging year forthe adhesives industry and its customersaccording to the British Adhesives andSealants Association.

Formulators are reporting the need topass on multiple price increases, often indouble digits, as the inflationary impact frommore than 12 months of raw material priceincreases can no longer be absorbed. Theera of stable pricing is under threat with thepossibility of a return to the ‘Price RulingDate of Dispatch’ system last seen in the

new strategy pays offFOLLOWING the restructuring of the com-pany's Gersthofen site in 2009, Invista Resins& Fibers GmbH reports that sales volumeshave improved over the course of the eco-nomic recovery and market shares increasedin specialty segments.

“In 2010, we could already see that ournew strategy was starting to bear fruit andthat we had set the right course,” saidOttmar Schmidt, General Manager, Polymer& Resins Europe. “We therefore look for-ward with confidence to 2011.”

Last year the company launched low-meltType 7001 resin and Oxyclear barrier resinproducts. “The diversity in our innovativeproducts shows our determination to con-tinue to meet our customers’ requirements,”commented Torsten Schmidt, Business Direc-

Ottmar Schmidt.

l Croxsons, the glass packager, has unveiledits new growth strategy for the Australianmarket, and opened an office in Melbourne,VIC. Mishael Owens heads up the new officeand product-range show room as NationalSales Manager. Tim Croxson, Director atCroxsons, said: “Clients will gain from havinga proven resource for glass packaging andclosure solutions, without having to take therisk of importing glass from untried andunreliable sources. With such a wide range ofmanufacturing infrastructure available, clientslooking for niche and highly bespoke items,or large scale contract fulfilment, can beassured that Croxsons will continue to pro-vide innovation and a point of difference.”

l Friends of Glass, the European glass con-tainer industry consumer group, has reportedstrong support for its health campaign ‘Noth-ing to Hide’ – because glass is 100% purepackaging material with nothing added –since its launch last October. The health-themed campaign was supported across 12countries. It revealed that 88% of Europeansprefer glass packaging for a healthier lifestyle.

In brief…

The campaign had 6,800requests for its special‘Nothing’ bottles andjars, which were offeredfree. TV presenter JuliaBradbury fronted theUK launch which gainednational and extensiveregional media coverage.

Last month Friends of Glass ran a 'GlassAdds Class' competition inviting visitors tothe www.friendsofglass.com/glassaddsclasswebsite to upload a picture of how they settheir table. The picture that gained the mostvotes from visitors to the site by 15th March2011 won a décor gift voucher worth €300.

l M&H Plastics has published its New Addi-tions Supplement which features 75 newstandard products. The company is a leadingsupplier of plastic components and manufac-tures for many end users including beverages.Its portfolio offers over 1,000 standard prod-ucts and its design team offers a bespokeservice. The catalogue and supplement canbe downloaded at www.mhplastics.com

Cola China,” said Gerardo Chiaia, President,Husky Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa.“Ongoing innovation is a priority for Huskyand we are continuously looking at how toimprove our products and services in waysthat will better serve our customers’ needsand help them to be more sustainable.”

1970s when manufacturers were forced tospot price their adhesives on the date ofsupply, said one member.

The Association warns that the supply sit-uation too, especially for hot melt adhesivesfor the packaging industry, is becoming criti-cal with a growing number of raw materialsuppliers invoking Force Majeure, stock allo-cations or sales controls shortening the sup-ply chain and creating profound effects foradhesives manufacturers. Many hot melt for-mulators are experiencing critical stock levelsof essential raw materials, forcing them toplace their customers on allocation whilesimultaneously passing on repeated priceincreases.

Outages upstream, natural disasters, plantfailure/maintenance, unprecedented demandfrom emerging markets and the loss of pro-duction capacity in Europe are just a few ofthe factors that have combined to createwhat the Association describes as a “perfectstorm”.

Water based adhesives are experiencingsimilar problems, with feed-stocks trackingcomparable price increases and some rawmaterials up by 30-40%, although supply is alittle easier at the moment.

tor for Packaging Resins. Schmidt added: “Our mission is to create

profitable growth and long-term added valuefor our customers and shareholders. Wegain competitive advantages through innova-tion, service to our customers, efficiency andflexibility in production and processes.”

The company has further announced thatin the first quarter of 2011, the Invista Poly-mer & Resins business will carry out a com-

plete overhaul of one of its polymer produc-tion lines that had been temporarily shutdown.

Scheduled for the third quarter of 2011 isa more comprehensive, general overhaul ofits DMT plant in Gersthofen. This project hasbeen brought forward a year and, says thecompany, involves considerable investment,designed to facilitate long term, reliable sup-ply to customers in Europe.


62 Soft Drinks International – March 2011GREEN ISSUES

EnvironmentPlant bottle smart dealIN AN industry first, The Coca-Cola Com-pany (TCCC) and H.J. Heinz Company haveannounced a partnership that enables Heinzto produce its ketchup bottles using Coca-Cola's PlantBottle packaging. The PET plasticbottles are made partially from plants andhave a lower reliance on non-renewableresources compared with traditional PETplastic bottles.

PlantBottle packaging looks, feels and func-tions just like traditional PET plastic, andremains fully recyclable. Thirty per cent ofthe material is made from plants producedthrough an innovative process that turns nat-ural sugars found in plants into a key com-ponent for PET plastic. Currently, PlantBottleis made using sugarcane ethanol from Brazil.

An initial life-cycle analysis conducted byImperial College, London, showed that theuse of PlantBottle packaging provides a 12%to 19% reduction in carbon impact. In 2010alone, the use of this breakthrough packagingeliminated the equivalent of almost 30,000metric tons of carbon dioxide, or approxi-mately 60,000 barrels of oil.

Currently, PlantBottle can be found in ninemarkets – including Canada, Mexico, Chile,Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway andthe US. TCCC plans to expand to over adozen new markets in 2011.

“PlantBottle is revolutionising plastic, andour partnership with Heinz is paving theway for industry-wide collaboration,” saidMuhtar Kent, TCCC's Chairman and CEO.“This partnership is a great example of howbusinesses are working together to advancesmart technologies that make a difference toour consumers and the planet we all share.”

Heinz's adoption of the PlantBottle tech-nology will be the biggest change to itsiconic ketchup bottles since it first intro-duced plastic in 1983.

Heinz will launch PlantBottle in all 20ozketchup bottles in June with 'talking labels'asking, 'GUESS WHAT MY BOTTLE IS MADE OF?'

Glass recyclingsupport LAST month the Glass Packaging Institute(GPI) launched its sponsorship of Earth911,the US's leading clearinghouse of recyclinginformation.

“Partnering with Earth911will help GPI communicate

more directly with consumers about thebenefits of glass packaging and glass recy-cling,” said Joe Cattaneo, President of GPI.“We’re a trade association for a packagingsupplier industry for well-known beverage,food, and home care product manufacturers.We normally promote to the trade, so thisis a great opportunity to expand our abilityto reach out to consumers as well.”

Earth911 gathers, distributes and analyseslocalised recycling information to assist man-ufacturers, organisations, and consumers withproduct end-of-use solutions. Working toincrease the recycling and disposal of con-sumer goods since 1991, Earth911’s servicesenhance and support companies’ responsiblewaste initiatives.

Using recycled PETSIPA, the Italian leading supplier of varioustypes of equipment for producing PET bot-tles and containers, has developed a fullrange of solutions to produce preforms con-taining high levels of post-consumer recy-clate flake with its preform injectionmoulding equipment, from 96 cavities downto 24 cavities. The company says it is stronglycommitted to developing sustainable packag-ing solutions, be it to substantially reduce theweight of packaging (eg a 1litre bottleweighing just 15 grammes), or the reuse ofPET flake.

It is now possible to use as much as 50%recycled PET in bottles for mineral watersold in the European Union. In Italy, legisla-tion came into force last August when thegovernment issued an update to a MinisterialDecree covering packaging, containers andutensils intended to come into contact withfoodstuffs. In North America, however, sev-eral companies already produce bottlesusing exclusively 100% rPET for their mineralwater products.

According to SIPA there are tight restric-tions on the use of recycled PET in new min-eral water bottles. The material must besourced from containers that were them-selves approved for food contact applications.

The company's PPS Preform Production

Systems successfully produce preforms madewith PET containing various levels of recy-clate up to 100%. In the case of flake ataddition rates of up to 50% the only changenecessary to the standard configuration isthe addition of an auxiliary gravimetric dryer.

A SIPA PPS preform machine in action.

This can be considered as a minimal addi-tional investment for an existing productionunit. In the case of a content higher than50%, and up to 100%, an upgrade to theplastification unit and filtration system isrequired.

reduce CO2 footprintsby means of system-ori-ented thinking is thecommon goal.

Packaging and machineconcepts for bottles,containers, tubes, caps,cups, films and blisters

will form the conceptual framework of theconference programme. Beverages will beamong the industries covered in the pre-sentations,

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 63ENVIRONMENT

Criteria for PETrecyclingUNESDA, the union of European non-alco-holic beverage associations, together withEFBW, the European Federation of BottledWaters, have recommend their respectivemembership to adhere to specific designcriteria for PET bottles in order to improvetheir recyclability.

Incompatible materials can adversely affectthe PET recycling process. Components ofpackaging design on PET bottles such as bar-riers, additives, full body sleeves and opaquecolouring are leading to deterioration in thequality of recycled PET which is negativelyimpacting bottle-to-bottle recycling.

In order to improve the quality and eco-nomic viability of PET bottle recycling,UNESDA and EFBW recommend theirmembers to implement 'Design for Recy-cling Guidelines', a set of specific criteriaestablished by the European PET Bottle

Platform (EPBP). “We are encouraging all our member

companies and the wider industry to reviewtheir current and new PET bottle specifica-tions against the EPBP Guidelines forresource-efficient PET packaging”, explainedCees Van Dongen, leading packaging issuesin UNESDA.

“The bottled water and soft drinks indus-tries are fully committed to operating in anenvironmentally sustainable manner. Ourgoal is to encourage members to considerthe recycling of PET bottles at the verybeginning of the planning process whendeveloping new PET bottle designs”, saidPhilippe Diercxsens, a leading packagingexpert and Vice-Chair of EFBW’s Environ-ment Committee.

EFBW and UNESDA hope their mem-bers will reach compliance with the EPBPguidelines by the end of 2012. Encouragingproducers to meet the design for recyclingguidelines is a positive step forward, notonly for the future of bottle-to-bottle recy-cling, but also in terms of resource efficiency.

Eco pack gatheringPRIOR to Interpack in Duesseldorf (12th -18th May 2011) PETnology/tecPET GmbHis holding a conference entitled 'ecoPacksystems 2011'. Central topics will be howthe plastic packaging industry approachessystem-oriented solutions in pursuing thestrategy to meet the ecological and eco-nomical requirements of markets and con-sumers. Developing long term strategies to

Dutch explorecompostingNVC Netherlands Packaging Centre is anassociation of 14,000 individuals and morethan 550 member companies. Serving theinterests of the packaging community, it pro-vides information services, education andtraining.

The Association has reported that thefirst meeting of the Belangenvereniging com-posteerbare producten Nederland (BCPN)project on Compostable Packaging has takenplace. Here four companies – NedupackThermoforming, Bio4Pack, Plastics2Pack andFlevostar Dronton – are working togetherwith the NVC to improve the possibilitiesfor the use of compostable plastics in pack-aging.

During the meeting it emerged thatknowledge transfer is important for the pro-ject's success. To gain a clear insight in theexisting use of compostable packaging, a sur-vey will be distributed amongst companiesthat produce packaged goods. The resultswill be used to support the development ofthe future use of compostable packaging. Atthe same time participating companies willundertake research on different aspects ofcompostable packaging such as the impacton product shelf life and production.

Clean beach projects inIndonesiaCOCA-Cola Bottling Indonesia and Quiksil-ver, the Australia surf apparel producer, havenot only done wonders in cleaning upbeaches on the island of Bali, they are alsosupporting a sea turtle hatchery whosebabies make the most of the clear waters.

Bali is a hugely popular tourist destination.That is an economic boon but also an envi-ronmental problem because of the litter lefton beaches.

Coca-Cola Foundation Indonesia, the localbottler (which is part of the Coca-ColaAmatil group) and Quiksilver inaugurated aBali Beach Coastal Clean-Up Day in 2008. It

was so successful that five beaches are nowcleaned daily, using 60 staff and three trac-tors in Coke livery.

The partners are also helping develop theKuta Sea Turtle hatchery on popular KutaBeach, where tourists and locals will be ableto release thousands of baby sea turtles.

Extending the clean-up theme, Coca-Cola

has bought a boat to assist a local not-for-profit organisation, Green Monster, cleansome of the polluted waterways of Jakarta,the Indonesian capital. This project is sup-ported by several government agencies.

Tipi Jabrick, one of Indonesia’s best pro-surfers, has signed up as Coke’s CorporateSocial Responsibility Ambassador and will beinvolved in a number of sustainability proj-ects.

Partnering with Padjajaran University,Coca-Cola has set up an organic farm inWest Java, helping train locals in farming andbusiness skills as they grow organic chilli,tomato, mustard green and paprika crops forthe domestic market.

Projects in Central Sumatra include sup-porting small entrepreneurs with micro-loans and drinks carts for beach vending, aswell as supporting school children in a man-grove planting project.

Cleaning up a Bali beach.

l APEAL, the Association of European Pro-ducers of Steel for Packaging, has produceda new film about metal packaging recycling.Developed in conjunction with EMPAC, theEuropean Canmaking Association, the filmhighlights the unique environmental benefitsof metal packaging recycling. The filmexplains the what, why and how of metalpackaging recycling in simple terms. Visithttp://www.apeal.org/apeal-recycling-film.

In brief…

64 Soft Drinks International – March 2011GREEN ISSUES

Collect-a-Can’snew competition

Winery concertrecycling projectNEW Zealand’s Glass Packaging Forum wasa sponsor of this year’s MOREFM WineryTour, a series of concerts featuring top NewZealand entertainers and held in winery set-tings – many of them purpose-builtamphitheatres and similar environments –around the country.

The sponsorship was arranged as part ofthe Love NZ public place recycling initiativewhich is a joint venture of the forum andcentral government. The forum’s membersinclude a number of soft drinks producersand retailers.

As well as targeting wine and beer bot-tles, which have been delivered to glassmanufacturer OI for recycling, the Glass

Packaging Forum also extended its involve-ment in the Winery Tour to plastic bottlesand cans.

John Webber, the forum’s General Man-ager, said this indicated a need for furthereducation. “A disappointingly large numberof these mixed recycling bins were heavilycontaminated because people are unsurewhat can be recycled and include cutlery,cups and shrink wrap.”

Beach GarbageHotelGERMAN artist HA Schult underlined thedownside of mass tourism by rebuilding hisgarbage hotel at a tourism fair in Madrid.The creation, which was first shown inRome, is made of soft drink and other pack-aging, discarded clothing, books and eventyres.

Furniture and fittings inside are mostly ofrecycled material, while a patch of sand andpalm trees sets the holiday tone. Schult and

The Beach Garbage Hotel in Madrid.

his team said their aim was to show whatholidays could become if beaches and theocean were not kept clean.

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IN South Africa, the Collect-a-Canorganisation’s major annual competitionfor schools has been boosted this yearby sponsorship from ArcelorMittalSouth Africa, increasing the prizepool.

This competition waslaunched in February andruns through to October.

Three supplementarycompetitions are also beingorganised. 2011 theme for theartistic expression competition(until May) is ‘I CAN make adifference to the future byrecycling cans today’,while the CANCraze competition(June to September)calls for building cre-ative structures. Andschools entered inthe national competi-tion also strive tobetter the worldrecord for the most

cans collected in one month.A collection category for charities,

launched last year, is being continued thisyear after being judged a great success.

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66 Soft Drinks International – March 2011PEOPLE

Human ResourcesAPEAL, the Association of European Pro-ducers of Steel for Packaging, hasappointed Philip Buisseret as ManagingDirector.

The Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company has elected Evan G.

Greenberg as a Director of the company.He is Chairman, President and CEO ofACE Limited, a global insurance and rein-surance company.

Wales’ No 1. Welsh mineral water in theUK, Brecon Carreg, has appointed Jean-

Bertrand de Lartigue as Chairman. He hashad a long-standing association with Bre-con Carreg Natural Mineral Water, havingbeen a consultant advising the company onhuman resources.

The US beverage company Bai Brandsof Princeton, New Jersey, has appointedKat Haddon as its Marketing Coordinatorto oversee marketing and public relationsefforts for the fast-growing line of natural,antioxidant-infused beverages.

Univar Inc, a leading global chemical dis-tributor, has announced that David Jukes

has been promoted to President of UnivarEurope. He was previously Vice-Presidentof Sales and Marketing for Europe, theMiddle East and Africa.

German chemicals company Lanxess hasannounced that Dr Bernhard Düttmann

has been appointed Member of the Boardof Management and Chief Financial Officeras of 1st April 2011.

Royal DSM NV, the global life sciencesand materials sciences company headquar-tered in the Netherlands, has announcedthat its Supervisory Board has appointedRob Routs as its new Chairman, succeed-ing Cor Herkströter.

EVA, The European Vending Association,has appointed Erwin Wetzel as its newRegulatory Affairs Manager.

The UK's Food and Drink Federation(FDF) has appointed Terry Jones as itsnew Director of Communications. His roleincludes responsibility for media relations,the health and well-being agenda, IT andnew media and public affairs. He takesover from Julian Hunt who has joinedCoca-Cola Enterprises GB as Vice-Presi-dent for Public Affairs and Communica-tions.

FleetwoodGoldcoWyard Inc, has ann-ounced the promotion of Neal McConnel-

logue to the position of ExecutiveVice-President. He assumes the financialaccountability of CBI Fleetwood Ltd, aFleetwoodGoldcoWyard company operat-ing in South Yorkshire, UK.

The Can Makers has appointed Geoff

Courtney as Chairman of the industrybody which has represented UK manufac-

turers of carbonated soft drinks and beercans since 1981. He will be bringing withhim more than 20 years of packagingindustry experience.

APPOINTMENTS

Clockwise from top left: Evan Greenberg, ErwinWetzel, Gary Langdon, George Slade, GeoffCourtney, Jean-Bertrand de Lartigue, MarcyThompson, R. Howard Coker, Ritchie L. Bond,Rodger Fuller, Tony Belmega and JoannaBrook.

Beardow Adams, the UK's largest manu-facturer of hot melt adhesives, hasappointed Gary Langdon as Sales SupportEngineer and George Slade as Area Man-ager. Both are newly created positions.

Global flavour and fragrance ingredientsupplier, Treatt plc, has enlisted the expert-ise of two specialists to support its prod-uct development. Danny Hodrien andPenny Williams are working with the com-pany to evaluate Treatt’s ingredients,demonstrating their functionality, producingsample formulations and highlighting thebenefits they offer in application.

Improve, the food and drink skills coun-cil, and the National Skills Academy forFood and Drink have announced two newappointments: Tony Belmega joins as Net-work Development Manager and Joanna

Brook has been appointed as Contractsand Performance Manager.

David Parocki has recently joined Pure-sep Technologies, a member of the AmplioFiltration Holdings Group, as BusinessDevelopment Manager for its waste andwater membrane technologies division.

Kaleidoscope, a Chicago-based multi-national brand design realisation company,has announced three appoinments: Guy

Gangi has joined the organisation as Direc-tor, Brand Strategy, Planning and Design,and Vince Bowman is the new Director,3D Structural/Product Design. Liz Fisher,who has worked in the UK office, was pro-moted and relocated to Chicago to leadCreative Operations as Director of RetailBrands.

R&D/Leverage – UK has appointed twonew Sales Account Managers, Craig Car-

rington and Magdalena Villate, to handlecustomers in northern and central Europe,respectively.

Sonoco the diversified global packagingcompany has announced officer appoint-ments in its Consumer Packaging division:Rodger D. Fuller has been named Vice-President, Global Rigid Paper and Plastics;R. Howard Coker has been named Vice-President, Global Rigid Paper and Closures;Marcy Thompson, has been elected an offi-cer of the company and named Vice-Presi-dent, Rigid Paper and Closures – NorthAmerica; and Robert L. Puechl has beennamed Vice-President, Global Flexible Pack-aging.

Send your news to:

[email protected]

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 67HUMAN RESOURCES

UK Rotherham-based glass manufacturing company, Beatson Clark, has recruited fourapprentices as a part of the company’s commitment to invest in the future. Left to right are;Gareth Thompson, Louis Fleet, James Bilham and Matthew Lee.Matt Lee and Louis Fleet have already completed 14 weeks basic engineering training atBrinsworth Training School and have gained an NVQ Level 2 in Multi-skilled Engineering.Gareth Thompson and James Bilham are under going their basic training and will join thecompany full time in March, where they be united with Matt and Louis and embark on theBeatson Clark three year modern apprenticeship scheme.

The importance ofautomation A RESEARCH project aimed at understandinghow automation can be harnessed to boostproductivity in the UK food and drink industryhas been launched in the south west. TheNational Skills Academy for Food and Drink hassecured funding through the Learning and SkillsImprovement Service to undertake theresearch, which will give an in-depth picture ofhow food and drink employers view automa-tion and its potential impact.

Interviews with 150 employers will be car-ried out by seven members of the NationalSkills Academy network – Seafood TrainingCornwall, Wiltshire College, Petroc, ReaseheathCollege, Hartpury College, Duchy College andthe Royal Agricultural College – all of whichoffer training services in the south west.

Jonathan Cooper, the National Skills Acad-emy’s automation skills consultant, said runningthe research through training providers wouldstrengthen ties between the skills sector andindustry, allowing the findings to be acted onquickly and effectively. He added that he hopesthe model can be rolled out across otherregions.

He said: “This is an innovative approach. TheNational Skills Academy for Food and Drink’s primary aim is to create a forum in whichemployers and training providers can work col-laboratively to ensure skills and training add realvalue to businesses, and this is a good exampleof that approach in action.

“Automation and advanced technology are bigtopics in the food and drink industry, they areseen by employers as a vital tool in improvingproductivity and performance in their businesses.But because of the investment required, not justin terms of purchasing and installing new tech-nology but also in ensuring employees have theskills to use and maintain new equipment, it is ofparamount importance to any company thatthey get the right solutions to suit their needs.”

The research findings are expected to bepublished by early April.

A young managers firstFINAT – the worldwide association for man-ufacturers of self-adhesive labels and relatedproducts, founded in Paris in 1958 and head-quartered in The Hague (the Netherlands) –is running its first independently organisedYoung Manager's Club summit this month.

The 2011 YMC Summit, under theumbrella 'Leadership & Strategic Manage-ment in this Century', is being held in HotelBristol in Vienna, Austria on 28th and 29thMarch. This is the result of informal and inter-national meetings and initiatives taken lastyear and embodies the YMC enthusiasm andaspirations. The club is intended to attractyoung managers and to help prepare themto become the company and industry lead-ers of tomorrow.

“Based on a poll, young managers indi-cated that they like to learn about the latestmanagement tools, processes and implemen-tation methodologies, said Francesc Egea, ofIPE Innovaciones Para Etiquetajes, Spain andchairman of YMC. “A lot of businessimprovement is being left unexplored. Newmanagerial skills and practical tools can helplabel converters to run their business moreefficiently, improve their customer service andbecome more profitable.”

In addition, young managers are reportedto appreciate the knowledge and expertisetransfer through informal networking. “Theupcoming summit will definitely meet theirexpectations,” said Peter Dhondt of Cerm,Belgium and program manager at YMC. “Wesecured industry specific and inspiring speak-ers, interactive workshops and ample timefor informal contacts with their peers.”

FINAT’s YMC ran a successful exchange-programme and networking event with itspeers from LMAI, the Label ManufacturersAssociation of India during Labelexpo Indialast December. “We are pleased to see theprogress made by our YMC and applaudtheir global approach in collaborating withtheir colleagues from LMAI, India and TLMI inUS. We fully support their initiatives andencourage all young managers to becomemembers and attend this first summit. Ourindustry has changed drastically. Technicalprinting skills and craftsmanship no longersuffice to remain competitive. In addition, theyounger generation needs to adopt strategicand integrated business processes anddevelop strong people skills to strengthentheir businesses and safeguard their future,”said Andrea Vimercati, President at FINAT.

An YMC European delegation.


MARCHMARCH1st – 4th

Foodex JapanMakuhari MesseTokyoJapanwww2.jma.or.jp/foodex/en

9th – 11th

China DrinktecGuangzhou International Convention andExhibition CentreGuangzhouChinawww.chinadrinktec.com

9th – 11th

Sino-PackGuangzhou International Convention andExhibition CentreGuangzhouChinawww.chinasinopack.com

13th – 16th

IFEExCelLondonUKwww.ife.co.uk

13th – 16th

Pro2PacExCelLondonUKwww.pro2pac.co.uk

14th – 15th

MEAPETCairoEgyptwww.cmtevents.com

15th – 17th

CFIAParc des Expositions Rennes AeroportRennesFrancewww.cfiaexpo.com

JAPAN

CHINA

CHINA

UK

UK

EGYPT

FRANCE

Events Diary

14th – 15th

EuropsHotel Palacio EstorilLisbonPortugalwww.vending-europe.com

14th – 17th

Gulf PackDubai Airport ExpoDubaiUAEwww.gulfprintpack.com

27th – 30th

Alimentaria LisboaParque das Nacoes FairgroundLisbonPortugalwww.alimentarialisboa.com

MAYMAY10th – 11th

VitafoodsGeneva PalexpoGenevaSwitzerlandwww.vitafoods.eu.com

10th – 11th

ecoPack – European Plastic PackagingConferenceMaritim Hotel DuesseldorfDuesseldorfGermanywww.ecopack-conference.com

10th – 14th

MetpackMesse EssenEssenGermanywww.metpack.de

11th – 12th

ABA Fly-inWashington Court HotelWashingtonUSAwww.ameribev.org

12th – 18th

InterpackMesse DuesseldorfDuessledorfGermanywww.interpack.com

17th – 20th

ChinaplasChina Import Export Fair ComplexGuanzhouChinawww.chinaplasonline.com

SWITZERLAND

GERMANY

USA

GERMANY

CHINA

GERMANY

PORTUGAL

UAE

PORTUGAL

15th – 17th

Vending ExpoConcorde hotelKievUkrainewww.vending-europe.eu

23rd – 25th

Propak VietnamHIECCHo Chi Minh CityVietnamwww.propakvietnam.com

23rd – 25th

Food Ingredients ChinaShanghai Everbright Convention andExhibition CenterChinawww.fi-c.com

29th – 30th

MDD ExpoParis Expo Porte de VersaillesParisFrancewww.mdd-expo.com

APRILAPRIL3rd – 4th

Natural & Organic Products EuropeOlympiaLondonUKwww.naturalproducts.co.uk

11th – 13th

ISBT – BevtechGrand Hotel & Yacht ClubFort LauderdaleUSAwww.bevtech.org

FRANCE

UK

USA

UKRAINE

VIETNAM

CHINA

Send your trade event details to: [email protected]

Soft Drinks International – March 2011 69FroM THE PAST

thetic, at present in use; their chemicalcomposition and properties; the foods towhich they are added or applied; theamount used and mode of use; and evi-dence as to the absence of any deleteriouseffect resulting from their use. The Sub-Committee would also like to have similarinformation about any new substancesbeing developed and to know of anyadvantages which these may have oversolvents and flavouring agents in currentuse.

The Sub-Committee would also wel-come evidence of the need for control inthis field and of any deleterious effectsresulting from the use of solvents andflavouring agents whether used at presentin this country or not.

Nylon washersThe US Du Pont organisation is supplyingdisc valve washers and distribution'leathers' for certain well known fillingunits, of 'Teflon' which is one of their par-ticular forms of nylon. It is claimed thatnot only can such things be precision-made to an extraordinary degree but thatthese washers outlast those of leatheraround tenfold, without any reduction indrip-proofness. n

little extra profit at the expense of theconsumer, even at the risk of beingaccused of mere trade prejudice, and wemaintain that a fruit beverage should beacidified with a fruit acid, i.e. citric or tar-taric. The use of substitutes, in our opin-ion, offers a special inducement forinterested or malicious opponents of themineral water trade to attack and con-demn the use of aerated beverages gener-ally, and thereby injure the whole trade,as the makers who turn out pure goodssuffer as much as those whose only con-sideration is cheapness at the expense ofquality.”

Death after a North London accidentAn old lady named Ann Wood, who hadpassed her eighty-fourth year, and livedat 14, Hercules Road, Holloway, was thevictim of an accident near the localParkhurst Theatre. She apparently left thepavement just as a mineral van belongingto Messrs Idris & Co was crossing theroad. The carman shouted and appliedthe brake, but the poor woman wascaught on the side as she turned to retraceher steps. The chief injury was to thehead and foot. However, she recoveredfrom the shock and left the hospital,dying several days later. “Death,” said thedoctor at the inquest, “was from syncope,owing to pneumonia and heart disease.”The jury, however, returned a verdict of'Accidental Death.' Witnesses had exoner-ated the driver of the van from blame,and, as a fact, the old lady herself madeno complaint against him.

The saccharin trialThere has been still further delay in thefinal trial of the action brought by theSaccharin Corporation against theNational Saccharin Company of Hull. Ofcourse, the point at issue – it has beensomewhat complicated by many side-dis-putes – is as to whether the Hull compa-ny has, in the manufacture of saccharin,infringed upon the patents and rights ofthe Saccharin Corporation.

In our last issue we announced that MrJustice Eve, of the Chancery division ofthe High Court, had formally fixed thetrial for January 27th. However, onJanuary 23rd, Mr Bousfield, K.C, repre-senting the Hull company, asked hisLordship for another postponement. Heexplained that he did this because MrSwinburne, the expert, who was a mostimportant witness, was ill with Germanmeasles. The case was then fixed provi-sionally for March 14th.

Preserving oils and essencesExposure to the atmosphere has a verydeleterious effect upon the majority ofessential oils and essences, and theyshould therefore be kept as free from con-tact with the air as possible. It is also

advisable to keep them in a moderatelycool and dark place, and in the case ofessential oils an addition of 10% of purespirits of wine 67 over-proof has a decid-ed preservative effect, but it is only rec-ommended in exceptional circumstances.

Fruit acids v mineral acidsThe substitution of mineral acids for purefruit acids has been the subject of com-ment by Messrs Stevenson and Howell.“We have,” say they, “always stronglycondemned such methods of securing a

Output in 1960Figures recently released by the Ministryof Agriculture, Fisheries and Food enableus to complete the picture of the 1960output of soft drinks in the UnitedKingdom.

For the second year in succession, totaloutput in terms of drinkable liquidexceeded 400 million gallons, the previ-ous best being 344 ½ million gallons in1957.

When we recall the poor summerweather which was experienced in mostparts of the UK during July to Septemberlast year as compared with the outstand-ingly good summer of 1959, it is surprisingthat the figure for 1960 is only some 10million gallons short of the all-time recordfigure of 421,312,000 gallons in 1959.

The monthly figures show that outputduring the first six months of 1960 was

well up on the previous year and had theweather in the third quarter been a littleless wet, it is clear that the 1959 recordwould have been broken.

Output of unconcentrated soft drinks in1960 was nearly 15 million gallons (6.5%)down on the previous year while the out-put of concentrated soft drinks was 1mil-lion gallons (2.5%) up. This pinpoints thefact that mineral waters generally are moresusceptible to the vagaries of the weatherthan the squashes and that the overalldemand for concentrated soft drinks isstill on the increase.

Solvents and flavouring agentsA review of solvents and flavouring agentswill be undertaken shortly by the FoodAdditives and Contaminants Sub-Committee of the Foods StandardsCommittee. They will advise Ministers onthe need for regulations to control the useof these substances in food and in thepreparation of food.

The Sub-Committee would welcomethe co-operation of the trade enforcingauthorities and other interested bodies intheir review. In particular, they wish toobtain information as to the solvents andflavouring agents, both natural and syn-

Sourced by Stewart Farr

100 Years AgoFrom the Mineral Water Trade Journal ofMarch 1911

50 Years AgoFrom the Soft Drinks Trade Journal ofMarch 1961


INFORMATION AS SUPPLIED BY THE MANUFACTURERS OF THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FEATURED

A f o c u s o n e q u i p m e n t a n d s e r v i c e s

Floor scale offersMETTLER-Toledo, supplier of qualityweighing and measuring solutions and theworld’s largest manufacturer of weighingtechnologies for use in laboratory,industrial and food retailingenvironments, is running 3 fantastic scaleand service packages perfect for the foodindustry.

Made of stainless steel, the PFAraisable floor scales are designed to meetthe demands of hygienically sensitiveareas. These rugged scales are available inweighing ranges from 600kg to more than25,000kg. They are suitable for daily usein dry and wet areas, with modelsapproved for operation in hazardous areas.

In addition the 2 year service contractguarantees optimal performance andmaximised uptime. The trio of offers,starting from just over £3,000, areavailable until the end of March 2011.

For further information visit:www.mt.com/uk-pfa-offer.

Mettler-Toledo Ltd64 Boston RoadLeicester, LE4 1AW, UK

Tel: +44 (0)116 234 5005email: [email protected]

Palletising flexibilityLOGOPAK has supplied PepsiCo's Cork,Ireland, plant with two Logopak 804Tlabellers to identify pallets of soft drinkconcentrate as they are loaded by robot.This provides production flexibility byallowing the pallets from differentproduction lines and with differentproducts to be directed to differentshrink-wrapping and transit labellinglines and caters also for downtimeduring maintenance or repair.

The machines operate within thesafety cage of the robot palletisers andattach pre-printed bar code labels to thebase of the pallets, using a purpose-built applicator that folds the labelround the two outer faces of a cornerblock. Logopak also designed thelabelling material specifically for thepurpose.

Logopak International LimitedClifton Moor Industrial EstateYork YO30 4XE, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1904 692333email: [email protected]

Autoclaves at ArabLabPriorclave Ltd exhibited examples fromits comprehensive range of laboratoryautoclaves including three of the mostpopular, electrically heated models: thePS/MID/C60 – a compact, 60L capacity,Top Loading autoclave; thePS/QCS/EH150 mid range, 150Lcapacity, Front Loader model withoptional direct steam heating facility;and the latest, 95L capacity, modelPS/OPL/V95 Top Loader unit whichcomes from the OPAL range.

This entry-level range has beenspecifically designed to performeveryday laboratory autoclavingfunctions for the smaller laboratory. TheOPAL range feature automatic freesteaming, a thermal safety lock and aremanaged by a slimmed down version ofPriorclave’s tried and testedTACTROL® microprocessor controlsystem.

Priorclave Ltd129/131 Nathan WayLondon, SE28 0AB, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8316 6620email: [email protected]

New labelling adhesivesBEARDOW Adams has developed anew generation of hot melt adhesivesfor bottle and jar labelling applicationsusing reel fed and ‘cut and stack’ labels.

The clear, low odour hot melts willbond virtually all paper and plasticlabels to plastic or glass containers,whether round, square, contoured orribbed. They are supplied as filmwrapped EcoBlocks™ and can beloaded straight into a hot melt tank, thethin outer film melting with theadhesive.

The new hot melts are the first of thecompany’s labelling products to carryits BAMFutura™ branding as anextension to its high quality, and awardwinning, packaging hot melt range.Beardow Adams is one of Europe’slargest hot melt manufacturers.

Promotion opportunityTHE ‘bubbling up’ section in SoftDrinks International provides theideal platform to introduce your newproduct or service to decision makersin more than 100 countries.

Your entry which includes animage, and a logo, plus at least 100word description, together with fulladdress and contact details is guaran-teed to be published for the modestfee of just £95 (€110, $150), perinsertion.

To place your order, simply emailyour press release or requirements [email protected] Drinks International

PO Box 4173Wimborne BH21 1YX, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 842222email: [email protected]

Dump feeder

Flexicon (Europe) Ltd89 Lower Herne Road Herne Bay, Kent CT6 7PH, UK


BULK solids handling specialist,Flexicon (Europe) Ltd has announcedan all-new TIP-TITE Drum DumpFeeder which discharges bulk materialfrom drums and feeds it volumetricallyto downstream equipment.

The drum platform is raised by asingle hydraulic cylinder, creating adust-tight seal between the rim of adrum and the underside of thedischarge cone. A second hydrauliccylinder tips the platform-hoodassembly and drum, stopping at dumpangles of up to 90º with a motion-dampening feature. Material flowingthrough the discharge cone charges theintake adapter of a cantilevered flexiblescrew conveyor available in customlengths, oriented horizontally (shown),or at an incline, for the purpose ofelevating, as well as metering, thematerial.

Beardow Adams32 Blundells Road, Milton Keynes,MK13 7HF, UK


Buyers’ GuideSoft Drinks International – March 2011 71

HFLAVOURS HESSENCES HAROMAS HEMULSIONS/CLOUDS

Contact Sales Kanegrade Ltd Ingredients House Caxton Way Stevenage, Herts SG1 2DF England Tel: +44 (0)1438 742242 Fax: +44 (0)1438 742311 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kanegrade.com

DÖHLERGROUPRiedstrasse 7-964295 DarmstadtGermanyPhone +49 6151 306-0Fax +49 6151 [email protected]

COLOURS

BEVERAGE INNOVATION

H NATURAL COLOURS H EXTRACTS H EMULSIONS (For soft drinks) Contact Sales Kanegrade Ltd Ingredients House Caxton Way Stevenage, Herts SG1 2DF England Tel: +44 (0)1438 742242 Fax: +44 (0)1438 742311 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kanegrade.com

Contract Bottling

Closures

Claremont Ingredients LimitedUnit 2B, Aspect Court Silverdale Enterprise ParkNewcastle-under-LymeST5 6SS, UK

tel: +44 (0)1782 623883fax: +44 (0)1782 623773email: [email protected]: www.claremont-ingredients.co.uk


COLOURS – CARAMEL

COLOURS – NATURAL

ESSENCE & FLAVOURS

The SDI Buyers’ Guide

is also available on line –

visit:

www.sofrinksinternational

Flooring

Ingredients

Delivering Your Imagination. Colouring Foodstuffs & Natural Colours

Sensient Food Colors Germany GmbHGeesthachter Str. 101 - 10521502 GeesthachtTel. +49 (0) 4152-8000 0 | Fax -5479 [email protected]


Reach buyers around the globe

– In print and on line

email: [email protected] calll: +44 (0)1202 842222

Beverage Centre of Excellence: Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kerry.com

cellence:e of Exe CentrgaerravBelands The Netherdam,erAmst .comyrryer.kkerwww

Buyers’ Guide72 Soft Drinks International – March 2011

The SDI Buyers’ Guide- print and on-line

To reach buyers in more than 100 countries

email:advertising@


or calll: +44 (0)1202 842222

FRUIT JUICE BLENDS

H FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATES (Citrus, Tropical & Red) H NATURAL COLOURS & EXTRACTS H FRUIT AROMA/ESTERS H BOTANICAL EXTRACTS (e.g. Kola, Guarana, etc.)

Contact Sales Kanegrade Ltd Ingredients House Caxton Way Stevenage, Herts SG1 2DF England Tel: +44 (0)1438 742242 Fax: +44 (0)1438 742311 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kanegrade.com



FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATES Citrus, Tropical and Red

SPORTS DRINK INGREDIENTS


SWEETENERS – ASPARTAME

FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATE AND EXTRACTS

Email: [email protected]

SWEETENERS

China’s leading manufacturer of ASPARTAME and SUCRALOSE

“Why not come direct?”Tel: +44 (0)1952 456 460Fax : +44 (0)1952 458 528E-mail : [email protected]

Website : www.niutang.com

Niutang UK Limited, Plaza 2, 5th Floor, Ironmasters Way, Telford, Shropshire, TF3 4NT

Quality . . . Integrity . . . Customer service

Welcome to our Business Unit Plantextrakt, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of:

Plantextrakt GmbH & Co. KG | GermanyTel.: +49 9163 88-450 | [email protected] www.martin-bauer-group.com

Herbal Extracts Tea Extracts Tea Flavours

HERBAL EXTRACTS

BENEO-Palatinit GmbHPhone: +49 621 [email protected]

Palatinose™ The longer lasting energy

SWEETENERS – ISOMALTULOSE

WALLARTUSED EQUIPMENT FOR THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRIESTel. +33 320 93 66 71 Fax: +33 320 92 80 74www.wallart.fr [email protected]

USED EQUIPMENTBUYING? SELLING? CALL US!

Process equipment (tanks, filters, premix…)

Preform injection

PET Blow moulders (SIDEL, ADS, Krones…)

PET bottling lines

Glass bottling lines

Harland Machine Systems

2 Michigan AvenueSalfordManchester M5 2GY

Tel: 0161 848 4800Fax: 0161 848 4830Website: WWW.harland-hms.co.ukEmail: [email protected]

LABELLING MACHINERY

Plant & Machinery

FILTERS

FILTER SYSTEMS

55450 Langenlonsheim, GermanyAn den Naheweisen 24

E Begerow GmbH & Co

Phone (+49) 6704 204 0Fax (+49) 6704 204 121http://www.begerow.come-mail:[email protected]

The one stop shop for

container processing

Bottleworks, Unit 19 Imex Business Centre, Ripley Drive,

Normanton, West Yorkshire WF6 1QT

Tel: 01924 896975

Fax: 01924 895373

Email: [email protected]

High Speed sleeving applicators, full body/partial

body/tamper evident and special promotions.

High speed pressure sensitive “no look label”

labelling applications, full wrap,

front, back & neck etc.

Spray coating, Specialist glass container finishing

Contract packing, Multi-packing, Cluster packing,

Add on promotional packing, Quality re-pack and

specialist developments


IDEXX Water Microbiology

Tests for key water-quality indicators:

Proven methods

Protecting the quality and reputation of your bottled water


countries75 over in sold tests of Millions methodsProven

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To Advertise yourPRODUCTS,SERVICES,AUCTIONS

orSECONDHAND EQUIPMENT SALES

Call +44 (0)1202 842222

BEFORE WE PROTECT THE FOOD WE PROTECT THE FOOD

Tetra Pak, and PROTECTS WHAT’S GOOD are trademarks belonging to the Tetra Pak Group. www.tetrapak.com

For almost 60 years we have designed cartons to keep food safe. But what good would they be if that food wasn’t safe in the first place? That’s where our state-of-the-art processing equipment comes in, all of it systematically engineered, like this Tetra Therm Aseptic VTIS, to remove all harmful bacteria. The cartons just keep them out. Think of it as double protection from Tetra Pak. With two integrated lines of defence, no one protects food more. This is the Circle of Protection. tetrapak.com/protection

MA

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SoftD

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Documents

Master the art of citrus - Soft Drinks International€¦ · The fruit/vegetable juice category is set to maintain its current strong growth trend, reports Richard Haffner. Berry