**Following the success of last year's Buy One Get One Tree campaign, innocent is teaming up with Carbon Clear again for its bigger and better Buy One Grow One Tree scheme. Throughout May, for each carton of smoothie sold and registered, innocent will grow a tree in one of Carbon Clear's projects in India. Each carton has a unique code which, when registered on the dedicated website, will see a tree planted.** The innocent smoothie drinkers across the UK who participated in the last Buy One Get One Tree project are responsible for a whopping 164,020 trees in rural India, absorbing carbon dioxide and supporting local communities. The trees planted provide food and medicine, shelter for secondary crops and reduce soil erosion. If that's not enough of an incentive there's also a little something extra for those who register lots of trees, like a 'grow your own' herb box, an extra night in an organic B & B in the countryside or the chance to win a year's supply of smoothies. This year, innocent is also supporting The Tree Council's Walk in the Woods Month to encourage everyone to visit their local forest or parkland during May. At events across the country, kids are being encouraged to complete the innocent tree trail and enjoy the UK's trees and woodlands.

PepsiCo has announced the acquisition of V Water, a leading vitamin water brand in the UK. The move comes ahead of the anticipated summer launch of Glacéau vitamin water by Coca-Cola in the domestic market. V Water was launched in 2005, and now has a range of six flavours. All products are made with spring water, and have no artificial flavours, sweeteners, colours or preservatives. The V Water range contains a number of added vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts including Vitamin C, Zinc, Selenium and Ginseng. Garrett Quigley, General Manager, PepsiCo UK and Ireland, said: "V Water provides us with a strong platform for expansion into a fast growing market, and reflects PepsiCo's global commitment to transforming our portfolio of products and extending our range of healthier beverages. The UK is a key market for us, and we are extremely excited about developing a relationship with V Water in the UK, which will enhance and contribute to the long-term growth of the V Water brand." PepsiCo is one of the world's largest makers and sellers of waters, sports drinks, juice and soft drinks. The acquisition of V Water in the UK will create significant opportunities, and PepsiCo is committed to investing in the V Water brand and building an exciting future for the company. The two founders of V Water, Walter Faulstroh and Chris Coleridge, said: "V Water has positioned itself in the UK market as "The Vitamin Water" since 2005. Joining V Water's exciting brand and people to the powerful PepsiCo family will allow us to continue to expand and fulfil the full potential of V Water. We are very excited to be leading the expansion of the value-added water category in the UK." PepsiCo also announced that it has reached an exclusive bottling agreement (EBA) with Britvic plc to manufacture, sell and distribute the V Water products in Great Britain. Britvic is PepsiCo's exclusive bottler in Great Britain for the Pepsi, 7Up and Gatorade brands. The addition of the V Water brands to the portfolio further strengthens a close and long-standing PepsiCo-Britvic relationship. PepsiCo's transformation strategy is focused on launching and acquiring new products that reflect consumer demand for healthier, nutritious food and drink. The purchase of V Water follows PepsiCo's recent announcement of plans to acquire Russia's largest juice company, Lebedyansky, and the 2007 purchases of US-based Naked Juice and, with bottling partner Pepsi Americas, Sandora, the leading juice company in Ukraine. PepsiCo has North America's foremost portfolio of non-carbonated beverages, and in 2007 grew its leadership positions in water, enhanced water and isotonics. Some of its hydration brands include SoBe Life Water, Aquafina Alive, Propel, Gatorade and G2.

*Soft drinks and Scottish water manufacturer, Sangs (Banff) Ltd, has launched revamped packaging and labelling for its award winning MacB range. The company chose the prestigious setting of Edinburgh Castle for its trade launch and the Tesco Enjoy the Taste of Scotland showcase in Glasgow for its consumer unveiling. * The changes to the MacB range of sugar free still and sparkling flavoured Scottish spring waters, form part of design modifications that are starting to take place right across the Sangs product portfolio. This follows the friendly take over of the company in July 2007 by Andy Anderson and Kenny Webster. Packaging for the entire MacB range has now changed to clear bottles to reflect the healthy product within. Previously the range was hidden behind bottles that were blue for carbonated and green for still. Labelling has also been transformed into a very modern look to help reflect the premium positioning of the MacB brand. Deveron Spring still and sparkling Scottish water has also just been relaunched, along with Justadash and One Fruit, which meets the criteria of one portion of fruit. In the next few months, the marketing team will be reviewing other Sangs brands. Commenting on the revamp, Sangs Managing Director Andy Anderson said: “When we took over Sangs last summer, we knew we had high quality products in the bottles but felt that this was not reflected in the packaging and labelling. Branding had been around for many years and had become quite dated. “Now is the perfect time to opt for change and invest in reinvigorating our brands such as MacB, which will help us achieve our projected market growth of 30% and take us to a turnover of £17.4 million by March 2009. Our MacB launch at Edinburgh Castle was the perfect setting for a most successful and enjoyable evening with our business partners. And with more than 20,000 people attending the Tesco event, we felt there was no better showcase to reveal our new look range of products to consumers.” Visitors to the Sangs stand at the Tesco Enjoy the Taste of Scotland consumer event were given plenty of opportunities to sample the product and other brands across the product portfolio. The MacB range, which is suitable for diabetics, is available in nine flavours. Tesco sells strawberry+kiwi, apple+blackcurrant, cranberry+raspberry and lemon+lime, available in mini MacB 25cl bottles as well as 50cl six packs and single bottles.

Juice Asia’s second annual conference took place 15-16 April at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel in Mumbai, India. Juice Asia is designed to inform processors of the latest market and consumer trends, international standards on quality and safety and global production developments. Dr Chad Mueller presented during the Strategic Issues for the Juice Industry programme on 16 April. Dr Mueller’s presentation – 'Aseptic Juice Packaging: A Focus on Bag-in-Box' – revealed three key elements of aseptic packaging success: Creating and maintaining an aseptic filling environment Maintaining optimum shelf life through advanced packaging technology Utilising dispensing options to allow safe transfer of aseptic products throughout their life cycle Focusing on the newest innovations in equipment, film and fitments that make up Scholle Packaging’s family of products, Dr Mueller elaborated on the technology, tests and results of several case studies that his team of scientists recently conducted. These studies were essential in the discovery of the critical elements and direction for the newest Scholle products and technology, among them the aseptic version of the Scholle Bag-In-Box for juice applications. Aseptically packaged juice doesn't require refrigeration and has a longer shelf-life than non-aseptic juice. Scholle Bag-In-Box has several clear benefits. For the consumer, dispensing is as simple as the push of a button with the Scholle FlexTap. The package fits efficiently on refrigerator shelves and lasts longer because Scholle Bag-In-Box protects the product from ambient air after opening. For the retailer and brand owner, bag-in-box presents a larger “billboard” for branding, and consumer information. For the Earth, bag-in-box allows for less environmental impact through maximum utilisation of warehouse space, transportation space and retail shelf space. About Dr Chad Mueller Dr Mueller comes from a background of packaging excellence. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio with a PhD in Macromolecular Science, Dr Mueller has brought his knowledge of plastics to the packaging industry his entire career. His career accomplishments to date include: eight publications on studies of polymers, film strengths, co extrusion and film structures; and dozens of patents and patents pending on several packages, films and structures. In his current position as Chief Technology Officer at Scholle Packaging, Dr Mueller heads up the Global Technology Department which includes a state-of-the-art equipped laboratory for package design and testing and a team of scientists and engineers who develop all new Scholle technology, from filling to films and fitments.

The agreement calls for Designer Whey products to be on shelves in more than 900 Publix Super Market stores. Consumers will be able to purchase the protein powder in the easy-to-use Designer Whey Protein.2Go packs or in Designer Whey 12.7oz canisters for traditional everyday use. Flavours include Designer Whey Chocolate and French Vanilla, as well as all-natural Aria Women’s Protein in Chocolate and Vanilla varieties. "Publix Super Markets reach millions of daily consumers and Designer Whey protein products will now be accessible to busy people in those markets, enabling them to embrace a more health-conscious lifestyle," said Next Proteins' CEO, David Jenkins. "Designer Whey is changing the way America looks at protein."

Nestlé UK and Boost Juice Bars have joined forces to launch a range of 100% fruit smoothies with added nutritional benefits, aimed at the 18 to 30-year-old health-conscious consumer. The UK healthy drinks and smoothie market is a crowded one, but there's a gap for a more functional range of ready-to-drink smoothies that still deliver on taste. Made by the Australian juice experts, Boost Juice Bars, the Boosted Smoothies brand is described as cheeky, noisy, vibrant, raunchy, adult, yet accessible, honest and fun. Dragon was asked to create a big idea for the brand, which would create new news in the category, building on the Boost vibe and be in harmony with the 'Love Life' essence of Boost Juice Bars. Boosted Smoothies will be available nationwide from the end of April in four flavours: Mango Mania – Energy Boost gives a lift thanks to guarana and ginseng; Berry Blitz – Immunity Boost features a dairy-free probiotic and Vitamin C to help strengthen the body’s defences; Smashin’ Strawberry – Mind Boost has a ginseng & guarana mix which can aid memory and concentration; and Topical Twist – Metabolism Boost contains Teavigo a taste-free green tea extract which can have a positive effect on fat oxidation. The launch is being supported with a £5 million integrated marketing and communications campaign.

Mars Incorporated has announced a merger agreement with Chicago based Wm Wrigley Jr Company in a transaction valued at approximately $23 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Wrigley will become a separate, stand alone subsidiary of Mars. With $5.4 billion in sales, Wrigley is a world leader in gum and confections. The company has had a strong year, with 17% increase in quarterly earnings per share and earnings up 16% from a year ago. Under the terms of the agreement, unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, shareholders of Wrigley will receive $80 in cash for each share. Based on Wrigley’s closing share price of $62.45 on April 25, 2008 and its three month weighted average share price of $59.88, this represents a premium of 28.1% and 34%, respectively, to Wrigley stockholders. Financing for the transaction will be provided by Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. At closing, Berkshire Hathaway will make a minority equity investment in the Wrigley subsidiary. Strong foundation The combined company would have a strong foundation of established brands in six core growth categories – chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks and petcare – including M&M’S, Snickers, Dove, Mars, Orbit®, Extra®, Doublemint, Uncle Ben’s, Pedigree, Whiskas, Royal Canin and Banfield. The transaction builds the Mars business by strengthening and diversifying its confectionery business, and enhancing its potential for growth in the chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery and gum categories. “When this transaction is completed, we will be proud to welcome Wrigley’s associates to our company,” said Mars Global President Paul S Michaels. “The strong cultural heritage of two legendary American companies with a shared commitment to innovation, quality and best-in-class global brands provides a great basis for this combination. We are looking forward to continuing on our path of growth by jointly developing those values even further.” The combination will allow Wrigley to retain its character and focus as a stand-alone business while being part of a larger family corporation that has a strong heritage and an entrepreneurial and global culture. Michaels added, “We understand how important Wrigley’s presence has been for Chicago over the past century and have committed to maintain its headquarters and operations in the city. Mars has a long history of involvement in the greater Chicago economy and community, and we look forward to strengthening these ties by maintaining Wrigley’s heritage there.” Wrigley was founded in Chicago in 1891 and Mars currently operates three plants in Illinois, including a chocolate confectionery plant in Oak Park, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2004. To provide more focus to Mars’ brands and drive growth, the company will be transferring its global non-chocolate confectionery sugar brands, including Starburst and Skittles, to Wrigley. Following completion of the transaction, Bill Wrigley, Jr. will remain Executive Chairman of Wrigley, reporting to Paul S. Michaels. He will work closely with Bill Perez, President and Chief Executive Officer, and the current Wrigley management team, which has a strong track record of delivering consistently superior performance. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Wrigley stockholders and certain governmental and agency regulatory clearances. Both parties hope to close the transaction within six to twelve months.

Lovejuice, the UK’s premier smoothie and juice bar operator backed by Smedvig Capital, has acquired Barefruit Juice, a chain of juice bars in the North of England. This acquisition accelerates the expansion of Lovejuice and in particular provides a stronghold in the North. Lovejuice is also pleased to announce the imminent opening of a new flagship outlet in the recently completed Terminal 5 complex at Heathrow airport. Lovejuice fought off tough competition to secure a store in the new Terminal and is delighted to be in such an exciting new development, which will see millions of travellers passing each year. Barefruit Juice is a highly complementary acquisition for Lovejuice – sharing a similar ethos and culture when it comes to product and service. Barefruit is a chain of smoothie and juice bars which like Lovejuice aims to provide alternative nutritious beverages to caffeinated and carbonated drinks sold at the majority of UK fast food outlets. Like Lovejuice it is committed to choosing the healthiest and best ingredients to ensure the quality of the products they provide. With this parallel commitment to healthy fruit and vegetables being the constituent parts to their offering Barefruit made the perfect partner for Lovejuice. Commenting on the announcement, John Heseltine, founder of Lovejuice, said: “This acquisition marks the next important stage in our growth, as we build scale and a strong presence across the UK. We are growing our portfolio of outlets and remain on the look out for comparable acquisitions as the juice bar sector moves into a period of consolidation. We will also continue to open new stores organically when the right opportunities arise” He added: “Winning a key spot in the new terminal building was quite a triumph for us and a superb endorsement of the quality of the Lovejuice brand. These are exciting times for us and we look forward to making similar announcements in due course as we continue our ongoing growth pattern and dedication to healthier alternatives to traditional fast food on the move.”

*Sigpack Systems, a Bosch Packaging Technology company, received the international iF Packaging Award for the packaging concept Burgopak. * The packaging solution with a user-friendly sliding mechanism combines product and process innovation and has already received several prizes, including the SwissStar Award and the WorldStar Award. The iF Packaging Award jury selected the Burgopak packaging style with patented sliding mechanism as the best packaging construction and functionality out of 148 applications from 17 countries. Besides pharmaceutical products, such as blister packs, the Burgopak is suitable for packaging chewing gum, hard candy or consumer goods in various format sizes, including CDs, DVDs or SIM cards. The Burgopak is constructed of a wallet format combined with a folded box, which is exposed at the head sides. Consumers open the user-friendly packaging by pulling a flap on one side. The sliding mechanism causes the opposite product carrier to slide open, revealing an instruction leaflet or operating manual. The innovative mechanism is tamper-proof and differentiates brands from the competition. "Sigpack Systems cooperates closely with design agencies," said Andreas Graf, system integration manager at Sigpack Systems. "Innovative packaging styles such as the Burgopak enhance the product presentation at the point of sale. By automating original packaging formats, we make them accessible for the mass market." The iF International Forum Design GmbH awarded the prize for outstanding design to 53 products. All winners have their awarded products on display at Interpack 2008 in Dusseldorf, Germany, 24-30 April.

Fruitsense from Old Orchard Brands in the US is a functional, vitamin-enhanced juice drink in large, lightweight plastic bottles typically reserved for the fruit juice aisle – a move that suggests the single-serve, on the go segment of flavoured waters is headed towards at-home consumption. Each 8oz serving contains antioxidant vitamins C and E, essential vitamins A and B, with functional ingredients including echinacea, EGCG, CoQ10, ginseng, taurine, hibiscus, magnesium, zinc, calcium and iron. All six flavours are sweetened naturally with low-glycemic organic agave nectar and 5% fruit juice, resulting in only 45 calories per serving. The product has no preservatives and is gluten free. "FruitSense combines the best of all worlds: 5% real fruit juice, added vitamins, a low calorie count, and an organic sweetener that's friendly to a diabetic diet," said Vice President of Marketing for Old Orchard Brands Kevin Miller. "In a multi-serve bulk pack, we offer consumers a lower cost per ounce, making a more environmentally-friendly package. We feel this gives our product a strong competitive edge." According to a recent Beverage Marketing Corporation study, the fastest growing segment in the beverage category is flavored and functional waters, which saw double digit growth year-to-year in 2007. FruitSense has been designed to take advantage of this growth trend. FruitSense is being offered in six flavors, each supporting a distinctive health benefit: Key Lime Colada is enhanced with EGCG to help boost metabolism; Pomegranate, Blueberry, Mangosteen includes Co-enzyme Q10 for heart health; Kiwi Dragonfruit contains ginseng and taurine for natural, caffeine-free energy; Strawberry, Peach, Melon includes hibiscus, vitamin D, and magnesium to combat stress; Tangerine Grapefruit includes zinc and Echinacea for preventative health; and Cranberry, Raspberry is blended with calcium, vitamin D and iron for women's health. Old Orchard will kick-off the launch of FruitSense with national print advertising, radio advertising, and product sampling, and is giving away free bottles of FruitSense to the first 50,000 visitors to the company's website: www.fruitsense.com. * About Old Orchard Brands* Sparta, Mich.-based Old Orchard Brands is one of the fastest-growing fruit juice brands in the US. Established in 1985, the company offers consumers 30 frozen concentrate flavors and 62 bottled varieties in a range of 100 percent fruit juices and blends, premium and organic juices, fruit juice cocktails, low-sugar fruit juice cocktails, and juice-infused teas. Old Orchard Brands currently produces more than 80 million 64-ounce bottles of fruit juice and 45 million 12-ounce canisters of frozen juice concentrates each year. The company is known for its innovative and value-added products that target the needs of today's health conscious consumers. Old Orchard Brands is an Allied Capital company.

Kenzai, the UK’s first producers of organic ready-to-drink iced teas, is to launch new packaging to celebrate the launch of its third flavoured iced tea. With white, green and the new jasmine flavoured tea, Kenzai’s three blends are made using real tea leaves and contain no additives, preservatives or colourings. Malinee Woeste, founder of Kenzai Tea, said: “To celebrate the launch of our third blend, the Jasmine iced tea, we're thrilled to kick-start our new packaging. This will include updating all our labelling and refreshing the look of Kenzai tea, while maintaining our traditional outlook on design and production. I'm delighted with the new look and I'm sure it will appeal to our customers also.” Kenzai Jasmine, White and Green teas are available in recyclable 330ml glass bottles from all good specialist food shops, and online at www.kenzai-tea.com – priced £1.75 a bottle.

An exotic spirit is about to hit American taste buds as International Beverage Holdings Ltd, USA (IBHL USA) imports Mekhong from Thailand. IBHL USA is backing the US launch of Mekhong with a heavy marketing and promotional push for on-premise accounts centred on the 13 new Mekhong cocktail recipes. Colourful Mekhong POS materials are being used and launch events are being scheduled in New York and Los Angeles The Thai spirit is made mostly from sugar cane and rice and infused with a special blend of indigenous Thai herbs and spices. The highly secret Mekhong recipe was developed to complement the taste and flavour of Thai food. At 35% alcohol by volume, the product's smooth mixability makes Mekhong an ideal spirit for fascinating and flavourful cocktails. Perfect for taking advantage of the resurging 'cocktail culture' in America that is looking for fun and interesting new flavoured cocktails. Mekhong is distilled, blended and bottled at the Bangyikhan Distillery on the outskirts of Bangkok. The brand is named after the mighty Mekhong River, which is derived from "Mae Nam"-Khong in Thai meaning "the mother of all waters" and has a long mystical history in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia. Launched in 1941 as Thailand's first domestically produced branded spirit, Mekhong quickly became the most popular brand in Thailand and still today is synonymous with Thai pride and patriotism. Warding off evil spirits Mekhong is made using a unique fermentation and triple distillation process, but it is the blending process that makes Mekhong a premium golden spirit. The final distilled spirit is mixed with demineralized water and an old highly secret recipe of indigenous herbs and spices which are then combined and blended over time in the "blender purse." This is done in several traditional and symbolic stages related to the five natural elements: earth, water, air/wind, fire and aether (the mythical upper air that encompasses everything), which together gradually creates the unique golden, dark amber and reddish copper color, and mild, mellow taste and aroma of Mekhong. Mekhong comes in a unique 750 ML international bottle taking its design inspiration from traditional Thai boating on the Mekhong River. A colorful red and gold ribbon is tied around the neck of each bottle. The ribbons are a symbol of good luck and are representative of the ones boaters tie around their vessels to ward off evil spirits as they travel the Mekhong River.