Zenith International news and views

Big numbers for US soft drinks

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:01:00 GMT

The just published American Beverage Association 2011 Review contains some big numbers for the US non-alcoholic beverage industry:

• $118.9 billion direct economic impact
• 227,000 jobs
• $37.1 billion overall tax contribution
• $872 million charity contribution
• 88% fewer beverage calories in schools since 2004
• 21% fewer beverage calories overall from 1998 to 2008.

Meat feast for Red Bull

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:01:00 GMT

Red Bull has always been very disciplined about how far to stretch its brand credentials, so what would you feel about an association with meat ?

Well, it’s happening. Following in the footsteps of Guinness and other beers, a UK company has now teamed up with Red Bull to introduce a steak pie with a dash of the energy drink.

The idea is described as ‘the ultimate kick-start to any day’. But will it fly off shelves ?

20 years from now

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:01:00 GMT

What will be the same ? What will be different ? How much will be familiar from today ? How much will be entirely new ?

I have to give two presentations next month and I’d like your help, please. One has to look 10 years ahead. The second has to look 20 years ahead.

I’ll try to cover population, consumers, markets, products, industry, packaging, pricing, marketing, retailing and the environment.

If you have any material you can send, views of your own or questions you would like answered, please do send them to me – either to bevblog.net or to my direct email rhall@zenithinternational.com.

My own view is that almost everything which will happen in the next 5 years can be seen somewhere in the world already. We can have a very good idea of 10 years into the future by a combination of projection and insight. But in 20 years, there will be some changes that we cannot predict, so I need your inspiration and imagination.

I’ll share my two presentations with all contributors, when they’re complete. I look forward to hearing from you.

Happy Valentine’s Day. I wonder how we’ll be in touch in 20 years.

Global energy drinks market spurts ahead to $37 billion

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Global energy drink consumption surged by 14% in 2011 to 4.8 billion litres, adding over 1.5 billion litres since 2007, according to the latest report from leading food and drink consultancy Zenith International. Average growth over the past five years has been 10% a year. Value has risen even more sharply, by an average 13% a year, to €26,500 million or $37,000 million in 2011. Energy shots have rocketed from $2,000 million in 2007 to over $4,700 million last year.

“Energy drinks remain the most dynamic segment in the soft drinks market, with strong growth in most countries. This is testament to its combination of both fun and functionality,” commented Zenith Market Intelligence Director Esther Renfrew.

The top ten consuming countries among the 57 covered by the Zenith report were the United States, Vietnam, China, United Kingdom, Thailand, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Poland and Saudi Arabia. Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Saudi Arabia and Israel had the highest consumption per person. North America is still the leading region, with 36% of global volume in 2011, followed by Asia Pacific with 22% and West Europe with 17%. Latin America has made significant gains over the last few years, rising to a 7% share. Australasia has also seen its volume share nearly double to 4%.

Among other findings in the Zenith 2011 Global Energy Drinks report:

The world leading brands are Red Bull, Monster and Burn in energy drinks and 5-Hour Energy in energy shots.
Key regional brands include Power Horse in the Middle East, Lipovitan in Asia Pacific and V in Australasia.
Supermarket and other private labels accounted for 5% of global volume in 2011.
As much as 56% of purchases were made in bars and other away from home outlets compared to 44% in supermarkets and convenience stores.
Diet energy drinks hold a 15% volume share.
79% of 2011 volume was sold in cans.

By 2016, Zenith estimates that the global market will have jumped by a further 35% to 6.5 billion litres.

The 2012 Zenith Report on Global Energy Drinks contains over 800 pages of tables, charts, market developments and analysis on energy drink and energy shot consumption in 57 countries. Contact Zenith International on tel +44 (0)1225 327900 or e-mail info@zenithinternational.com.

Notes for Editors

Zenith’s definition of energy drinks excludes glucose-based products and sports drinks.
Two charts are attached for publication.

www.zenithinternational.com/assets/images/pressreleases/GED_Charts_Page_1.jpg
www.zenithinternational.com/assets/images/pressreleases/GED_Charts_Page_2.jpg

3. For further information, please contact:

Esther Renfrew or Cecilia Martinez, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square w Bath BA1 2AB w United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900, f +44 (0)1225 327901
zenithinternational.com

Recycling cartons

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:41:00 GMT

Hooray. At last. I can now recycle fruit juice and milk cartons at home.

For years, I have had a very good kerbside collection service covering everything from PET bottles and cans to food and garden waste. But not cartons.

Convenience for households is key to recycling success and I am delighted to see my local Council has finally caught on to cartons.

Interestingly, cartons will be collected in the blue bag for cardboard rather than the green box for other packaging.

Feeding the world – comment

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:37:00 GMT

I’ve reported on what speakers said at yesterday’s Economist magazine conference on The 9 Billion People Question in Geneva. Now, here’s what I learned and conclude as a result.

It’s clear that technology does have the answers. It can be done. The challenge is about policy and implementation. That needs the combined efforts of government and industry to prioritise:

. Agricultural investment
. Nutritious crops
. Small farm self-reliance
. Free trade.

The other key element is about education and consumers. Consumers have to be encouraged to choose healthier food instead of empty calories. Otherwise more food will not translate into better lives.

Feeding the world – part 3

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:35:00 GMT

Dr Thomas Lumpkin, Director General, CIMMYT
60-70% more output is the wrong target. We should be doubling, trebling production per unit of land. We should then give some land back to bio-diversity.
9 billion tomorrow will eat the equivalent of 11 billion today.

Akinwumi Ayo Adesina, Minister of Agriculture, Nigeria
We found oil. We abandoned agriculture. We have to take agriculture seriously again. Agriculture is not a social sector. Agriculture is a business.
Our policy is government enabled private sector led investment. We have to shift the productivity frontier forward. We use 8,000 tonnes of seed. The potential is 1 million tonnes.
Africa has the greatest potential to contribute to feeding the world.

Feeding the world – part 2

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:38:00 GMT

Louise Fresco, Professor, University of Amsterdam
Productivity growth has declined. This can be reversed quite quickly – for fertiliser, water, pesticide, seeds, soil use. The yield gap between best and worst is huge.

Matin Qaim, Professor, University of Goettingen
We can double productivity in agriculture at a global level.
There are 400 million small farms. High tech and small farms can live together including use of genetic modification.

Pascal Lamy, Director General, World Trade Organisation
Africa may well hold the key to global food security tomorrow. It has very low yields. In 30 years, Brazil has seen a miracle of improvement. Africa has gone backwards.
Contrary to some lobbyist views, a full assessment means trade in food becomes an environmental obligation as well as a moral obligation. Food must travel.
Two thirds of countries are net food importers. Two thirds of international food trade is in processed products, one third commodities.
5 countries produce 70% of the world’s rice. 3 countries account for 80% of soya beans. 5 countries are responsible for 70% of maize. 85% of soya exports come from 2 countries.

Paul Conway, Vice Chairman, Cargill
14-15% of food production is traded abroad. There will have to be more trade. Yet nearly 50 countries imposed food export bans after the 2008 financial downturn.
We’ve trained 2 million Chinese farmers.

Jim Borel, Executive Vice President, DuPont
70% of the world population will be urbanised by 2050.
A hungry man is ungovernable.
Farmers are rewarded on yield. We need to build in market mechanisms that reward better nutrition.

Jikun Huang, Director, Chinese Centre for Agricultural Policy
Water has been the largest component of Chinese agricultural investment in the past. China plans to invest $630 billion in water over the next 10 years.
China will be 99% self-sufficient for food in 2020.

Feeding the world

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:45:00 GMT

Remarks from The Economist conference today on The 9 Billion People Question.

Graziano da Silva, Director General, FAO
1 billion under-nourished, 1 billion overweight.
We waste one third of food produced. Reduced waste would feed 500 million.

David Nabarro, Special Representative, UN
It’s not just about production, it’s also about nutrition.
Cereals have many production incentives. More are needed for fruit and vegetables.
What do you put first? Enough to eat? Or the right stuff to eat? The right stuff is particularly important for the young. Traditional diets are some of the best. There is enough energy in the world today.

Howarth Bouis, Director, HarvestPlus
It’s not about famine, it’s about dietary quality – vitamins and minerals to the poor. Agriculture is not yet part of the toolbox but needs to be.
Nutrient content needs to be the new priority.

Patrick Webb, Dean, Tufts University
There’s a complete disconnect between dietary guidelines and agricultural production.

Paul Bulcke, Chief Executive Officer, Nestle
We’re going to run out of water faster than we’re going to run out of fuel.
41% of corn is now used for biofuels. That’s enough to feed 370 million. We say no food for fuel.
Smallholder farmers are vital. We have organised milk districts in 30 countries. In Pakistan, 100,000 deliver milk to one factory.

Andrea Illy, Chairman and CEO, illycaffe
25 million families involved in coffee, $105 billion roasted coffee market, $26 billion coffee production value.
We had to create our own responsible supply chain scheme, because there is no global sustainability standard.

Putting my finger on it

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:01:00 GMT

The Zenith logo draws some of its inspiration from a pyramid, with inevitable emphasis on its peak.

This time last week, I was fortunate to be on business in Cairo. So I snatched a moment to visit the Great Pyramids of Saqqara and Giza.

Ever in search of commercial zeniths for clients, I was challenged to see if I could put my finger on one of these historic pinnacles of strategic and logistical planning.

The photographic evidence is displayed alongside. Naturally, the secret is perspective. This pyramid is 136 metres high.

50 acquisitions in January

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:33:00 GMT

A brisk start to 2012 with fully 50 transactions recorded. The biggest were in packaging and ingredients, led by the United Kingdom’s DS Smith €1,700 million purchase of Sweden’s SCA main packaging operations.

As ever, further details are available in the searchable bevblog.net database.

Of the 50, 11 were in alcohol, 9 in ingredients, 8 in packaging and 7 in soft drinks.

25 countries were affected, with the United States involved in 25 and the United Kingdom in 12, followed by Belgium, Canada and France on 3 each.

Eurozone deficit – in fruit and veg

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:44:00 GMT

Various governments say we should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day for our health. But do we ?

The European Food Information Council recently published a review finding that most of us don’t.

The World Health Organisation target is 400 grams.

Just four countries surveyed have mean consumption above the target – virtuous Poland on 577 grams, followed by Italy on 452, Germany on 442 and Austria on 413.

Hungary and Belgium squeeze past when fruit juice is included. The rest of us fall short, though some countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece were not covered by the research.

Others lagging up to 25% behind were Estonia, Ireland, France, Denmark and the Netherlands. Up to 50% below were Slovakia, Bulgaria, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Czech Republic and Sweden. Iceland was bottom, the only country with consumption below 200 grams.

Another instance of must do better.

London hosts 2012 Global Beverages Congress

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

To coincide with this year’s Olympics, the 2012 InnoBev Global Beverages Congress will take place from 19th to 21st March in central London, next to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

Conference sessions include market and social leadership with Britvic and Coca-Cola, manufacturing and market perspectives from San Benedetto, Eckes-Granini, Rabobank and Closure Systems International, then supplier innovations presented by Aptar and Beneo. There will be a range of views on health and sustainability from Unilever, Coca-Cola, Closed Loop Recycling and Dragon Rouge, with Ajegroup, Parle Agro and Europanel offering insights into a range of key regional markets.

The programme will also look at marketing for tomorrow’s consumer with World Federation of Advertisers, Edelman and Healthy Brand Builders. There will be a range of innovation case studies from Sinebrychoff, Narang, BeBevCo and Pure Product, followed by insight workshops from Blue Marlin and Zenith International.

Other highlights include viewing the Olympics site while visiting Britvic and Closed Loop Recycling plus the Beverage Innovation Functional Drinks Awards Gala Dinner. For further details on entering the awards, please visit www.foodbevawards.com

Organised by Zenith International, the event is sponsored by industry suppliers Aptar, Beneo, Bericap, Closure Systems International, ColorMatrix and Tate & Lyle. Full programme details plus online booking are available at www.zenithinternational.com/events. Discounted rates are available on all bookings received by 20th February.

“Our theme of ‘Quicker, smarter, healthier’ draws from the Olympics motto, aiming to help develop the beverage sector through determination, athleticism and imagination to ensure continued growth and success for the future”, commented Zenith International Chairman Richard Hall.

“Now in its 8th year, the InnoBev Congress has evolved in to a highly effective forum for the global beverage industry to discuss key challenges and opportunities. We simply had to bring the event to Britain during this Olympics year.”

For further information, please contact:

Nick Crossland, Events Director, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square, Bath BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900, f +44 (0)1225 327901
zenithinternational.com

UK Soft Drinks Conference on winning form in London

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The 2012 UK Soft Drinks Industry Conference will be held close to the Tower of London on 21st and 22nd March, following immediately after the InnoBev Global Beverages Congress on 19th to 21st March. Both events will be in London as the location for the 2012 Olympics.

With the theme of Winning Form, the conference will address the key issues and opportunities facing the industry. Sessions include an update on the UK market from Zenith and an industry leadership panel including Britvic, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Feel Good Drinks. There will be a series of market insights from Dunnhumby, GlaxoSmithKline, SodaStream and Tropicana and a focus on innovation from Coldpress, Fahrenheit60, Freedom Brands and Manflu.

As part of the programme, delegates will also have an opportunity to visit Britvic’s Beckton site and Closed Loop Recycling in Dagenham. The event has become an established networking and knowledge building highlight of the industry calendar and the audience is expected to include senior industry managers, suppliers, analysts and the trade press.

Organised by Zenith International, this year’s conference is sponsored by global ingredients supplier BENEO-Palatinit. Full programme details plus online booking are available at www.zenithinternational.com/events. Discounted rates are available on all bookings received by 24 February.

“We decided on a competitive racing theme for this year’s event to coincide with the Olympics. All the presentations and discussion sessions will address what it takes to produce winning form for the future,” commented Zenith Chairman Richard Hall.

For further information, please contact:

Nick Crossland, Events Director, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square, Bath BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900, f +44 (0)1225 327901
zenithinternational.com

All eyes on global dairy growth in Oslo

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This year’s Global Dairy Congress will be held in Oslo, Norway, from 24th to 26th April. With a particular emphasis on markets, consumers and innovation, the theme of Marketing for growth aims to focus on brand building and adding value in support of healthy and sustainable business expansion for the future.

Leading Scandinavian companies Tine, Skånemejerier and Elopak will give a regional overview, followed by global perspectives from Arla, International Dairy Foods Association and Rabobank. There will be sessions on health and wellbeing with Healthy Marketing Team and Emmi, and on growth through acquisitions with Fonterra, FrieslandCampina and Zenith International. MilkPEP, Valio and Ketchum will look at growth through marketing, and speakers from Dragon Rouge, Bridgehead, Dairy Innovation and Beneo will present on growth through innovation. To conclude, there will be market briefings on price volatility and managing risk from FC Stone and on global trends in fresh dairy products and cheese from Zenith.

As part of the programme, delegates will have the opportunity to visit Tine and Elopak. The social highlight of the event will be the Dairy Innovation Awards and Elopak Dairy Marketing Awards Gala Dinner in the historical setting of Gamle Logen.

The Congress is organised by industry experts Zenith International in association with Dairy Innovation magazine. Leading packaging supplier Elopak will again be Principal Sponsor, joined by other sponsors Beneo, Bericap and Colormatrix.

“We are delighted to be offering such a full line up of top global and regional companies as well as plant tours and awards,” commented Zenith Chairman Richard Hall. “This event really does offer the most concentrated and cost effective way to keep on top of global trends and innovation at the same time as networking with industry colleagues”.

For full programme details and to book online, please visit www.zenithinternational.com/events

For further information, please contact:

Louise Gascoigne, Events Organiser, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square, Bath BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900, f +44 (0)1225 32790, zenithinternational.com

213 beverage transactions in 2011

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:01:00 GMT

bevblog.net tracked 213 beverage transactions in 2011, out of a total 468 across the food and drink sector involving businesses in 74 countries.

Beverages therefore accounted for 46% of the total, compared with food on 30% and industry suppliers on 24%.

468 FOOD AND DRINK TRANSACTIONS IN 2011

Source: bevblog.net

Beer and soft drinks were the leading beverage segments with 47 transactions each, just behind general food on 51, dairy on 51 and packaging on 49.

213 BEVERAGE TRANSACTIONS IN 2011

Source: bevblog.net

Full details are available free from the searchable database at bevblog.net.

468 food and drink acquisitions in 2011

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

bevblog.net has recorded a total of 468 food and drink sector transactions announced during 2011.

14 were worth more than $1,000 million, led by UK based SABMiller’s $10,200 million purchase of Australian brewer Foster’s, which was completed in December.

Beer featured in three of the top five for manufacturers, which added up to $19,830 million.

TOP 2011 FOOD AND DRINK MANUFACTURER DEALS

1	SABMiller UK	Foster’s Australia	$10,200m	Beer	Dec

2	Kirin Japan	Schincariol Brazil	$3,900m	Beer, soft drinks	Nov

3	Diamond Foods US	Procter & Gamble US (Pringles)	$2,350m	Snacks	Apr

4	Anadolu Turkey	SABMiller UK (Russia/Ukraine business)	$1,900m	Beer	Oct

5	Nestlé Switzerland	Hsu Fu Chi China (60% stake)	$1,480m	Confectionery	Jul

Source: bevblog.net

The top five for industry suppliers amounted to an even higher $23,000 million and were dominated by packaging in the United States.

TOP 2011 FOOD AND DRINK SUPPLIER DEALS

1	DuPont US	Danisco Denmark	$6,400m	Ingredients	May

2	Reynolds New Zealand	Graham US	$4,500m	Packaging	Jun

3	Sealed Air US	Diversey US	$4,300m	Processing	Oct

4	International Paper,US	Temple-Inland US	$4,300m	Packaging	Sep

5	RockTenn US	Smurfit-Stone US	£3,500m	Packaging	Jan

Source: bevblog.net

Full details are available free from the searchable database at bevblog.net.

Italian Mineral Water Conference targets healthy growth

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Details have now been announced for the 2nd Italian Mineral Water Industry Conference on 7th and 8th March 2012 at the San Clemente Palace Hotel in Venice. Organised by Zenith International in association with Mineracqua, the programme will include a plant tour to San Benedetto, panels of industry and retail leaders, and a conference with the theme of “Healthy growth”.

Conference speakers include numerous top names, such as the Chief Executives of San Benedetto, Sanpellegrino, Ferrarelle and Norda, as well as the Presidents of Coop Italia, Conad and Italgrob. Other presenters include Pepsi, Maniva, Krones, GSI Plastics, Sigma, SymphonyIRI, Zenith and the University of Venice. The main sessions will focus on economic realities and business priorities, growth opportunities, marketing insights and looking ten years ahead. The event will again be sponsored by key industry supplier Krones.

“Italy has enjoyed the highest natural mineral water consumption in the world for many years, but has recently encountered multiple pressures from economic concerns to poor summer weather,” commented Mineracqua President Ettore Fortuna. “The big question facing the industry is how to achieve renewed healthy growth.”

Zenith International Chairman Richard Hall added: “With such outstanding content, we very much hope the event will prove a highly effective platform for the Italian industry, through an opportunity to share insights and best practice, alongside allowing for networking and informal discussion.”

Full programme and booking details are available at www.zenithinternational.com/events. Discounted rates are available for bookings received before 10th February 2012.

For further information, please contact:

Nick Crossland, Events Director, or Roberto Donati, Market Analyst, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square, Bath, BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900
f +44 (0)1225 327901

33 acquisitions in December

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:01:00 GMT

Although the year ended quietly on the transaction front, I still found more than one a day in December, stretching across 26 countries.

14 involved the United States and no other country was affected by more than 2, with the exception of France on 3.

9 were in alcohol, 8 in soft drinks, 7 in food and 5 in packaging, but none in dairy.

The biggest two were Coca-Cola’s $980 million stake in Aujan of Saudi Arabia and the €753 million Swedish confectionery merger of Cloetta and Leaf.

Water cannon that fires cooler bottles

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:55:00 GMT

In my never ending quest for strange but true beverage stories, the new year has fired off with quite a bang.

A British company has created a cannon that shoots water cooler bottles. You may well ask what possible use that could be. The answer is terrorism.

Imagine a hostage situation. You want to break through a wall or into a vehicle. Simple. Grab a water cooler bottle. Load it into a ‘Wall Breaker’ cannon. Shoot. No explosives. Less risk to hostage.

You can see it in operation on http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2081677/Wall-Breaker-cannon-British-firm-BCB-International-creates-weapon-fires-water-cooler-bottles.html. Where else ?