Anheuser-Busch, the largest US beer brewer by volume, has signed a letter of intent to terminate its US importing rights to the Grolsch beer brands. The company has been the sole importer of Grolsch to the market since April 2006. However, Anheuser's rival, SABMiller, acquired Royal Grolsch, the producer of the brand, in February 2008. Anheuser will now transfer the exclusive import rights for the beer to SABMiller's US subsidiary, Miller Brewing. Financial details of the deal, which is expected to close by August 1, 2008, were not disclosed.

Heckmann, an acquisitions company headed by Richard Heckmann, founder of water company US Filter, which was sold for $6.2 billion in 1999, has returned to the water business with the purchase of China Water and Drinks. The deal was valued at approximately $625 million and, following completion, the Chinese company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Heckmann. Mr Heckmann said that the acquisition marked the foundation of a global water company, citing the importance of the product and the potential for growth in a Chinese market which has not yet reached saturation point. China Water ranks fifth among competitors in the country, where consumption of bottled water grew at a compound annual growth rate of 17.5% between 2002 and 2007, which is the fastest rate of growth worldwide, and double the rate of growth in the US.

Edited by

Adam Smith

IN THIS ISSUE

REPORT OFFER OF THE WEEK

Kids Beverages in the US

Order this report to stay on top of competitor initiatives and explore demand for kids' beverages

LATEST COMMENT

New drinks review: coffee reaches innovation high

This month's New Drinks Review focuses on new coffee launches, as a plethora of new beverages have been launched that contain coffee extracts. Some of these capitalize on the new positioning of coffee as a healthy supplement, while others focus on its energy giving properties. With coffee growth faltering in many markets, novel beverages such as these could help to renew interest in the bean. Read full article

SABMiller: benefiting from higher prices

SABMiller has recorded an 11% increase in lager volume sales for the year ending March 2008. The increase has been attributed to the rising popularity of upscale beverages in Europe and reflects the growing popularity of off-trade drinking occasions in Europe. The figures also show that the beer manufacturer has benefited from refusing to enter into a price war with competitors. Read full article
Company information: SABMiller

top

RESEARCH IN FOCUS

Opportunities in Nutritional and Functional Daily Dosing: Future trends in beauty, digestive, cardiovascular and bone health food and drinks

Order now to gain up-to-date competitive intelligence across the daily dose market and understand the major issues affecting food and drinks

BREWING NEWS

Anheuser-Busch to terminate US importing rights to Grolsch beer brands
Anheuser-Busch, a beer brewer, has signed a letter of intent to terminate its US importing rights to the Grolsch beer brands. Read full article
Company information: Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.

Lion Nathan's H1 net profit after tax up
Lion Nathan, which is engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of alcoholic beverages, has reported net profit after tax of A$167.7 million for the first six months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 7% compared to A$156.8 million in the same period of 2007.
Read full article
Company information: Lion Nathan

Baltika purchases brewery in Azerbaijan
Baltika Breweries has signed a contract with Brasseries Internationales Holding for the purchase of Baku-Castel brewery. The deal will come into force after receiving approval from the anti-monopoly authorities of Azerbaijan. Read full article

Asia Pacific Breweries to build new brewery in Guangzhou
Asia Pacific Breweries has announced that its joint venture company Heineken-APB, through its wholly owned subsidiary Guangzhou Asia Pacific Brewery, will build a greenfield brewery in the Huangpu District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China. Read full article
Company information: Asia Pacific Breweries Limited

top

WINE & SPIRITS NEWS

Constellation Brands to sell Canadian distillery and bottling plant to Diageo
Constellation Brands, a producer and marketer of beverage alcohol, has signed an agreement in principle to sell its Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada, distillery and bottling facility to Diageo.
Read full article
Company information: Constellation Brands, Inc., Diageo plc

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 revenue up 12%
Willamette Valley Vineyards has reported revenues of $16.71 million for the year ended December 31, 2007, an increase of 12% compared to $14.92 million in 2006. Read full article

top

NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS NEWS

Heckmann to acquire China Water and Drinks for $625 million
Heckmann and China Water and Drinks have signed a definitive agreement under which Heckmann would acquire China Water, a producer and distributor of bottled water, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $625 million. Read full article

Strauss Group to acquire coffee business of Don Café
Strauss Group, a food and beverage company, has announced that an agreement had been signed between Strauss Coffee and the Italy-based coffee company Don cafe for the acquisition of the latter's coffee business in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Read full article

Drink companies plan to stop advertisements aimed at children
In response to increasing worries over child obesity, drink companies Coca-Cola and PepsiCo intend to stop targeting children under 12 years with advertising by the end of 2008, reported the Financial Times. Read full article
Company information: The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Inc

Pepsi-Cola Philippines quarterly net income down
Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines has said that its net income for the quarter ending March 2008 decreased by 6% to PHP217.8 million from PHP231.67 million in the same period in 2007 because of a fall in the sales of carbonated soft drinks and lower prices. Read full article

Starbucks to launch energy drink
Coffee chain Starbucks will soon launch its Doubleshot Energy + Coffee, containing B-vitamins, guarana and ginseng, in the US stores, as an add-on to its handmade beverages, reported the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Read full article

Nutrilite launches new antioxidant drink mix
Nutrilite, a provider of vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplements, has introduced its ROC20 antioxidant enhanced drink mix. Read full article

Taco Bell launches new line of signature frozen drinks
Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum Brands, has introduced Frutista Freeze, its new permanent line of signature frozen drinks. Read full article

San Miguel Q1 consolidated revenues up 11%
San Miguel, a food, beverage and packaging company, has reported consolidated revenues of PHP39.2 billion for the first quarter of 2008, an 11% increase compared to consolidated revenues for the same period of 2007. Read full article
Company information: San Miguel Corporation

top

REPORT BESTSELLERS

MARKET TRENDS

Beer and ale: top flavors in new global product launches
According to the Productscan database, aside from blend, the leading flavor in global beer and ale launches in the 12 months to March 2008 was sweet, followed by wheat and fruity. Wheat and spicy increased in popularity during the period, both moving into the list of the top 10 most used flavors in new global product launches. Read full article

Product claims: new drinks launches, December 2007 to February 2008
According to Productscan, 'high vitamins' was the leading claim on new global drinks launches between December 2007 and February 2008. Indeed, during the period, the 'high vitamins claim' appeared on more than 14% of new launches. Likewise, the 'upscale' and 'natural' claims, which remain at second and third place on the leader board, respectively, appeared on over 10% of new launches. An increase of a third in the number of new products tagged as 'pure' was also seen during the period. Read full article

New drinks launches by category, December 2007 to February 2008: good times brewing for tea
Fruit & fruit flavored drinks was the leading category in new global drinks launches for the three months to February 2008, according to the Productscan database. Meanwhile, tea is at second place on the leader board, having witnessed an increase of nearly 50% in new launches during the period. Coffee is at third place, following an increase in launches of more than a third. Elsewhere, launches of liqueurs and other alcoholic drinks were down 51% compared to the same period the year before. Read full article

Milk and yogurt drinks: top flavors in new global product launches
According to the Productscan database, aside from blend, strawberry and chocolate were the most popular flavors of new milk and yogurt drinks launched worldwide in the 12 months to February 2008. Vanilla is now in fourth place on the leader board, replacing peach, which moves down to seventh place. Pineapple is the only new entrant on the leader board, making an appearance in joint ninth position. Read full article

top

RELATED REPORTS

Trends in Kids' Nutrition
23 May 2008
Datamonitor forecasts that over 35% of European kids aged 5-13 will be overweight or obese by 2012. In the US, this figure will surpass 40% while Asia Pacific, in particular China, is seeing the fastest increase in the percentage of overweight or obese kids. This report identifies the opportunities and threats apparent to food and beverage manufacturers in the context of escalating childhood obesity.

Hydration and Refreshment
23 May 2008
Consumers are more aware of the health benefits of staying hydrated and, importantly for consumer packaged goods' players, this is impacting product choices. Drinking more water is one of the key lifestyle changes consumers have made to improve their health. The refreshment trend has grown as a result of a number of factors, notably its appeal to emerging consumer groups.

Highland Spring and Volvic case study: staying ahead in bottled water
23 May 2008
This report on Highland Spring and Volvic forms part of Datamonitor's case studies series, which explores business practices across a variety of disciplines and business sectors. It looks at how the bottled water brands are building strategies to retain their leading positions in the face of growing competition.

Glaceau case study: the rise of non-carbonates in the US soft drinks market
23 May 2008
This report on Glaceau forms part of Datamonitor's case studies series, which explores business practices across a variety of disciplines and business sectors. It looks at the appeal of the functional water category to soft drinks manufacturers, which are looking for carbonate alternatives to fit in with the growing health trend.

Boost Juice Bars case study: marketing smoothie bars as a healthy alternative to coffee shops
23 May 2008
This report on Boost Juice Bars forms part of Datamonitor's case studies series, which explores business practices across a variety of disciplines and business sectors. It looks at how the company is expanding from its Australian roots into other countries, buoyed by soaring smoothie demand.

'On-Trend' Innovation & Marketing Concepts: The Individualism Mega-Trend
21 May 2008
Innovation is a major driver of growth yet statistics suggest that around 80-90% of all new products fail and industry executives are generally disappointed in their ability to stimulate innovation. This report is designed to help by effectively aligning NPD activity with substantive consumer trends. It does so by identifying 'on-trend' opportunities that arise from the individualism mega-trend.

'On-Trend' Innovation & Marketing Concepts: The Sensory Mega-Trend
21 May 2008
Innovation is a major driver of growth yet statistics suggest that around 80-90% of all new products fail and industry executives are generally disappointed in their ability to stimulate innovation. This report is designed to help by effectively aligning NPD activity with substantive consumer trends. It does so by identifying 'on-trend' opportunities that arise from the sensory mega-trend.

Promoting Immune Health and Vitality: Emerging opportunities, ingredients and innovations in food and drinks
19 May 2008
Promoting Immune Health and Vitality is a new management report published by Business Insights that analyzes the growing importance of immune health and vitality products. Analysis is centered on key brands and how these are meeting the more advanced demands of today's consumers within an increasingly crowded market for food and drink with positive health benefits. Identify key trends within immune health and vitality product marketing and assess the potential for these trends to develop with this new report.

top

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd

Soft drinks group Britvic has reported revenue of £454.7 million for the first six months ended April 13, 2008, an increase of 28.6% compared to £353.6 million in the same period of 2007.

EBITDA was £55.2 million, an increase of 14.5% compared to £48.2 million in the corresponding period of 2007. Operating profit was £31.4 million, a rise of 29.8% compared to £24.2 million in the same period of 2007. Profit before tax was £17.2 million, a growth of 13.2% versus £15.2 million in the same period of 2007.

Profit after tax stood at £13 million, up 19.3% compared to £10.9 million in the corresponding period of 2007. Basic earnings per share were 6.1 pence, compared to five pence in the same period of 2007.

Paul Moody, chief executive of Britvic, said that the group was well positioned to drive earnings growth through brand and product expansion, innovation, a continued close focus on cost control, and the realization of the benefits of the outsourcing of retail distribution.

Key facts

Britvic House
Broomfield Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1TU
United Kingdom


Tel: 44 1245 261 871
Fax: 44 1245 267 147
Web: www.britvic.com

No. Employees: 2,815

top

SUBSCRIPTION INFO

top