Golden Circle Ltd shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the food and beverage company's AUS$288m acquisition by US giant HJ Heinz Company. At a shareholder meeting in Brisbane on Monday, 97.05% of shareholders voted in favour of the Heinz proposal, where the US company would offer AUS$1.65 cash for each Golden Circle share. The Golden Circle board, along with the company's largest shareholder Anchorage Capital Partners, which holds 35% of the group, had backed the Heinz offer. "The support for the Heinz proposal by our shareholders is an important step in this process, which will help to secure Golden Circles' future and provide benefits for shareholders, growers and our employees," said Golden Circle Chairman Phillip Cave. In a statement, Heinz MD Peter Widdows said the company looked forward to growing the business and making the Golden Circle name stronger. The takeover is subject to approval by the Supreme Court of Queensland, and will be implemented by 30 December 2008. * *

In 2006, Unilever Foods and Home & Personal Care President Vindi Banga led a review of the company's science and technology capabilities as part of the 'One Unilever' programme. The review showed that reorganisation of research and development sectors was necessary in order to improve market competitiveness. A further review of the business this year resulted in the appointment of Geneviève Berger as Unilever's Chief R&D Officer and the decision to create a single category function by combining the three global R&D operations. Now Unilever has announced six strategic research sites Vlaardingen (NL), Port Sunlight and Colworth (UK), Trumbull (USA), Bangalore (India) and Shanghai (China). For product design and deployment, which is part of the category organisation led by Vindi, Unilever has decided to consolidate Food activities in the Americas to Englewood Cliffs (USA), Valinhos (Brasil) and Mexico City (Mexico). Global Laundry R&D is consolidated in Vlaardingen (NL), Port Sunlight (UK) and Mumbai (India). Geneviève Berger explained: "The steps we've announced today will enable us to go further in focusing our resources on creating fewer, bigger innovations, and deploying them at scale in areas where we want to win. These changes to our organisational structure, together with an increased focus on our open innovation collaborations, will enable us to more efficiently deliver improved product performance to our consumers." As a result of the intended changes, Unilever expects that approximately 390 full-time positions will be impacted resulting in a net reduction of 250 full-time positions.

Decline in demand for Gatorade and Propel fitness water means that the city of Albany, Oregon, will no longer be the site of the long-planned PepsiCo factory. The construction of the plant was put on hold early in 2007 due to a comprehensive analysis of capacity needs, the results of which have led to PepsiCo's recent change of heart. SVC Manufacturing, a PepsiCo subsidiary, had a contract with Albany, Linn County and the state of Oregon to build the $165m factory on 244 acres. City officials said earlier that if the company backed out, it would owe the city tens of millions of dollars because the benefits of the project, including more than 200 jobs, would be lost. Reportedly, SVC would reimburse the city at least $2m for "out of pocket" costs related to water and sewer lines to the plant site. By giving the notice, the company avoided having to pay the city $700,000 in 2009 and again in 2010, which would have been due had the construction merely been postponed. City officials are in talks with PepsiCo to try to come to a financial agreement that takes into account the damages to the community because of the decision not to proceed with the plant construction.

Vital Fontaines, the leading water cooler distributor in Mauritius, has begun supplying customers with drinking water in 10-litre bottles from Capsnap Europe. The bottles are specially designed to serve private households with their low weight and easy handling. The bottle handle is mounted in the shoulder area of the bottle for the first time. There's no longer a need to tip over the bottle to carry it, thus making the product convenient to handle. The product was jointly developed by SipWell Belgium and Capsnap Europe as a convenient alternative for private households and small offices. The water cooler industry had long demanded smaller bottle volumes than the typical 18.9-litre offering. Capsnap and SipWell met this demand by introducing their 10-litre bottle to the market in 2007. Vital Fontaines, which currently supplies over 5,000 water coolers on the Island of Mauritius, is looking to heavily target private households in its plan for achieving further growth.

A new, sustainable glass carafe for tap water, to be used by London’s bars, hotels and restaurants, has been unveiled by the Mayor of London and Thames Water at a busy press launch at London’s City Hall on 1 December. The carafe, called ‘Tap Top’, from industrial designer Neil Barron, is the winning design in the London On Tap campaign competition, which challenged London-based designers to create an iconic and sustainable carafe to serve tap water across the capital. Mayor Johnson, who presented Neil with his £5,000 prize from Thames Water, said: "I've been hugely impressed by the magnitude of London-based design talent that this fantastic carafe competition has revealed." He told the assembled crowd that there was no water more sweet and delicious than London tap water and urged businesses across London to place orders and make tap water an easier choice. For more on this story, please see the Dec/Jan 09 issue of cooler innovation magazine.

*In the US, Celsius – the original calorie burning beverage – is now available in 438 outlets of the Midwestern retailer, Kum & Go. * Celsius has been scientifically formulated and clinically tested to burn up to 100 calories or more per serving will be available in all Kum & Go locations. Kum & Go will carry the popular green tea raspberry acai, green tea peach mango and sparkling wild berry and orange flavours. Celsius can be found in Kum & Go stores in New Year’s end cap displays for consumers eager to start their New Year’s resolution of consuming healthier beverages and foods. Celsius will support sales at Kum & Go with pump toppers, promotional pricing and advertising. According to Kevin Krause, Senior Vice President of Marketing: "We pride ourselves on providing quality products and superior customer service in each and every Kum & Go store. We believe that our customers are looking for great-tasting, functional beverages such as Celsius calorie burning beverage. The clinical studies that scientifically support Celsius confirm that this is a high performance drink our customers will embrace." Celsius Vice President of Strategic Accounts and Business Development Janice Haley said: "Kum & Go is a cornerstone of the Midwest community as is evident by their recent award for Retail Leader of the Year, by CSP magazine. We're honoured to be working with them to deliver Celsius to their customers, and have been impressed with their launch process and the education within their company ranks, which has resulted in great enthusiasm for Celsius. It's clear to us how Kum & Go continually retains their leadership position in convenience store ranking." Sustained calorie burn Celsius drinks are powered by a proprietary blend of ingredients including green tea with EGCG, ginger, caffeine, calcium, chromium, plus B vitamins and vitamin C. Scientifically shown to raise metabolism over a three-hour period, consuming Celsius results in a sustained calorie burn while keeping you energised. Kum & Go, awarded as Convenience Store, Petroleum’s 2008 RetailLeader of the Year, was started in 1959 in Hampton, Iowa and now hasmore than 430 stores in 12 states.

IPP Logipal has been awarded a new pallet contract with drinks packaging manufacturer Esterform Packaging. Based in Leeds, Esterform is an independent converter of PET in the UK and a manufacturer of 38mm neck bottles for the juice sector in Europe. The company, created in 1998, also designs and produces a range of bespoke plastic containers for the beverage, water and household chemical sectors as well as DIY products. With a five-year investment programme, Esterform aims to ensure that capacity continues to keep pace with growing customer requirements. As part of this investment, the packaging supplier has appointed IPP Logipal to provide a simple, yet reliable one-way pallet service to deliver products to manufacturers in the UK soft drinks industry. IPP Logipal makes weekly deliveries to Esterform’s production facility from its Widnes depot and, once utilised, pallets are collected and inspections carried out to KPI (key performance indicator) criteria, ensuring customers receive consistently high-quality pallets.

At the 39th 'Swiss Star' competition of the Swiss Packaging Institute (SVI), the jury awarded the "tpod in Pull Pack" with the Swiss Star 2008 in the sales-packaging category. The concept was presented by Sigpack Systems, a Bosch Packaging Technology company. The "tpod in Pull Pack" is based on the Bistrozucker (Stick Pack) packaging style which replaces the traditional tea bag with a modern lifestyle product for ease of use for the consumer. The Stick Pack, also referred to as tpod (tea portion of design), offers a user-friendly alternative to the traditional tea bag and can be used at the same time as a spoon for stirring. Other applications for this concept include coffee, sugar or pharmaceutical products. In partnership with Alcan Packaging, Bistozucker and Mendel, Sigpack Systems combined the Pull Pack with the Stick Pack. "Our creative team working with Alcan and Bistrozucker was the key to the success of the project," said Holger Botsch from Sigpack Systems. "We combined our unique and complementary competencies to create an innovative convenience product." Primary packaging of the tea is conducted with a system developed by Alcan Packaging which includes an FDA-certified, springback foil that reverts to its original, cylindrical form after filling. The Pull Pack Packaging concept functions as secondary packaging and guarantees a quick and exact opening for the clean withdrawal of the tea sticks. The combination of these two packaging formats sealed with a tight closure ensures the quality and protects the aroma of the tea. Sigpack Systems developed the machinery for the production of the perforated Stick Pack as well as for the filling and secondary packaging of the "tpod". The line concept was planned and projected according to specific customer requirements, such as packaging format and capacity. The Swiss Packaging Institute Award was launched 50 years ago. All packages receiving the award are qualified for the 'WorldStar' of the World Packaging Organization.

Stella plans to remove two brands from its Artois family: Peeterman Artois and Eiken Artois to focus on its newly launched 4% Stella Artois, according to MarketingWeek. The move comes months after brewer Inbev axed the Bock brand from the Artois family to replace it with Eiken, earlier in the year. The launch of 4.6% Eiken, brewed using hand-picked hops, was supported by a heavy-weight press campaign created by Lowe. The agency has since been dropped by Stella Artois. Mother has successfully won its pitch for the £20m Stella Artois account, and will take on the global advertising for the beer brand. "In order to focus support and investment on Stella Artois and the recently launched Stella Artois 4%, InBev UK is phasing out Eiken Artois and Peeterman Artois," said Stuart MacFarlane, president InBev UK and Ireland. "Stella Artois 4% has already proved to be the most successful lager brand to be recently launched in the off-trade, and it's complementing the established success of Stella Artois, which is the most widely available draught lager in UK pubs and the third biggest grocery brand in the UK. "InBev UK is informing stockists of the decision and will continue to work with them to ensure that the InBev UK range of brands, including Stella Artois and Stella Artois 4%, reflects their consumer profile and commercial needs. "Eiken Artois and Peeterman Artois will be phased out in the on-trade by the end of the year and in the off-trade by April 2009."

Parmalat has announced the signing of a preliminary contract with Newlat SpA in respect of the disposal of the Parmalat dairy business unit located at Lodi. The business unit produces and sells cheese under the Ala, Polenghi and Optimus brands. The unit recorded net sales of approximately €36m in 2007, and currently employs 93 staff. Along with the business unit, a portion of real estate consisting of land and two properties used for the business will also be transferred. Commercial agreements for supply and distribution will also be executed between Parmalat and Newlat to ensure coverage of the region presently addressed by the existing business through the Parmalat distribution network. Newlat, based at Reggio Emilia, operates under the Buitoni licenced brand and Polenghi, Matese, Giglio, Torre in Pietra and Fior di Salento owned brands. For the full year 2008, Newlat expects to report turnover of around €200m, with around 800 staff.

The first member of Pump Aid's overseas staff, Diana Maunze, has visited the Waterbrands bottling plant in Harrogate to deliver thanks to the company. Diana is programme officer with the charity Pump Aid, which works in Zimbabwe and Malawi giving rural communities access to clean water and sanitation. Waterbrands launched its charity brand Thirsty Planet in 2007, with the pledge that a donation will be made to Pump Aid for every bottle sold. To date, Thirsty Planet has clocked up donations of more than £770,000, which will pay for materials to build more than 3,000 pumps to supply 20 litres of clean water a day to more than one million people. Diana, who's based in Zimbabwe, said rising prices and the unavailability of materials were hampering Pump Aid’s work, but it still aimed to complete 250 new wells and water pumps by the end of the year. “Without Thirsty Planet’s fantastic support, our work couldn't progress so quickly. The people who will benefit from these pumps will have their lives transformed and it’s all thanks to the people in Britain who choose to buy Thirsty Planet,” she said.

*Ty Nant Natural Mineral Water is supporting breast cancer charities through the Pink Ribbon Foundation. * As part of the campaign, the brand is offering a pink mini fridge with a one-year supply of Ty Nant Pink bottles for one lucky winner. To take part in the competion, visit[ the website]<1>. Entry details must be submitted by 31 December 2008. Ty Nant is famed for its award-winning product range, and the launch of the curvaceous Ty Nant PET dressed in pink has caught the imagination of buyers at prestigious stores such as Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Waitrose in the UK, as well as premium retailers across Europe. <1>: http://www.tynant.com/main.aspx?pID=25-0