Latest drinks industry comment

Why the future looks better for low-calorie soft drinks, despite US troubles - Comment 15 Nov 2018

Richard Corbett

In recent years, the health & wellness trend has set the scene for low-calorie soft drinks to boom. The US, however, has provided little but headaches for soft drinks companies. Until now. Richard Corbett investigates.

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Stoli Group’s AC/DC Thunderstruck Tequila - What just-drinks thinks 14 Nov 2018

Olly Wehring

I have to doff my cap to SPI Group, for its tie-up with Australian rock band AC/DC. The launch this month of AC/DC Thunderstruck Tequila looks superb. Not only that, but the two-strong range should also appeal to a consumer demographic that is both willing and able to splash its cash.

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Why water will be more important than wine in the years ahead - Comment 13 Nov 2018

Chris Losh

Changes to the global climate have long had an effect on wine producers. Recent extremes, however, have upped the ante. Wine commentator Chris Losh considers the drought-affected landscape of today, and warns of how the situation will likely deteriorate tomorrow.

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Campari Group's Aperol-infused Q3 bonanza - What just-drinks thinks 7 Nov 2018

Olly Wehring

There will likely be smiles in Milan this week, with Campari Group's HQ beaming after the company's bumper third-quarter results yesterday. And, who'd blame them?

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Why spirits brands lists warn that the Chinese are coming - Comment 6 Nov 2018

Richard Woodard

This month, our white spirits commentator has been looking at lists. Lots and lots of lists. His findings, from a spirits perspective, suggest we should keep one eye on China's baijiu producers - and not merely for competitive purposes.

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Carlsberg's turnaround challenge in the UK - What just-drinks thinks 5 Nov 2018

Lucy Britner

It is the glue dots that will do it...

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Who could buy Brockmans Gin? - What just-drinks thinks 1 Nov 2018

Andy Morton

Brockmans Gin is reportedly up for sale, and could be set to go the same way as many of its gin start-up peers, snapped up by international spirits companies keen to jump aboard the gin boom.

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Will South America drive the next wave of craft beer growth? - Comment 25 Oct 2018

Stephen Beaumont

Our resident beer commentator returns, not just for his latest look at the beer world, but also from his travels. Stephen Beaumont tells us about his time spent in South America this month, and why he thinks the region is set to hog the craft beer headlines going forward.

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Carlsberg and Heineken in Cambodia - What just-drinks thinks 25 Oct 2018

Andy Morton

Heineken released its Q3 results yesterday and, in the process, shone a light on an as-yet-little-noticed corner of the global beer market. Cambodia is rarely mentioned alongside the big hitters of the South-East Asian alcohol market - namely Thailand and Vietnam. Its relatively-small population of 16m normally keeps it under the radar.

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Rob Sands latest drinks CEO to stand down - What just-drinks thinks 18 Oct 2018

Andy Morton

After more than a ten years at the helm, we at just-drinks can't really say we're surprised that Constellation Brands CEO Rob Sands has decided to hand over day to day running of the business to his president Bill Newlands. A decade of power is a trendy term for beverage CEOs lucky enough to choose the timing of their own departure. PepsiCo head Indra Nooyi was up to just a little bit more when she stepped down this year, while Diageo's Paul Walsh managed 12 years.

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Tmall's NPD silver bullet - what just-drinks thinks 17 Oct 2018

Lucy Britner

Will there come a time when companies know more than we know ourselves about what we want? If Alibaba's latest move is anything to go by, it seems likely.

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Don't let complacency kill Global Travel Retail - Comment - TFWA 2018 16 Oct 2018

Andy Morton

Change happens slowly in the Global Travel Retail channel. At this month's Tax Free World Association exhibition in Cannes, delegates were still discussing the same problems as two years ago - how to make money in a channel squeezed by the landlord/retailer/supplier model. The difference is, however, that two years ago, because of a backdrop of declining sales, there was a hardened sense in Cannes that "something needs to be done". This year, no such urgency exists. Global Travel Retail - right now - looks in pretty good shape.

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What just-drinks thinks - Heineken's partnership with Formula E 15 Oct 2018

Olly Wehring

Is Heineken now looking to secure the brand loyalty of the petrol (and electric) heads among beer consumers?

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Why the world's wine producers won't have it all their own way in China - Comment 11 Oct 2018

Chris Losh

Fresh off the plane after a trip to China, just-drinks' wine commentator, Chris Losh, brings us his take on the category in the country and finds that the greater threat to success for the world's wine producers comes from within.

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What strategy should soft drinks companies take to ensure future growth? - Comment 9 Oct 2018

Richard Corbett

The ongoing fallout from the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group earlier this year has prompted soft drinks commentator Richard Corbett to consider how companies should consider their options when it comes to chasing growth.

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Why the usual vodka suspects will have to sit out the short-term in the US - Comment 2 Oct 2018

Richard Woodard

What are the prospects for vodka in the category's vital US market? Spirits commentator Richard Woodard takes us back, to look forwards.

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What brewers need to be aware of before stepping into cannabis - Comment 25 Sep 2018

Stephen Beaumont

With brewers eyeing the cannabis industry with both interest and enthusiasm, beer commentator Stephen Beaumont has some words of warning for them, before they take their first steps into unknown territory.

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Why the spirits category needs to rethink its future positioning - Comment 18 Sep 2018

Neil Ridley

Our spirits commentator, Neil Ridley, is all riled up. Again. This time, it's about the positioning at the higher end of the spirits category.

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Who needs alcohol when Coca-Cola can have versatile cannabis? - Comment 17 Sep 2018

Andy Morton

Back in March, I asked what the odds would be on the launch of Coke Cannabis after The Coca-Cola Co's total beverage strategy led the group into the alcohol market in Japan. Today, those odds got a whole lot shorter with a report from Bloomberg that the soft drinks giant could be about to enter the cannabis market in a deal with Canada's Aurora Cannabis.

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Why PepsiCo's SodaStream purchase marks the future path for soft drinks - Comment 11 Sep 2018

Richard Corbett

Last month's announcement that PepsiCo will buy the SodaStream home carbonation market leader has shaken up a sector of the soft drinks industry that, until now, had proved idiosyncratic at best. This month, soft drinks commentator Richard Corbett tells us why he believes the sector is primed - finally - to change the game.