These agreements will complement Hansen's existing relationship with Anheuser-Busch and will not affect Hansen's agreement with AB for the on-premise channel nationwide. The 20-year agreements will take effect at the beginning in November 2008 in the US and parts of Western Europe, and in early 2009 in Canada. As part of the agreement with TCCC, Hansen has the right to negotiate distribution agreements with additional Coca-Cola bottlers to service the TCCC territory not covered by CCE. "We're pleased to be partnering with the world's leading beverage system to expand the retail presence and penetration of our Monster Energy drinks," said Rodney Sacks, chairman and CEO of Hansen. "We believe the relationship with The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises will enable us to build on the success of our Monster Energy brand in North America and expand into fertile new international markets. "In the US, the relationship will complement our existing long-term arrangements with Anheuser-Busch distributors, which have been, and we expect will continue to be, very important to Hansen. We believe that the combination of these two leading distribution systems will provide us with an unrivalled distribution network in North America." No 1 by volume According to AC Nielsen data, Monster Energy is the number one energy drink by volume in the US. The agreements in North America include all Monster Energy trademark beverages, including Monster Energy and Java Monster as well as the Lost Energy brand. In Europe, the agreement includes the distribution of Monster Energy in the CCE countries – Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Monaco. "The Coca-Cola System has taken a multi-faceted approach to becoming one of the key players in the fast growing energy drink category," said Coca-Cola North America president, Sandy Douglas. "We're pleased that our bottlers are now able to distribute this brand as part of our diverse portfolio of leading sparkling and still beverage brands in North America and Europe." "Monster Energy drinks are strong additions to our energy portfolio, reinforcing our strategic priority of being number one or a strong number two in every category in which we choose to compete," said Coca-Cola Enterprises chairman and CEO, John Brock. "Monster Energy continues to outperform the energy category in the US and we look forward to bringing another proven brand to our territories in Western Europe." Market reaction Hansen's shares fell about 11% on news of the deal. “Some investors who had hoped that Coke might take an equity stake in the energy drinks company may have been disappointed,” said Sachin Shah, an analyst who focuses on merger arbitrage at ICAP Equities. Hansen also said it will make payments to existing distributors whose deals will be terminated, and it currently expects the related pretax expenses to be in the range of $110m to $130m. Hansen said its new distributors would help cover a "significant portion” of those costs. JPMorgan analyst John Faucher estimated that about half of Monster's US volume will move to the Coca-Cola distribution system, while Dr Pepper Snapple Group will lose its US distribution of the brand. In a separate statement, Dr Pepper said it expects to receive formal notification from Hansen Natural terminating its agreements to distribute Monster Energy. DPS said it generated about $170m in revenue and $30m in operating profits distributing Hansen Natural brands in the US in the last year.

Since 2 October 2008, every cup of coffee sold by Costa, the UK's largest and fastest growing coffee shop chain, has been made with beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance certified farms across all 785 of its UK stores. The move means that Costa will buy almost 1,500 tonnes of green beans, already achieving 30% of its annual requirements from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. Costa and the Rainforest Alliance are discussing how to steadily increase this percentage as more farms are certified. By January 2009, Coffee made from beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance certified farms will be available in Costa's global stores in 24 markets. Rainforest Alliance works with farmers to ensure farms are not only run in an environmentally sustainable manner, but also improve conditions for workers and their families. This includes: Ensuring the environment is protected Improving worker safety Ensuring workers are paid decent wages Ensuring workers have housing and access to clean water Ensuring workers have access to education and medical care. Costa Coffee MD, John Derkach, said: "As the UK's largest and fastest growing coffee shop chain, we believe we have a responsibility to ensure that coffee production is sustainable, that it supports coffee growing communities and protects the environment. Recent YouGov research has revealed that UK consumers want ethically sourced coffee, another reason why we have made this important choice for our business. The work that the Rainforest Alliance does also complements our Costa Foundation projects perfectly." Rainforest Alliance president, Tensie Whelan, said: "Costa Coffee's commitment to source increasing amounts of coffee from Rainforest Alliance certified farms demonstrates that sustainably sourced coffee really is now the mainstream choice. Costa customers can enjoy a great tasting cup of coffee knowing that it comes from well managed farms where workers are well cared for, children are able to go to school and forests and wildlife are protected." Launch event To celebrate the launch, Costa Coffee commissioned pavement artist Manfred Stader to create a giant 3D image of a Costa cup, using chalk and coffee roasting waste product from Costa's very own Roastery in Lambeth, London. Chocolate dusting of a frog, the well-known symbol from the Rainforest Alliance logo, was replicated on top of the coffee froth. The event took place at Covent Garden Piazza on 2 October.

Tucson-based Spike Beverage will be responsible for the distribution of Skinny Water throughout Arizona. This is Skinny Nutritional’s second deal on the west coast and the 14th distribution agreement since launching the product in May 2008. Spike Beverage begins distribution for Skinny Water in October 2008. Kimberly Clements of Spike Beverage said: "We're pleased to add Skinny Water to our great portfolio and look forward to the growth opportunities behind this brand." “We're very excited to partner with Spike Beverage to introduce Skinny Water,” said Don McDonald, CEO and President of Skinny Nutritional Corp. “Their distribution is very unique because Spike covers the entire state of Arizona. They deliver to virtually every supermarket and convenience store and we couldn't ask for better coverage in this market." Appetite control The Skinny Water line-up features five flavours, including acai grape blueberry (Hi-Energy), raspberry pomegranate (Crave Control), goji fruit punch (Shape), passion fruit lemonade (Total-V) and peach mango mandarin (XXX-Detox). Every bottle of Skinny Water has clinically proven ingredients to boost metabolism and control appetite. All Skinny Waters have three key ingredients: Super CitriMax, ChromeMate and EGCG. Super CitriMax includes calcium that promotes fat burning and bone density, and potassium that maintains cellular hydration. ChromeMate promotes normal energy metabolism and helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and EGCG, a green tea extract, helps keep metabolism high.

**The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc (PBG) has released its first Corporate Responsibility Report, entitled: 'Act! Our Commitment to Making a Difference'. **The report, which focuses on the company's US business, lays out PBG's sustainability strategy across three primary platforms: the environment, employees and community. “PBG has a strong track record of incorporating sustainable business practices into our operations, employee programmes and community outreach strategy,” said PBG President and CEO, Eric Foss. “The purpose of this report is to more broadly discuss our progress and strategy with our customers, consumers, recruits and shareholders so they better understand PBG’s commitment to measurable and sustainable progress.” The report outlines the advancements PBG is making across its environmental, employee and community programmes. Key highlights include: • 300 million gallons of water conserved per year as a result of innovative new technology and process improvements. • 16,000 tons of plastic saved in 2007 through new bottle designs and manufacturing processes. Over the past three years, PBG has now saved 74 million pounds of plastic on its Aquafina bottles alone. • 11% improvement in the efficiency of new, lighter weight PBG trucks. • 100% of the company’s US electricity needs offset through the purchase of renewable energy certificates, making PBG one of seven companies in 2007 to earn a Green Power Purchasing award from the US Environmental Protection Agency. • An estimated 83% of the PBG waste stream is recycled. • Recognised as one of the best companies for diversity by DiversityInc, Black Enterprise, Hispanic Business and the Human Rights Council. • Recipient of the 2007 C Everett Koop National Health Award for efforts to promote healthy lifestyles among PBG employees. • More than $16m in financial and product donations to families and community organisations in need. In preparing the report, PBG followed the structure of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework for describing economic, environmental and social performance. To emphasise its commitment, PBG is rolling out its report with a cause-related campaign geared to employees, their friends and families. For every click to the report at www.pbgACT.com, The PBG Foundation will donate 50c to Keep America Beautiful, up to $10,000. The effort will run through November.

Despite the much talked about credit crunch here in the UK, one water cooler wholesale company is reporting a large growth in revenues, customers and product offerings. According to company founder and owner Ian Devine, Kleena Coola, based in the West Midlands, has more than doubled in size in 2008 over 2007. The company now offers close to 100 lines, ranging from a silicone bung to a spillage cover with new products and ideas being added regularly. The key, according to Ian Devine, is to offer exactly what the customer wants. “This has been the case many times, when customers phone and ask us to supply various goods, such as John Guest, filters and engineers' tools,” he said. Kleena Coola has now launched its new-look website. “Our intention was to make the site more user friendly,” added Dani Symonds, Kleena Coola’s IT Manager. “It will feature product groups, images, information, a shopping trolley facility, credit card payment system and easier navigation. The new site will be constantly updated and should connect with all water cooler staff,” shae added. Kleena Coola has recently introduced a range of own-label filters, offering sellers a bespoke item to pass onto customers. There are two types available: a one micron in-line and also a 0.5 micron quick change unit, both made by a leading US manufacturer and available for minimum orders of just six filters. Further additions to the range include heavy-duty bags made from thick vinyl to protect coolers on their way to customers. Kleena Coola also offers a 32-bottle rack cover made from the same multi-use fabric, with Velcro flaps and stacking holes. The company has also listened to customer requests to supply Ebac’s replacement water trails covering the Easy, Emax, Fmax and Slim coolers. Customers are also able to order Beca-Bins. The bin is designed to promote office cup recycling and is purpose-designed to collect used disposable cups and any waste liquid. The standard Beca-Bin not only helps keep the workplace tidy but also reduces the volume of disposable cups by around 75%, lowering cleaning and waste management costs, while introducing the possibility of recycling.

The rebranding of 30 UK branches of Pizza Hut to a "healthier" name of Pasta Hut is only a temporary measure, according to reports. However, the traditional pizza-biased menus will change to reflect the company's improved range of pasta dishes in an attempt to position the high street chain as an "upmarket" restaurant option. Alasdair Murdoch, Pizza Hut CEO, said: "We're trying to say to people, 'Yes, we're great at pizzas, but we're also great at salads and pasta'. Pasta is around 3% or 4% of our sales. I'm very sure in a couple of weeks' time that will be 10%." The rebranding is a trial, and customers are invited to share their thoughts by voting on whether the new name should stay or go. As of writing, 71% of voters on the site say 'No way – Pizza Hut rules!'.

Nigel Elwick is to fulfil the new role of Business Development Manager for 4 Aces, and sees his appointment as the start of the company being "taken to the next level". 4 Aces has quickly established an excellent reputation within the water industry for quality of products and reliability of service. Nigel comes to 4 Aces with more than eight years' experience of product distribution within the water industry, and is now eager to meet old and new customers alike. “Our strategy will be to consolidate our current customer base and to develop new and exciting product offerings for our customers, while widening the focus of our customer base into new markets in the UK and within Europe,” Nigel explained. “The industry as we know it is changing rapidly, and we're keen to seek out new products to offer to our existing and potentially new customers, while increasing sales into the general wider market place.” Chris Penn, Managing Director of 4 Aces, added: “We expect Nigel’s appointment to take 4 Aces to the next planned expansion level and are very pleased he has accepted the challenge!”

*Waterlogic International has announced its continued commitment to the UN Global Compact strategic policy. * As a continued signatory to the UN Global Compact, Waterlogic has recently submitted its 'Communication on Progress' for 2008. A member of the Compact since 2006, Waterlogic supports the ideals and values promoted by the Compact which align with its own, and issues the annual Communication on Progress document to share what actions and steps have been taken in the company over the past year to continuously and actively promote those with Waterlogic action. The UN Global Compact is a framework for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. As the world's largest, global corporate citizenship initiative, the Global Compact is first and foremost concerned with exhibiting and building the social legitimacy of business and markets. The 2008 'Communication on Progress document will be available publicly from mid-October at the website addresses below. This document could form a vital tool in promoting the group to customers who place emphasis on these values.

*With more than 60% of stand space already sold, organisers say Avex 2009 (10-11 June 09), the international vending and water exhibition, is set to be a successful show. * Avex 2009 is organised by the Automatic Vending Association (AVA) in partnership with the European Point-of-use Drinking Water Association (EPDWA). The show will be held at Birmingham’s NEC in the UK, and an evening party is planned for 10 June at the Hilton Metropole. The UK is the largest single market for vending in Europe, and Avex is popular for overseas companies wanting to sell in the UK or visitors wanting to see the best that vending has to offer. Avex brings quality buyers from all key sectors – 2007 attracted 7,455 visitors and over 71% were manager level and above.

Pur Water Filtration has launched a new 'Voice of water' TV campaign in the US. Owned by Procter & Gamble, the brand is taking on the bottled water segment with a $45m campaign. The campaign will feature US TV actor Zach Braff – star of Scrubs – as the voice of water. "I'm water. I shouldn't be trapped in a bottle. I've got things to do. Trees to grow. Thirsts to quench ... " Braff says in the first TV spot. Supporting print ads, which debut in November magazines, read: 'I don't need a cap and a label. I look better naked'. "The bottled water backlash is hitting fever pitch," said Eric Yaverbaum, co-founder of Tappening.com, which promotes tap water. "We've had water filters for years and no one cared. But, no one was talking about whether or not bottled or tap water was safe. This is a great opportunity for them." Pur filters are No.2 in the category. Sales grew 9.7% to $22m for year ending 7 September 2008. Fellow filter company Brita was up 8.1% to $61.4m.

In response to a new bill affecting lead content of residential and commercial faucets in California, Chicago Faucets has introduced Ecast – a line of durable brass faucets and fixtures for installation in food service areas, classrooms and other areas where students may drink water. Ongoing efforts by state legislators to provide the safest drinking water possible to the residents, and especially to the children of California, has resulted in the creation of California Assembly Bill 1953 (AB1953). Due to take effect on a January 2010, the new bill requires that residential and commercial faucets for dispensing water for human consumption must not exceed a total weighted average of 0.25% maximum lead content. Facilities particularly impacted by this new law include: schools, day-care centres, hospitals, healthcare facilities, restaurants and cafeterias. "This new line of faucets has already received certification," said Andreas Nowak, CEO of Chicago Faucets. "We're very excited to be able to offer it to the schools and other facilities throughout the state of California ahead of schedule." Ecast will be available at the start of October 2008, enabling Californians to meet this regulation 14 months before the law takes effect. "Our opinion was, why make the children and residents of California wait, when we have the ability to provide faucets that meet this new law today," added Nowak.

By Jason Holway Zenith International *More than 250 suppliers and brand owners met in Atlanta, Georgia, at the end of September for the Aseptipak conference organised by Schotland Business Research – the programme investigating the theme 'Aseptic as an Enabler of Sustainability'. * Currently, the majority of ‘aseptic’ products in the US market are produced using hot-fill technology, but there were signs that beverage producers in particular may well be ready to embrace cold-fill technology, with the impression given that future CAPEX will favour the latter format. Nowhere was this trend better illustrated than in an Audience Response session after lunch on the first day. All 250 or so delegates contributed to a real-time market research exercise in which 43 questions were posed under a variety of headings: investment, sterilisation, sustainability, flexible packaging, closures, performance and consumer attitudes. With a significant number of the delegates also key decision makers within their organisations, some weight can be given to the responses even if statisticians might challenge the science! Schotland has pioneered the ARS technique in packaging and food and beverage related conferences, being the first to use it when it was launched at Nova-Pack 2008 last February. The system has the virtue of capturing real yet anonymous feedback from a large number of respondents, encouraging an openness that might not always be a natural response when sharing the forum with direct competitors. Around three quarters of delegates revealed that they were planning aseptic packaging investments within the next three years, approaching half in 2009, with the current financial turmoil apparently having little impact – almost three quarters would continue to pursue those plans. However, half of the delegates hoped they wouldn't be paying any extra for dry aseptic against hot-fill costs. For around half the delegates, 600bpm line speed was sufficient, 80% would blow the bottles on-site, while nearly 60% would mitigate the investment (and learn more about a challenging technology) by using co-packing to begin with. Similar proportions – around two thirds in each case – recognised that consumers valued the recyclability and/or compostibility of packaging, and felt that aseptic packaging had a sufficiently well-established link to sustainability for such an emphasis to represent a marketing opportunity for brands. However, it was also acknowledged that ‘sustainability’ remained an imprecisely defined term that had a feel-good factor and a broad appeal. Interestingly, when asked about those influences on the consumer purchasing decision, sustainability was given as most important by only 1% of the audience. Cost and quality shared 85% out of a quartet of choices completed by healthiness, but led by cost (though nearly half of the delegates communicated in a follow-up question that ‘better product taste’ was the single biggest advantage conferred by aseptic packaging). Still beverages When it came to determining through which beverage sectors cold-fill aseptic would gather in importance, the emphasis was on added value still beverages – juices, RTD teas, sports and energy drinks. Recognising that such sectors might favour more innovative closure technology – and also the challenge of running sports caps down a cold aseptic line – delegates were asked whether they wanted to see LAAB (low acid aseptic beverages) with a sports cap and no foil seal. 70% said they did, with around two thirds expecting such offerings to represent between 5% and 10% of consumption across these still beverage sectors in the next half decade. Across these same categories, more than three quarters of respondents felt that aseptically filled product would represent between 10% and 25% of volume against hot-fill over the same time frame. Such developments would likely take place off the same finish sizes: 38mm and 28mm for multi-serve and single-serve respectively. Addressing the issues What issues will cold-fill aseptic technology suppliers have to address to turn this potential into reality? Unsurprisingly the chief obstacle identified was high capital investment (64%), another 15% highlighting the fact that installed capacity is expected to carry on operating for some time to come. Around 20% recognised that technical support and operator training represented a real challenge and, from speaking to those producers that have hard-learnt experience, the learning curve is steep. Sharing that experience is something these pioneers are more than willing to do, but it can be condensed only so much. Self-learning is both unavoidable and invaluable. A number of those companies currently offering cold-fill aseptic solutions – Krones, Sidel, KHS, GEA Procomac, Scholle and Advanced Electron Beams – both presented and sponsored the event, while Nestlé, Gehl Foods, Sara Lee and Corvaglia were well represented on the platform and in the audience. Interest now switches to Fort Lauderdale in Florida for the 2009 Nova-Pack event in early February 2009, which will look at latest developments in PET containers for food and beverages.