Market research
Here's a round-up of this week's top stories from the global beer & cider categories. Click the links to see our round-ups for soft drinks & bottled water and spirits & wine.
This week's top beer & cider coverage on just-drinks
When a brewer talks about the value category, does the consumer understand what is meant? How about premium? Super-premium? And, what about craft? just-drinks' beer commentator, Stephen Beaumont, considers whether these terms mean as much to consumers as they clearly do to the global brewing industry.
Carlton & United Breweries, the Australian unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is to release its first non-alcoholic beer in response to changing consumer trends in the country.
French cooperative the Agrial Group has made another foray into the cider category, this time through the acquisition of Aston Manor Cider in the UK.
BrewDog is launching a video-streaming service for consumers that offers a range of beer, travel and entertainment shows.
China's two biggest brewers have posted first-half sales rises as consumers increasingly move to premium beers, according to a media report.
Molson Coors' US unit, MillerCoors, is to launch a new line of alcoholic FMBs (flavoured malt beverages) that claims to contain less sugar than competing brands.
Carlsberg is to increase capacity at its biggest European brewer with a EUR100m (US$117m) investment.
The beer category in the UK could be in line for a spate of acquisitions, a financial intelligence provider has forecast, as rising costs force craft brewers to sell to larger players.
Ian Shackleton, just-drinks' resident analyst, returns this month with a headache from Heineken. He also considers the prospects for growth in the tricky Chinese market and surveys the dangers facing PepsiCo that its next CEO will have to deal with from day one.
Sectors: Beer & cider
