Fonterra has appointed advisers to provide specialist expertise and guidance on the next steps in its capital structure changes.

Fonterra CFO Jonathan Mason said Fonterra had used external advisers to assist it in developing the initial proposal for Trading Among Farmers – in particular, to support the goal of a deep and liquid market for the trading of Fonterra shares among farmer-shareholders.

Mason confirmed that Fonterra was working with external advisers with specific capital markets experience, including First NZ Capital-Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank-Craigs Investment Partners.

"We will be accessing professional advice from a range of advisers as we move through the various stages leading up to the introduction of Trading Among Farmers," said Mason. "This specialist expertise will be essential as the Co-operative develops the technical details for a new Fonterra Shareholders' Market and Fonterra Shareholders' Fund."

Fonterra has also appointed NZX to help design the trading platform for the Fonterra Shareholders Market.

"The farmer-only exchange for trading shares, which will operate on the Fonterra farmer intranet (Fencepost), will be unique, and will be built from scratch," said Mason. "Fonterra will be using NZX in much the same way as we used CRA to design globalDairyTrade."

NZX was appointed through a contestable process and was chosen because of its experience in designing and building trading markets, as well as its knowledge of local conditions and the local regulatory environment.

"The details of how Trading Among Farmers will work in practice are still at a preliminary design stage and it's too early to speculate on what shape the market will take," said Mason. "Trading isn't expected to begin until late in 2011 at the earliest."

Fonterra farmer shareholders endorsed changes at a special meeting in June that authorised the Co-operative to take the necessary next steps to develop the details to allow Trading Among Farmers.

Source: Fonterra

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers' plans are under way to stage the Dairy Event and Livestock Show on 7-8 September 2010 at a new venue: The NEC, Birmingham.

More than 14,500 visitors are expected from the UK and beyond, and of the 450 trade exhibitors that have booked stand space, over 20% have taken additional space compared with previous years, a trend which reflects the strength of the industry's support.

RABDF chief executive Nick Everington said: "Relocating the UK's largest specialist event to the NEC is proving to be an exciting challenge. In the first instance, the move is enabling us to continue to build on the event in its current format, offering comprehensive technical, business and financial information for the entire UK ruminant sector.

"Furthermore, the new venue, with its larger, modern and easy accessed facilities, is destined to make a serious statement of professionalism on behalf of the UK livestock sector. It reflects the event as up to date and progressive, in particular to retailers and processors, international visitors, the next generation and recruits to the industry."

The entire food chain will be represented: producers, processors, retailers and suppliers, all helping to build much needed collaboration. Members from the dairy processing sector will be featured in MilkMade, the exhibition which has developed over the last seven years as a focal point where producers and processors can find out more about milk processing, packaging facilities and cool storage technology and also obtain advice to help them with their business planning and market research.

"Each of the indoor exhibitors will be brought together under one roof and located in interlinked exhibition halls which will be divided in to 12 product sector zones enabling farmers to find exhibitors more easily and make better use of their time," said Everington.

"We will also be welcoming international visitors in a dedicated lounge, which will provide the opportunity for farmers and suppliers from overseas to do business with British-based companies."

Source: RABDF

Back in January, we mentioned the 75th birthday of the beer can. Beverage Can Makers Europe (BCME) is celebrating the diamond anniversary of the drinks can by releasing some interesting facts and figures.

After three quarters of a century on the market, the can lays claim to being world’s most recycled, sustainable and innovative drinks package.

Over the decades, through a series of technical innovations, this versatile and refreshing drinks container, first used to package beer in 1935, has become completely integrated into our modern lifestyles, accounting for more than 25% of all carbonated soft drinks and beer packaging in Europe.

Continual lightweighting of the beverage can means it's now possible to produce three times as many cans from the same amount of virgin material as it was 30 years ago. Today, the 330ml tinplate can weighs just 21g – the aluminium can just 10g, with a wall thickness thinner than a human hair.

Some further reductions in the weight of the can are likely, but it's now recognised that boosting recycling rates offers the potential for significant environmental benefits in terms of carbon emissions and resource conservation (it's possible to recycle a can indefinitely without quality deterioration, with recycling saving up to 95% of energy needed to produce virgin material with a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions). The European average for can recycling is 65% and has increased steadily. With a target to have three out of every four cans recycled in the future, the need for virgin material and energy will be further reduced. When recycling a can, 75-95% of the energy is saved.

Innovations such as digital printing, embossing, thermochromic inks, self-cooling and resealable cans have also made the can one of the coolest, most convenient drinks packages on the market.

Can timeline – key dates in the history of the beverage can

• 1935 – the first canned beer is sold by US brewer Gottfried Krueger in Richmond, Virginia.
• 1953 – cans are used to package soft drinks for the first time.
• Early 1960s – introduction of two-piece aluminium can, enabling faster production and use of less metal.
• 1975 – introduction of stay-on tab, or ‘ecology end’, a key sustainability development.
• 1992 – introduction of the ‘widget’.
• 1995-2010 – introduction of innovations such as large opening end (or ‘gulper’), under-tab printing, thermochromic and light-sensitive inks, digital printing, embossing, self-heating and self-chilling cans and resealable cans.
• 2009 – 51bn beverage cans filled in Europe alone.

Source: BCME

Advertising Age reports that Coca-Cola drinks made from kale (a nutritious but not very tasty leafy green vegetable) could soon turn up on store shelves.

Coca-Cola West, the largest Coke bottler in Japan, said this week it will spend $425.6m to buy Q'Sai Co, a major Japanese health food producer whose main product is a green juice called 'aojiru' made of kale.

Kale juice made by Coke probably won't go on sale in the US any time soon, but Japan has long served as a source of inspiration and innovation for Coca-Cola in areas such as health drinks.

New ideas coming out of Japan are not limited to drink flavours. Coca-Cola has introduced vending machines for hot and cold products that can interact with consumers, cashless payment options and networked vending systems. Three years ago, Coca-Cola launched Patissiolle, a chilled-cup coffee product sold in a type of aluminium packaging that's believed to be a world first.

Source: Advertising Age

• If you enjoyed this article, you may also like this new product: Maaza Milky Delite

PepsiCo has announced a change of distribution for its Gatorade products in the key trade channels of Convenience, UDS (up and down the street) and Dollar from a warehouse-delivered go-to-market system to direct store delivery through company-owned and independent bottlers in the US and Canada.

The company expects the change to become effective 1 January 2011.

"This is a clear example of using PepsiCo's broad set of go-to-market systems to best serve our customers," said Massimo d'Amore, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages Americas. "We remain dedicated to the existing warehouse distribution system for some of our beverage products, but the change to direct store delivery makes sense for Gatorade, as we redefine the sports nutrition category through the G Series."

This will be the first large-scale step toward optimising delivery systems resulting from the bottling acquisitions earlier this year. The expected synergies related to these changes are included in the company's target of $400m in pre-tax annualised synergies from the bottling acquisitions once fully implemented by 2012.

"The distribution of Gatorade in key trade channels of Convenience, UDS and Dollar is well suited to the direct store delivery model due to its high velocity, so the switch will result in better store-level customer service," said Eric Foss, CEO of Pepsi Beverages Company. "By achieving greater speed, simplicity and flexibility, we'll be able to better serve the current and future needs of our retail customers and consumers in the marketplace."

Other PepsiCo brands that are warehouse-delivered to the key trade channels of Convenience, UDS and Dollar, including Tropicana, Quaker and Naked Juice, will not be affected by this change.

Source: PepsiCo

• To submit editorial for consideration, contact the FoodBev.com editor or phone 01225 327869.
• If you're submitting potential editorial for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.

Owens-Illinois has acquired Brazilian glassmaker Companhia Industrial de Vidros (CIV), significantly expanding O-I's reach in South America's largest container market.

CIV is the leading glass container producer in northeastern Brazil, one of the country's fastest-growing regions. The acquisition includes two plants in the state of Pernambuco and one in the state of Ceara, and boosts O-I's capacity in Brazil by approximately 50%.

The plants employ approximately 1,300 people and produce glass containers for the beverage, food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as tableware.

Under the terms of the agreement, O-I is purchasing CIV's glass container business for $603m, which includes future tax benefits with an estimated present value of $140m. These tax benefits include federal and state incentives for development in Brazil's northeastern region. The all-cash transaction closed 1 September 2010.

In the first full year of operation, O-I expects the acquisition will boost regional net sales by approximately $200m. The return on investment is expected to exceed O-I's cost of capital. The purchase price reflects a 5.8 times Ebitda multiple for the first year of operation, excluding the present value of future tax benefits and including estimated net cost savings.

"The acquisition of this well-managed company in South America directly supports our strategy of expanding our presence in emerging markets with robust earnings growth potential," said Al Stroucken, O-I chairman and CEO. "Our recent expansions in Argentina, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as the opening of new furnaces in Peru and New Zealand, clearly demonstrate our commitment to these rapidly growing regions and the opportunities they offer."

Source: Owens-Illinois

• To submit editorial for consideration, contact the FoodBev.com editor or phone 01225 327869.
• If you're submitting potential editorial for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.

On 1 September 2010, Reynolds Group Holdings Limited acquired the Reynolds Food and Flexible Packaging group of companies from Reynolds Packaging (NZ) Limited.

The consideration for the acquisition was approximately US$300m subject to adjustments in certain circumstances. The consideration was financed from the existing cash reserves of the RGHL group of companies.

RGHL is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of consumer food and beverage packaging and storage products and operates through four primary segments: SIG, Evergreen, Reynolds Consumer and Closure Systems International. RGHL is based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Source: Reynolds Group Holdings Limited

• To submit editorial for consideration, contact the FoodBev.com editor or phone 01225 327869.
• If you're submitting potential editorial for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.

Ball Corporation plans to consolidate the production equipment in its Richmond, British Columbia, plant into other company manufacturing facilities.

The Richmond plant, which produces steel food cans, will cease production during the first quarter of 2011 and its customers will be served by other Ball facilities.

The company expects to record a largely non-cash, after-tax charge of approximately $7m related to the plant closure, of which approximately $3m will occur in the third quarter of 2010. After the final disposition of the land and building, the closure is expected to be cash positive by approximately $8m.

"Over the past two decades, our manufacturing operations in the Richmond plant have decreased as market demand and customer needs have changed," said Michael W Feldser, president of Ball's metal food and household products packaging division, Americas. "By consolidating the plant's production into other Ball facilities, we will better control our costs in this very competitive market and further align our supply with customer demand."

The Richmond plant manufactures steel cans for the Alaskan and Canadian salmon industry. It opened in 1985 and employs approximately 40 people. Employees will be offered outplacement over the next several months. Other benefits, including severance, will be provided in accordance with the plant's collective bargaining agreement.

Source: Ball Corporation

PureCircle USA has announced a distribution agreement with Premium Ingredients International, one of the largest ingredient distributors for food, health and wellness and feed/pet food manufacturers.

Effective 15 September 2010, Premium Ingredients will become the new distributor for PureCircle's stevia-derived products within the US.

This strategic partnership allows Premium Ingredients to sell a large range of high-purity stevia products to emerging customers backed by the brand reputation of PureCircle. For PureCircle, the agreement extends its distribution reach within the US by over 1,000 customers, while providing them an additional technical resource.

"This new partnership enhances PureCircle's ability to service customers in the US with a value-added ingredient distributor that brings a strong technical sales force and distribution network to supplement our own market leading customer support," said Jordi Ferre, corporate vice president sales and marketing for PureCircle.

"We're extremely excited to add PureCircle to the outstanding portfolio of fine products and ingredients that we represent," said Don Thorp, president of Premium Ingredients International. "Our emphasis is to continue to expand our portfolio of good-for-you ingredients and the Supply Side West show is an excellent venue to announce our new commitment with this partnership."

Source: Premium Ingredients International

• To submit editorial for consideration, contact the FoodBev.com editor or phone 01225 327869.
• If you're submitting potential editorial for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.

Lightweighting can be taken too far. Sometimes it leads to floppy bottles and squishy cans. Yet, until recycling rates improve, drinks manufacturers are right to reduce their use of materials as far as possible.

Bags are fast becoming a serious new option, judging by two news items I saw in the UK trade press during August.

One was Kraft's Eco Refill packs, which now account for a quarter of all Kenco coffee retail sales and use 97% less packaging weight than their equivalent in glass.

The other was Sainsbury's introducing bags for its full range of milks, saving consumers six pence for two pints and using 75% less packaging.

Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International. You can also read his blog at BevBlog.

• If you enjoyed this article, you may also like this: First full range of milk bags to hit UK supermarkets