The Lakes Distillery will become the first whisky distillery to operate in the English Lake District in more than 100 years. The £2.5 million venture, which has been founded by a consortium of private investors, will be headed by Paul Currie (pictured), co-founder of the award-winning Isle of Arran distillery in Scotland. It is set to open on the edge of picturesque Bassenthwaite Lake   – reviving an age-old tradition and creating a much needed boost to the local economy.

“The water is ideal, flowing from a source at Sprinkling Tarn – one of the most beautiful tarns, or lakes, in Cumbria – through the foothills of Scafell Pike which are rich in peat and will give the whisky its unique flavor and depth,” explains Paul Currie. “Combine that with the purity of the air and you have the perfect raw ingredients for distilling whisky.”

He adds: “The area has a long history of illicit distilling as the fells provided an ideal location for hidden stills and smuggling, but it is more than 100 years since the last whisky was produced here.”

The distillery will be housed in a converted Victorian model farm and aims to produce around 300,000 bottles of single malt whisky per year with the creation of 27 jobs.

The brewing plant will use the industry’s latest technology while the copper stills will be made to a unique design and a range of different casks will be used so the spirit is perfectly matured.

Along with the distillery the site will house a visitor centre with a bar, bistro and shop, each aimed at showcasing the finest, locally-sourced Cumbrian produce, and there will be regular tours of the site for schoolchildren and visitors.

The development of the site, which will be carried out using environmentally friendly and sustainable materials, is scheduled to start this summer with plans to begin brewing the whisky in December.

The company has also launched a Founders’ Club offering whisky enthusiasts the opportunity to be a part of history in the making.

The first 100 casks produced at the distillery will be set aside and exclusively bottled for members, who will also receive a range of additional benefits such as special offers and discounts.

Further investment is being sought to fund future development and anyone interested in investing in the company, or joining the Founders’ Club, can find out more at www.lakesdistillery.com.

In response to the market trend towards healthier lifestyles, Swiss dairy group Emmi has launched Good Day – a range of dairy products with less fat and sugar and more protein, and which are also lactose-free. In recent years, food-conscious consumers have made up an increasingly large segment of the population as a whole and of the dairy product sector.

Consumers are more conscious of what they eat today, and are choosing foods that don’t just taste good but are also healthy. Yesterday it was light products, followed by vitamin-enriched products, that were in vogue. Today it’s mainly dairy products that are low in sugar, low in fat and higher in protein. Growing numbers of consumers have to be particuarly aware of their tolerance of dairy products, which is closely linked to lactose or gluten content.

Today’s dairy products are mainly aimed at very specific target groups: connoisseurs, calorie-conscious and health-conscious consumers and allergy sufferers. Emmi has created a product range tailored to these consumers. Emmi Good Day products contain less sugar, less fat and more protein than conventional dairy products. They are also particularly easy to digest as they are lactose-free.

In the processing stage, care is taken to ensure all the valuable nutrients such as amino acids, vitamins and minerals are retained. And naturally, no artificial sweeteners or preservatives are used either.

The first Emmi Good Day products are now available in Swiss retail stores. The range currently includes pasteurised and UHT milk, strawberry, raspberry and mango yogurt drinks and strawberry, mocca, aloe vera mango and cereal yogurts. Other dairy products for daily consumption are currently being developed for the Good Day range.

Interest in natural products has grown markedly in recent years. This has been reflected in a number of ways in new product activity, such as the use of all natural colors, flavors and other raw materials. The popularity of organic products and the promotion of milk and dairy products from grass-fed livestock is also on trend, as is the growing use of GMO-free labeling.

In terms of product activity, launches featuring GMO-free claims and labeling remain relatively limited on a global scale. While nearly 13% of launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 12 months to March 2013 were marketed on an “additive-free” or “preservative-free” platform, nearly 7% were marketed as “natural” and 6% as “organic,” just 1.1% used GMO-free labeling. This figure rises slightly higher in certain countries and regions, notably Europe and Australasia, falling to less than 1% in North America and Asia.

In terms of products carrying GMO-free claims, snacks, dairy and bakery have the largest number of launches, reflecting the significance of GM ingredients in sectors using high levels of cereals for food or feed. They accounted for 14.1%, 13.3% and 12.5% respectively, of global GMO-free launches recorded, ahead of baby foods, meat, fish and eggs, confectionery and ready meals.

Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights, reports “In addition to the compulsory labeling regulations in place in the EU since the 1990s, there has also been a more recent move to verify and more easily identify GMO-free food and drinks.”

She notes particular interest in using GMO-free labeling for dairy products, with Germany and Austria tending to lead developments. Austria’s ongoing interest in marketing the purity of its dairy products resulted in it increasingly combining the use of pasture milk (Heumilch) with GMO-free labeling and this trend spread to Germany, as illustrated by Arla’s late-2012 introduction of its Bergbauern Emmentaler and Bergkäse cheeses marketed as being made with pure pasture milk (Heumilch) and carrying a GMO-free logo.

“The demand for GMO-free labeling seems set to continue to grow as a marketing tool globally,” Lu Ann Williams concludes, “as even where GMO foods have to be labeled, such as in the EU, there is still apparently demand for easy recognition of GMO-free lines as the use of logos and certification schemes continues to grow.”

For more information about Innova Market Insights, please visit www.innovadatabase.com.

Heineken has entered into a local joint venture agreement with privately-owned Alliance Brewery Company to brew and sell Heinken beers in Myanmar (Burma). ABC is majority-owned by Aung Moe Kyaw, a local entrepreneur and established leader in the spirits industry. The new joint venture company, APB Alliance Brewery Company, which will build a new greenfield brewery in the country, has been approved by the Myanmar Investment Committee (MIC).

Under the terms of the agreement, Heineken, through its subsidiary Asia Pacific Breweries, will have a controlling 57% stake in the new joint venture company and be responsible for overall management, providing brewing and technical expertise, procurement of ingredients and the licensing of brands.

The brewery will be located near the country’s capital Yangon and is expected to be operational by the end of 2014. The joint venture company plans to invest $60 million in the brewery, create more than 400 jobs and brew leading brands, including Heineken.

Heineken’s announcement follows the European Union Council decision on 22nd April 2013 to lift all sanctions, with the exception of the embargo on arms, against Myanmar. It also reflects the recent international recognition by many countries of Myanmar’s progress in terms of both political and social reform and the decision of a number of global companies to announce plans to enter the country.

Heineken is following the lead of The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg and Ford Motor Company in announced plans to enter Myanmar.

Jean-François van Boxmeer, chief executive and chairman of Heineken, comment: “This is a truly exciting business opportunity that expands further our exposure to high growth markets. There is a growing recognition of the positive progress that Myanmar is making in terms of its political and social reforms. Through our investment, job creation and implementation of our global policies, I believe that we will support this process.”

Northern Ireland meat processor Linden Foods is to invest £5 million in its factory site at Dungannon, resulting in the creation of 179 jobs. Linden Foods is a market leader within the Northern Ireland fresh meat processing industry, sourcing and processing top quality beef and lamb. Invest Northern Ireland has offered assistance of £520,000 under its Jobs Fund to support the company’s plans for growth within the food retailing sector.

Linden Foods, which is a subsidiary of Fane Valley Co-operative Society, services a range of retail multiples, convenience food manufacturers and the wider meat packing industry in the UK and Europe and is actively recruiting for the Dungannon site.

Trevor Lockhart, chairman of Linden Foods, says: “This investment is an important part of our long term development strategy and underlines our commitment to the Dungannon area. The support from Invest NI through its Jobs Fund will allow us to create the workforce we need to meet the demand for our range of new and innovative products among export customers and enable us to cement our leading position within the meat processing industry.”

Two years ago Linden Foods opened a new purpose-built facility adjacent to the company’s main processing site at Granville. Along with new preparation, production and dispatch areas, the 5,740 sq m premises included a dedicated innovation centre and development kitchen enabling the business to continually innovate and create products that are ahead of current trends in the food retailing sector.

CAPTION:

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster is pictured at Linden Foods with Trevor Lockhart, chairman, and (left) Gerry McGuire, managing director of Linden Foods.

Danone is acquiring an equity stake of over 90% in Happy Family, the fourth largest contender in the US baby food market, for an undisclosed price. Launched in 2006, Happy Family is one of the most innovative and dynamic companies in the US baby food sector, where it holds over 4% of the market. Its gross sales total more than $60 million and strong growth is expected in 2013.

Specializing in products made with premium organic ingredients, Happy Family has been a driver in the baby food category’s growth over the past few years. Its robust development is driven by a wide and varied range of products that combine convenience with clearly defined nutritional benefits.

“We are delighted with this acquisition in an innovative and fast-moving segment of the baby food market. Building on a business model that has proven its effectiveness, we plan to step up the development of Happy Family and its brands,” says Felix Martin Garcia, executive vice-president of the Danone Baby Nutrition division.

“By joining Danone, Happy Family will benefit from the expertise of a major international group, in particular for distribution and its renowned R&D capabilities,” says Shazi Visram, founder and chief executive of Happy Family. “This agreement will allow us to further our goal of providing organic nutrition to more children, both by making our products more available and by continuing to provide new innovations to the baby and toddler category.”

The transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities and is expected to be finalised in the next few months. Baby nutrition is one of Danone’s four business sectors. The others are fresh dairy products, waters, and medical nutrition.

Icelandic Group has decided to combine the management of its three UK businesses – Seachill, Coldwater and Icelandic UK. The move follows a global strategic development review which has resulted in Icelandic Group concluding that it is essential that its UK activities are strategically aligned and co-ordinated as one. The combined Grimsby-based UK company has turnover of £300 million and manufacturing operations will continue as three discreet business units.

Fuelled by an investment strategy, the 1500 jobs in the region are said to be unaffected by the changes. The move is intended to create the platform for the UK business to scale-up to an industry leadership position in 3-5 years time.

Malcolm Eley (previously Managing Director of Seachill) will be CEO of IGUK, supported by the existing leadership teams. Anita Barker will leave the business following a handover period. Magni Thor Geirsson will be Managing Director Procurement and Deputy for the combined business. Simon Smith will be Sales & Marketing Director for the combined business.

With 20% market share, IGUK is already a major player in the industry as primary and secondary processor of fresh and chilled seafood including wet, coated, ready to cook, ready to eat and ready meals and frozen fish. The businesses combined supply all the major UK retailers.

With many parts of the industry currently suffering trading volatility, the opportunity being provided by the Icelandic Group’s scale is continued stability and greater access to fish resources for UK customers. The management reorganisation will enable IGUK to build on its solid foundations and it will be in a position to invest further. Increased consumer understanding, access to quality raw material via Icelandic Group Global, R&D and factory efficiency are areas of focus.

Magnus Bjarnason, President & CEO of Icelandic Group, comments: “We recognise the importance of the UK, not least because of its highly developed retail market and are keen to take an active part in our continued growth in this territory. I’d like to thank Anita Barker for her hard work and tenacity in developing the Coldwater business over the past few years; she has been a valuable member of the IGUK team in developing the new strategy.”

With its international network of production and marketing companies in Europe and Asia, Icelandic Group offers a wide variety of fresh, chilled and frozen seafood products and services on a global scale. Icelandic Group’s core business is focused on value-added processing of seafood, mostly ready meals for retail and food service.

Icelandic Group has two main business segments; primary processing and value added processing, and sales and marketing, representing 60% and 40% of total sales respectively. On the production side, the group operates processing plants in the UK focused on value added products. The sales and marketing platform is focused on promoting Icelandic branded products on all major markets, most notably in UK, Spain and Japan. In addition, Icelandic Group is also involved in primary processing of raw material in Iceland.

Despite the challenging economic climate, UK poultry processor Moy Park has reported a substantial increase in pre-tax profits from £4.8 million to £24.4 million on turnover up by 1.6% to £1.09 billion for 2012.

“The improvement in pre-tax profit and trading margins was achieved by a combination of initiatives including operating cost improvements and productivity initiatives which helped shield the business from the difficult market environment,” points out Nigel Dunlop, chief executive of Moy Park. “The sales performance incorporates sales mix improvements and we were particularly successful in building our market share both with existing and new customers. We believe this positions the business even more effectively for the future.”

Nigel Dunlop, chief executive of Moy Park.

He adds: “Whilst these results show a strong recovery, we remain conscious of feed cost volatility and the continued challenges it poses to the whole supply chain. However against the backdrop of still difficult markets, we are pleased with the trading progress to date and we look forward to the future with continued confidence.”

Employing more than 10,900 people across 11 processing facilities in Northern Ireland, England and France, Moy Park Group is part of Marfrig Group of Brazil, a leading player in the global meat industry. Indeed, MoyPark was recently made responsible for the management of all Marfrig’s operations in Europe, encompassing Keystone Europe and Seara.

The Coca-Cola Company has announced four global strategic business actions across the more than 200 countries in which it operates to help fight the obesity epidemic. The four business commitments are to:

* Offer low- or no-calorie beverage options in every market;

* Provide transparent nutrition information, featuring calories on the front of all of our packages;

* Help get people moving by supporting physical activity programs in every country where we do business;

* Market responsibly, including no advertising to children under 12 anywhere in the world.

“Obesity is today’s most challenging health issue, affecting nearly every family and community across the globe. It is a global societal problem which will take all of us working together and doing our part,” says Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. “We are committed to being part of the solution, working closely with partners from business, government and civil society. ”

Already, The Coca-Cola Company has taken a number of important steps, including product and packaging innovations including smaller portion sizes with its expansion of mini-cans in the United States, Australia, Canada, Korea and Thailand. The Coca-Cola system currently supports hundreds of active, healthy living programs in more than 115 countries reaching millions of people, and is putting calories on the front of nearly all its beverages worldwide.

Presently, The Coca-Cola Company sells non-alcoholic beverages in nearly every beverage category – from sparkling beverages to water, enhanced and flavored water beverages, tea, coffee, juice and juice drinks, sports beverages and energy drinks. The broad portfolio includes nearly 800 low- and no-calorie beverages, representing 25 percent of the global portfolio. The Coca-Cola Company will continue innovating portion-controlled packages and new, natural zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia, because the company believes choice comes in many tastes, shapes and sizes.

Discriminatory food taxes introduced by some EU member states to discourage the consumption of certain foods sidestep the larger challenge of encouraging consumers to adopt healthier lifestyles and pose a risk to the competitiveness of the food and drink industries of the EU, agree EU social partners in the food and drink industry.

In a joint position, Europe’s food industry workers and manufacturers, represented by the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), and FoodDrinkEurope respectively, oppose discriminatory taxes on foods in favour of broader measures to encourage responsible eating habits and positive behavioural change among consumers in Europe, as it is not just food, but also lifestyle, social conditions and nutrition education that contribute to healthy habits.

The position calls on Europe’s politicians to take a holistic approach to tackling obesity and non-communicable diseases, including promoting nutrition education, supporting those with eating disorders, demanding that all actors throughout the food supply chain take responsibility for promoting healthier food choices, and, finally, addressing the socio-economic obstacles to healthy lifestyles such as low income levels, inequality and social exclusion.

“We must ensure that all Europeans, including low-income earners, can access both a variety of fresh and healthy foods at affordable prices, and knowledge about nutrition and healthy lifestyles,” says Harald Wiedenhofer, EFFAT General Secretary.

FoodDrinkEurope Director General, Mella Frewen, comments: “This joint statement marks an important development for EU social partners in the food and drink industry. It demonstrates their strong alignment that discriminatory taxes on foods are not the solution to help fight obesity and non-communicable diseases.  A more coherent approach is needed, with each actor playing his part, to help create positive behavioural change in consumer habits.”

EU social partners in the food and drink industry note the progress already made by actors along the food and drink supply chain to develop safe, healthy and high quality products, many of which are already available in ‘lighter’ forms or smaller portion sizes for consumers.

Furthermore, Europe’s food and drink industry efforts to continue to develop nutritious products that are accessible and affordable and which carry all necessary information to help consumers make more informed food choices, should be welcomed. This presents a positive opportunity for the industry to innovate, diversify and reformulate its products, thereby enhancing its long-term and global competitiveness.

An additional concern of the industry is that such taxes can promote unfair competition and cross-border shopping, which has been an impetus for the Danish government to recently announce that it will repeal a soft drinks tax that it says is costing the country millions of euros as consumers cross the border to shop in Germany.

Danone is acquiring a 50.1% interest in Sirma, one of the leading players in the Turkish water market. Ranked 11th worldwide in volume, Turkey’s bottled water market grew by 20% in value in 2012.

With reported sales of nearly Eur100 million, Sirma is active in plain and flavored bottled waters, and in HOD (Home & Office Delivery). Sirma is one of the market’s fastest-moving brands.

Danone is already present inTurkey’s water market with Hayat, and will benefit from the two companies’ strong complementarities in terms of brand positioning, geographical presence and distribution channels.

“Turkey is a strategic country for our division and we are excited at the prospect of joining forces with Sirma, whose founders and teams have done a tremendous job developing the water category inTurkey,” says Francisco Camacho, executive vice president of Danone’s Waters division.

This transaction is subject to the approval of the competent authorities, and is expected to be completed before the end of 2013.

The first ranking of the most chosen global FMCG brands launched by Kantar Worldpanel reveals the brands that are being bought by the most consumers, the most often. It is Coca-Cola that leads Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint ranking as the world’s most chosen brand, being chosen 5.3 billion times a year. The beverages drink manufacturer reaches its number one spot by combining a high penetration of 44% with the highest global frequency of purchase (15 times per year on average) meaning that it is chosen a total of 5.3 billion times a year.

The report highlights the opportunities for growth that exist, with only one brand in the world – Colgate – reaching more than half of the global population (65% penetration) with its oral care products.

Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint Ranking reveals the strength of brands in 32 countries around the world, across the food, beverage, health and beauty and homecare sectors. It uses an insightful new metric called Consumer Reach Points which measures – for the first time – how many households around the world are buying a brand (its penetration) and how often (the number of times shoppers acquire the brand).

This unique calculation of penetration and frequency helps FMCG manufacturers to clearly understand their global reach in terms of actual basket reach and provides a vital guide on which regions present the biggest opportunities.

The strongest global brands in the ranking have demonstrated their ability to understand and respond to local needs and reach the most remote consumers in rural areas of emerging markets by building larger distribution networks. However all of the brands still have plenty of room to recruit more shoppers in new geographies, new targets, new segments or on new occasions.

Josep Montserrat, Global CEO of Kantar Worldpanel, says: “Now brands demand more in-depth analysis of their current basket reach compared to their competitors and opportunities for growth around the world. The Brand Footprint report provides this. As the pressure to maintain and increase growth intensifies for FMCG manufacturers, brand consumer base expansion and significant increase of loyalty is more critical than ever. Consumer Reach Points reveals which brands are already achieving global success and provides insight that will help other FMCG brands with international ambitions to set global targets more accurately and improve their global business growth.”

There are thirteen global brands, those that are chosen by consumers more than one billion times a year, in the study. They are: Coca Cola, Colgate, Nescafe, Pepsi, Lifebuoy, Maggi, Pantene, Knorr, Lay’s, Dove, Lux, Palmolive and Tide.

The European Commission has adopted a package of measures to strengthen the enforcement of health and safety standards for the whole agri-food chain. Food safety is essential to ensure consumers’ confidence and sustainability of food production.

The package of measures provide a modernised and simplified, more risked-based approach to the protection of health and more efficient control tools to ensure the effective application of the rules guiding the operation of the food chain.

The package responds to the call for better simplification of legislation and smarter regulation thus reducing administrative burden for operators and simplifying the regulatory environment. Special consideration is given to the impact of this legislation on SMEs and micro enterprises which are exempted from the most costly and burdensome elements in the legislation.

The current body of EU legislation covering the food chain consists of almost 70 pieces of legislation. The new package of reform will cut this down to 5 pieces of legislation and will also reduce the red-tape on processes and procedures for farmers, breeders and food business operators (producers, processors and distributors) to make it easier for them to carry out their profession.

Tonio Borg, Health and Consumer Commissioner, says: “The agri-food industry is the second largest economic sector in the EU, employing over 48 million people and is worth some €750 billion a year.Europehas the highest food safety standards in the world. However, the recent horsemeat scandal has shown that there is room for improvement, even if no health risk emerged.” He adds: “In a nutshell, the package aims to provide smarter rules for safer food.”

Businesses will benefit from simpler, science and risk-based rules in terms of reduced administrative burden, more efficient processes and measures to finance and strengthen the control and eradication of animal diseases and plant pests. Consumers will benefit from safer products and a more effective and more transparent system of controls along the chain.

Official Controls

The Commission has recognised the need to strengthen the instruments available to the competent authorities in the Member States to check compliance with EU legislation on the ground (through controls, inspections and tests).

Recent food scandals have shown once more the need for more effective action on the part of enforcement authorities to protect consumers and honest operators alike from the risks (also in economic terms) which may arise from breaches of the rules along the chain.

The new rules follow a more risk based approach thus allowing competent authorities to focus their resources on the more relevant issues.

The current system of fees to finance the effective implementation of these controls within a sustainable system along the whole chain will be extended to other sectors within the chain which are currently not charged.

Microenterprises will be exempted from such fees, but not from controls, in order not to affect their competitiveness.

Member States will also be asked to fully integrate anti-fraud checks into their national control plans and to ensure that financial penalties in these cases are set at truly dissuasive amounts.

Other EU institutions, including the European Parliament and the Council will consider the Commission’s package of measures and will adopt their positions in due course. At this stage, it can be estimated that the package will enter into force in 2016.

After more than five successful years in Russia, Arla Foods has purchased the last 25% of Arla Foods Artis, the joint venture that controls its Russian activities. The former owner, Mike Lyasko, will continue to head Arla’s activities in the Russian market.

The acquisition makes the Russian company a wholly-owned Arla subsidiary.Russia is one of Arla’s three strategic growth markets, and will be delivering a significant share of the company’s growth up to 2017. The goal is a threefold increase in revenue from today’s level of approximately DKr600 million (Eur80.5 million).

“The acquisition of the last 25% cements our ambitions in Russia. Under the agreement from 2007, we have always had the option to acquire the remaining holding, and in view of our success in the Russian market, and our ambitions in our Strategy 2017, both parties considered this to be the right time,” says Hans Christensen (pictured), Senior Vice President in Consumer International with responsibility for Russia and North America.

Artis was a distribution company, headquartered in St Petersburg, when Arla acquired a 75% stake in 2007, after a few years of collaboration. The name was changed to Arla Foods Artis and the owner, Mike Lyasko, continued as co-owner and head of the team. Since then, the company has expanded into a full business, with 150 colleagues, mainly in sales and marketing, another sales office in Moscow, and this year also local yellow cheese production in Kalacheevsky, southwestern Russia.

Arla’s consumer product strategy in Russia is to build strong market positions for high-quality products within the butter and cheese categories, and to investigate opportunities to produce locally via partnerships or acquisitions. Arla supplies products directly to customers in 95 different towns. In each of Russia’s 13 largest cities, all with more than one million inhabitants, Arla has its own sales representative.

The products sold in Russia are Lurpak®, Castello®, cooking products under the Arla Apetina® brand and cream cheeses under the Arla Natura® brand, which in future will also be the brand name on locally produced yellow cheeses. Arla is a market leader for white cheese, with a market share of 22%, and aims to be one of the leading dairy companies for yellow cheese in Russia.

The Hain Celestial Group, the US-based leading natural and organic products company, has acquired Ella’s Kitchen and formed the Global Infant, Toddler & Kids Division. Ella’s Kitchen is a manufacturer and distributor of premium organic baby food under the Ella’s Kitchen brand and the first company to offer baby food in convenient flexible pouches. Ella’s Kitchen offers a range of 80 branded organic baby food products principally in the United Kingdom, the United States and Scandinavia.

UK-based Ella’s Kitchen generated approximately $70 million in sales in calendar year 2012 and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial’s earnings in fiscal year 2014 by $0.05 to $0.08 per diluted share. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. 

Paul Lindley, founder of Ella’s Kitchen, will become chief executive of the new Global Infant, Toddler & Kids Division at Hain Celestial US, with responsibility for Hain Celestial’s Earth’s Best brand as well as the newly acquired Ella’s Kitchen brand. He will report to John Carroll, executive vice president and chief executive of Hain Celestial US.

“We are very excited by the strategic acquisition of Ella’s Kitchen, which complements our Earth’s Best line of infant, toddler and kids products. Our Earth’s Best team has much to be proud of, having grown the brand from less than $15 million in sales in 1999 to over $150 million today, as the first and only full line of organic baby food products with a wide variety of offerings including jars, pouches, formula, cereal, smoothies, snacks, soups, meals and frozen products, diapers and wipes,” says Irwin D Simon, founder, president and chief executive of Hain Celestial. “We plan to grow the Ella’s Kitchen brand by leveraging our distribution platform in the European Union and the United States with the addition of Ella’s Kitchen organic baby food product offerings. We also see the opportunity to expand in the UK market with new feeding and personal care products under the Ella’s Kitchen brand.”

Carlsberg has renewed its partnership with UEFA to remain the Official Beer Sponsor of UEFA’s various national team competitions, including the 2016 UEFA European Championship and acquired rights in connection with the European Qualifiers from 2014 to 2017.

This will be Carlsberg’s eighth consecutive sponsorship of the UEFA European Football Championships and, following on from its recent decision to become a sponsor of the English Premier League, underlines its commitment to leveraging football, both at a national team and club level.

The global stature and scale of UEFA national team competitions allows Carlsberg to activate well beyond Europe. Such is the attraction of European football in Asia, a region in which Carlsberg continues to grow its business significantly, that during the 2012 tournament, markets such as Malaysia, China, India and Hong Kong, were also very active, both in the run-up to the tournament and during the tournament itself.

Tom Moradpour, vice president of the Carlsberg Brand, comments: “Sponsorship of the UEFA European Football Championships provides us with a fantastic platform to raise further the international profile of the Carlsberg brand and its values, while giving us another opportunity to create unique experiences for fans of both football and Carlsberg. UEFA EURO 2012 was a very successful tournament for us, both in terms of increased sales and increased media exposure for the Carlsberg brand. It justified our investment and convinced us that we should continue with this investment.”

Boulder Brands, a leading US-based global health-and-wellness company, has acquired one of the UK’s top gluten free baking businesses, Cheshire-based Davies Bakery, from Frank Roberts & Sons for an undisclosed sum. The deal combines a leading UK gluten free bakery operation with a proven North American brand and is a major boost for driving growth and investment into the gluten free category, which is estimated to be worth in excess of £310 million.

Boulder Brands will establish a subsidiary company in the UK, Boulder Brands UK, and will look to introduce its hugely successful Udi’s Gluten Free Foods brand later on in the year. In North America, Udi’s transformed the category by making food that tastes no different than conventional gluten-filled products. Udi’s has helped millions who were feeling restricted by their daily food sacrifices.

Davies Bakery has built up a reputation, over five generations, for producing high quality and innovative products. The deal will see the manufacture and distribution of more than 50 Udi’s products throughout the UK.

Steve Hughes, CEO and Chairman at Boulder Brands, comments: “The Udi’s brand leads the Gluten Free category in the US by making the most delicious and innovative products without sacrificing taste or texture. With a cult-like fan base, Udi’s sales skyrocketed from £1.2 million in 2009 to £61 million in 2012. The acquisition of Davies Bakery, with their heritage and baking expertise, is a step forward to bring the same high-quality standards to a growing number of gluten free consumers in the UK.”

Boulder Brands UK has set its targets on unveiling a range of up to 50 potential Udi’s lines becoming available across all categories of both the Gluten Free & Dairy Free markets.

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The board of Greencore, the UK and Irish convenience food group, has announced that Di Walker will step down as chief operating officer and as a director of the company on 24 May 2013.  Over the last eighteen months, Greencore has seen significant change with the successful integration of the Uniq and International Cuisine acquisitions in the UK, the transformation of its business in the US and the establishment of a broader executive management team, and Di Walker has played an instrumental role in this transition.

Di Walker’s responsibilities will be reallocated across the wider leadership team and the role of chief operating officer will not be replaced. Di Walker will remain with the company until the end of its financial year (September 2013) in order to ensure a seamless transition to this new management structure.

Global consumption of bottled water has doubled in the past decade, and is set to continue growth to replace carbonates as the leading soft drinks category, predicts Canadean.

Just ten years ago world consumption of packaged water stood at one hundred billion liters. Since then, and despite the global downturn, volumes have actually doubled. Perhaps even more amazing is that, according to Canadean’s latest calculations, packaged water will actually overtake carbonates as the leading soft drinks category in just two years. This anticipated result is being bolstered by its healthy image, plus actual necessity in those areas of the world lacking alternative, safe, water supplies.

The main thrust behind this category re-positioning is coming from Asia. Volumes here are predicted to rise by around 16% in this year alone; that is more than twice the global rate of increase. Yet, the region already absorbs one in every three liters of packaged water consumed around the world. But per capita intake remains well below the international average, especially in under-developed markets like Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam where it is still less than ten liters per capita. This underlines the huge market potential still to be released in this part of the world.

Asian growth has a strong dependency on China where major suppliers like the Blue Sword Group, China Resources Enterprises, Coca-Cola and Zhejiang Nongfushanquan Water Co are helping to drive expansion. But, as well as the Chinese market being huge, it also remains fragmented. Despite a combined volume in the order of seven billion liters, these four players are responsible for less than a third of category sales. Yet, whilst China represents the cornerstone of Asian packaged water consumption, Canadean can reveal that it is India that is seeing the more dynamic advances, at well over 20% a year.

The North American packaged water market is also huge with sales now in excess of 30 billion liters, but the pace of development is far less vibrant than in Asia. Volumes suffered here during the recessionary years and took time to recover; but the rate of annual growth is now re-accelerating. Recent progress has been partly driven by packaged water’s improved value offering, with consumers switching from other beverages where prices have risen more steeply. At the same time, the category has benefited from its intrinsic low calorie proposition relative to alternative mainstream soft drinks. However, conditions remain very challenging as a combination of relatively low growth and wafer thin profit margins make it hard for suppliers to commit to long-term investment in brand support. This is not seen to deter future volume expansion.

What is most reassuring for packaged water is that Canadean sees a positive future across all regions, even in West Europe where demand was struggling to increase even before the start of the economic crisis. Progress is currently being held back by such negative factors as approaching category maturity in Germany. Added to this is the threat posed by competing water filters and local authority initiatives promoting tap water in Italy. Nevertheless, market positivity is slowly returning, with almost 900 million liters predicted to join the regional pool by 2018. The packaged water category can look forward to a very bright future indeed.

The British pig industry has started checking that pork from illegal European Union farms is not entering the British food chain. National Pig Association’s ‘Exercise Compliance’ follows the outstanding success of its website Wall of Fame, where the UK’s top retailers and brands have pledged not to sell pork or pork products from continental farms that are flouting the European sow stalls ban.

Even though they were given ten years notice, over 60 percent of European Union countries have failed to comply with Europe’s sow stalls ban, which was introduced at the beginning of this year, points out NPA.. Working with the United Kingdom government, NPA is determined to stop pork from these lower-welfare farms being sold to unsuspecting British consumers.

Exercise Compliance will involve selecting imported pork products at random and asking the British companies that sell them to trace them back to their farms of origin – to prove the farms in question really have implemented the stalls ban.

“We believe the British food companies that have made the pledge on our Wall of Fame have conscientiously done what we asked of them, by gaining commitments from their suppliers that only pork from legal farms has been used,” says NPA regions manager Lizzie Press. “But now we want to test those statements by tracing randomly selected packs back to their farms of origin.”

NPA has already visited the Netherlands with retailer Asda to visit two farms that produce pork for the Asda supply chain. Lizzie Press adds: “Although we visited only a representative sample, it was clear both farms were fully compliant with the sow stalls ban and we were satisfied with the farm standards we observed.”

The United Kingdom unilaterally banned sow stalls outright 14 years ago, but the European Union did not introduce the ban for all European Union farms until January this year – although continental farmers were warned in 2003 of the January 2013 implementation date.

And even now the ban is only partial. Although sows can no longer be confined in stalls for most of their productive lives they can still be legally kept in stalls for about 20 percent of the time.

The European Commission has started infraction proceedings against nine countries – Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Germany, France, Cyprus and Portugal – but it is a long process which can take over a year. “So it remains essential that sourcing continues to be robust and monitored,” says NPA.

Cott Corporation is extending its UK and European business with the acquisition of Calypso Soft Drinks, including Mr Freeze (Europe), for an undisclosed price. Calypso Soft Drinks is a privately owned soft drinks and freezable business based at Wrexham in the UK.

Calypso Soft Drinks, with revenues of approximately US$50 million (£38 million), has a strong presence in the food service channel (which includes schools) with an extensive range of branded children’s soft drinks that use its own source of natural mineral water and contain no artificial colours or flavours. Additionally, Calypso Soft Drinks is the UK’s market leader in freezables with its Jubbly, Mr Freeze and other various licensed trademark offerings.

Steve Corby, Director of Cott’s UK reporting segment, comments: “The Calypso Soft Drinks acquisition falls within the diversification strategy of the UK reporting segment as it brings new soft drink packaging formats such as single serve Combi cartons, single serve cups and cuplets and two freezable formats into the Cott portfolio. Calypso Soft Drinks has been highly successful in providing its customers with quality and innovation. We look forward to building on the solid foundation already established.”

Peter Cooke, chief executive of Calypso Soft Drinks, says: “We firmly believe that bringing Calypso Soft Drinks into the Cott family will provide additional opportunities for the benefit of our employees and customers alike.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including clearance from the UK’s Office of Fair Trading and is anticipated to close in June 2013.

Canada-based Cott is one of the world’s largest producers of beverages on behalf of retailers, brand owners and distributors. Cott produces multiple types of beverages in a variety of packaging formats and sizes, including carbonated soft drinks, 100% shelf stable juice and juice-based products, clear, still and sparkling flavored waters, energy products, sports products, new age beverages, and ready-to-drink teas, as well as alcoholic beverages for brand owners.

Employing about 4,000 people and operating manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, the UK and Mexico. Cott also develops and manufactures beverage concentrates, which it exports to over 50 countries around the world.

While until a few years ago, Stevia was mainly known among industry insiders, after the EU approved its use in food and drink, there has been a surge of new product innovations in the EU to capitalise on consumer demand. Indeed, according to latest research by Mintel on natural sweeteners, the widespread rollout of products containing Stevia resulted in a massive 400% increase in launches globally between 2008/2012 and 158% between 2011/12.

With the only year on year increases in new product development,Europeis experiencing phenomenal growth and is now a key market driver for Stevia. It accounted for a quarter (25%) of global new product launches containing Stevia in 2012, up from just 4% in 2011. Meanwhile, Asia accounted for half (50%) of all introductions in 2012, but declined from 63% in 2011. North America accounted for 15% of new product launches in 2012, down from 21% in 2011 and Latin America accounted for 9% in 2012, down from 11% in 2011.

David Turner, Global Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel, says: “Whilst countries such as France, Germany and Finland had allowed a limited number of Stevia products as early as 2009, 2012 was the first year that Stevia was allowed to be used in a wide range of food and drink categories in all EU markets and manufacturers have responded with a huge increase in new product launches. The number of new products coming to market in Europe is up, and interest seems high, but in some categories companies have struggled to turn that into real commercial success. However, that may be about to change. In the UK for example we are seeing strong sales for products that use stevia in combination with sugar to provide great tasting, low calorie food and drink.”

Recent growth has been fuelled by dynamic product innovation across a range of categories. Some of the most widespread use of Stevia is in the non-alcoholic beverages category which alone accounted for 31% of the global products launched containing Stevia in 2012 and the snacks category, accounting for 26%. Meanwhile, 13% of global product launches containing Stevia were natural table-top sweetener alternatives to sugar and 7% were dairy products.

Increased concern over obesity levels could also present an opportunity for Stevia in low sugar and low calorie food and drinks, as it appears that sugar substitutes are still struggling against traditional sugar, especially when it comes to taste. In the US, more than half (57%) of consumers believe that natural sweeteners such as sugar or honey taste better than low calorie alternatives and 44% agree that sweeteners leave an aftertaste or simply taste bad. Sugar substitutes also appear to be limited to sweetening drinks such as tea or coffee rather than wider use in baking, as some 44% of US consumers consider them too expensive to bake with and just 33% believe they are easy to use in cooking.

There are also positive signs for the future of the sector and the opportunity to respond to underlying consumer demand for simple, natural products. Indeed, as Mintel’s research shows, 55% of consumers in Germany, 47% in the UK, 45% in France, 26% in Italy and 22% in Spain would be willing to try products made using alternative sweeteners. Moreover, 56% of consumers in the UK are interested in trying sweets with natural sugar alternatives.

“Taste issues and also the fact that Stevia is much more expensive than artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose, suggest that rather than replacing sugar entirely with Stevia, it will be more effective to use a blend of sugar, Stevia and other additives – at least until consumers get more used to Stevia’s taste. Innovations that blend sugar with sweeteners offer a lower calorie sweetener suitable for cooking whilst claiming to have the same taste as sugar. Looking to 2013, if Europe can learn from the US, it should see continued steady growth in the Stevia market. To ensure market growth can be sustained over the long term, continued new product development is needed to improve taste and versatility combined with high levels of marketing support to drive consumer education and trial,” David Turner concludes.

Cranswick has acquired East Anglian Pigs, a successful business involved in the breeding, rearing and finishing of British pigs. EAP operates in the British premium outdoor pig-rearing sector and has accreditation under RSPCA Freedom Foods and Red Tractor. The company is a key supplier to Cranswick’s activities in Norfolk and will continue as a separate operation with its own management team. At 31 March 2012 EAP had gross assets of £11.8 million.

This strategic acquisition demonstrates Cranswick’s on-going commitment to, and greater control over, a robust and integrated supply chain with a clear focus on premium, British ingredients. The acquisition of EAP will give Cranswick’s customers and the UK consumer further assurance as to the provenance and quality of its products.

With EU Member States having failed to reach a qualified majority – either in favour or against – a Commission proposal to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid insecticides, will apply from 1 December 2013. The proposed restructions are designed to ensure that bees, which are so vital to the ecosystem and contribute over €22 billion annually to European agriculture, are protected.

Tonio Borg, Health and Consumer Commissioner, says: “Although a majority of Member States now supports our proposal, the necessary qualified majority was not reached. The decision now lies with the Commission. Since our proposal is based on a number of risks to bee health identified by the European Food Safety Authority, the Commission will go ahead with its text in the coming weeks.”

The proposal restricts the use of three neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam) for seed treatment, soil application (granules) and foliar treatment on bee attractive plants and cereals. In addition, the remaining authorised uses are available only to professionals.

Exceptions will be limited to the possibility to treat bee-attractive crops in greenhouses, in open-air fields only after flowering.

As soon as new information is available, and at the latest within two years, the Commission will review the conditions of approval of the 3 neonicotinoids to take into account relevant scientific and technical developments.

Glanbia Ingredients Ireland is to receive Irish Government support for its plans to gear up to handle the anticipated increase in milk production after EU quotas are abolished 2015, with an investment package of over €150 million in a new processing facility at Belview in County Kilkenny. The expansion programme is expected to create over 1600 direct and indirect jobs and contribute an estimated €400 million pa to the Irish economy – with particular benefit to farm families and rural communities. Through Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation will part-fund the development of a world-class dairy facility in Belview.

GII is Ireland’s leading dairy ingredients company – processing 1.6 billion litres of milk or 30% of Ireland’s milk pool into a range of dairy ingredients for export to more than 50 countries. The new plant will incorporate two 7.5 tonnes per hour dryers and have an output of 100,000 tonnes of dairy powders per annum.

All produce from the new facility will be destined for export markets. Construction is set to commence on 17 May and the new facility is expected to begin production in Spring 2015. 

The scale and scope of Belview is extremely ambitious. As the dairy industry purchases 90% of its inputs from the domestic economy, there will be a maximum impact on the income of farm families – boosting the rural economy and the local industries that will service on-farm expansion.

GIIL enjoys strong commercial relationships, including contract manufacturing with eight other Irish dairy processors. This new scalable facility will provide platforms for further collaboration in the industry. 

Jim Bergin, chief executive of GII, says: “The Belview facility is a significant, strategic development for our business. Most of all it reflects our confidence in, and commitment to our 4,300 milk suppliers. By providing this additional processing capacity we will be facilitating milk suppliers in their ambition to avail of the opportunity presented by quota abolition post 2015. We are very pleased that through Enterprise Ireland, the Government is acknowledging the economic contribution of the Belview project.”

He adds: “The Belview plant will be entirely focused on export markets and will supply a range of nutritional powders to an increasing number of regions including the Middle East, Africa, Central America and Asia.”

UK beer sales fell 2.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, according to the British Beer & Pub Association’s quarterly Beer Barometer. The loss in sales of this iconic British product took place in the pub sector, which was down 5.5 per cent.

Off trade sales were more stable, rising 0.1 per cent compared with the first quarter in 2012. The association is pointing out that the long winter will certainly have hit business in pubs, and the period largely precedes the unprecedented cut in beer duty in the Budget on 20th March and other Budget changes which should help pubs.

The decline in pub sales reflects the trend in recent years, says the BBPA. The pub sales decline represents the loss of 49.8 million pub pints over the same quarter in 2012.

Brigid Simmonds OBE, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, comments: “The figures show the Chancellor was right to cut Beer Duty and abolish the escalator, given the huge tax rises in recent years. We would hope to see the benefits in second quarter sales, where brewers, pubs and pub goers will see Beer Tax rates at nearly seven per cent lower than they were due to be.”

She adds: “Beer has a very special place in pubs, and accounts for 68 per cent of pub drinks’ sales. The duty cut has seen brewers and pub companies passing on the reduction to customers. It will encourage brewers and pubs to invest and create jobs.”

VION is separating its two principal activities – food and ingredients. The company aims to achieve full operational, organisational and legal independence for Food (active in the Netherlands, Germanyand a number of export markets) and Ingredients (active globally).

The independent Food business will focus on improving financial performance through reorganisations in the Netherlands and Germany. A new (co)shareholder will be sought to help achieve further development and growth for Ingredients.

VION Food, with its slogan ‘Passion for Better Food’, focuses on the pork and beef markets in the Netherlands and Germany, making it close to consumers. The Netherlands, Germany and a number of select international markets are geographically aligned in such a way that they offer VION Food significant opportunities to achieve far-reaching operational integration, synergy and a considerably lower cost base. Food employs approximately 14,000 staff.

VION Ingredients, with its slogan ‘Improvement by Nature’, is active with a large number of companies which manufacture added-value products such as gelatine, proteins and fats from slaughterhouse by-products. These are successfully marketed to B2B markets such as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, feed, energy and technology sectors. Ingredients employs approximately 6,000 staff.

The Board of VION and the shareholder have concluded that making Food and Ingredients independent is the best option. This strategy is partly based on the fact that the acquisitions and the increase in scale at Food over the past decade have not delivered the expected results. In addition, the ongoing poor market conditions, particularly in the European pork sector, have forced the company to make choices.

The independence of Food and Ingredients follows on from the divestment over the past six months of the food activities in the UK and the sale of a number of non-core business activities including Banner Pharmacaps (supplier to the pharmaceutical industry) and Oerlemans Foods (deep frozen vegetables and potato products).

Nestlé Professional, the Nestlé business that supplies the food services industry, is investing Eur40 million to extend its Davigel factory in Noyal-Pontivy, France. The investment, which will create 90 permanent jobs, will enable the company to further develop its range of nutritionally balanced meals for hospital patients.

Davigel, a leading provider of frozen and chilled food solutions, already supplies meals to a number of hospitals and healthcare institutions in France, where more than 990 million meals are served to patients every year.

“We pride ourselves on continuous innovation,” says Jean-Marie Gurné, head of Nestlé Professional Business-to-Business.“Davigel already offers nearly 3,000 products and is constantly renovating its portfolio. This investment will help provide an even greater variety of high-quality, nutritious products to satisfy our customers’ expectations.”

Davigel was founded in 1963 and is now present in 10 countries in Europe and beyond. In 2012 it achieved a turnover of Eur783 million (more than SFr900 million). The company is based in France, where it employs more than 3,000 people and operates three factories.

R&R Ice Cream, the second largest take-home ice cream manufacturer in Europe, is being acquired by private equity group PAI Partners for Eur460 million plus the assumption of debt from Oaktree Capital.

R&R Ice Cream operates 11 plants located in five countries in Europe, including the four largest ice cream markets across the region. Holding leading positions in the UK, German, French and Italian ice cream markets, R&R Ice Cream offers a broad product range of private label and branded ice cream products. It primarily produces take-home ice cream products, including ice cream tubs and multi-packs of ice cream cones, ice lollies, ice cream sticks and ice cream desserts, and impulse products.

For the year ended December 31, 2012, R&R Ice Cream generated revenue of Eur600.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of Eur84.4 million. R&R Ice Cream was created in 2006 following the merger of UK-based Richmond Ice Cream with German ice cream manufacturer Roncadin.

R&R Ice Cream has expanded through a series of strategic acquisitions, the most recent being the purchase of Fredericks, the third largest branded ice cream manufacturer in the UK, for £49.0 million.

PepsiCo UK has again secured a place the UK’s list of Top 50 Employers for Women. This is the sixth year that PepsiCo has made the prestigious list which is published by The Times newspaper in partnership with Opportunity Now, the gender campaign from Business in the Community.

A place in the Times Top 50 recognises PepsiCo as a company that is leading the way in gender equality in the workplace. All organisations within the Top 50 are able to demonstrate that gender equality is an integral part of their business strategy, with consistent commitment to progressing women in the workplace that covers their entire organisation, not just isolated areas.

PepsiCo included a range of programmes in its entry for the awards, including detail on its Strategies for Success mentoring programme which has successfully helped female middle managers reach their senior management potential.

A former tanning salon and metal fabricators workshop at Solihull in England have been converted intoBritain’s most environmentally friendly convenience store after the new Sainsbury’s Local opened its doors. The new store uses cutting edge technology normally not seen in a store of its size to minimise its environmental impact.  It boasts a number of industry leading features including:

* 42 solar panels on the roof generating electricity (10.5 kWp photo voltaic solar panels delivering circa 9,000 kWh/annum)

* 30 per cent less heat required due to insulation from double glazing on the shop front and timber structural insulated panels within its construction

* Natural refrigeration (CO2) reducing carbon emissions by 33 per cent

* New highly energy efficient LED lighting used across the whole shop

* The signage in the store for customers is made from recycled materials.

The recycling rate for construction waste was 98 per cent and the store’s innovative design also reduced the actual construction time by four weeks, helping to further reduce its impact on the environment.

Paul Crewe, Sainsbury’s Head of Sustainability, Engineering & Energy, says: “It’s a great achievement to fit all of this technology into such a small store. Each one has been selected to help us reduce our environmental impact and achieve reduced carbon and energy savings.  We believe this makes it Britain’s greenest convenience store finished to the very highest standards.”

He adds: “The environmental features in the store will also play a big part in helping us to achieve our stretching carbon emissions reduction target of 30 per cent absolute by 2020. We will be monitoring its performance closely over the coming months and hope it will provide an important blueprint for future Sainsbury’s Local stores.”

Sainsbury’s has ambitious plans for its convenience store network and in 2012/13 it opened 87 convenience stores. Sainsbury’s now has 530 convenience stores nationwide.

Sainsbury’s opened its first convenience store in Hammersmith in 1998. Last year the retailer announced that the continued growth of its convenience stores across the UK would create 10,000 jobs over the next three years.

Danone and Yakult Honsha, the Japanese probiotics specialist, have replaced their existing strategic alliance with a new co-operative framework.

In 2004 Danone and Yakult signed a strategic alliance aimed at strengthening their global leadership in probiotics and accelerating the growth of both companies in the functional food market. Under this alliance several collaboration projects in probiotics research and promotion have been undertaken, as well as commercial joint ventures in India and Vietnam.

As provided for in the alliance, since the end of the first phase in May 2012, discussions on the development of the partnership have taken place in recent months, leading to the termination of the alliance agreement and the signing of a new cooperation framework.

This new framework calls for existing collaborations to be continued, and envisages extending them into areas that are more operational in nature and that offer benefits for both parties. Given the relationship of trust built up over the years, this framework does not contain commitment or limitation regarding Danone’s equity interest in Yakult.

Through this new cooperation framework, which opens a new stage in their cooperation, Danone reaffirms its status as a major shareholder and long-term partner of Yakult. In this context three Danone representatives will continue to serve on Yakult’s board of directors.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company has elected a new seven-member Board of Directors. Nikolaos Mamoulis is the new Chairman and Non-Executive Director, while Emmanouil Fafalios is Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.

Spyridon Mello is Secretary and Non-Executive Director, Garifallia Spiriouni is Non-Executive Director. The three Independent Non-Executive Directors are Vasileios Goutis, Georgios Mellas and Dimitrios Farmakidis-Μarkou.

UK-based global pharmaceutical and healthcare group GlaxoSmithKline has decided to dispose of its Lucozade glucose energy and sports drinks, and Ribena fruit juice-based drinks brands. The two brands are part of GSK’s Nutrition business which is incorporated within the group’s Consumer Healthcare division. The disposal is part of GSK’s efforts to reshape its business, improve strategic focus and enhance its growth profile.

“In April 2013, we completed the strategic review of our nutritional drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena and concluded that the tremendous growth potential of these iconic brands, particularly outside the ‘core’ Western markets, could be better leveraged by companies with existing category presence and infrastructure in these regions,” explains Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline. “As a result, we have decided to pursue the divestment of these brands, subject to the realisation of appropriate value for GSK shareholders.”

GSK’s Nutrition sales grew 6% to £280 million in the first quarter. The category performance was driven by strong growth of the Horlicks brand inIndia(up 16%) and the Boost energy drink (up 23%). Ribena sales grew 2% but Lucozade was down 2%.

The French soft drinks market is being adversely impact by the imposition of taxes and the continuing economic pressures on consumer spending, according to Canadean.

In January 2012, a new ‘fat’ tax was imposed on sugary beverages equating to around 1 cent per container, and expected to raise in the region of €150 million for the French Treasury. The new tax was introduced to both contribute to reducing the fiscal deficit, and to fight against the rising obesity problems that most western countries – including France – now face.

The tax hike has been heavily criticized by several soft drinks industry players claiming that consumption would fall by as much as 10% in what is considered by some to be an important sector of the economy. Despite this opposition, the government has refused to backtrack on the legislation, and while effects of the hike appear to have been somewhat overstated, the market for soft drinks in France remains subdued.

In the light of such a tax regime, and in line with the general economic malaise affecting France, many consumers have sought to reduce consumption of higher priced beverages, and a trend of trading down to less expensive, lower sugar products has been seen in the country over the last 12 months. Unless there is a change of heart on the part of the government, any significant growth recovery in drinks categories such as carbonates, juice, nectars and still drinks is unlikely to be seen in the short to medium term.

Conversely however, an attempt to introduce a punitive sumptuary tax (€50 per hectoliter) on energy drinks was struck down by the French ‘Conseil Constitutionel’ on the grounds that the tax lacked an ‘objective and rational criteria’. The tax had been intended to reduce the consumption of energy drinks as mixers for alcohol by young persons in particular. The ruling has been welcomed by several large players in the industry. As a result Candean forecasts further impressive growth in this category in the coming years, bucking the overall negative trend seen in the market as a whole.

Kellogg Company has been recognised  as a “Top 50 Company for Diversity” by DiversityInc, a leading global organization focusing on diversity and inclusion. This is the second consecutive year that Kellogg has received the recognition.

“Our founder, WK Kellogg, built our culture through the ways he conducted the business, treated his employees and served the community,” says President and Chief Executive Officer John Bryant. “With this legacy and our company’s values, we are fostering a diverse and inclusive environment that helps us be a better, more competitive company through engagement and innovation.”

There are four core areas DiversityInc considers when selecting its Top 50 companies: the CEO’s commitment to diversity and inclusion; human capital; corporate and organizational communication on diversity-related issues; and supplier diversity.

“We believe diversity and inclusion are essential to living our values, achieving our business goals and building a stronger Kellogg,” says Mark King, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion. “To succeed in an increasingly competitive global market, we must attract, engage and retain the best employees who reflect the diversity of our consumers.”

With 2012 sales of $14.2 billion, Kellogg is the world’s leading cereal company; second largest producer of cookies, crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company.

A new, pioneering €2.2million EU INTERREG IVA-funded programme aims to increase sales by €30 million across 90 food and drink manufacturers, as well as enhancing the marketing skills of 400 companies in the border regions of the Republic of Ireland, Western Scotland, and across Northern Ireland.

‘Access 6’ is an innovative programme which introduces the theme of ‘co-opetition’, bringing together the collective skills and experience of the sector’s three main representative bodies –  the Irish Exporters Association (IEA), Scotland Food & Drink (SFD), and Northern Ireland Food & Drink (NIFDA).

Over the next three years the three bodies will work collaboratively with a core group of 90 SME food and drink manufacturers from across the three regions (30 per region), overcoming the barriers which have hampered growth and establishing a strong presence on the world market. Through mentoring, marketing assistance and logistical support, the programme will help develop the skills required to trade in key export markets including the USA and Europe.

In addition to sales growth, the programme aims to create an additional 90 new jobs within the participating businesses, and also up-skill a further 400 SMEs across the region as a whole. The longer term aim is to reinvigorate the food and drink sector on a cross border basis, helping it achieve world-class status by realising its full export potential.

Pictured are (from front l-r): Michael Bell, NIFDA, John Whelan, IEA, Lorraine McCourt, SEUPB, Amanda Brown, SF&D.

While initially selected on a geographical basis, the companies will be grouped into market-specific clusters and embark on a schedule which includes knowledge exchange, management practice training and support, and overseas study tours.

Each cluster will also work alongside a channel partner within each export market, such as a major distributor, wholesaler or retail multiple. This will create a strong competitive advantage by providing a clear route to the end market.

John Whelan, Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association, says: “This project will accelerate consumer focused innovation in products, processing and packaging which is critical for our regional food and drink companies to reach new markets and remain competitive. We are confident that the project, over the three years, will broaden the export reach of many such companies which are peripheral to the main consumer markets and under pressure to survive.”

He continues: “The project’s collaborative approach is unique, bringing together complementary skills and expertise, delivering the best management tools and techniques, and sharing the most relevant experience and contacts. Ultimately this market expansion scheme has the capacity to impact beyond regional level, delivering economic benefits across the food & drink sector as a whole.”