Focus
A deeper consideration of the issues making the headlines on just-drinks.
Focus - Alcohol Consumption Guidelines Under Scrutiny
12 January 2012
The recommendation by a House of Commons committee that consumers take two days off from drinking a week has thrust the issue of safe alcohol consumption guidelines back into the media spotlight. Ben Cooper reports.
Focus - What's Eating PepsiCo?
16 November 2011
PepsiCo's CEO, Indra Nooyi, is under pressure; the group's strategic review has been extended and, this week, talk of a business split has been fuelled by the arrival of activist investor Nelson Peltz. So, asks Michelle Russell, what's eating PepsiCo?
Focus - Spirits Industry Looks to Raise Game on Self-Regulation of Social Media
22 September 2011
New guidelines for social media launched yesterday by the European Forum for Responsible Drinking (EFRD) and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) set new standards of self-regulation in a challenging area for spirits marketers and take cooperation between the two organisations to a new level. Ben Cooper reports.
Focus - Travel Retail - Korean Air Steals March with Airborne Duty Free 'Showcase'
15 September 2011
This Sunday, the travel retail channel congregates in Cannes for this year's TFWA World Exhibition. Ahead of the six-day event, Simon Warburton looks at how the new 'giants in the sky' are giving airlines the chance to exercise their innovation muscles when it comes to travel retail.
Focus - Molson Coors Enjoying Life at Sharp's Brewery
7 September 2011
Big brewers are not known for buying businesses and leaving them to their own devices, but Molson Coors and Sharp's Brewery appear to have struck a reasonably happy medium. Chris Mercer reports on what has been happening since Molson Coors' acquisition.
Focus - Study gives Industry Food for Thought on Children’s Advertising
11 August 2011
A study published last week shows that self-regulation in the US has brought about significant change regarding which food and drinks products are advertised directly to children, with soft drinks companies leading the way. But it also suggests there has been a far less marked change in the overall level of exposure children have to food and drink products high in sugar, fat or sodium. Ben Cooper reports.
Focus - Bacardi, Serralles and Rum Politics in Puerto Rico
10 August 2011
The fallout from Diageo's decision to shift Captain Morgan to the US Virgin Islands still hangs thick in the Caribbean air, but are the opponents to the move becoming increasingly divided?
Focus - Russian Beer Story Takes Another Twist
26 July 2011
Russians' taste for beer is again to be tested following the Government's decision to adopt fresh restrictions on sales. Here, just-drinks looks at the possible consequences.
Focus - US Drinks Companies Seize Initiative on Kids Marketing
22 July 2011
US drinks manufacturers have launched uniformed, voluntary guidelines for food and drink products marketed to children in a response to mooted government voluntary standards. Ben Cooper examines whether the industry move can forestall government action.
Focus - Turkey Facing Tighter Restrictions on Alcohol
19 July 2011
Having won a third term with an increased majority, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in a position to implement the tighter controls on alcohol that he has publicly advocated. However, Ben Cooper writes, concerns about Turkey’s tourism industry may moderate his reforming zeal.
Focus - Growing Pains for Chilean Wine
11 July 2011
Chile's wine industry is facing enforced consolidation due to pressure on wineries' profitability, but the country's longer-term future looks much brighter.
Focus - Soda Taxes Back on US Agenda
6 May 2011
The recent move by the City of Boston to ban sweetened soft drinks from City buildings bears witness to an increasingly assertive approach being taken towards soft drinks by public authorities which, Ben Cooper believes, may mean renewed political support for soda taxes.
Focus - Diageo and Pernod Ricard Q3: Score-Draw
5 May 2011
The latest round in the battle of the world’s biggest spirit producers – Diageo and Pernod Ricard – could arguably be called a scoring draw.
Focus - Juices and Nectar Outlook to 2015
8 April 2011
Having returned to pre-recession rates, the fruit/vegetable juice category is set to maintain its current strong growth trend - as long as producers can keep up with consumer needs, reports Richard Haffner.
Focus - FTC to Provide Test of Industry Control of Online Marketing
31 March 2011
In its forthcoming review of alcohol advertising self-regulation, the Federal Trade Commission will look at digital and social media for the first time. Ben Cooper believes that, in spite of the industry expanding its codes to cover these media, the review may shine a spotlight on an area of particular sensitivity for the alcohol sector.
Focus - Functional Water - A Valuable Category Poised For Steady Growth
16 March 2011
Due to its high average unit price and soaring volumes of late, functional bottled water is a category worthy of attention, reports Richard Haffner.
Focus - BRIC Markets Lift Worldwide Soft Drinks
7 March 2011
Latest projections from beverage experts Canadean suggest that the global soft drinks market may be putting the tough economic environment of 2008 and 2009 behind it, Richard Corbett reports.
Focus - Emerging Markets Still Producing for Coca-Cola Co, Despite Chinese Blip
21 February 2011
Coca-Cola’s fourth-quarter and full-year results, published earlier this month, appear to offer further vindication for the company’s investment in developing markets. But, Ben Cooper writes, while such investment provides growth opportunities it can heighten sustainability issues.
Focus - Drinks Brands in the Dock Again over Health Claims
25 January 2011
Recent action by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK and the Federal Trade Commission in the US has underlined that companies which make inadequately substantiated health claims for their products risk censure and possible reputational damage. Ben Cooper reports.
Focus - Scotch Whisky Industry Gets Behind SWA Environmental Strategy
17 December 2010
In its Environmental Strategy Report 2010, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) provides what it believes to be ‘the most detailed dataset’ of environmental impacts of any industry. In an exclusive interview with just-drinks, Julie Hesketh-Laird, the SWA's operational and technical affairs director, spoke with Ben Cooper about what has happened since the strategy was launched 18 months ago.
