If you haven’t read part one of Claire’s UK Soft Drinks blog, read it here.
However, average consumption in the UK is currently a healthy 235 litres a year. Energy drinks grew at 8% over the past year, with sports drinks racing ahead at 14%. After suggesting a cautious 1% overall growth for the UK soft drinks market in the coming year, the vote was put to the floor. Interestingly, most of those present felt that growth for their companies would be greater than this, bolstered by in-bound tourism for the Olympic Games.
Julian Hunt, vice president, public affairs and communications GB for Coca-Cola Enterprises supported this, reporting 6.6% value growth for the company in 2010, with cola outperforming 2009 sales dramatically.
Promising that all bottles will be made using 25% recycled PET by 2012, CCE now has a £15m JV with Ecoplastics in the UK. “The Olympic Games are going to be the greenest ever!” he proclaimed, thanks to biomethane fuelled trucks, hi-tech chillers and recycled uniforms (to name just three contributors). “The Olympic Games will see 20m people moving in and out of the UK” – that’s a big opportunity for beverage retailers everywhere.
Dr Clair Baynton, deputy director – nutrition science and delivery health and well-being for the Department of Health spoke on supporting and enabling healthy choices. Businesses will reformulate and repackage products in line with 2012 aims on calorie labelling, and these will start to be rolled out from 1 September 2011. The soft drinks industry is now working with the catering industry following a national diet and nutrition survey.
Melanie Leech, director general of the Food and Drink Federation, spoke on industry responsibility and action, saying how the UK is recognised as a world leader in reformulation without compromise on taste, quality or price.
“When it comes to food labelling and literacy, the UK is well ahead when it comes to front and back of pack labelling,” she said. “What we need is to improve information at catering outlets, and the challenge is to offer tempting lower calorie products out of home.”
Company canteens, for instance, are likely to offer calories per portion labelling in the near future.
In his keynote address, Peter Unsworth, CEO of Tata Global Beverages, explained how 40% of US consumers apparently confuse thirst with hunger, thinking they need to eat when they need to drink.
Tetley’s introduction of Mohito (non-alcoholic) tea in Canada has apparently been their fastest growing SKU in 10 years. Unsworth was in favour of Tetley Infusions in sachets: “These get bottles out of the system,” he said.
Jan Kritzer, consumer intelligence manager for Beneo-Palatinit, spoke on a new approach to energy management in beverages and Palatinose is already in use in a new mainstream cola.
The ‘Innovator panel’ included Simon Speers (MD of Bottlegreen), Richard Clark (director of innovation for Halewood International) Dr Naomi Grant (technical and performance director of Maxinutrition Ltd), Claire Nuttall (insight & innovation director of 1HQ), and for me was one of the highlights of this event. No room for that here, so I’ll be giving more detail in future issues of Beverage Innovation magazine.
Almost at the end (as managing editor of Beverage Innovation magazine and director of FoodBev Media), I woke everyone up with a highly visual presentation of beverage innovations from around the world, covering new moves such as ‘fighting off old age’, ‘veg with an edge’ and drinks to help you sleep, along with ‘connecting with consumers’ and using psychology as a tool for growth.
As a roundup overview of industry progress throughout the past year, it scored high on the attendee survey and should be available to view on FoodBev.com shortly.
Claire Phoenix is managing editor of Beverage Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.
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