NBTY Europe, which owns Holland & Barrett, has added 345 Julian Graves stores to its flourishing health food retail portfolio. Financial details were not disclosed, but an anonymous source has said the deal is worth "between £10m and £20m". Julian Graves was previously owned by Icelandic retail investor, Baugur. Peter Aldis, MD of the Holland & Barrett group, was quoted in The Telegraph: "We've always identified Julian Graves as a key competitor. The acquisition delivers synergies to the Holland & Barrett group and ensures that through all of its brands, the group continues to be at the forefront of healthy retailing in Europe. "This will now give us more opportunities to achieve our expansion plans within the UK and Europe," he added. A spokesperson for Holland & Barrett said: "The name isn't going to change. It will remain Julian Graves, and there will be no job losses."

My Secret Kitchen, the UK's first nationwide food and drink tasting company, has launched its Chocolate Infusions range. Chocolate Infusions are a unique combination of white or dark chocolate curls blended with a selection of whole herbs and spices. When mixed with hot milk, the chocolate melts and the herbs infuse. The three infusions in the range are Morning Magic, Midday Melt and Midnight Mystery. Morning Magic mixes white chocolate, lemongrass, ginger and wasabi; Midday Melt sees white chocolate complemented by star anise, cinnamon and cloves; Midnight Mystery blends dark chocolate with orange slices and juniper berries. Phil Moran, co-founder of My Secret Kitchen, said: "Some of the ingredients may seem like odd ones to put together, but the results are amazing. For example, the white chocolate and wasabi in our Morning Magic infusion gives you a hot drink that will kick-start your day and your tastebuds. What's more, as My Secret Kitchen is a tasting company, people can try before deciding if it's for them." About My Secret Kitchen My Secret Kitchen is the UK's first nationwide food and drink tasting company, and was started in 2006 by husband-and wife-team, Clare and Phil Moran. All My Secret Kitchen products are free of artificial colours and flavours, and the company strongly believes in an authentic, sustainable spirit of business.

Lucas Bols, one of the world’s oldest distilled spirits brands, is reintroducing Bols Genever, a traditional genever created almost two centuries ago. Genever, considered to be one of the ‘original white spirits’, is the number one distilled spirit in Holland, and until recently was only available in selected local markets. The relaunch of the juniper-flavoured traditional liquour will make Bols Genever available to today's consumers in the US, UK and the Netherlands. Bols Genever is a complex distilled white spirit, blending a distillate called maltwine with a carefully selected secret blend of botanicals to produce a quality spirit with a smooth character. Genever was awarded the prestigious Appellation d’Origine Controllée status in 2007 and can only be named as such if produced in Holland and a few neighbouring areas. Maltwine is the basis of a genever, giving the spirit a deep, rounded malt flavour and smooth taste. Maltwine is made by triple-distilling a mash of rye, corn and wheat in copper pot stills at 47% ABV, which is considered to be the optimum alcohol content, in order to retain maximum flavour. Lucas Bols, CEO Huub van Doorne, said: “The relaunch of Bols Genever in key international markets continues the global rejuvenation of the Lucas Bols Company brands. Following the successful global relaunch of Galliano L’Autentico and the continued focus on the Bols Liqueurs portfolio, we're now turning our attention to Bols Genever as part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence. Our goal is to introduce bartenders across the world to the genever category, thus consolidating Bols as an innovator and leading authority in cocktail making.”

"Water is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for children, and we want to help parents to encourage their children to drink more of it," said Jeff Caswell, VP of marketing for Evian North America. "Evian Les Petits is a great solution for parents, especially those with on-the-go lifestyles, who always want to make sure their children are hydrated and replenished, whether at school, playing sports, at the playground or in the car." Evian has created fun graphics to complement the new bottles and packaging. Easily held by kids, these miniature bottles utilise Evian's signature pink and blue colours with some added kid-friendly flare. The new artwork features graphics of trendy, urban mothers with their children, as well as images of colourful sea creatures. A 330ml Evian Les Petits bottle will fit neatly into a child's lunch bag and is positioned as a healthy alternative to sugar-rich beverages. Evian Les Petits will be available in stores across the country, such as Target and Safeway, as well as at regional outlets such as Fresh Direct in New York City, Publix in Florida, Ralphs in California, Winn-Dixie in Florida and Louisiana, Jewel in Chicago and Schnucks and Dierbergs in St Louis, with a suggested retail price of $5.49.

*Industry leaders and businesses were urged to scale up their engagement with Fairtrade to help tackle poverty in developing countries at the annual Commercial Conference (16 September) entitled 'Tipping the Balance', held by the Fairtrade Foundation in London. * 'Tipping the Balance' is also the name of the new five-year strategy launched in February aimed at achieving a fourfold expansion by 2012 to £2bn, and making Fairtrade the trade norm rather than the exception. “The scale and level of poverty worldwide demands that businesses and consumers urgently need to play their part to scale up Fairtrade," said Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. "And in these tough economic times, people in developing countries who typically spend over 50% of their income on food are the most severely affected. In Kenya recently, a farmer told me that a bag of maize had increased by 100%." The call to action comes in the run up to a high-level UN event on 25 September to renew government and business commitments to meet 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the halfway point. The Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, said: "We congratulate all businesses who have helped put Fairtrade on the shelf, and call upon the business community to take Fairtrade to the next level, making it more mainstream still. The retail industry can open doors to more farmers in developing countries and play their part towards the MDGs by enabling shoppers to support Fairtrade every day." * Continued growth* Sales of Fairtrade products for April to June 2008 grew by 55% from an estimated retail value of £113m to £176m in the same period last year. Volume, the best indicator of the amount of Fairtrade premiums that go back to producer groups to spend on community development projects, such as classrooms and clinics, increased by 42% in food alone. Sugar (including retail, catering and composites) increased in volume by 467%, an increase in sales value from £10m to almost £24m. Tea grew in volume by 186%, an increase in sales value from just under £7m to almost £16m. According to recent TNS figures, Fairtrade certified foods have increased their market penetration 61% to 70% over the last year (from 15.2 million households to 17.5 million), meaning that an extra 2.3 million households now purchase Fairtrade certified food products. Major category switches by Tate & Lyle, the Co-operative and Sainsbury’s have largely contributed to this increase in Fairtrade sales, but sales generated by dedicated Fairtrade companies such as Cafédirect, Divine Chocolate, AgroFair fruit company and the new Fairtrade nut company Liberation have also made their mark. Core categories such as bananas and coffee continued to show a steady growth of 27% and 23% in the second quarter of 2008 respectively. Iain Ferguson, CBE, Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle plc, one of the keynote speakers, said: “We have had an excellent response from consumers to our switch to Fairtrade, and we've seen good volume growth in key customer accounts, somewhat ahead of our expectations.” Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 The theme for Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 (23 February – 8 March) 'Make it happen. Choose Fairtrade', was also unveiled to conference delegates. Companies were encouraged to build on last year’s success, which saw several all-important conversions to Fairtrade from major high street companies. Fairtrade Fortnight presents companies with a unique opportunity to market Fairtrade and is the perfect time for companies to improve visibility at point-of-sale, or even consider extending their range of Fairtrade certified products.

Since April 2002, Sipal Partners has been the marketing unit for the exclusively organic products of the partners Meurens Natural s.a. (Belgium) and Sedamyl S.p.a (Italy). Its new range of products includes: Sipa-Rice 35 is an organic rice drink concentrate makes rice drink manufacturing easy by diluting it in water and then adding emulsifier and fats. It's an ideal base ingredient for the manufacture of 100% vegetable drinks (mixed with fruits or other cereals), that are without added sugar, lactose-free, cholesterol-free and gluten-free. Seda-Fruct, organic fructose syrup with a fructose content of more than 95. Sipa-Figs and Sipa-Prunes are new organic juice concentrates of fig and prune. Natural sweeteners, they provide a fruity note as well as colour in a number of applications. The nutritional benefits of the entire Sipal range are preserved by using an original manufacturing process which is natural and with no refining. In addition, Sipal Partners products have the following certifications: EU, NOP, AB, Demeter, kosher, GMO-free and gluten-free.

Top of the agenda for Geslain-Lanéelle, in this first encounter with Undersecretary Letta, were three areas viewed as crucial to the future of the Authority: the Scuola per l’Europa in Parma, attended by more than 130 of its staff’s children, transport links to and from Parma, and the site of EFSA’s headquarters – a building scheduled for completion in 2011. “I am delighted that Under-Secretary of State Letta has urged all parties to take action to deal with the important issues of the Scuola per l’Europa, transport links and EFSA’s headquarters,” Geslain-Lanéelle said after the talks. “I am grateful to the Under-Secretary for his strong support and glad that there will now be a series of follow-up technical meetings with government officials and representatives from the local authorities to discuss further progress in each area ahead of our next encounter with the Under-Secretary in January 2009,” she added. Among those who attended the high-level meeting were the heads of cabinet of the ministries of Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and Transport, Education and Research and European Political Affairs. The Vice President of the region of Emilia-Romagna, Alfredo Peri, the President of the province of Parma, Vincenzo Bernazzoli, and the Mayor of Parma, Pietro Vignali, also took part in the talks and all agreed to set up task forces to make further progress on the issues in question.

Green Leaders in Business was open to all UK & Irish companies, and had three separate categories: companies with a turnover below £1m; between £1m and £20m; and above £20m. innocent was presented with the trophy for winning the above £20m turnover category at a gala award luncheon held at London’s East Wintergarden. Barclays Commercial Bank Marketing Director, Richard French, said: “We're delighted to recognise innocent as an inspiring example of a forward-thinking company at its very best, and we congratulate innocent on winning the above £20m turnover category of the 2008 Barclays Commercial Bank Green Leaders in Business Awards.” Barclays Marketing Director for Local Business, John Davis, added: “Innocent were deserved winners of the 2008 Award. Their ecological conscience will improve the way we treat our increasingly fragile planet. I hope winning such a prestigious award adds to their future success.” Future 'advanced sustainability' plans for innocent drinks include production super-sites, which would reduce transportation impact and utilise waste for energy production; agricultural partnerships to form mixed crop fruit farms; working through the innocent foundation to help communities produce fruit for the business; and finding a less resource-intensive way to package and distribute their drinks. Speaking immediately after the Awards, innocent’s Head of Sustainability, Jessica Sansom, said: “This is a proud moment for innocent and an amazing recognition of our team’s hard work. We're delighted that Barclays recognises the importance of protecting the environment alongside profitability.”

*At the launch of the Good Beer Guide 2009, CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) is calling on the Government to introduce measures to prevent supermarkets selling alcohol as a loss leader. * In response to the announcement that 36 pubs are closing every week, with a gloomy outlook for many more British pubs, the UK consumer group is urging the Government to introduce minimum pricing to reduce the gap between supermarket and pub prices. “Cheap beer in supermarkets – often sold at less than the price of bottled water – is killing the British pub,” said CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2009 Editor Roger Protz as he launched the 2009 edition. “Over 150 pubs a month are closing,” Protz said. “And the main reason is simple: people are abandoning their locals because they can buy cheap supermarket beer at a fraction of the price charged by pubs.” CAMRA claims that well-run community pubs provide a perfect environment for adults to enjoy alcohol responsibly, but as small businesses, they are unable to absorb tax and cost increases and cannot demand the wholesale discounts enjoyed by supermarkets. Pubs are no longer able to compete on a level playing field. Industry statistics show that off-trade beer prices have fallen by 1% in the last year, while pub prices have increased by around 4.4%. Since 2002 Off-trade beer prices have fallen by 7% while pub prices have increased by 24%. As a result of the 10% beer tax increase in this year's Budget, prices in pubs have increased by 4.4% in the last year and the average price of a pint of lager in a pub is now £2.82. In contrast, prices in the off trade have fallen by a further 1% as a result of price promotions. CAMRA believes Government action is required to help pubs as they are the best place to enjoy alcohol responsibly in a regulated and socially controlled environment. In a recent CAMRA pricing survey, research found drastically low figures in the off-trade with mainstream global lager bands on sale for as little as 57 pence a pint. Examples of price deals found in supermarkets in September 2008: * Sainsbury's: Foster's lager – 3 cases of 440ml cans for £20. That's the equivalent of 57.4 pence per pint. * Asda: John Smith's Smooth Bitter – 3 cases of 440ml cans for £20. That's also the equivalent of 57.4 pence per pint. * Morrison's: 24 cans of 440ml Stella Artois lager for £15.47. That's the equivalent of 77.9 pence per pint. * Lidl: 8 cans of 440ml Carlsberg lager for £4.49. That's the equivalent of 56.9 pence per pint. Mr Protz commented: “When a pub closes the community’s heart is ripped out and dies. It's a particular problem in rural areas, where the village pub is the heart of the community. People go to pubs for friendship, conversation, to enjoy an affordable meal, or just quietly read a newspaper. ” “And pubs are regulated licensed premises. Publicans who permit bad behaviour such as heavy drinking will lose their licences. “Supermarkets face no such restraints. They have no idea what happens to cheap alcohol once it leaves their stores. In too many cases, it's passed on to under-age drinkers. It's the supermarkets, not pubs, that encourage binge drinking, with their massively discounted sales of alcohol. ” Roger Protz describes the relationship between big brewers and supermarkets as, “the economics of the mad house. Coors, the American giant that now owns the former Bass breweries in Britain, has seen its profits halve in recent years – mainly as a result of the deep discounts demanded by the retailers. “One solution is for England and Wales to follow the example of the Scottish government and consider a minimum pricing policy for alcohol sold in the off-trade. Urgent action is needed to help save that great British institution – your friendly, neighbourhood local. ”

The news follows last week’s announcement that Spendrups, the biggest Swedish-owned brewery, is succeeding Carlsberg as producer and distributor of Schweppes in Sweden. Spendrups has a stake in Hansa, along with Danish brewer Royal Unibrew. Carlsberg has produced Schweppes in Scandinavia for more than 20 years, and in October 2005 negotiated a new multi-country licence agreement with brand owner Cadbury Schweppes of the UK (as it then was) to sell the drinks in five European markets: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Switzerland. The new deal replaced existing agreements in individual markets. But within two months of the contract being signed, Cadbury sold its European soft drinks business – including Schweppes – to the private equity groups Lion Capital of London and Blackstone of New York for €1.85bn. Multiple ownership The Schweppes brand is now shared between various owners around the world. Cadbury had already sold Schweppes to The Coca-Cola Company in many non-European markets, while North American rights were among the assets spun off to create the Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the US earlier this year. Lion and Blackstone meanwhile incorporated Schweppes in a new French-based soft drinks business, Orangina Schweppes, with rights in other European countries being controlled by Schweppes International, a subsidiary in the Netherlands. One of the principal reasons for the change of Schweppes distribution in Sweden and Norway was apparently that Schweppes International and Carlsberg could not agree on future strategy for the brand. The brand-owners want Schweppes to be developed as a line of refreshing non-alcoholic beverages in their own right, rather than simply as mixers with spirits. However, Carlsberg will continue to distribute Schweppes in Denmark, as well as in Finland and Switzerland through its subsidiaries Sinebrychoff and Feldschlösschen.

The functional drinks company is entering the glucose category with Boost Active, which is developed to complement the company’s current flagship energy drinks range, its isotonic offering and its most recent addition, the Boost smoothie. The new sparkling glucose drink, packaged with a striking orange and black distinctive design, is based on a formula that allows faster absorption of sugar into the body and brain. The marketing campaign supporting the launch of Boost Active has been specifically designed to strongly appeal to a wide range of consumers, using a ‘fuel for life’ strapline and highlighting the company’s growing range of functional drinks which allow consumers ‘to do more’. Simon Gray, Managing Director of Boost Drinks explained how wholesalers and retailers can benefit from this growing sector: “Glucose drinks are a part of the fastest growing sector of the soft drinks category and we are committed to growing our range in line with customer demand. Boost Active is designed to provide physical energy when it is needed most as well as alleviating mental fatigue and this is currently proving popular as a pick-me-up with consumers across the board. “While Boost Active is a quality product that tastes very good, in attractive packaging with a premium design, it is priced very competitively, enabling retailers to maintain a good profit margin and maximise on this growing category. ”

**The University of Cambridge together with Judge Business School, will be hosting the first international ‘Entrepreneurship for a Zero Carbon Society’ conference 22-24 September 2008. **Held at the Sidgwick Site in Cambridge, it will provide a platform for international experts from the key fields involved in tackling climate change, to present the latest research and ideas in an open-minded and politically neutral forum. The brainchild of Cambridge MBA (2007) student Marisa Teh, the summit has been designed in response to an urgent need to act now to promote the clean energy agenda on the scale required for a carbon free future. This requires a step-up in collaboration and understanding between senior policy makers, investors, business and leading academics on the issues surrounding current dependencies on fossil fuels. “As Director of Clean Technology Affairs at one of the University’s entrepreneurship societies, I could see that despite an emerging awareness of climate change, and a flurry of events on the topic, concerted efforts to stimulate wider debate that resulted in the generation and investment of concrete solutions had to date been limited. "I realised that Cambridge and its surrounding entrepreneurial ‘Silicon Fen’ could offer a unique opportunity. It could blend cutting-edge energy research and policy with entrepreneurial talent and investment, creating the optimum environment for the development of an integrated approach to achieving a low carbon society, and the actual innovation of new clean technologies to challenge the status quo,” said Marisa Teh. Nick Butler, Chairman of the Cambridge Centre for Energy Studies and former Group Vice President, Strategy and Policy Development, BP, commented: "We are entering a period of transition in the way we produce and use energy. "The transition will take us away from a carbon intensive economy in which we are dependent on supplies from difficult and unstable countries. The transition will require a unique combination of knowledge – science engineering but also commercial and business skills. Cambridge is well placed to be at the heart of the transition that is why this event is so important." Among the other notable speakers making presentations over the three days will be, Mr Bernie Bulkins, a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley and former Chief Scientist, BP; Mr Angus Norman, Managing Director Sustainable Solutions, EDF Energy; Dr Joachim Reiss from Q-Cells AG, a world leading photovoltaic cell producer and Professor Robert Watson, former Senior Scientific Advisor of The World Bank. The conference will open by addressing the issues surrounding ‘Emerging problems and solutions’, including discussions on the global context of the impending energy crisis and the major causes of global warming, as well as the substantial role alternative ‘green energy technologies’ can play in ensuring a more sustainable society. Entrepreneurial, venture capital and corporate participation in developing low carbon solutions, such as large scale deployment of solar technology, will be debated under the title of ‘Scaling-up lower carbon solutions’. During which, leading economists will also discuss the utility of subsidies, or ‘freedom tariffs’, in encouraging the efficient development of new entrepreneurial solutions. The responsibilities which corporations, academics and policy-makers, in particular NGOs, face in educating and influencing public opinion towards low carbon technologies such as carbon sequestration, electric vehicles and green IT strategies, are a significant area for development and will be considered on the final day, themed ‘Investing in solutions, a way forward’. The summit will also provide a showcase of ideas from current student projects several entrepreneurial presentations, and examples of pioneering technologies from both local and international businesses.