Enjoy chips, but find those free wooden chip forks just too down-market? Well here’s the answer – the diamond solitaire chip fork.

It’s crazy cutlery week here at FoodBev Media. Hot on the heals of yesterday’s dumbell cutlery story, we now bring you news of the diamond solitaire chip fork – a silver plated fork finished with a solitaire pavé set diamond, which can be engraved with a personal message.

This culinary gem comes from FooFitch, the recently launched luxury dining brand created by Hatton Garden’s leading contemporary jeweller Nicholas James and Digi Foo-Kune, MD of creative agency, Wonderberry.

Digi Berry, founder of FooFitch explained the inspiration behind the fork: “Having grown up in the deepest, darkest, ‘fish & chip’ territory of 1970s Yorkshire I am a fanatical chip lover! There’s a lot of snobbery attached to food, which I think sadly misses the point. At the end of the day fish and chips are guilty pleasure that’s all about indulgence and satisfaction. What better Valentine’s gift can there be?”

The FooFitch diamond chip fork retails at only £495 and is available from Harrods, Nicholas James and Rhodes 24.

In a new global study from UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a company specialising in advancing safety, food manufacturers identified product safety as a top business priority, but the majority of consumers believe food manufacturers can do even better to earn their confidence.

The new study, Navigating the Product Mindset, explores the connections and contradictions between perceptions of consumers and food manufacturers on issues of safety, innovation, performance and sustainability.

Global perceptions were collected from consumers and manufacturers in China, India, Germany, and the US across industries in high tech, food, building materials and household chemicals. In addition to the study, UL has created industry-specific reports for High Tech, Household Chemicals, Food and Building Materials.

Hank Lambert, general manager of UL's global food and water businesses, said: "Food manufacturers understand that product safety is imperative to the success of their business, but a significant opportunity remains to better demonstrate and communicate their commitment to boost consumer confidence. This research demonstrates the importance of moving existing food safety management to the next level."

Other key insights from the study include:

• Food manufacturers express confidence in their performance related to product safety, innovation, sustainability and reliability, but consumers feel food manufacturers can do a better job testing food products and fresh foods especially.
• Consumers' primary safety concerns for food products relate to contracting food borne illness, exposure to unsafe chemical additives and unsanitary conditions.
• Food manufacturers agree that consumers are becoming more empowered. They value positive consumer claims on product quality and safety more than government endorsements.
• Even though manufacturers say it is their job to communicate product safety information to consumers, the majority of consumers find it difficult to locate that information.
• Manufacturers are more likely to hold the manufacturers that assemble the final product accountable for safety, but consumers feel it is more important to know the country of origin for each of the individual ingredients that constitute a food product rather than where the finished product is assembled.

Source: UL

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What are the two leading questions for the bottled water industry when discussing PET. In a series of interviews, Water Innovation magazine asks the experts.

Cees van Dongen, *Director Sustainable Packaging Solutions at* Coca-Cola Europe.

Question 1: Lightweighting and energy efficient production


There have been dozens of lightweighting initiatives in the past few years, dramatically reducing wall thickness and neck heights. In preform production and bottle blowing, huge energy savings have also been achieved. What's next? Can bottles really become any lighter - and can production become even more energy efficient? How do you see the future? Where will the next big breakthroughs come from?


Cees van Dongen At Coke, lightweighting of PET bottles has been a focus area for many years. More than half our volume is going to market in PET with a tendency to grow even further. Also all packaging combined is the single biggest contributor to our product and services carbon footprint. Therefore it makes sense both from a resource efficiency as well as from an economics perspective to look at weight reduction opportunities.

And we have been making progress in that field! Where a 50cl CSD bottle would easily weigh 30 grams only 7 or 8 years back, we’re now closer to 20 grams. Over the next 5 to 10 years this may even further decrease to 16 or 17 grams. In other words: progress yes, but not with the same pace as in the recent past.

There is a number of reasons behind this flattening out of the curve:

• Shelf life considerations We are getting closer to the point where further wall thickness reduction starts to impair product quality over the minimum required shelf life period. This by itself creates a limit for further weight reduction when we can go no further with stretch ratio increase and intrinsic properties of PET remain as they are today

• Customer and consumer acceptance Flimsiness of bottles appear to be of importance and concern to consumers and customers when handling thin-walled bottles thus creating a barrier towards further lightweighting

• Design considerations Obviously one could think of using scavengers or barriers to decrease gas permeability but we are very aware of the potentially negative effects such materials may have on the the recycling of post-consumer bottles. It is for that reason that Coke has welcomed and in fact has pushed internally and externally the universal use of design for recycling guidelines. These guidelines, created under the auspices of the European PET Bottle Platform have received wide recognition

• Use of recycled content Experience over the past 15 years in dealing with recycled content has shown us that the behaviour of recycled material in preforms and blown bottles is not exactly similar to virgin material. Bottle defects due to holes and delamination as well as colour effects are more commonplace with recycled content as without it in particular it seems when making use of preform designs with high stretch ratios.. As many brand owners do insist on having recycled material in their bottles, finding a good balance or sweet spot between design, bottle weight and level of recycled content is of more relevance than plain lightweighting.

So what is next? No ground breaking stuff around lightweighting for PET bottles over and above the incremental resource efficiency improvements that are still possible. When anything spectacular happens, it will be through the introduction of alternative materials, such as PEF which is claimed to have much better barrier properties than PET.

Question 2: Recycled PET


Many brand owners are pushing for greater and greater proportions of recycled PET (rPET) in their bottles while others are choosing to move over to plant-based PET. What challenges are faced using these new polymers and where do you see the future for rPET? What more can brand owners do to better engage with consumers so that they better understand their role in the recycling loop?


Cees van Dongen Coke believes that there are opportunities for both rPET and bio-based PET. It’s not either or, as these two materials are not mutually exclusive. We are using a combination of PlantBottle material with varying degrees of rPET mixed into it in a number of European countries where PlantBottle was introduced recently.

We have no intention to step out of use of rPET at all; for us rPET is a critical element of our ambitious plans to significantly reduce the carbon footprint reduction of our key packaging materials over the next decade.

There are several challenges connected with rPET and PlantBottle. Constraints in supply are at the top of the list for both materials. For PlantBottle this obviously has to do with its supply chain being very new and immature.

rPET is a different story. With the amount of bottle PET growing steadily and average collection rates increasing as well, post-consumer PET bottles have grown into a valuable secondary raw material for a number of applications. Different application end markets like fibre, sheet and bottle are competing for a limited resource, resulting in a sharp increase of prices over the last few years and no sign of this changing for the foreseeable future.

Coke therefore abandoned the idea of setting itself individual targets for the use of PlantBottle and rPET, instead looking for an optimal combination of both based on availability and cost.

Stuff cheese and meat into the toaster? Surely that’s wrong. Not now... Marks & Spencer has launched the pop-up toaster pizza.

The first pop-up pizza available on the high street provides a time-saving snack which is ready in just four minutes.

The £2 pizzas, which have a pre-baked base, come in a special non-stick ‘pocket’ designed to prevent a melted mess when they are slotted into a standard toaster. And they are available in two flavours – tomato and mozzarella and spicy pepperoni.

“It is less indulgent than a typical pizza and well balanced in terms of fat', said M&S spokeswoman Claire Hodgson. “They're ready in less than four minutes, it doesn’t get much faster – and heating in a toaster means no soggy bases from the microwave.

“It’s a great option for people who want a slice of pizza at home or in the office, but not the temptation of a whole pizza.”

According to recent Mintel research, among healthy snackers, 44% say they tend to eat healthfully most of the time and 42% make it a point to snack on foods that are healthy.

At the same time, indulgence can be part of a well-rounded lifestyle, as 39% of healthy snackers say they use less-healthy nibbles as an occasional treat.

“Eating healthy snacks can offer many benefits to consumers, such as increased energy and feeling fuller longer, so there is a big opportunity for the makers and marketers of snacks to leverage these connections to maximise health positioning,” says Molly Maier, senior wellness analyst at Mintel. “The number of snackers who only consume healthy treats is a relatively small one, but one that shouldn’t be ignored by snack-food manufacturers.”

The definition of 'healthy' is very subjective, but Mintel respondents seem to have a good grasp on truly healthful foods. Fresh fruit is overwhelmingly (86%) considered healthy snacking, followed by raw vegetables (73%), and nuts/seeds (71%). However, a surprising number of people rated ice cream (12%) and cookies (9%) as healthy snacks.

Snacks are often an impulsive purchase, and one of convenience. As a result, people are at the mercy of the food choices most available. Nearly half (46%) of respondents say it’s hard to find healthy snacks in vending machines or other on-the-go locations while 16% believe it takes more time to prepare a healthy snack than other types.

“Increasing accessibility and portability can help maximise usage,” adds Maier.

Source: Mintel

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Dine with dumbells – the cutlery that gives you a workout as you eat.

Looking to eat yourself skinny? Want to exercise during meals? Well here’s the answer – the Eat Fit Cutlery set.

The bizarre knife-fork-spoon combo is more dumbell than cutlery, with the knife and fork each weighing in at 1kg each and the spoon at 2kg.

The heavy-weight hand-made cutlery is available from specialist retailers and it’s not just the knife, fork and spoon that are on the weighty side... so is the price, at a staggering £89.99.

A serious must-have accessory for fitness fanatics, or a gift to make a hefty hint for food lovers?

The fastest growing grocery categories in the UK in 2011 have been revealed by SymphonyIRI Group, the FMCG market measurement and insight consultancy.

Canned Cola is at the top of the list, followed behind by canned sport drinks and various chocolate confectionery sectors, which between them are worth an additional £196m in 2011 compared to 2010.

47 categories that have shown the greatest increase in value, as well as showing significant volume growth year on year, have been identified and together they represent an additional one billion pounds being spent on groceries in the UK in 2011, compared to 2010.

UK consumers have spent an additional £76m on canned Cola in 2011, which is equal to a 13% increase in volume being purchased since 2010. This is despite the cost of canned Cola rising by 4.1% during the same period. Following closely behind is the canned sport drinks category, which separated consumers’ from an extra £67.3m of their hard-earned pounds last year. This category grew by over 28% in volume in 2011, as canned drinks became more popular, but prices went down by 7.5% compared to 2010.

Many chocolate confectionery sectors, including items such as boxed chocolates from luxury chocolatiers, grew with an additional £52.7m being spent on the sweet treats in 2011. This is an increase of 113% in volume sales compared to 2010.

his high level of growth is a result of a huge price reduction. Of all of the categories listed, this category showed the greatest reduction in prices paid and this is mainly due to high levels of promotion within the industry.

Tim Eales, director of strategic insight, SymphonyIRI Group, said: “Despite the economic downturn and a real drive by consumers to find more value in their weekly grocery shops, some ‘treat’ products like canned drinks and chocolate fail to make the cut. It seems there is no alternative to the items that can satisfy the British sweet tooth.”

Additionally, SymphonyIRI Group’s research shows that consumers additionally spent almost £117m on a variety of ready meals; £27m on fruit bags (bags of mixed sliced fruit) and over £11m on instant hot cereal. Eales added: “This demonstrates the overwhelming need for convenience in our lives, often at the expense of paying a higher price when the alternative could be much cheaper.

“More than £20m extra was spent on cooking and baking margarine and dry cake mix. This reflects the growing trend to bake at home, thus saving money. An additional £37m was spent on mild and mature cheddar in 2011, indicating that consumers recognise cheese as a cheaper source of protein compared to expensive meats and fish.

“Consumers will have been changed by the experience of the recession. We have seen a slow but relentless reduction of disposable income against a backdrop of higher prices in almost every area of consumer expenditure. Under those conditions a lot of people have to change how they spend and save and even those that are technically immune (because they can afford the extra) are caught up in the reaction. Shoppers are becoming more frugal, but convenience is still a factor, and our research shows that during these difficult times, consumers continue to treat themselves with fizzy drinks and chocolate."

Source: SymphonyIRI Group

• If you enjoyed this article, you may also like this: Coke still on top in ‘Top 100 Best Global Brands’

According to a new study published in the Journal of Energy Policy, greenhouse gas emissions from foods eaten in the UK are the equivalent of 167 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, and switching to a vegan diet could cut this by between 22-26%.

The resulting benefit to the environment would be equivalent to talking half of all cars off the road in the UK, according to the research.

Professor Nick Hewitt of Lancaster University, who carried out the research told The Independent that “Our analysis shows that informed dietary choices can make a significant difference to greenhouse gas – reducing food-related emissions by around a quarter – with additional health benefits.”

Professor Hewitt, along with colleagues from Small World Consulting calculated the impact of 61 foods, with fresh meat and cheese topping the carbon footprint league. Meat has a carbon footprint at the checkout of 37.4 lbs of carbon dioxide per kilogram. Cheese has 33 lbs. Cooked meats are also high at 24.2 lbs per kg, with bacon at 19.8 lbs.

The researchers speculate that the potential saving of UK becoming vegetarian could be as much as 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. “This is equivalent to a 50% reduction in current exhaust pipe emissions of CO2 from the entire UK passenger car fleet,” said Professor Hewitt.

Source: one green planet

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What a few months it has been! We've just wrapped up the very first 2011 FoodBev.com Awards, which was a great success by all accounts.

FoodBev Media has great pedigree in organising awards, such as the Beverage Innovation Awards, the Water Innovation Awards and the Dairy Innovation Awards.

The FoodBev.com team decided that it would have its very own awards scheme, built largely around the idea of celebrating creativity and innovative thinking in all of its forms. And last Friday, the finalists, runners-up and winners were announced on this very website.

I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the excellent FoodBev.com team for all of the hard work that was put in over the last few months, and particularly since Christmas. I'm pleased to say that the team is already looking ahead to the 2012 FoodBev.com Awards!

For your convenience, here's a list of the finalists in each category, plus the winners and the runners-up. (You can also see the video again, if you like, which is at the foot of this article.)

Awards results

Best brand redesign

• Winner: Yazoo Milk, Shaken Up (FrieslandCampina UK)
• Runner-up: Water for Life Cooling System (Water for Life ApS)

Finalists in this category were Hammond's Candies, Nampak Plastics Europe with The Infini Bottle, and Blue Marlin's redesign of Purdey's Multivitamin Fruit Drink.

Best design agency

• Winner: Blue Marlin
• Runner-up: Bloom

Best functional drink

• Winner: Floridana Virkni Andoxun (Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson)
• Runner-up: Little Dragon Shots (Dragon Nutrition)

Finalists in this category were iO Drinks AB with Ceethree's iO, Trade Rv Pte Ltd with Gunma Jelly Drink, Corporación Alimentaria Peñasanta SA with Jalea Vital, AlphaBambi with NutriWater, and Meiji Co with Meiji Yogurt Drink R-1.

Best functional food

• Winner: Secret to Live (Probelte Biotecnologia SL)
• Runner-up: It's Just… My Bag of Crispy Fries (Green Gourmet)

Finalists in this category were Meiji Co with Meiji YH-Flore.

Best innovator

• Winner: Coldpress (Closed Loop Foods & Andrew Gibb)
• Runner-up: The Orbit closure (Crown Packaging Europe)

Finalists in this category were Zerica for Eaqua, P4CK Design for the P4CK, Follett for the 7 Series ice and water dispenser, Bevyz Global for the Bevyz system, Water for Life ApS for the Water for Life Cooling System, and WJ King Brewers for WJ King QR Codes.

Best new drink brand

• Winner: Ceethree's iO (iO Drinks AB)
• Runner-up: Jimmy's Iced Coffee

Finalists in this category were Agua 3%, Gourmetti Brands with Chantea, Trade Rv Pte Ltd with Gunma Jelly Drink, Dr Pepper Snapple Group with Snapple Diet Half 'n Half, Bevyz Global with Bevyz, Closed Loop Foods & Andrew Gibb with Coldpress, Viva Beverages with Marley's Mellow Mood, Meiji Co with Meiji 'Strong is Delicious' Liquid Cocoa, and the Good Heavens! range.

Best new food brand

• Winner: Eggs for Soldiers (Springetts Brand Design Consultants)
• Runner-up: The Goodness brand (Visual Communications Group)

Finalists in this category were Filbert's Fine Foods Limited, Dr Pepper Snapple Group with Mott's Medleys Fruit and Veggie Snacks, and Green Gourmet with It's Just… My Bag of Crispy Fries.

Best social media campaign

• Winner: Breckland Orchard
• Runner-up: Panda Liquorice

Finalists in this category were DD Williamson and WJ King Brewers.

Best website

• Winner: Bloom (Thin Martian)
• Runner-up: Ocóo (Pure Products)

Finalists in this category were SpringWise (Fonthill Waters), Marley's Mellow Mood (Marley Ventures), Cintron (Cintron Beverage Group), Martian Ranch & Vineyard (Geyrhalter & Company), Xyience and Alo Drink.

Here is a list of articles related to the 2011 FoodBev.com Awards.

• Finalists announced in the 2011 FoodBev.com Awards
• Judging panel announced for FoodBev.com Awards
• Judging panel for FoodBev.com Awards (gallery)

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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.

The full list is available in a searchable database by clicking here.

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

It seems plain, simple water may not be enough anymore, particularly for water cooler companies set on reaching the next big stage of business development.

These companies have other beverages in their sights – and coffee seems to be the current bull’s-eye.

I recently spent a very pleasant afternoon interviewing Eden Springs Europe CEO Raanan Zilberman for the cover of this issue’s Cooler Innovation magazine. It was fascinating to hear how the company is investing in office coffee, through both acquisitions and greenfield developments across Europe.

As well as being a major partner of Lavazza, the company has even launched its own coffee brand – Edenissimo – and is set to rebrand as ‘Eden: the Water and Coffee Company’. Is this proof enough that Eden is taking its goal to become a major coffee player very seriously?

There are obvious synergies between being an office water provider and breaking into coffee, as excellent service lies at the heart of both industries. If you already have a diverse and buoyant customer base, why not offer them more beverage options?

Other major companies in the water cooler business are also moving into coffee, including Waterlogic’s recent purchase of Norwegian business Det Stavangerske Kaffeselskap (DSK).

The coffee industry is certainly more complex than the water cooler market with a diverse product offering and barriers to market entry. But as an industry worth billions of dollars, it is surely worth the risk.

Eating dark coloured fresh produce such as plums and nectarines has more impact on how attractive a man appears than his masculinity, according to new research.

Dr Ian Stephen of the University of Nottingham made the findings as part of his ongoing studies into effects on attractiveness of dietary carotenoids, such as those found in red or yellow fruit and vegetables. An earlier study showed that eating these pigments gave the skin a golden tone, and that men rated women who had this as the most attractive.

Dr Stephen said: “A new development in this area suggests that carotenoids might be even more important to our appearance than we previously thought. Whereas a feminine appearance is very important in determining the attractiveness of women, there has been debate amongst scientists about how important masculinity is for men. Our results suggest that the "golden" colour associated with carotenoids is actually more important than masculinity, and predicted how attractive women found men's faces.”

Meanwhile, a group of fruit growers has put the findings of Dr Stephen’s initial study on the attractiveness of women to the test. Hortgro Services in South Africa asked 65 women to eat one plum and one nectarine every day for two weeks, asking them before and after questions about how attractive they felt. The results were as follows:

• 45.3% felt more confident about their appearance than before eating the fruit.
• 36% felt more attractive.
• 68.8% felt that their complexion had improved and was brighter/had a more natural glow.
• 53.1% noticed that the condition of their skin improved after eating the fruit.
• Those who described their skin complexion as “clear” increased by 12.5% of the sample - from 20.3% to 32.8%.
• Those who described their skin complexion as “dull” decreased by 25% of the sample - from 34.4% to 9.4%.

“This study is a bit of fun,” said Dr Stephen, “but its results make sense in the context of our research. Our results showed that people who eat more fruit and vegetables - especially those yellow and red fruit such as plums and peaches, and green leafy veg like spinach, that contain high levels of red/yellow antioxidants - have a more golden skin tone. This tone seemed to have a much better effect on healthy appearance than a suntan.”

He added that the antioxidant properties of the carotenoids that cause this golden skin colour are believed to be important in maintaining a strong immune system and a healthy reproductive system.

“Individuals who are eating plenty of fruit and vegetables with lots of carotenoids are getting the antioxidant benefits for their immune and reproductive systems,” he said. “Other people can see that, viewing people with lots of golden carotenoid colour in their skin as healthier. Since healthy appearance is a huge part of attractiveness, it seems as though fruit and vegetables can make you more attractive, too.”

Dr Stephen added: “In theoretical terms, these studies tell us two interesting things. First, when people look at faces, they automatically make a lot of judgements about that person. You can tell the person's age, their sex, or ethnic group. We also make judgements about how healthy and how attractive that person is.

"This research suggests that these health and attractiveness judgements might actually accurately reflect how healthy that person really is. Just from skin colour, we are getting information about individuals’ immune and reproductive health, and about how healthy their diet is. And our brains take this information and use it to make a judgement about how healthy that person is.

“Secondly, this research seems to show that the mechanisms that we use to make judgements about health are the same as the mechanisms that animals as different to us as birds and fish are using. So we may be more similar to birds and fish than we think.”

Source: Eat Pigmented Fruit

• If you enjoyed this article, you may also like this: Are we actually eating our 5-​a-​day in fruit and veg?

Did you add blueberries to your cereal this morning? Apparently consumer awareness of the benefits of fruit and high-antioxidant superfruits has never been greater.

You can find them everywhere in drinks, yogurts, cereals and little bagged snacks of dried fruits. Is this the next stage in dietary evolution?

It certainly looks as if our need to stay fit and work for longer, along with greater communication and knowledge of scientific studies across the globe, is promoting a greater interest in our health and encouraging self-imposed, personalised nutrition programmes.

Science has yet to provide a clear definition of what a superfruit is, but in general it's defined by:

• the density of the nutrients provided
• the antioxidant power offered
• the health benefit potential
• the ability of the particular fruit to affect cell and molecular structures.

Fruits with a particularly high ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) include:

• acai
• pomegranate
• blackcurrant
• blueberry
• blackberry
• cranberry
• raspberry
• strawberry
• lingonberry
• yumberry
• goji – and numerous others, too many to name here.

I will be speaking at the 10th International Vaccinium & other Superfruits Symposium and Exhibition in June. I've been surprised by the substantial coverage of drinks containing such superfruits in Beverage Innovation magazine over the past year. I'm also compiling a report on 'Superfruits in Beverages' for the March issue of Beverage Innovation, with contributions from experts around the globe.

If you're interested, either come along to the conference for a visual feast of commercialised superfruits, or subscribe to our magazines.

Have a healthy weekend!

Claire Phoenix is managing editor of Beverage Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.

Lindsay Willott, marketing manager for new home water cooler product Bibo, talks to Hannah Oakman about the route to market and rationale behind the new brand.

Does working as a water cooler manufacturer in the residential sector require a specific approach?

Lindsay Willott: Yes, absolutely. We don’t have shops or a physical retail presence, so our sales and marketing approach has been entirely direct, in the model of Bose or Dyson in their early days. Our customer service has to be exemplary.

In addition, turnaround times for delivering and installing our units, and attending to any queries or issues, are often a matter of minutes or hours rather than days. We're dealing with people’s homes rather than their offices – a very important distinction.

What are customers in the residential sector really looking for in terms of products?

Willott: A domestic appliance which is impressive to look at and use. Bibo’s touchscreen interface and sleek design is a real hit with our customers. In addition, our customers want convenience, excellent water quality and a supplier they can trust. Again, our commitment to customer service is very important here and we do already have a very loyal customer base.

How do you see the Bibo machine filling a gap in the market?

Willott: At one end are the boiling and chilled taps, often costing thousands of pounds and largely sold as an integrated appliance into a new, top-end kitchen. At the other end are the combination of water filter jugs and kettles, which need to be refilled and boiled each time. There's a clear gap for Bibo in between: it provides all the benefits of the taps but is a fraction of the price, comes in many colours and, critically, can be moved around the kitchen or taken with you when you move.

Is customer service even more important in this area?

Willott: Yes, enormously so. B2B timescales and processes do not cut the mustard with a domestic consumer. The levels of service we have to provide, and strive to exceed, are much more akin to a brand like John Lewis. From initial contact through to post-sale care, customer service is literally more important than anything else we do.

Who are your typical customers?

Willott: There isn’t a group I would single out. We have Bibos operating across the UK from Inverness to Cornwall, Essex to Pembrokeshire and everywhere in between. We have Bibos in student flats, mansions, cottages, second homes and even on three boats! The reason people buy is a combination of wanting to get rid of the filter jug they have clogging up their fridge, and a desire to have boiling and chilled water on demand. I believe the convenience and luxury of instant boiling and chilled water in the home is hard to overemphasise.

Hannah Oakman is editor of Cooler Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.

New research has revealed that cranberry juice can help reduce recurrences of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children.

The results, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, show that the cranberry’s well-documented role in preventing recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in adult women also has the potential to benefit younger patients.

The study carried out by a group of Finnish researchers found that, compared to placebo, regular drinking of cranberry juice limited the number of UTI recurrences in children by 43% and reduced the need for antibiotics to be taken by 34% - the equivalent of six days per patient a year.

The results indicate that cranberry juice may help provide protection against UTIs in children. In adults, studies have shown that the unique A-type PACs contained in cranberries may “help reduce the adhesion of certain E. coli bacteria to the urinary tract walls”.

The double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial saw 129 children who were being treated for UTIs selected to drink Ocean Spray Cranberry Classic cranberry juice for six months, whilst 134 others received a placebo in its place. The two groups were monitored for twelve months and the consumption of juice and daily symptoms were recorded by the children’s parents.

Dr Tero Kontiokari of the University of Oulu was one of the scientists who carried out the study. He says: “UTIs are one of the most common bacterial infections in paediatric medicine and children with recurrent problems often face long-term antibiotic use. The cranberry is well known for preventing urinary tract infections in adult women, but this study shows that cranberry juice can be effective also among children in reducing the number of recurrences in children with multiple UTIs.”

Christina Khoo, senior manager of research sciences at Ocean Spray, said: “This study shows that cranberry juice could potentially help reduce use of antibiotics in children who are susceptible to UTI recurrences. Antibiotic use for UTI treatment is a major contributor to the growth of antibiotic resistance. Research continues to emerge to highlight the whole body health benefits of the cranberry and we will support further work to improve our understanding.”

Source: Ocean Spray

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Cocoa – the antioxidant-rich raw ingredient used to make chocolate – is poised to become a major force in the market for functional and healthier food products, according to Julian Mellentin, director of consultancy New Nutrition Business.

Pointing to an Article 13.5 health claims application recently lodged by chocolate producer Barry Callebaut, Mellentin said that cocoa had the potential to be “a health ingredient as successful as cranberries”.

Cocoa, he said, was now at a “tipping point” as a result of the “convergence of scientific and technological progress, corporate strategy, consumer awareness and consumer desire for foods that can claim to be naturally healthy”.

Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut is seeking approval from EFSA for a claim linking cocoa flavanols with a healthy blood flow. The company has admitted to being confident that the dossier, which contains five clinical studies, will succeed.

Julian said: “I’m not surprised that Barry Callebaut is bullish about the prospects for its health claims application. Thanks to a huge investment in research by the leading cocoa processors – Barry Callebaut, Mars, Hershey and Meiji – there is a significant and ever-growing body of evidence for the health benefits of cocoa flavanols, particularly in relation to cardiovascular health. In fact, there have been over 100 published clinical studies so far.”

Consumer awareness of the benefits of cocoa is also good, he said, creating the perfect environment for companies to market successful health products based on cocoa. “Consumers make an association between dark chocolate – the form in which they usually encounter cocoa – and its naturally high content of antioxidants, and they’re prepared to pay more for it,” he explained.

“In many countries sales of dark chocolate grew at an annual rate of 20%-25% in the first decade of the 21st century. Even global recession didn’t halt the growth – all the more impressive since dark chocolate retails at up to a 100% premium over milk chocolate.”

New Nutrition Business has just published a new report on the potential for cocoa in the market for nutritious food and beverage products. Entitled Cocoa – a ‘naturally functional’ health ingredient at the tipping point? – the report contains detailed analysis of the opportunities and challenges for companies marketing cocoa-based products. It also presents several case studies exploring brands that have already taken the plunge in this rapidly emerging category

Julian said that companies wishing to capitalise on cocoa’s growing ‘health halo’ would need to consider carefully which product format they used, particularly as it might be hard to convince many consumers that a simple chocolate bar is good for them. “It isn’t surprising that, with its GoodnessKnows brand, Mars is using fruit such as cranberry and blueberry, nuts and whole grains as the carriers for the health message,” he says. “These are credible in the mind of the consumer in a way that chocolate is not.”

But he adds: “Significant advances in processing technology allow cocoa to be formulated into many more new product formats with a better health image than chocolate confectionery, while retaining its health benefits and delivering good taste. Its in beverages and bars that cocoa will make its mark.”

Source: New Nutrition Business

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I felt a distinct flutter of concern at the recent news that the UK retailer Tesco has dropped its 2007 pledge to have all of its 70,000 products carry carbon footprint labels.

Apparently, it's just too expensive and time-consuming to achieve, and the take-up by other retailers hasn't been great.

As Tesco is the major retailer in the UK and a leading player globally, did this seeming u-turn on its green policy sound the death knell for carbon labelling initiatives the world over?

If Tesco had opted out, who would be next? Fortunately, this concern was assuaged by reports that the company is ‘reviewing its options’, and, according to a Carbon Trust spokesperson quoted in The Guardian, the Trust remains confident that its ‘existing label customers and new customers will see the value of an internationally recognised carbon label backed by expert independent certification’.

For one, Pepsico, which has invested heavily in securing carbon footprint labels for its Walkers crisps and Tropicana orange juice brands, remains committed and was reported to see them as a way of ‘helping consumers and businesses understand and reduce emissions’.

In addition, on the same day as reports of Tesco’s shift began to filter out, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) introduced its new research findings evaluating the performance of all UK retailers in achieving their stated environmental ambitions. It identified many areas in which the retailers have already exceeded their targets.

“It is clear (from the report) that the retail industry is taking climate change seriously,” said the Carbon Trust spokesperson, while Forum for the Future said: “This report is important as it signals a retail sector that is aware … that ‘business as usual’ won’t secure future prosperity.”

Encouraging noises indeed.

“Despite current economic difficulties, retailers are continuing to work with their suppliers to meet tougher sustainability goals,” said Bob Gordon, head of environment, BRC, who outlined that retailers are ‘on target’ for cutting energy related emissions from buildings by 25% by 2013 (compared with 2005 levels and allowing for growth), and ‘on target’ for halving their emissions from refrigeration by 2013. In the areas of transport and waste, retailers have exceeded targets.

Yet, fulfilling on sustainable sourcing initiatives (see Food & Beverage International’s February issue to read more) and establishing the full life cycle analyses and information needed for carbon footprint labels does present challenges.

Yes, these are exceedingly complex issues, and yes, they do take up an enormous amount of time & commitment, and yes, they are likely to be expensive in the short-term to implement. However, when I contemplate the cost of not doing them vs the benefits of doing them successfully, well there’s little contest.

Claire Rowan is managing editor of Food & Beverage International magazine. Subscribe here.

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When it comes to functional beverages, consumers demand products that provide prolonged and balanced energy as well as mental performance enhancement. They want drinks to prevent illness and seek food to cure illness.

In the modern world, drinks to de-stress are becoming popular, and more and more people are requesting life-enhancing results from their daily diets.

We're starting to understand what consumers want from their functional drinks and foods, but what we at FoodBev.com want to know is what you want to know and read about the functional food and drink industry.

This industry is getting bigger and bigger. In order to keep up with this trend, our digital magazine Functional Drinks is getting bigger, and with your help, we hope better.

We plan to branch out into functional foods as well as drinks. This seems a natural step, as it's an integrated industry that offers new ingredients which can be included in food and drink products on a daily basis.

New legislation is cropping up all the time, as more functional claims are emerging, as science evolves, and as innovative ingredients come to the marketplace.

We are aiming to provide you with content focused around five key areas:

• Market and consumer trends and insights
• Technical trends and insights
• New products, innovations and launches
• Rival activity and competitor analysis
• Claims and legislation.

The new, revamped digital magazine is due to relaunch as Functional Food & Drink on 1 March.

We would love to hear from you if you know what you would like to see in Functional Food & Drink, or if you are an expert in the field and would like to share you knowledge with others.

We want to make the new concept functional for you, so get in touch!

Rebecca is editorial assistant of FoodBev.com. You can contact her here, or read her blog here.

The Can Makers, the body representing the UK manufacturers of beverage cans, has revealed that carbonated soft drink can shipments are up 5.6%, with 273 million additional units shipped in 2011 compared with 2010.

The Can Makers, the body representing the UK manufacturers of beverage cans, has revealed that carbonated soft drink can shipments are up 5.6%, with 273 million additional units shipped in 2011 compared with 2010.

In total, 5,118 million cans for soft drinks were shipped in 2011. According to Nielsen, retail sales of larger cans sizes are seeing the strongest growth at 28%. This is primarily in the 50cl category and is driven by the energy drinks sector, where New Product Development (NPD) tends to be launched.

Retail sales of single cans have also grown over the last year, increasing unit share to 12% of all canned CSD sales. While carbonated soft drinks continue to grow, shipments of empty beer and cider cans were down in 2011 by 4.9%, with 4,331 million cans shipped. This was due in part to comparison with 2010 when demand was stimulated by the World Cup and to the effects of the economic crisis on overall beer and cider sales.

Despite an overall drop in demand, according to Nielsen, retail sales of lager in cans have still performed better than other pack formats in the beer and cider category. Across the sector, the 12 multipack can format has seen strong sales.

The Nielsen retail audits also show that there was growth in retail sales of both single cans, which increased by 6%, and cans smaller than 44cl, which increased by 13%. Total can market shipments for both CSD and Beer and Cider in 2011 remained stable, which, in the ongoing economic climate is a creditable achievement, with a slight increase of 0.53% to 9,449 million cans. The UK continues to be the largest market for drinks cans in Europe.

Geoff Courtney, chairman of the Can Makers, said: “The statistics show that soft drinks continue to be the hero sector for cans. Multipacks, particularly 6 to 8 packs and also 12 to 15 packs, continue to help drive the market, which is no surprise given the strong supermarket promotions.

"The increase also seen in single cans in CSD sales suggests that convenience has continued to remain important in 2011. It is clear that CSDs continue to be a popular choice for everyday drinks whether in the home or on the go. Overall, we are pleased to see that cans are still a preferred pack of choice in the UK.”

Source: The Can Makers

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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 400g.

Just four countries surveyed have mean consumption above the target:

• Virtuous Poland on 577g
• Italy on 452h
• Germany on 442g
• Austria on 413g.

Hungary and Belgium squeeze past when fruit juice is included. The rest of us fall short, though some countries such as 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 UK, Finland, the Czech Republic and Sweden. Iceland was bottom – the only country with consumption below 200g. Another instance of 'must do better'.

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

The juice production industry in China has witnessed substantial growth in the past decade, together with the country’s whole beverage manufacturing sector.

The proportion of fruit juice beverages consumed in China has been rising. New market research report Juice Production in China worked out by IBISWorld has been recently published.

The juice production industry in China has witnessed substantial growth in the past decade, together with the country’s whole beverage manufacturing sector. The proportion of fruit juice beverages consumed in China has been rising as growth of carbonated soft drink slowed down due to market saturation and health concerns.

In 2007, both the output and revenue of juice have overcome those of carbonated soft drinks in China. Large volumes and varieties of readily available fruit and vegetables in China, and increasing household incomes have contributed to the rapid expansion of the industry, according to the report.

Source: IBISWorld

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Anuga FoodTec is already on track to be the largest exhibition ever, with over 16% more exhibition space booked (so far) than for the 2009 show, and with more than 400 of the 1,300 exhibiting companies taking part this year for the first time.

I am once again delighted to be working with the organiser of the show, Koelnmesse, to create a unique pre-show guide for visitors planning their trip to Cologne for 27-30 March, which will be published in the next issue of FoodBev Media’s Food & Beverage International magazine.

This special pre-show guide contains a full list of exhibitors, a floor plan and a schedule highlighting the supporting events taking place during the show.

Working on this guide, which is designed to help visitors plan their trip to the show, I'm particularly impressed by the breadth of topics being covered in the programme of events. These range from a live, fully operational robotic factory that will truly provide that all-important ‘window on the future’ to in-depth discussions on the meat industry, on food safety, careers in the food industry, and sustainability among others.

And the stature of the exhibiting companies taking part this year is second to none. Tetra Pak will be there in force after missing the 2009 show, which is an encouragingly positive sign that the industry is finally recovering from that particularly difficult year and beginning to invest again.

According to the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), the blockage of investment that resulted from the global financial and economic crisis of 2009 had largely dissipated in 2010, allowing the industry to grow in 2011.

It recorded a rise of 13.5% in incoming orders for food processing & packaging machines in Germany during the first half of 2011, compared to the same period the previous year, and turnover for the industry sector increased by 17.1% during this time.

This positive industry activity is reflected in the growth of the Anuga FoodTec show this year, and will underpin developments during 2012.

I'm already receiving news from exhibitors of the exciting innovations they plan to unveil in Cologne that I will publish in a packed March issue of Food & Beverage International, which will also be available digitally here for you to click on and start planning your trip!

Claire Rowan is managing editor of Food & Beverage International magazine. Subscribe here.

Teenagers are not consuming enough whole grain foods, according to a recent study from the University of Minnesota at St Paul.

The study, that analysed adolescents aged 12 to 19 years old in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 1999-2004), found that less than one third consumed more than five whole grain ounce equivalents per day.

The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in January 2011 recommends that all adults eat at least half their grains as whole grains - that's at least three-to-five servings of whole grains. Even children need two-to-three servings or more.

According to the Whole Grains Council, consumption lags far behind these recommendations. For example, the average American eats less than one daily serving of whole grains, and some studies show that over 40 of Americans never eat whole grains at all.

Phil Lempert, founder of Food Nutrition & Science and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com, says: "This is an opportunity for food companies, school nutrition programmes and retailers to market the health benefits of grains and create easier access to products and recipes. Whole grain intake has been associated with improved chronic disease risk factors and weight status in adults, and we know that healthy food habits start young."

Source: Food Nutrition & Science

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A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that drinking three cups of black tea daily over several months may help lower blood pressure.

Research participants (male and female, ages 35-75) were split into two groups.

One group drank three cups of tea that contained 1,493mg of powdered black tea solids with 429mg of polyphenols and 96g of caffeine. The other group drank three cups that contained a placebo with the same taste and caffeine levels but no tea solids.

Over six months, the test subjects in the first group saw between a two and a three point drop in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, compared to the placebo group. The researchers thus concluded that the drop was due to the benefits of the tea's antioxidants, called polyphenols.

According to the study's authors, the results could translate into a 10% drop in the prevalence of high blood pressure and a 7-10% decrease in heart disease risk. Other studies have found that polyphenols can reduce or even prevent some of the damage, including cancer and heart disease, caused by compounds known as free radicals.

Source: EMSL Analytical

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Demand for lower alcohol as well as non-alcoholic beer is growing significantly with UK off-licenses seeing all time record sales.

The latest 52 week sales data shows that demand for lower and non-alcoholic beer soared by a hefty 40% across all retailers according to independent retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel. At Tesco the sales are even higher, with growth of 47% year on year.

Non and low alcohol beer sales are growing due to three main factors: improved product quality and range, healthy living and better awareness on drink driving.

Following the growth of the market Tesco will next week expand into the developing mid-strength beer market when it launches 11 brews, all with an ABV of 2.8%. The average ABV of beer is 4%.

Tesco specialist beer buyer, Chiara Nesbitt, said: “The growth, particularly for non alcohol beers, is remarkable as they were previously frowned upon by drinkers who considered them thin and tasteless compared to the real thing.

"However, over the last few years there have been great improvements in quality with many breweries using far better ingredients in order to create full-bodied brews that taste like their more alcoholic cousins.The success of this market has shown us that growing numbers of drinkers are prepared to buy lower alcohol beers as long as the quality is good.”

Last year Tesco sold nearly 15 million bottles of non and low alcohol beer and this year it expects sales to grow even further by 10-15%.

Nesbitt added: “The new mid-strength beer category has been a long time coming and the growing number of 2.8% ABV brews will offer greater diversity than ever before for drinkers whilst at the same time offering them very high quality and extremely great tastings brews.

“We are creating a new middle ground for beer drinkers which will offer a solution to anyone fancying a midweek pint, perhaps to enjoy while watching the football, but who doesn’t want anything too strong.”

Source: Tesco

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