As you know, the winners of the 2008 water innovation awards will be announced in Wiesbaden at the http://www.zenithinternational.com/events/event_detail.asp?id=52" target="_blank">5th Global Bottled Water Congresson 23 September 2008 as part of the Global Bottled Water Congress. A shortlist of finalists (winners and highly commended entries) has now been announced and they are listed below, in no particular order: Best bottle in PET Upland Natural Waters Sourcy (Vrumona BV) Chic (Sociedade da Agua de Monchique) Panama Blue (Panama Springs) Best bottle in glass Mist (Lucid Enterprises) Evian - Christian Lacroix design (Danone) Solé Arte (Solé Water) lverde (SPUMADOR Spa) Best label - sponsored by StoraEnso Walnut Grove (Vitro Packaging) Jupik Aqua (Hoop Polska Sp. Z o.o.) ganicwater (Ganic Consumer Products) Acqua Filette (Fonte Italia) Chic (Sociedade da Agua de Monchique) Beauty (Works with Water) Iskilde Best enhanced water concept Avra Herbal (Coca-Cola Hellenic Greece) Vitalis Smart (Unicer Águas SA) Nestlé Fitness (Nestlé Waters) used owater (owater) Best flavoured water concept ganicwater (Ganic Consumer Products) Formas Luso (Sociedade Central De Cervejas e Bebidas) Ritmo Luso (Sociedade Central De Cervejas e Bebidas) Best children's concept bot (bot beverages) Y Water (Y Water Inc) Iceni Water (Iceni Waters) Jupik Aqua (Hoop Polska Sp. Z o.o.) Best packaging innovation FLEX closure (SmartSeal) NitroPouch concept (Krones AG) Clean Valve for pouches (IPN Holdings BV) Best new brand or business - sponsored by IPN Isklar Y Water Iceni Waters Balance Water Company Best ethical or humanitarian initiative - sponsored by SGS Thirst Aid (Calypso) Pre-school water drinking programme (Eden Springs Israel) Tumai Water (Spero Group) PhilanthroH20 Give (PurBlue Beverages) Best marketing campaign Coca-Cola Beverages Austria Gerolsteiner Brunnen Highland Spring Coca-Cola Germany PepsiCo North America Eden Springs Israel * * Best environmental or sustainability initiative Isklar Carbon Action Plan pilot project (Highland Spring) Clean Valve for Pouches and pouch technology (IPN)

Britain's dairy industry has recently been on the receiving end of criticism over its impact on the environment. The dairy cow is widely blamed for contributing to the rise in greenhouse gases as she contentedly emits gas from both ends after chewing the cud. Yesterday the industry fought back on these and other issues affecting the public view of milk production. Jim Begg, Director General of Dairy UK, launched a drive to raise awareness of the sector's environmental progress. Speaking at Sorbie Farm, near Ardrossan, Ayrshire, he stated that there had already been massive improvements. "We are aware that we have to be in line with what our customers want and we do not want the government to impose regulations on us," he claimed. He instanced research work being carried out that would, in the medium term, see a 20% cut in emissions of methane gas by the ruminating cow. This, he said, could be achieved through improved knowledge of the animal's diet. The event's host, Alan Hogarth, who keeps 250 dairy cows at Sorbie Farm, is pioneering the use of an anaerobic digester to produce energy from the slurry they create. The gas produced on his farm amounts to 85,000 cubic metres a year and this is the equivalent of 170,000 kilowatt-hours. The gas is burned to produce electricity and heating for his farm, his home and a new milk processing and bottling operation. Slurry remaining after the gas extraction does not smell and cows can graze less than two weeks after it has been applied. But perhaps the best bonus for Hogarth is that, despite the cost of fertiliser rocketing in the past year, his own expenditure on bought-in fertiliser has fallen by 15% in the period. So far, the green energy produced on the farm is used entirely on site but Hogarth believes the government is falling behind practice in Europe, where energy produced from renewable projects yields higher payments than conventionally produced energy. His own plant was funded by the former Scottish Executive as part of a plan to reduce pollution on the beaches in nearby Ardrossan. These beaches have now been awarded blue flag status and Hogarth will shortly take over ownership of the digester. Plans at his farm are to further improve his green policies with the expansion of a milk round that he started in May. Running counter to national trends, where a larger and larger percentage of milk is traded by the major supermarkets, Hogarth, believes there is a real niche for milk delivered on the doorstep. Response has been good from the 400 households already supplied and he said customers were really keen on locally sourced milk, delivered in the traditional glass bottle and coming to the door via a small electric float. "We have a niche market and people who are getting my milk are now buying more per head than they used to. We wondered about using plastic bottles and we do use some for the retail market but the householder wants the recyclable glass bottle," he states. Collecting cash on the round is not the burden it once was. A quarter of customers pay through internet banking, taking away a great deal of the hassle from the job. Hogarth's ambition is to push his direct sales up to delivering to more than 1,000 houses by the end of the year. **

In a fast-paced world where consumers are becoming increasingly demanding and health-focused and environmental issues are a priority, SIAL 2008 offers a platform to help companies understand and break into tomorrow’s markets. The Paris-based expo covers a wide selection of industries and themes over five days. At least 5,500 exhibitors will attend from over 100 countries to present some of the 145,000 visitors with a multitude of innovations and up-coming trends. The event, which runs from 19-23 October at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre in France, will be predicting important new food industry trends through the focus of five key themes: Innovation, trends, design and lifestyle at the Trends & Innovations Observatory, Retail World, SIAL d’Or and Food Design spaces. Natural, healthy and nutritious products can be discovered at the Nutrition Village, food & Beauty, health foods and dietary supplements areas. Sustainable development and Fairtrade are no longer just trendy buzz words, but economic imperatives. Companies around the world are implementing energy saving measures such as setting up eco-friendly factories and at SIAL 2008 80,000 recycled bags made from apple by-products will be handed out to visitors. SIAL also donates 50 tonnes of food products to charity. Global wine consumption is continuing its rapid rise, not only in established markets such as the US and the UK, but in the emerging markets of Russia, China, and South-East Asia. SIAL 2008 presents Best Buy, Wine Innovation Forum and the Wine Women Awards. > Finally, CIES and Buyers’ lounges, gala evenings and numerous awards ceremonies provide ideal environments where business meets pleasure.

The Coca-Cola Company is testing a fountain technology that can dispense more than 100 branded sparkling and still beverages from a single free-standing unit. The dispenser has been designed to pour a wide variety of brands in about the same space as today’s eight valve dispenser. The unit can be used for high-concentrate ingredients and micro dispensing, and introducing a new brand on this dispenser is about as easy as changing a print cartridge, the company claims. Coca-Cola North America FoodService and On-Premise President Chris Lowe, said: “We wanted a dispenser that offers consumers greater beverage variety while helping our customers increase beverage profitability. We started by ignoring preconceived notions of fountain beverages and explored how a fountain dispenser could look and work in the future.” Consumer tests run earlier this summer revealed that the satisfaction with the overall beverage experience increased 72% vs the current fountain experience. The dispenser also got high marks for ease of use, variety/choice, taste, value and fun experience. Second generation dispensers will begin testing in the first half of 2009, with a focus on performance, quality and reliability. A decision on commercialisation will follow completion of second generation tests. The dispenser also offers environmental and logistic benefits as the very high concentrate ingredients will reduce packaging waste and energy use, as well as significantly reducing the storage space required to support fountain dispensers.

Thomas Amstutz replaces Tim Seager who will leave The Carlsberg Group after almost one year as CEO of the French brewery. Thomas Amstutz’ successor as CEO of Feldschlösschen will be Thomas Metzger, currently CFO of the Swiss activities. Thomas Amstutz will take up the position as chairman of Feldschlösschen. The decision to change the management at Brasseries Kronenbourg has been taken to further strengthen the revitalisation plan of the French business and to ensure the right set of competencies. Thomas Amstutz has headed a very successful development of Feldschlösschen since he became CEO in 2005. Now his job is to lead the French organisation and business to future success by exploiting the big potential of Brasseries Kronenbourg in both the French market and abroad, based on a strong brand portfolio and the brewery’s historical ties to customers and consumers. “Optimization of our management teams is an ongoing process in The Carlsberg Group. Given his track record from Feldschlösschen and his general experience and leadership skills, we see Thomas Amstutz as the right man to take the brewery activities in France to the next level” said president & CEO of The Carlsberg Group, Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, who also welcomes Thomas Metzger as new CEO of Feldschlösschen. "We would like to thank Tim Seager for his many contributions to the management of Brasseries Kronenbourg and the Scottish & Newcastle-organisation," he added. The change of management will take place as of 8 September 2008.

International fruit juice ingredients supplier Cobell has just announced the launch of two new products – Juice Box and Smoothie Box The containers are similar in design to a wine box with self-sealing tap on the side of the box which means it doesn’t even have to be moved from the fridge. Customers can choose from either a standard range of NFC (Not From Concentrate) juices or smoothies or they can create their own bespoke recipes at Cobell’s own UK based juice-blending and aseptic packaging facility. The standard Juice Box juice range is currently available in: pineapple, cloudy apple, apple pear, forest fruits, summer fruits, apple, damson rhubarb, natural lemonade, grapefruit and orange. The standard Smoothie Box range is available in: mango passion fruit, cranberry raspberry and strawberry. Clients can experiment with their own juice or smoothie combinations at Cobell’s research and development facility and they can choose whether to have their own branding on the packaging or whether to use the vibrant and stylish designs of the Juice Box and Smoothie Box brands. Cobell sources its NFC juices from around the world and the range includes organic, non-gm, Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance approved juices. Juice and Smoothie boxes are available in 3, 5 or 10 litre boxes and come with an easy self-sealing tap dispenser which allows for a clean and easy pouring of the juice or smoothie straight from the fridge. The aseptic packaging gives the product a six month ambient shelf life and once opened, the juice or smoothie has a 14 day open and chilled shelf life. Simon Pearson, Cobell Business Development Manager who heads the Juice Box and Smoothie Box sales team, said: “It is very exciting to be launching such a high quality and innovative product. We have already had a lot of interest from the catering sector who can see the huge benefits of being able to dispense chilled juices or smoothies directly from a tap on the end of the box. “As well as being convenient and the right size to be neatly stored in the fridge, the way that our juices are gently pasteurised in Cobell’s aseptic plant means that the shelf life is longer and the high quality of the product isn’t compromised. “We are already working with key regional distributors in Devon and Sussex to supply the speciality foodservice sector and we are in discussion with a number of direct-to-customer channels to launch both branded and jointly branded Juice and Smoothie boxes." Cobell’s aseptic and packaging facility is based near the company’s South West headquarters in Exeter, UK. As part of the aseptic packaging system, bags are opened, filled and sealed in one continuous process which utilises steam sterilising. This results in the bags remaining totally sterile on the inside, resulting in the increased shelf-life of the product.

Robinsons Fruit Shoot has broken through the £100m sales barrier, consolidating its lead as the largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) kids’ brand and kids’ favourite soft drink. As of June 2008, the Fruit Shoot brand (including pure juice Fruit Shoot 100% and flavoured water Fruit Shoot H20) was valued at £101.4m. The brand has achieved significant growth as it was valued at £73m in 2006. The Britvic-owned brand has grown consistently year on year, achieving 11.2% growth in the last 12 months. Fruit Shoot’s Senior Brand Manager, Noel Clarke said: “This puts Fruit Shoot, the kids’ favourite drinks brand in the elite club of £100m+ brands. Fruit Shoot has grown through a focus on innovation with the launch of Fruit Shoot H20 in 2006 and Fruit Shoot 100% pure juice in 2007. These new variants have added significantly to the brand’s value while the core Fruit Shoot range has grown organically, through increasing popularity with mums and kids. “Britvic will be putting further marketing investment behind the brand in the next 18 months to accelerate growth and are currently looking at further innovation to secure the brand’s place in the premier league of FMCG brands. ” * Fruit Shoot is a juice drink designed especially for kids, packaged in a brightly coloured sports bottle. The Fruit Shoot range is available in a variety of regular and no added sugar flavours and comes in two pack sizes – 200ml and 300ml. * Fruit Shoot 100% is a pure juice for kids, with each bottle counting as one of the five recommended daily portions of fruit and vegetables. It is available in orange, apple and apple blackcurrant and contains no ‘bits’. * Fruit Shoot H2O is a sugar-free flavoured water designed specifically for children’s palates. Packaged in 300ml clear bottles, the range is available in blackcurrant, orange and apple flavours.

Isbre Holding Corp, importer of Isbre Norwegian Glacier Spring Water, has announced placement into the 117 store Houston Division of Kroger supermarkets. With over 2,500 stores, Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in the US. Isbre also announced placement in the four Long Island Wild by Nature markets, highly regarded natural food stores owned and operated by King Kullen Grocery Company. Over the past year, Isbre has achieved supermarket placement in Stop & Shop, ShopRite and Kings and is currently available in over 3,500 retail locations, hotels and restaurants from Maine to Virginia. Isbre Holding Corp, headquartered in Montvale, NJ, is a producer, distributor and marketer of bottled and bulk water. Isbre's source is a spring located in the glacier region at the end of the Hardanger Fjord on the West Coast of Norway. Currently, the water is bottled in Norway and is sold in the US and Europe. Starting in 2009, Isbre intends to transport water in tanker ships directly from its spring source to a bottling plant on the Delaware River in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Additional bottling facilities are scheduled to open throughout the US over the next five years.

*Herbal Water, the only nationally available USDA Certified Organic flavoured water, is now available at more than 500 Safeway Stores. * Herbal Water blends hand-selected, organically grown herbs with purified water and nothing else – no preservatives, colours, artificial ingredients, sweeteners or calories. Herbal Water is available in six flavours: ginger lemon peel, cinnamon orange peel, lemongrass mint vanilla, lavender mint, cloves cardamom cinnamon and jasmine vanilla "Herbal Water is a healthy alternative to beverages that contain calories and artificial flavours," said company founder Ayala Laufer-Cahana. "As more people demand healthy and organic beverages, we're delighted that our line of Herbal Water will be available to them at Safeway stores." Recently, Herbal Water was recognised by Delicious Magazine as a "delicious flavoured water a great sugar-free alternative to soda … this water is smooth and refreshing". In addition, <1> named Herbal Water 'Product of the Week' and noted that Herbal Water's "flavour is near perfect". <1>: http://www.Bevnet.com

It has been formed by the three leading UK bottled water companies – Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) Ltd, Highland Spring and Nestlé Waters. Its aim will be to provide authoritative information and advice for researchers, government, the industry, media and public about the economic and social value and impact of bottled water. "Water is a fundamental human need, for which natural bottled water provides a healthy, convenient and consistent way for UK consumers to stay hydrated," said Nick Krzyzaniak, MD of Danone Waters UK & Ireland. "The role of the Natural Hydration Council is to provide consumers with an informed choice on the health and sustainability aspects of naturally sourced water." “Not many people realise that natural bottled water comes from fully sustainable sources and in recyclable packaging,” said Paolo Sangiorgi, MD of Nestlé Waters UK. “We need the Council to undertake new research and communicate the facts to ensure fully informed consumer choices.” “Natural bottled water is often compared with tap water, but research shows that nine out of 10 consumers are choosing it in place of other drinks rather than tap water,” added Les Montgomery, chief executive of Highland Spring. “Additionally, consumers are increasingly keen to know exactly where their preferred natural bottled water comes from and appreciate the fact that it cannot be treated with any chemicals, unlike tap water. Many consumers also prefer the taste of natural, untreated bottled water and have the reassurance that each consignment has to pass stringent quality assurance tests before it can be released for sale.” The Natural Hydration Council website will now become the main industry portal for enquiries about bottled water, alongside a new information line: 08452 100 222. The Council will have an office based in London, led by Jeremy Clarke as its newly appointed director. UK bottled water market According to Zenith International, UK bottled water consumption amounted to 2,185 million litres in 2007, equivalent to 36 litres per person. Volumes have risen 143% in the 10 years since 1997, but fell 4% in 2007 after poor summer weather. Sales are forecast to grow again after another weak year in 2008. Americans drink an average 112 litres per year and the average for all of West Europe is 115 litres per year. UK bottled water sales at retail prices were worth £1.59bn or £0.73 per litre in 2007. The average price in supermarkets last year was £0.31 per litre. 75% of 2007 volume was produced in the UK and a further 18% in France. Less than 1% came from outside Europe. This article was updated to include new links and a better logo.

*Tana Water (UK) Ltd has opened a new office on the Isle of Wight and increased its staff by 50% to support its growing business. * The Newport office will enable the NHS PASA-approved manufacturer to provide national sales and regional service support to hospitals, schools, hotels and businesses. “We wanted to tap into the pool of talent that's in this area and support our customer base with a local office," said Nick Heane, Managing Director, Tana Water UK. "Tana is the only water machine manufacturer in the UK that carries out its own service and maintenance using engineers approved by the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme. Having a base on the Isle of Wight will help us to reduce our carbon emissions from journeys to customers, as well as providing a lovely working environment for our staff.” Isle of Wight MP, Andrew Turner, who officiated at the office opening, said: “I'm delighted that Tana Water has recognised what so many other companies already know – that on the Island we have a talented and loyal workforce that can contribute to company growth. I wish Tana Water every success with its plans for expansion.” * *

According to the US Department of Agriculture, hunger affects more than 38 million Americans. To help fight this problem, 35 mums from the PFPMA are taking part in the 'NFL Moms Tackling Hunger with Chunky Soup' programme – a friendly competition among mums of NFL players, where they'll strive to raise as many food donations as possible for their local communities. Beginning in September 2008, each mum will receive 500 cans of Campbell's Chunky soup to kick-start their campaigns. The mums will work together with local Feeding America food banks in their hometowns to encourage other members of the community to help tackle hunger. At the end of the season, the three mums who generate the most donations for their local food banks will receive a trip to Tampa during the week of Super Bowl XLIII, where they'll help to announce a donation of one million cans of Campbell's soups to Feeding America food banks nationwide. The group of mums will be led by one of the most recognisable 'Team Moms' in all sports, Wilma McNabb, mother of Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback, Donovan McNabb. "One of the guiding principals of the PFPMA is to help the less fortunate in our communities," said McNabb, president of the PFPMA. "We're honoured to partner with organisations like the Campbell Soup Company and Feeding America, who share the same core values. No one should ever go hungry, and with the help of our hometown friends, we're ensuring that people in need in our communities will receive nourishing soups." Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, said: "We're extremely grateful for the ongoing support of the Campbell Soup Company, the NFL and the PFPMA. We wouldn't be able to continue our effort in feeding more than 25 million hungry people each year, including nearly nine million children and three million seniors, without this type of support." Source: Campbell's