Yoplait has brought back the highly successful Doctor Who character licence on its limited edition fromage frais Frubes, to coincide with the return of Doctor Who to UK TV screens. The decision to re-run the Doctor Who licence was made following exceptional performance of the first promotion, which delivered 32% incremental growth to the category according to TNS Worldpanel and the start of the new TV series. The hugely popular sci-fi character replaces the Frubes Simpsons Movie DVD pack launched last year and reported in dairy innovation issue 14. The new pack incorporates a new design, with a range of exciting features including games, door hangers and 24 different Doctor Who characters on the Frubes tubes. To extend the promotion appeal, from June 2008, each pack will also contain one of six collectable bookmarks, each featuring a Doctor Who character, aimed at increasing frequency of purchase, particularly during the summer. The limited edition range is reported to be worth £8.3m, accounting for 28% of total Frubes sales. Yoplait Group Brand Manager Angelica Costantini said: “The The Frubes Doctor Who limited edition pack has been one of the most successful licenses to date, seeing average weekly sales double versus previous limited editions. With the huge popularity of the previous Frubes Doctor Who promotion and the new series on TV we are confident that Frubes Doctor Who will be equally popular with consumers and continue to add incremental growth to the category.” Limited edition Frubes Doctor Who are available in 9x40g tubes in a ‘sonic’ strawberry flavour.

Orchard Pig, which is based in Coxbridge, just outside Glastonbury in the UK, is a finalist in the Adult Soft Drinks category of the Beverage Innovation Awards. The two-man operation is competing against international industry giants, including Coca-Cola and Innocent Drinks. The winners will be announced at a gala industry dinner in Moscow later this month. Orchard Pig was formed last year by friends Andrew Quinlan and Neil McDonald. Its range of traditionally produced ciders and apple juices won a clutch of awards at last year’s Bath and West Show. The company has been working with Bath-based brand design company Blue Marlin to create a fresh and attractive image for Orchard Pig and its products. “We’re very excited to have been shortlisted for this award, especially as the competition from around the world is so tough and so strong,” said Andrew.

*The 15th edition of Printing South China and Sino-Pack together with Sino-Label 2008 and China Drinktec 2008 ended successfully on 7 March 2008 at China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex, Guangzhou, PR China. * More than 800 exhibitors from 83 countries and regions demonstrated their latest products and technologies during the four shows. The event recorded 41,692 visitors (6,713 from overseas) who came to explore business opportunities in South China. The opening ceremony was attended by officials and industrial leaders, with a speech delivered by Deputy Director General Press and Publication Administration of Guangdong Province Mr Yang Guangrui. Other guests included Ms Jiang Haiyan, the Deputy Secretary General of People's Government of Guangdong Province and Guangdong Provincial Publishing Group Chairman Mr Huang Shangli. The next edition of Printing South China, Sino-Label, Sino-Pack and China Drinktec will be held on 3-6 March 2009 at the same venue.

In a joint effort to tackle climate change and further increase sustainable practices, the International Dairy Federation and De Laval have come together to organise the first IDF Dairy Farming Summit under the theme ‘Climate Change – The Heat is On?’. The Summit, the first in a series of events to concentrate on dairy farming issues, will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) Crichton Royal Farm in Dumfries from 25-27 June 2008. The event is entirely devoted to global warming, its impact on dairy farming and how dairy farming affects the environment. Topics that will be discussed include the impact of climate change on animal health and welfare in the dairy sector, pollution, deforestation, water shortage and energy use. “Our aim is to give the dairy farmers some practical and hands on advice on what they can do to reduce environmental impact as part of their daily routines. We all have a responsibility when it comes to these questions and we can contribute one way or the other,” says David Homer, Chairman of the Organising Committee and the person responsible for co-ordinating IDF’s dairy farming programme. Like most businesses today agriculture needs to consider its contribution to the climate change. At the same time the increasing global temperature presents a fundamental threat to millions of farmers all over the world. IDF Director General Christian Robert adds: “IDF is taking a proactive approach to support sustainable agriculture by identifying best practices and sharing international experiences. Our objective is to ensure the production of safe and high quality nutritious dairy food for human consumption, undertaken in harmony with the environment.” Main highlights will include presentations on energy source and usage (USA), water access and usage (Egypt), climate change and global warming (The Netherlands), contamination and pollution (China) and biodiversity and deforestation (Brazil). In addition, a review of the FAO report entitled ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’, the predicted climate models for the featured countries and an evaluation of the economic implications will also be presented.

*Aircraft passengers and crews will be able to drink safer water under new regulations proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). * The proposed Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) will tailor existing health-based drinking water regulations to fit the unique characteristics of aircraft public water systems. The rule will protect the public from illnesses that can result from microbiological contamination. "We're upgrading airline drinking water standards to first-class status with better testing, treatment and maintenance," said Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles. In 2004, the EPA tested aircraft drinking water quality and reviewed air carrier compliance with regulations. EPA found that 15% of tested aircraft tested positive for total coliform bacteria. The agency also found that air carriers weren't meeting existing regulations, primarily because those regulations were designed for stationary public water systems. In response, EPA began a process to tailor the existing regulations for aircraft public water systems and placed 45 air carriers under administrative orders on consent that are in effect until aircraft drinking water regulations are final. The proposed ADWR will protect drinking water through monitoring, disinfection, and public notification, a combination that the EPA believes will better protect public health. The approach will build on existing aircraft operations and maintenance programmes and better coordinate federal programmes that regulate aircraft water systems. The proposed ADWR applies to the aircraft's onboard water system only. The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for regulating the airport watering points that include the water cabinets, carts, trucks and hoses from which aircraft board water. The EPA and the states are responsible for regulating public water systems that supply drinking water to the airport watering points. While the proposed rule only addresses aircraft within US jurisdiction, the EPA is also supporting an international effort led by the World Health Organisation to develop international guidelines for aircraft drinking water.

*Nestlé has teamed up with Australia’s Boost Juice Bars chain to launch a unique range of co-branded functional juice smoothies in the UK. * The all-natural smoothies are being rolled out this April in four flavours, each containing ingredients that can “help keep you going for longer, help strengthen your body’s natural defences, help aid memory and concentration, or have a positive effect on fat oxidation.” The ready to drink (RTD) beverages will be available in 250ml and 750ml bottles, priced at £1.79 (€2.24) and £2.49 (€3.12) respectively, in leading food stores including major multiples from the end of the month. 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 is fortified with ginseng and guarana to aid memory and concentration; and Tropical Twist Metabolism Boost contains Teavigo, a taste-free green tea extract that can have a positive effect on fat oxidation. ** Passionate juice makers **Boost Juice Bars founder and CEO Janine Allis said: “We are passionate about ensuring that every product with the Boost Juice Bars name on it not only tastes great, but is healthier for you; and we only work with partners who are the right fit for us. “Nestlé has a fantastic reputation for quality, and brings the marketing experience you would expect from a big company. But most importantly, the team we worked with really understands the Boost Juice Bars brand. We also loved having access to the fruit experts at the Nestlé Product Technical Centre in Lisieux, France, who helped to develop the products.” The Boost Juice business was founded by Allis in 1998 after she noted the rapid success of juice and smoothie bars during a visit to the US. Today there are more than 200 Boost Juice Bars in Australia and a handful of other countries around the world, including six outlets in the UK. The launch of the new Nestlé/Boost RTD smoothies is being supported with a £5 million (€6.26 million) integrated marketing and communications campaign. *Nesfrappé * Nestlé UK is also launching its first line of chilled RTD lattes, Nesfrappé, to appeal to young adult consumers on the go. Made with fresh semi-skimmed milk and 100% Arabica coffee, Nesfrappé is being rolled out this month in two flavours: Classic Chilled Latte and Mocha Chilled Latte. Packed in 250ml bottles with an RRP of £1.69 (€2.11), the drinks will be stocked in front-of-store sandwich cabinets, travel outlets and convenience stores. The Nesfrappé product concept was developed in the UK specifically for the British market, which has seen a growing consumer demand for RTD coffee based drinks. “We are hugely excited about the launch of Nesfrappé,” said a company spokesperson. “Consumer has been impressively positive, so we believe we have developed a strong brand and a fantastic, quality product that people will develop a taste for.”

Good Water has scooped Best Beverage at the Auckland nite:life awards. The win was welcomed by Grant Hall, Chief Executive Officer of The Good Water Company, who said of further goals for the brand: "Having it recycled here in New Zealand is our second goal and to achieve that we need Kiwis to get behind this project and make educated purchasing decisions. Good Water is New Zealand's first bottled water to be made from PLA. The company has gone one step further with its sustainable packaging by employing compostable wood pulp labels complete with water based adhesive to ensure the entire package biodegrades. Since its launch, Good Water has successfully carved its own niche into the New Zealand bottled water market and has found favour with many event organisers and hospitality players who have been motivated to reduce the environmental impacts of their events over the summer.

First Quality Foods of Yate, Bristol has sold its couscous packing division, including the Sammy’s brand, for an undisclosed sum to Symington’s of Leeds, marking the company’s exit from ambient dry food packing after a 10-year run. The Sammy’s range of couscous is the UK’s second largest brand after Ainsley Harriott, having sold more than 30 million packs since its introduction a decade ago. It's now sold in more than 10 countries worldwide. The sale of Sammy’s to Symington’s, who also packs the Ainsley Harriott brand of couscous, along with many other own-label products, including flavoured rice and packet soups, was a strategic move to enable First Quality Foods to focus on the company’s core businesses. These being the cereal bar and cake bakery business Kingsbake and the ethnic food brand Al’Fez', comprising a range of Moroccan and Lebanese foods. Managing Director Sam Jacobi said: “The sale of the Sammy’s brand and our couscous packing division will enable us to focus on our core businesses where we feel we can add significant value. We’d taken the Sammy’s brand as far as we could and feel that the brand can flourish under the wing of a bigger company. Symington’s seemed the natural home for Sammy’s.” First Quality Foods’ bakery Kingsbake produces the company’s range of Ma Baker flapjacks as well as a wide range of other cakes, slices and natural fruit & nut bars under own brand and private label. The Al’Fez brand is the company’s range of Moroccan and Lebanese ambient foods, which it sells in several of the UK’s major multiples as well as exporting to several other countries.

*Rexam, can maker and global manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, will highlight key innovations at Interpack in Düsseldorf, 24-30 April 2008, where it will showcase its latest innovative products from across the company. * Rexam’s stand (Hall 10, stand B22/C21) will focus on three major trends influencing the packaging industry today: Senior Friendly; Environmentally Friendly and Nomadism (on-the-go). To communicate the relevance of these trends to visitors, Rexam will be hosting an intimate, by- appointment-only ‘InspiredInnovation Theatre’ on its stand. Here, Rexam will be unveiling its latest thinking around key industry trends and innovations. “This environment will place our packaging solutions in a special context, so that customers can truly see what’s possible with Rexam,” said Rexam Personal Care Division Managing Director Robert Brands.

UK-based Ribena is launching its first new range for three years, and entering a new category with its biggest ever NPD launch: Ribena 100% Pure Juices. Ribena 100% Pure Juices contain nothing but juice and have been created in response to consumer desire for healthier options that don’t compromise on taste. They come in two delicious berry flavours: Blackcurrant Blend and Raspberry and Blackberry Blend. Ribena 100% Pure Juices contain no added colours, flavours or preservatives and only the sugars that are naturally present in the fruit. Premiumly positioned, Ribena 100% Pure Juices are naturally rich in antioxidants and each 250ml serving counts as one of your 5-a-day. The launch will be supported by a £5 million marketing investment, including TV and radio advertising, nationwide sampling and extensive PR and digital campaigns. The campaign will run from April through to August and will also include an in-store event in June. Expert knowledge With more than 70 years’ blackcurrant expertise, the makers of Ribena are continuing to work with British blackcurrant growers to create the unique taste of new Ribena 100% Pure Juices. Ruth Irving, Ribena Senior Brand Manager, said: “This is our biggest ever launch. We’re taking the things Ribena does really well – unique taste and British blackcurrant expertise – to bring consumers a brand new product with strong health credentials. “Ribena 100% Pure Juices take Ribena into a new drinking occasion – breakfast – and will be a great vehicle for developing Ribena as a contemporary brand for young adults. “Consumers are looking for healthier options but they don’t want to compromise on taste. Three out of four consumers in our trials said they would buy Ribena 100% Pure Juices in addition to products they already buy, meaning a massive incremental sales opportunity.” On-shelf nationwide across all trade channels from May, Ribena 100% Pure Juices are available in a convenient 250ml bottle and one-litre Tetra carton. The 250ml bottle will be stocked in the fridge next to the other juices and the one-litre Tetra carton will be available in the juice aisle. The 250ml bottle will have an RRP of £1.19 and one-litre Tetra carton will have an RRP of £1.59.

As up to 30,000 visitors converged on the Food & Drink Expo at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham this month (6-9 April), one prominent presence among the beverage producers’ stands was juice maker Granini UK. Steve Wheatley, Sales & Marketing Director For Granini UK, found time for a short interview on the brand’s plans and aspirations in the British market: Tell us about Granini UK’s new product development. “The granini 1 litre range was relaunched in July 2007 from glass into PET, with a new distribution partner to step-change the UK business and drive brand growth. Granini is a new premium sun-ripened ambient fruit juice range set to revolutionise the category. “Granini has identified through several pieces of research that there is an unmet demand in the market for the unique variants we offer, and chilled juice consumers are already trading back into ambient for more interesting fruit variants. “Granini wants to build on this offering with our first-to-market portfolio, and capture the consumer’s imagination with our new range of juices including Apricot, Banana and red berries such as Strawberry, Cherry and Raspberry. “Unlike more exotic fruits such as Kiwi, Guava and Lychee, we found that consumers are more familiar with the taste of these fruits and therefore likely to purchase them in a juice format, if they were available. “Granini ultimately wants to provide retailers with premium products for their ambient fixtures, injecting dynamism into their offering and reducing lower margin, standard value lines such as orange juice, replacing these lines with new high value, more exciting variants. “Granini plans to shake up the market by opening up usage occasions to all-day easy drinking. We want to move juice away from being just a functional morning five-a-day vitamin C fix – introducing delicious, smooth pleasurable juices such as Peach, Pear, Mango, Apricot and Banana. “We will push our ambient juice’s benefits as a cocktail mixer, and a long drink for summer barbeques, linking it to holidays and other social occasions. The Granini brand is all about the pleasure and enjoyment of life, and as many consumers have enjoyed Granini on holiday, we have found that the Continental cues remind them of fun, sunshine and laid-back living.” The trend elsewhere in the grocery market is for premiumisation – yet this is not the case for juices. Tropicana and Copella draw consumers into the mainstream arena, and that is affecting freshly squeezed juice. Is there currently no incentive for consumers to trade up? “Granini believes that retailers will see huge benefits from the premiumisation of the ambient juice category. There is a significant opportunity for a premium brand in the fruit juice category, and our cash margin allows retailers to add value to a commoditised sector.” Manufacturers are always seeking the next fruit to capture the market’s imagination. Last year it was pomegranate, and other fruits high in antioxidants. But what’s next? Health is becoming more closely linked with juices – so what are manufacturers doing to meet this demand? “Super fruits have played a key role in adding value to this heath-driven market, and red berry fruits in particular, such as strawberry and cherry, are set to be very popular with consumers in 2008. “Granini aims to draw consumers into the premium arena with Cherry, Strawberry and Raspberry juices – a range that is not currently available in chilled or ambient. Cherries in particular have been hailed as the new super fruit, being high in antioxidants, with a variety of health benefits.” Germany’s Eckes-Granini Group is one of the top European producers of branded fruit drinks, with a market value of roughly £600 million (€761 million). Since May last year, Granini ambient juices have been distributed in the UK by the milk producers’ co-operative Dairy Farmers of Britain. The Granini brand is stocked in selected outlets of major retailers including Waitrose and Tesco.

There is a new organisation on the UK dairy industry scene after DairyCo opened its doors for business. The new levy body replaces the Milk Development Council (MDC) and promises to deliver on its mission to promote world class knowledge to Britain's dairy farmers. The farmer led DairyCo board recognised that while much of the MDC's work is still relevant and valuable it also needed to take a fresh look at the industry that has led to a challenging business plan for its first year. DairyCo Chairman, Tim Bennett, says this will focus on helping dairy farmers increase their profits by providing the tools and information to be competitive in a growing global market. "DairyCo will measure itself rigorously against the objectives set out in its business plan to ensure the delivery of world class answers that address the needs of dairy farmers," says Bennett, a former NFU President. "We are committed to bringing our levy payers an organisation that works for them and with them - we have a great team in place ready to deliver ambitious and exciting projects to a re-energised, profitable dairy industry." Delivery and accountability to dairy farmers will be at the heart of every DairyCo strategy. Focus in the first year will include: bringing high quality information to farmers; providing dairy farmers with the practical information and support to increase their profits; working with the industry to promote a positive perception of dairy products and dairy farming among the general public.