*Farmland Dairies in the US has added a new product to its Special Request range. * Special Request 1% Plus with Omega-3 is described as delivering a great creamy taste, with more protein and calcium than whole milk but also the addition of essential Omega-3 fatty acids. Farmland has also launched Really, Really Good low fat Chocolate Milk with Omega-3, aimed at children.

*The company in the spotlight of water innovation issue 47 is Another Bloody Water, an Australian firm that has produced an eponymous bottled water that isn’t afraid to divide opinion with a brand name trading on antipathy towards the number of different products available to consumers. Love it or hate it, one can’t help but admire the cheeky creativity behind the product and its stylish packaging. * Co-founder Michael Derepas told water innovation: “The brand has experienced strong growth and has received an amazing customer reaction to date. I can’t release volume figures, but the brand is developing way above all our expectations.” Along with business partners Didi Lo and Jay Dillon, Michael Derepas is responsible for manufacturing the bottled water brand and has poured all his lifesavings into the project. The product has been around for 18 months, soft launched in a few selected retail outlets but officially launched in March 2007. The premium spring water is available in a 60cl bottle at select East Coast cafés, bars, health stores and convenience stores in Victoria, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Queensland. “Our strategy has very much been to be seen in the right places such as small organic food stores, cool cafés and the smaller independent supermarkets in the right suburbs. We don’t want to stocked everywhere. We want the people who do find us to be able to enjoy us privately or tell a friend of their discovery,” added Derepas. According to the company, the product targets savvy and cynical consumers. They obtain the basic hydration and convenience that bottled water provides without additional promises and hype. And beyond the bravado, the brand owners believe that its product is extremely palatable. Approval from BFA Sourced in the Kiewa Valley of Victoria’s Alpine High Country, the bottled water contains one of the lowest sodium content of any major brand in Australia and has approval from the <1> (BFA), Australia’s largest representative organic body. Didi Lo of Another Bloody Water observed: “The word ‘organic’ isn’t splattered all over the label. To be able to be certified as organic, it has to be grown or fed from the earth to start with. So there’s a different program for products that don’t fit into this, like water and salt, but still use nonchemical processes that are in harmony with the environment.” Australia remains the focus for the brand in 2008, but the company is starting to investigate international markets due to consumers response overseas. “Once we can get our business model right and ensure we don’t emit too much carbon along the way, we would love to play in the UK,” Derepas explained. * Playing with the big boys* “Our company isn’t backed by a large player. We are a small and passionate enterprise. We’ve scrimped and saved to develop the brand which is now competing alongside brands with much bigger marketing budgets,” he added. “Besides PR, events sponsorship and attendance at trade shows, most of our promotional efforts are simply related to what’s in the packaging and what’s on the label. You know you are doing something right when you have people emailing you just to thank you for entertaining them and promising they will buy it wherever they can find it.” A growing fan base, a pristine water source, a good looking bottle, a group of passionate business owners and a brand name which lampoons the growing range of waters jostling for space on supermarket shelves and trades on consumer scepticism. This tongue-in-cheek brand from Down Under could be set for greater things in the future. To read more articles from past issues, go to our <2> where individual copies of our magazines are available for purchase. <1>: http://www.bfa.com.au <2>: http://dairy.foodbev.com/issues/issueDetail.aspx?contentId=17

*UK based Firefly Tonics is gearing up to launch a line of natural antioxidant waters in April 2008 to complement its existing functional drinks range. * The mission of Firefly Water is to make a drink that’s “like water, just better,” according to Director Harry Briggs. The Firefly Water range includes organic green tea and mint; redbush and acerola; and yerba maté, lime and lemongrass. The organic variant is thought to be Britain’s first functional water to be certified by the Soil Association. Each of the three 50cl drinks contains around 75 calories per serving.

The UK division of Cadbury Schweppes plc, Cadbury Trebor Bassett, has numerous leading brands in its product portfolio, including Cadbury Dairy Milk and Cadbury Crème Egg, along with Bassett's, Trebor and Trident. The solution provided by Culina's ambient operation involves shared user distribution of orders received by EDI (electronic data interchange), for individual pallets for radial distribution. Collections are made from Cadbury distribution sites at Minworth near Sutton Coldfield, and Milton Keynes, then delivered via the Culina network across the UK. Primary deliveries are made to the FMCG, grocery and convenience sector together with small cash and carry operations throughout the UK. Cadbury can track orders via an integrated IT system, with proof of deliveries (PODs) scanned and available online. The secure website provides details of service levels, order progress and any enquiries. The company also has access to on target in full (OTIF) data, which provides real-time management information. .

UK smoothie company innocent has moved into dairy for the first time with a range of three big yogurt drinks in 75cl bottles. innocent UK Commercial Director Giles Brook said: “This is the first time we have taken our brand into a new category and aisle and we can’t wait to bring the innocent values of 100% natural, 100% good for you to this area of the store. “The new innocent thickie range will broaden the appeal of current dairy drinks by offering consumers health and well-being, indulgence and convenience, without compromising on taste.” The three drinks include: yogurt, oats, raspberries and blueberries; yogurt, mangoes, peaches and passion fruit; yogurt, vanilla bean and honey. (* A thickie is described as an indulgent blend of low fat West Country yogurt, whole crushed fruit and honey. No added sugar, concentrates, stabilisers, preservatives or any other naughty things.)

Vieluce’s new 75cl black tinted bottle is encrusted with a variety of luxurious gemstones and claims to help consumers to create the ultimate dining experience for occasions such as Valentine’s Day. The core Fillico range uses frosted glass bottles with gold paint and Swarovski crystal accents. A classic 1 litre bottle is priced at around $100. For about double the price, consumers can buy the King and Queen options within the range that have added gold wings along with a gold or silver crown to the bottle. Vieluce is marketing the water as originating from Beverly Hills in California but links to the glitzy, showbiz US city appear tenuous since the product is rooted in Japan. Then again, Beverley Hills is home to a competing super premium brand covered in Swarovski crystals called Bling H2O, a brand familiar to most readers as also staking a claim to being one of the world’s most luxurious bottled waters.

*Wales based Llanllyr Water Company has launched its natural water in an entirely recyclable aluminium can. * Unveiling what he describes as ‘the stunningly attractive’ can, Llanllyr Sales and Marketing Director Patrick Gee makes the strategy quite clear: "We had a dilemma! We have been asked many times for a foodservice and retail friendly pack, but we and our land have a generations old organic and environmental heritage that predates recent market trends and the use of plastic bottles just doesn’t sit comfortably with that. “And in any case probably the two biggest issues in our industry today are recycling and the use of the earth’s natural resources. Our water comes from an entirely sustainable source and now we have a package that is entirely recyclable to go with it! So we feel we have found a way to the convenience market that is consistent with our organic and environmental principles." Llanllyr Source won both Food from Britain’s Drinks Exporter of the Year in 2007 and its overall Welsh Exporter of the Year Award as well as the True Taste of Wales Soft Drink Award for its achievements with the established 330ml and 75cl premium quality spring water bottled in glass for restaurants, bars and hotels.

AB Enzymes has developed an enzyme product to reduce or even replace vital wheat gluten in baking formulations in order to meet the challenge of increasing costs of raw materials. The registered product, Vernon HF, can be used to replace 50% of the gluten used in a formulation. Business Unit Baking Enzymes Sales Support Manager Norman Burkardt explained: “In addition to considerable cost savings, bakers will enjoy the product’s distinct stabilising effect on dough systems. Above all the final baked goods have an attractive baking volume with a nice break and shred.” AB Enzymes is a German company that form part of the ABF Ingredients group. It offers enzymes worldwide with products ranging from food enzymes for bakery and beverages to enzymes for animal feed, textile technology and the pulp and paper industry.

**Digital is becoming an increasingly important media for the independent soft drinks company Feel Good Drinks which this year entered the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 List at no 42. ** The new Web 2.0-style site has its users at heart, with rich video and photo content, news blogs, and even an area for consumers to suggest and vote for new flavours. However, to reach consumers outside of the site and in their own digital environments, Feel Good Drinks has developed a Facebook application that it hopes will make people smile, while providing a unique and engaging way for consumers to use and share their photographs. The Feel Good Drinks Super Duper Mosaic Maker enables users to create a mosaic from all of their photographs and profile pictures of their friends. Each friend then receives an email letting them know they’re in the Super Duper Mosaic, creating a powerful word of mouth marketing tool. The mosaic can be used in their Facebook profiles, or sent to friends through the network. Each individual mosaic tile photo can be zoomed into, meaning it not only looks great, but you can discover forgotten photos, too. The Super Duper Mosaic Maker is designed with a handmade look and feel, featuring cardboard cutouts, strings and pulleys reflecting the styling of the company’s new website. Speaking about the Application, Marketing Manager Libby Wybrow said: “When Hyper first suggested this to us, we were blown away with the idea and couldn’t wait to try it out. It’s every bit as clever and fun as it sounds. The Super Duper Mosaic Maker is all about spreading 'feelgoodness' and we can’t wait to see what users think of it”. Concepting and design was through Hyper, Feel Good Drink’s digital agency, with build and technical development through W3Haus, a Brazilian technology specialist

*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. * 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, Lovejuice founder John Heseltine 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.”

**Maximum hygiene levels have always been a prime objective at Zerica and for this reason the Italian company has long abandoned traditional cooling systems such as cooling tanks in all of its POU products. **These cheaper systems are prone to liquid stagnation issues and the formation of sediment and biofilm on the walls in contact with the drink. Zerica systems use an innovative direct chill solution, which cools the drinking liquid inside a tube of maximum diameter 20mm by running it beside a second tube carrying the refrigerant gas, and allows the units to be connected directly to the main drinks supply point. Using this approach, the drink is chilled as it is moves through the system and very little of it actually remains inside the cooler at any point in time: there is no storage tank and the drink is cooled as it is dispensed. Direct chill systems bring advantages in terms of hygiene but have limited supply capacity. In practice, a cooler with direct chill is able to provide only 4-5 glasses of cold water when in continuous use. It then requires a working time of 25-35 minutes before being able to dispense chilled water again. Zerica is the only company to have overcome the supply capacity limitation by perfecting direct chill and producing its own superior version: “High Performance Direct Chill” (HPDC). HPDC optimises efficiency by increasing the contact surface area between the liquid and refrigerant gas from 45% (as found in traditional direct chill systems) to 100%. Zerica's High Performance Direct Chill units are unique in the market in being able to produce chilled water in just 3 minutes. Still with hygiene in mind, Zerica is the only company to use pipes made of the most expensive food contact certified copper available rather than stainless steel. Apart from maximising thermal exchange efficiency, copper also has an antibacterial effect as recently documented by studies and research carried out at top international institutes. This special copper blocks the formation of bacterial colonies and it is actually the most efficient material in restricting the growth of micro-organisms such as Legionella bacteria as well as other dangerous bacteria.

*The introduction of Malmberg to British consumers comes a decade after the brand was first introduced to Swedes. Using mineral water sourced from a spring in Yngsjö, Malmberg is available in still, sparkling and citron variants. The range – solely geared towards horeca channels – is sold in 33cl and 75cl glass or 50cl PET bottles. * Malmberg Sales and Marketing Manager Nicklas Lindblad told water innovation magazine: “Malmberg was first sold in 1994 only to a few prominent restaurants in Southern Sweden and Stockholm. Today, Malmberg is well known throughout Sweden and has its own sales and distribution networks. Moreover, the brand is represented in over half of the country’s 200 top star restaurants. Meanwhile in Denmark, the brand is growing and hopefully it will become just as successful.” Besides Sweden, Denmark and the UK, Malmberg has already made inroads into Holland and Spain. The next target markets for the brand are North America and South Korea. In fact, Lindblad revealed that a United States launch is imminent following the appointment of Fine H2O as a sales partner. Malmberg has ambitions to build its own plant to meet international demand for the brand anticipated in the future. However, the company has a modest 2008 production target of around 1.5 million litres with support from local bottling partner KM Produktion. “The arrangement with KM Produktion allows Malmberg to focus on getting the brand into the market and to achieve higher sales while our partner uses its knowledge and expertise to produce our beverages,” concluded Lindblad. Malmberg Original Water is the smallest subsidiary in the Malmberg Group, a Swedish business with associate companies that also focus in producing water purification and alternative energy systems.