Olly Wehring's beverage industry blog - from just-drinks.com

Monster mission fails for Red Bull?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:45:00 GMT

It seems Red Bull has had its feathers ruffled after the company's loss of a contract by supply pub chain JD Wetherspoon in the UK.

So much so that the energy drink maker has embarked on a 'secret mission' aimed at undermining rival energy drink Monster.

According to Marketing magazine, Red Bull planned to visit JDW sites stocking Monster and "smuggle" some cans of Red Bull into the venue to consume on site.

Repeated calls by just-drinks to Red Bull's UK office have gone unanswered.

Perhaps the team is busy out and about...

IndSpirit 2009 - Day Two

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:08:00 GMT

We're back with you, here in Mumbai, for the second and final day of this year's IndSpirit alcobev conference and exhibition.

Yesterday evening afforded us the opportunity to make the most of the networking dinner laid on at the hotel, overlooking the Powai lake.

Following Thursday's severe case of jetlag, a good night's sleep last night was pretty much guaranteed, aided by beers, whiskies and rums - all, as ever, in strict moderation.

Today, the emphasis is on the technical side of the industry. Already, we've had a presentation on energy saving options available for brewers and distillers, and a look at manufacturing execution systems for the brewing industry.

Outside of the conference hall, the All-India Bartending Competition is in full swing: I've just seen the winner of the Goa heat concoct a 'Love Devil'. Not a sentence I thought I'd write on a Saturday morning.

Things are also hotting up as we edge closer to this evening's awards ceremony. Although the nominations have now closed, take a look here for a list of the categories. If last year's show is anything to go by, I'm really looking forward to the Bollywood dance troupe shaking their collective thangs.

IndSpirit 2009 - Day One

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:59:00 GMT

We're approaching the business end of day one of IndSpirit here in Mumbai. The morning session was taken up with an opening speech from the head of Radico Khaitan, Dr Lalit Khaitan, and an overview of the Asia Pacific spirits market from Euromonitor. We've also taken a closer look at the alcobev retail scene in India - a country where, of around 4,000 supermarkets, less than 50 offer alcohol for sale. Why? Here's why.

The first afternoon session saw two state excise commissioners, one from Goa, the other from Bihar, face the country's drinks industry to consider the state of India's wildly fragmented duty systems when it comes to alcohol.

What is frustrating to see is that this conversation - also forumed at last year's event - appears to have barely moved forward. Indeed, in 2008 we had four state commissioners to take to task. What remains clear is that the commissioners are open to the idea of broader harmonisation. The dialogue seems to remain anchored, however, to talking about talking.

Where will we be on this matter in 2010? We live in hope.

Elsewhere at the exhibition, the Mumbai leg of the all-Indian bartending competition grows ever more raucous. Tomorrow sees the final, with contenders from across the country looking to mix - and spin - themselves into Indian bartending immortality.

In the exhibition hall, pride of place goes to United Breweries, which has a Team India Formula One car on display. If I keep asking, hopefully they'll finally relent and let me behind the wheel.

Another one for the album awaits, then.

IndSpirit 2009 - we are go

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:30:00 GMT

We're back in India.

just-drinks is coming to you live from 2009's IndSpirit alcobev conference in Mumbai. This year's two-day exhibition and conference is about to kick off here at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre in Mumbai.

This being India, the weather is excellent (36 degrees and rising), the organisation is... exhausting to observe and, after last year's terrorist attacks in the city, security is tight.

Like 12 months ago, we also have the All-India Bartending Competition running alongside the exhibition. If last year is anything to go by, then, we can look forward to another all-nighter, trawling the top-end bars of Mumbai, something that wore us out both physically and financially.

Coming up this morning, we have the "Inauguration of the Exhibition" by a "Guest of Honour", joined by "other industry stalwarts".

Sounds motley.

So, keep your eyes peeled for as much India-news as we can garner - and as many adventure stories as our spirits allow us - from this year's show.

Windmills and vodka

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Diageo and The Nolet family certainly appear to have gelled well together in the first year of their joint venture.

At the company's headquarters in Schiedman, Holland, a number of journalists were invited to listen to marketing heads talk about the success of the Smirnoff, Ketel One and Ciroc vodka brands.

Philip Gladman, Smirnoff's global brand director was present, as was Peter Fairbrother, Ketel One's global brand director and Marc Strachan, director of brand marketing for Ciroc, amongst many others.

Strachan talked about plans to launch two new flavours to the Ciroc brand - Coconut and Red Berry - in the US in January.

An interesting lunch of salmon lasagne and a number of vodka tastings broke up the day, while Bob Nolet, vice president of the Nolet Distillery spoke enthusiastically of the company's plans to expand the global reach of the vodka brand.

Of the 50-50 joint venture between the Nolets and Diageo, he enthused: "We are very very happy with the partnership and we see that Diageo is the same."

A full interview with Bob Nolet will be published on the just-drinks site on Monday (2 November).

Reborn in the USA

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:38:00 GMT

The world's largest economy, the US, has emerged from recession in the third quarter of 2009, figures released today show.

US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate (that's how the Americans measure it) of 3.5% in the third quarter of the year.

That is the best growth rate in the US since autumn 2007 and will fuel optimism that global economic prospects are looking brighter for 2010.

Second quarter (GDP) figures from Japan, France and Germany show that these countries have also emerged from recession. The UK remains in decline, shrinking 0.4% in the third quarter of the year.

However, with relatively high unemployment and public debt levels, question marks remain over how quickly, and to what extent, the world's major economies will recover.

Chris M. Deputy Ed.

just-drinks returns to India

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:16:00 GMT

With the clocks going back an hour here in the UK last weekend, I, like most sane (and presumably rich) people, am making a break for the sun.

Last year, I escaped the arrival of Autumn by heading to Mumbai for the IndSpirit alcobev conference. And quite a successful trip it was too.

So successful, in fact, that I'm returning to India this week for IndSpirit 2009.

So, if you're going to be at the conference too, and you'd like to meet up, drop me a line at news@just-drinks.com. And if you're not attending, but you have some questions about the Indian drinks market, give me a shout and I'll ask on your behalf.

Stock up on Czech whisky

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:38:00 GMT

Word has reached just-drinks ears that Stock Spirits, the UK-based company that operates mainly in Eastern Europe, is set to launch a Czech single malt whisky.

Stock Spirits intends to released "limited volumes" of the single malt whisky, matured in Czech oak barrels, a senior company bod told just-drinks at last week's TFWA expo in Cannes.

Stay tuned for more details on our news pages.

UK economy shrinks, again

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:53:00 GMT

Put the Champagne on ice. The UK economy remains in recession after wrong-footing analysts by shrinking in the third quarter of 2009.

While neighbouring France and Germany this summer returned to growth in gross domestic product, the UK reported today (23 October) that its own economy shrank 0.4% in the three months to the end of September.

Most analysts had expected a small return to growth, albeit of around 0.2%.

The news makes the current recession the worst since UK records began in the 1950s. Coupled with this, the UK jobless rate is around 8%, at 2.47m unemployed.

A timely reminder that, despite renewed optimism from some corners of the drinks industry, we are far from out of the woods.

Chris M.

Minimum pricing - goodbye to all that?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:01:00 GMT

Could that be it for the minimum pricing argument, then?

Today's opinion from the European Court of Justice Advocate General, that setting a minimum price on products is illegal, suggests that the death throes have begun for the idea.

What is most interesting is the language used in the opinion.

"The Commission takes the view in the light of the Court's previous case-law that those rules infringe Article 9(1) of Council Directive 95/59/EC ... on taxes other than turnover taxes which affect the consumption of manufactured tobacco."

Basically, the Advocate General is saying: "We've told you before, so we'll tell you again."

Naturally, the industry would like to see this as a precedent-setting case that applies to all products, as well as tobacco.

While we have three to four months of wait until the final ruling is handed down, there will be many in our industry tentatively breathing a sigh of relief today.

To read the full opinion, click here.

just-drinks meets Mika Hakkinen

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:57:00 GMT

Yes, the same Mika Hakkinen that drives Formula One cars very fast.

just-drinks took time out at TFWA in Cannes yesterday (21 October) to quiz him about his role as a responsible drinking ambassador for Diageo.

Hakkinen rocked up at the Diageo stand in the afternoon and, after politely signing autographs for most people in the vicinity, sat down for a question and answer session with journalists.

The former Formula One World Champion is leading Diageo's global "Join the Pact" campaign to stamp out drink driving. Hakkinen has been taking the message to countries hosting Formula One Grand Prix races this year, from Asia to Latin America. He and Diageo representatives have met with both fans and Government officials.

"Diageo is spending a lot of money on this campaign. It is a huge effort and a lot of people are working on it," said Hakkinen, who first became involved in Diageo's anti-drink driving campaigns in 2006, via the drinks company's sponsorship of Formula One team McLaren Mercedes.

Pernod & co see light at the end of the tunnel

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:14:00 GMT

Another day, another arduous task presented to just-drinks at TFWA expo in Cannes. Last night, we forced down a five-course Pernod Ricard dinner, while chewing the proverbial fat on everything from the economy to French civilisation.

We agree with analysts that Pernod is likely to post a fall in first quarter net sales in its results statement due tomorrow (21 October), but there was a sense of renewed optimism among company executives at last night's dinner.

Indeed, there has been a general sense of this at the show this week. Perhaps it is more relief that, a year on from watching the financial world collapse like a house of cards, most people are still alive and kicking.

At the same time, there is genuine optimism that we are through the worst of what has been a very tough time. In Western Europe, France and Germany returned to quarterly gross domestic product growth over the summer, while in Asia, the dip looks as though it will be more short-lived than the doomsayers had predicted.

What makes the optimists cautious is that Governments remain saddled with debt after bailing out their banking systems and that unemployment has continued to rise in most mature markets.

The fear is that, although drinks firms present in Cannes this week are talking of a light at the end of the tunnel, it may yet prove to be a false dawn. And, even if it doesn't, no one is quite sure how long it will take for us to reach it.

The US drinks market - Anecdotally

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:00:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I was up on Islay at the official opening of the Kilchoman distillery, the island's first new distillery in over century.

While I was there, I bumped into John Campbell, manager of Beam Global's Laphroaig distillery, who I hadn't seen since I was last up there over a year ago.

John was heading to the US for a few weeks on a bit of a country tour for Laphroaig. Knowing how down to earth folk in John's position are, I asked if he'd let me know his thoughts on the consumer climate in the country.

Here are his thoughts:

"The east coast has felt more of the brunt of recession, but people are beginning to be more positive about growth and are seeing the green shoots of recovery happening.

Central US is in a similar predicament, but people are pushing harder now to make things happen, so more bullish.

I was only in LA on the west coast, so what recession?! Life is always good there.

The on-trade in the US has slowed outside of LA, NY and Chicago, but off-trade is rocketing away and I think people were just beginning to say if I'm still in work, I'm going to spend as there is no point in saving right now.

People are more confident in their employment again as well, and as I said becoming more bullish, just the way we like our special friends in America."

Many thanks, John.

TFWA Cannes Day 2

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:14:00 GMT

just-drinks has rejected a day on the beach to spend today roaming the floor of the TFWA expo in Cannes. The things we do for you, dear readers.

Consensus on the floor is that the 2009 show has attracted fewer visitors than in recent years. You could hear a pin drop in the press office this afternoon - a place usually bustling with hungry journalists at any trade show.

However, once one is past the masses of security guards (perhaps they are to be included in the visitor figures?), unhelpful attendants, stupendously overpriced coffee and general pomp of this show, one can find a few green shoots of optimism among the duty-free afficionados on the floor.

There is hope, at least, that the worst is over for duty-free in the global economic downturn; that the sector has hit the bottom of the curve and may again begin to creep upwards.

"Some companies are saying that they believe October this year will be better than October last year. We think it should be," said Wojtek Wydro, managing director of duty free at French group Belvedere, which owns Danzka and Sobieski vodka brands.

Fingers crossed, then.

Bumpy landing for travel retail

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:44:00 GMT

Cannes in October. You'd expect it to be sunnier than the UK - and you'd be right.

There is, however, a bit of a chill in the air today (19 October) here in the south of France. For those heading to the annual TFWA World Exhibition, like ourselves, today brought UK passenger numbers that will cool any budding optimism among attendees.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the number of business passengers at Heathrow slid by 5% in 2008 as the economic downturn started to take hold in the last quarter of the year.

As all in the travel retail channel know, lower levels of business passengers means falling revenues for the airlines and lower sales going through the tills at airports.

What's more, the CAA numbers are for 2008 - the depth of the downturn since the turn of the year suggests 2009's numbers will be worse.

If you're here in Cannes, enjoy your week.

Anheuser-Busch InBev - No alarms and no surprises

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:16:00 GMT

The biggest story on just-drinks last week was Anheuser-Busch InBev's widely-expected divestment of many of its brewing assets in Eastern Europe. The sale, to private equity group CVC Capital Partners for US$2.2bn, saw the brewing giant sail past its target this year of $7bn-worth of disposals.

Whilst A-B InBev has proved more than adept at getting reasonably good prices for some of its divestments, especially in the current environment, the list of sales suggests that what we are now observing is - and I don't think A-B InBev will hate me for saying this - a rather 'dull' company.

Battlegrounds for A-B InBev now appear to be primarily Latin America - where AmBev has quite a stranglehold in the region's largest beer market, Brazil - North America - where the biggest beer brand is A-B's Budweiser - and Western Europe - where InBev is well-entrenched with the likes of Stella Artois and Beck's.

AmBev, Anheuser-Busch and InBev were always very similar companies in the way they operated. Now that the sales have been completed, I believe we can expect few alarms and even fewer surprises from the company going forward.

Do you drink too much?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:33:00 GMT

As promised earlier this week, here is the link to the UK television programme 'Do I Drink Too Much?'

Do let us know your thoughts.

Diageo takes a tumble

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:29:00 GMT

Shares in Diageo had dipped by nearly 3% on the London Stock Exchange by early this afternoon, following the drinks giant's trading update.

Shares slipped after Diageo said like-for-like net sales were down 6% in the first quarter of its fiscal year.

Despite a strong comparative quarter last year, the performance was worse than expected by several analysts.

Analyst group Sanford C Bernstein said in a note today: "This compares to SCBe and consensus estimates of -3%. This is significantly worse than the implied organic growth rate of -1% in Q4 FY09."

Shares in the group were down 1.5% on the New York Stock Exchange this afternoon.

Diazepam + cocaine + prozac + heroin + barbiturates = Alcohol?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Ah, there's nothing quite like a balanced argument. And we've not seen many of those in our industry for quite some time, have we?

What do you think the chances are, then, of a TV documentary entitled 'Do I drink too much?' bucking that trend?

The programme is on here in the UK tonight at 2100 (we'll link through to a replay of it for the rest of you tomorrow), so we'll have to wait until then to find out.

The trailer suggests not, however.

Cannes Calling

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:20:00 GMT

The nights are drawing in and the temperature is falling here in the UK, which sounds to us like two great reasons for heading to the south of France for a couple of days.

just-drinks deputy editor Chris Mercer will be at the Tax Free World Association (TFWA) expo in Cannes next week. He is set to be there from late Monday afternoon (19 October) until Wednesday evening (21 October).

If you'd like to arrange a meeting or have something truly unmissable, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at news@just-drinks.com.