*Fonterra says the worsening drought situation could cost its dairy farmers as much as NZ$500 million by the time the season ends in May. * Chairman Henry van der Heyden says that the dry spell has already cost farmers about NZ$60 million in milk payout, and on-farm losses would continue to mount unless there is significant rainfall. “The weather is key. And every day without rain is hurting farmers, and will have a flow-on impact for local communities and the broader economy. This has really taken the shine off what should have been a fantastic season for our farmers, with a record payout. Farmers are facing up to some very real challenges, both in terms of lost cash flows and also in managing their farms with very little feed available.” Van der Heyden says Fonterra had forecast a 3% increase in milk supply for the 2007/08 season. However, the record dry summer over much of the country means season-to-date milk production is now falling below last year. “The dry spell is widespread and is hitting farmers hard in most parts of the country. On a daily basis compared to the last year, Waikato is down 27%, Bay of Plenty is down 21%, Taranaki is down 9% and Southland is down 1.5%. “Clearly, we’ll be right there with farmers hoping for rain. We've been looking into supplementary feed options and how we can support farmers and rural communities in other ways. But the stark reality is that there's a real feed shortage both in New Zealand and overseas. “While Fonterra is now facing something of a double whammy, of a drop in milk production and a Kiwi dollar close to US80 cents, we're holding to our forecast of a payout of $6.90 per kilogram of Milk Solids,” he says. Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier adds: “At this stage, we're also confident we can meet all our customers’ contracted orders, but supply is tight. Given our expectations of significantly reduced supply in New Zealand, we now find ourselves effectively booked up for the season. This is forcing us to advise customers that we may not be in a position to take all new orders for New Zealand supply."

*Appletiser, the 100% fruit juice drink with a touch of sparkle, is celebrating after becoming the fastest growing Adult Special Soft Drinks brand of 2007, with a +12.2% value growth increase across all channels. ** This unprecedented figure has been further cemented by figures which reveal Appletiser’s closest competitors are in decline by as much as -28.5%*. A combination of increased listings across retail, on premise and cold channels; the launch of well-targeted NPD and the roll-out of a strategic marketing plan has led to the brand now being worth over 25.8m retail sales value (RSV). Thanks to the brands’ governmental 5-a-Day accreditation, the Appletiser, Grapetiser and Peartiser 330ml cans are now listed in over 750 educational sites across the UK. The brand also continues to secure new listings within all retail channels, clocking up a staggering 14,000 new distribution outlets in 2007, including Tiger Tiger, Pizza Express and Superdrug. “The Appletiser brand is going from strength to strength,” said Andy Thompson, Appletiser Brand Manager. “We're thrilled to reign as the fastest growing Adult Special Soft Drink brand of 2007. This is testament to the brands’ focused marketing strategy centred on our 5-a-Day accreditation, and of course the launch of Peartiser, which further strengthened the brands’ growth. The summer ‘win a dream lunch’ on pack promotion also proved successful, increasing sales of the Appletiser brand by over 38% compared to the previous year in Grocery. “During 2008, the brand will continue to be heavily supported, up to the value of £6.8 million. We will continue to implement a single-minded marketing strategy to communicate Appletiser’s key product credentials, in particular 5-a-Day. This will consist of a year-long online and viral campaign, women’s print advertising, UK-wide sampling, implementation of a Buzz marketing programme and targeted PR activity. We expect that 2008 will continue the successes achieved in 2007, driving the brand towards being the drink of choice for 25-35 year old women looking for a great tasting, healthy and premium soft drink.” Source: AC Nielson 1 Dec 2007

The brand owner and trade distributor of Aqua Dosa has signed a professional distribution agreement for the high strength version of the sanitisation solution. According to Aqua Cure, the hydrogen peroxide based product is ideal for the water cooler industry, especially given its approval for use in public water supplies and Green Apple environmental award. The company is now planning to offer selected trade clients the solution at a 10% concentration in a 10 litre drum, instead of the standard concentration which is supplied in a 5 litre drum. The main differences between this and many other similar products are its stabiliser and activator capabilities. A very small concentration of colloidal silver is blended, but only activates the hydrogen peroxide when it is exposed to anything that shouldn’t be there, such as bugs or organic material. After all of the organic material has been oxidised, the substance returns to its role as a stabiliser for any remaining and non-reacted hydrogen peroxide in the lines, tank or systems being treated. In order to qualify for the product, Aqua Cure will request that any applying trader initially opts for the user pack, which explains how to handle the high strength solution. By measuring and introducing the correct amount, not only can the solution be administered quickly, it is also a much more cost effective means of purchasing, in both concentrated and bulk format. Once standard documentation from Aqua Cure’s technical department has been received and signed for, product supply can be discussed, along with the best means for measurement according to each individual cooler company. Within the Aqua Dosa range, Aqua Cure offers measuring bottles or dispenser and delivery bottle options, as well as two variants of quantitative peroxide test strips. The firm recommends the use of quantitative test strips, as opposed to basic colour change strips as these cannot prove that full peroxide concentration levels have been established in the cooler.

*Indonesia’s pop singer and budding entrepreneur Mawi has failed to derail court case proceedings by drinks manufacturer Yassa against his mineral water company, Mawi World. The lawsuit, filed in October 2006, claims that Mawi World had infringed on the copyright of its products. * The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed with costs the application by Mawi World to block the lawsuit that is now expected to begin before the summer although no hearing dates have been fixed yet. Yassa has demanded that Mawi World stops producing bottled mineral water using its licence number, factory address and product contents on its label. Subsequently, Yassa amended its legal action to claim that Mawi’s company had made use of its property instead of having infringed on its intellectual property. In his affidavit to strike out the suit, Mawi said Yassa’s action against his company was vexatious, frivolous and an abuse of the court process. “I have been advised that if the plaintiff wants to take action, it should be against the supplier of our bottled mineral water, Johtaw Corporation,” he said last year. The singer, whose real name is Asmawi Ani, is one of the best selling and influential Malaysian artists in recent years and winner of the country’s popular reality show Akademi Fantasia. He has also been testing his skills in acting and performing magic tricks.

Doh! For a start, I don't think anyone is suggesting that bottled water contributes more than 0.1% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. The Times newspaper has highlighted imports from the US and Fiji. The government's own trade figures show these were in fact as little as 0.03% and 0.04% of the UK bottled water market in 2006. Fiji Water in The Grocer at the weekend said its water only comes by ship, and a full year's UK imports created less carbon than a return flight from London to New York. Yet somehow, BBC Panorama couldn't avoid its flight to Fiji to investigate. If Fiji water is wrong, what about the £2bn of wine imports from Australasia, South America and South Africa? And why not ban beer from Mexico or India, vodka from Russia, cut flowers from Kenya or computers from Japan? It's not wrong. It's not right. It's a choice. Certainly, we'll all have to wise up environmentally about some of the choices we make, and it's perfectly fair to have a debate about them. But let the debate be informed and proportionate, starting with once-respected institutions such as parliament and the BBC.

*AriZona Beverages, best known for its ready to drink teas, has added All City NRG to its line of green tea based energy drinks. A non-carbonated balanced blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs, it contains no preservatives, no artificial colours and no artificial flavours. * Combining green tea with pomegranate; All City NRG is the fourth addition to the Company’s Green Tea Energy line. The product is being test marketed in New York, Florida and Chicago, with plans to distribute nationally after January. Sold in a 16oz can, each case will include three separate can designs. “We call the cans our subway series,” explained AriZona Creative Director Wes Vultaggio. “The art is a form of expression that captures the creativity, imagination and energy of the urban lifestyle. Since AriZona originated in Brooklyn, we thought we would pay tribute to the passion and originality of these artists with our own street art design on the can and with a bold energy-infused beverage.” Vincent “Factone” Ficarra, an acclaimed urban artist, of Mpire Creative, New York, designed the cans. “Going All City means going all out,” continued Vultaggio. “And we’re going all out with this product!”

Pepsi Raw has been created using an innovative recipe that includes ingredients from natural sources, capitalising on the growing consumer demand for premium and more natural products. Aimed at a sophisticated, urban market, Pepsi Raw is a cola made from a unique blend of quality ingredients – including natural plant extracts – that give it a distinctive and delicious taste and more subtle carbonation, as well as a unique colouring. It doesn't contain artificial colours, preservatives, flavourings or sweeteners. Pepsi Raw has been created to provide consumers with a premium cola choice at the bar, complementing the existing Pepsi range with a more subtle tasting cola and sophisticated brand image. It can be enjoyed on its own as a premium soft drink or mixed with quality spirits. Its subtle flavour doesn't mask the taste of spirits and enables individual flavour characteristics to cut through cleanly. Cola is currently worth £1.5bn to the licensed trade, with a 42% share of total soft drinks sales. According to Paul Linthwaite, on-premise business unit director at Britvic: "Cola is a hugely important category to the on-premise market as it represents almost half of all soft drink sales. However, it's also a maturing category that needs rejuvenation to drive further growth. "As with many other drinks categories within on-premise, the growth of soft drinks is being driven by premium offerings, with our research indicating that 53% of people will pay more for a quality drink. The launch of Pepsi Raw will capitalise on this growing opportunity for premium drinks, providing a new tier of cola product to meet desire and give consumers a new reason to enjoy cola. "We're delighted that the UK on-premise industry will be the first in the world to benefit from this exciting new innovation. Pepsi Raw is set to reinvigorate the cola category and boost profits for licensees." To support the launch, PepsiCo and Britvic have worked closely with IP bartenders to create premium spirit pairings for Pepsi Raw, providing licensed retailers with the opportunity to generate excitement and intrigue across spirit categories and drive sales through signature drinks. In addition, the launch will be supported by a targeted press and outdoor advertising campaign, extensive national and regional PR, premium POS and bar staff training around the Pepsi Raw brand and perfect serve. The brand will also be supported digitally with a seeding campaign and new website, Pepsi Raw, that features a trade and consumer focused sections. Pepsi Raw will be available in style-led outlets in seven key urban areas (London, Manchester, Glasgow, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool) from February 2008, with a wider roll-out among the licensed trade throughout 2008. It will be available in a glass 300ml bottle with a sophisticated and stylish design. Both the pack and product performed strongly in extensive consumer testing. "Our research showed that consumers viewed the introduction of Pepsi Raw as genuine news for the cola category and, as a result, the rate of consumers who said they'd purchase it was high – well above the UK standard for food and drink innovation. Additionally, consumers said they loved the distinct taste of Pepsi Raw," said Paul Linthwaite. "With significant investment in a targeted launch campaign, backed up by strong long-term commitment to building the brand, we have real ambition to drive growth in the cola market through the introduction of Pepsi Raw."

Below-premium and budget beers now make up the fastest-growing segment. According to the Dallas Morning News, 7-Eleven plans to market the beer as "premium lager beer at a below-premium price," said Dan Skinner, 7-Eleven's category manager for alcohol beverages. "Our customer has been telling us for some time that they're looking for a more value-priced brand," he said. "In this tough economy, they're looking for value and ways to make their dollar go further." Although Texas sales still must be approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the beer has already entered stores in the northwest, northern California and northern Nevada. Game Day is being produced by City Brewery of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The brew comes in two varieties – Light and Ice – and two sizes: 24oz singles with a suggested retail price of $1.49 and $1.89, and a 12-pack of 12oz cans with a suggested retail price between $6.99 and $8.99. Prices will vary based on distribution costs and state and local alcohol taxes. A 12-pack of a brand such as Bud Light would cost between $10 and $11 in most areas, Skinner told the Dallas Morning News. Game Day face off against premium beers such as Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite, which now dominate sales at 7-Eleven – the third-largest beer retailer in the US behind Walmart and Kroger (according to the Nielsen Co). This isn't 7-Eleven's first foray into the beer category. 7-Eleven introduced Santiago de Oro imported beer in 2003 to compete with Corona, but the beer was discontinued a year later. But 7-Eleven noted today's market is a different animal. "When 7-Eleven introduced Santiago de Oro imported beer in 2003, the economic times were much different," said Margaret Chabris from 7-Eleven. "We went up against a name brand that was merchandised for the exotic hoiday-in-a-bottle experience, and consumers were attracted to that. They were buying 'up' and not as concerned with price. "In 2003, a customer had $20 in his pocket, and gas was about $1.50 a gallon. Today, he might have $10 in his pocket and gas is $3 a gallon. Many more consumers are looking for ways to save money, including the beer they drink." Source: Dallas Morning News/Convenience Store Decisions Group

The peanut butter cookie dough (with fudge and pretzels) ice cream will be served in Ben & Jerry's scoop shops throughout this month, a gesture that sees Ben & Jerry's partner with marriage equality group Freedom to Marry. The two partners are also publicly supporting the first gay and lesbian marriages to happen in the state, and aiming to encourage other US states to follow in the footsteps of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Maine, down the aisle to marriage equality. Although Hubby Hubby will only be served in Vermont, Freedom to Marry's website urges citizens to "bring Hubby Hubby to your state", indicating that Ben & Jerry's may have plans to do the same in other states with successful gay marriage campaigns. Meanwhile, Ben & Jerry's is buzzing up the message via its Facebook fan page, and the renamed flavour is a trending topic on Twitter. The branding exercise has even gone so far as to wallpaper Freedom to Marry's website with Ben & Jerry's trademark cartoon clouds. The company is no stranger to big social gestures. Their employee-led Ben & Jerry's Foundation donated more than $1.9m in 2008 to "support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice, environmental restoration and peace through understanding, and to support Vermont communities". It's no surprise, therefore, given its penchant for left-leaning publicity, that the company is making itself part of this historic occasion in Vermont. It could help its bottom line, too. Source: Springwise