The Master Cheese Makers from Austrian dairy company Käsehof, the country’s largest organic cheese maker, are offering a Light Organic Country Cheese with only 13% fat – aimed at the diet-conscious cheese enthusiast. The Light Organic Country Cheese, of premium organic quality, is available in slices or as a 250g block. The cheese is easily recognisable due to its light blue colour and its organic label. The friendly Käsehof Cow iconic brand logo is placed in the centre. In addition, the cheese is lactose free, which is also positively displayed on the label.

Dabur India, a leading Indian company, has entered the malted food drink market with the launch of Chyawan Junior. Chyawan Junior offers the essential goodness of Chyawanprash (Indian health tonic), but with a chocolate flavour that makes it more appealing to children. “Dabur is making a concerted effort to expand the Chyawanprash category by introducing new and innovative variants,” said Dabur India Executive Vice President, K K Rajesh. Chyawan Junior also takes Dabur into the milk beverage market, valued at Rs15,000 million (€261 million). This segment is expected to grow by 15% in 2007-08, and the launch of Chyawan Junior could help Dabur establish a prominent position in the market.

As concerns over child obesity continue to hit the headlines, popular children’s TV show Lazy Town, and Arla Foods in the UK, have joined together to launch the first children’s probiotic yogurt and fromage frais range free of added sugar, artificial additives, flavours and colours. Lazy Town, the brainchild of Magnus Scheving, is a popular television show for children, featuring a combination of puppets and live characters. It's packed with action and energy and aims to motivate children to make healthy lifestyle choices. Arla Retail Brand Manager for yogurts and desserts, Claire Hooper, said: “This is a totally new product for Arla and is the first of its kind in the children’s yogurt and fromage frais category. “In response to tighter food ingredient regulations relating to products aimed at children, we have developed new recipes for the yogurt and fromage frais range. Rather than adding artificial flavours, colours and preservatives, like many products on the market, we've perfected a recipe which uses only fruit juice and purée to provide flavour and sweetness.” The four-pack yogurt comes in strawberry, banana, raspberry and apple flavours, and the fromage frais six-pack is available in strawberry, banana and raspberry.

A new range of soft cheeses that use classic ingredients and real provenance in a fresh and simple way has been launched by UK ethical food maker Kavli. The new Primula assortment boasts a trio of temptations, including White Stilton & Apricot, Wensleydale & Cranberry and Smoked Salmon & Soft Cheese. The traditional white Stilton comes from the Long Clawson Dairy in the Vale of Belvoir, while Wensleydale & Cranberry uses real Yorkshire Wensleydale from the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes. The new range is designed for indulgent treats, entertaining and social sharing – especially for the forthcoming festive season.

The Midwest Dairy Association has introduced a new Gridiron Milk branded product line to schools and retail grocery stores for the 2007 National Football League (NFL) season. Nebraska-based processor Roberts Dairy Company is distributing the product line. Gridiron Milk is packaged in 8oz plastic resealable containers and features all 32 NFL team logos, as well as highlighting the <1> interactive website for kids. “Kids know milk helps athletes play well. Drinking Gridiron Milk at school and at home is one way kids can get the same nutritional benefits for their own growing bodies,” said Midwest Dairy Retail Marketing Manager, Lori Lackner. Gridiron Milk is available in a variety of flavours, including fat free 1% and 2% white; fat free and 2% chocolate; and fat free strawberry. Midwest Dairy believes Gridiron Milk will help increase the number of schools offering New Look of School Milk, a programme that presents milk prominently in attractive plastic containers that appeal to students. <1>: http://www.nflrush.com/

WheyUP has launched a nationwide US campaign in a distribution deal with retail giant GNC. WheyUP, the Original Protein Drink with Energy, is the first product of its kind that combines a protein drink with an energy drink. WheyUP represents a breakthrough in the sports drink market. It combines 20 grams of whey protein with an energy formula in a sugar free, non-carbonated beverage. It's being sold in ready-to-drink, resealable 16oz plastic bottles, having previously been sold in 16oz cans in the test market. WheyUP has also introduced a new flavour, tropical citrus, which complements the company’s wild berry flavour. Both flavours will make their debut in the new plastic bottles, and two more flavours are planned for later this year.

*The Taste top innovations of Anuga 2007 combine the best of taste, function and packaging. This year winner’s included: * Caps orange lemon isotonic sports drink from Deutsche Sisi Werke GmbH and Co Betriebs KG. A combination of the natural energy builder fructose and wheat dextrin results in long lasting energy. Sold in a practical resealable pouch pack with neat holographic runners, the drink is recommended by the Rhein Neckar Olympic Support Centre.

*Snapple, one of the brightest jewels in Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages’ crown, has just unveiled a new line of superfruit juice drinks, based on all natural ingredients with added vitamins. * Packed in slender 17.5oz (52cl) bottles with an recommended retail price of $1.39, Snapple Super Premium Juice Drinks are available in four flavours: goji punch and peach mangosteen, plus low calorie noni berry and kiwi pear. “Our new Super Premium Juice Drinks will contribute to a healthy immune system and provide the metabolism boosting benefits consumers look for, complete with plenty of the great taste they expect from Snapple,” said Bryan Mazur, Vice President and General Manager of CSAB’s Snapple business unit.

*Using a can that glows under ultraviolet light and the slogan 'Mplode brings people together', the German company Mplode has worldwide partners ranging from those in sports and entertainment to skateboarders and stock brokers. * The Mplode experience merges marketing, global nightlife and active lifestyle. Containing taurine, schisandra, caffeine, niacin, glucuronolactone and vitamins B6 and B12. Shown this year at the Fancy Food Show in New York in July, at Anuga in October and IFE in New Delhi in December the owners are keen on promoting it through parties and sports contests. “The typical Mplode consumer looks after their health, is self confident, achievement oriented and active, being young and dynamic in their jobs as well as in their spare time. Containing 0.3g protein and 11.8g carbohydrates, it is sold in 25cl cans and has a shelf life of 24 months. “We did not invent the energy drink we have just completed it,” Mplode claims.

*Hib! launched in the UK and European market at Anuga is the first super flower drink, made from the calyx of the Hibiscus Sabdariffa bush. * Ruby red Hib! in hibiscus and peppermint, hibiscus and grape, a lightly sparkling variant and a cordial is the brainchild the brainchild of West African-born Marx Ayigbede and his partner Anita Doran. Growing up in Benin, Marx loved a home made drink his grandmother would make from an infusion of the dried calyx from the hibiscus flower bush. He says he thinks the UK and European market will love the drink because it tastes great, is very refreshing, has a clean aftertaste, and is natural and healthy. Hib! aims to be stocked in all sectors of the market. The company, which has enlisted Alan Ramsay Sales & Marketing, is already in talks with a national supermarket chain. Sales expectations are 1 million litres in the first year.

The ready to drink (RTD) coffee category is set to become the next major battleground for The Coca-Cola Company and its perennial rival PepsiCo, after Coke announced a global partnership with Italian coffee specialist illycaffé in October. The move came just a couple of weeks after Pepsi revealed that its partnership with US coffee company Starbucks is soon to expand into select international markets. Coke and illy have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a global joint venture focused on premium RTD coffee. Although details of the deal have not yet been finalised, the two companies said their aim will be to “leverage illy’s world class expertise in the art of the espresso to capture opportunities in this high growth, profitable beverage category with new brands and products.” The RTD coffee market has been developing strongly around the world in recent years and is currently valued at almost $10 billion. Excluding Japan, world sales have grown at an average annual rate of more than 10% since 2002. Coca-Cola has been trying to establish a strong position in the RTD coffee category for some years – particularly since noting the success of the Pepsi/Starbucks partnership, under which Pepsi has been distributing Starbucks branded bottled Frappuccino across North America for the last decade. Although Coke owns the bestselling Georgia canned coffee brand in Japan and has experimented in North America and Europe with various coffee-flavoured drinks such as the 'fusion beverage' Coca-Cola Blak, results have been inconclusive. In 2001, major bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) bought PJ Bean Co of Long Island, New York, producer of a small line of RTD coffees under the Planet Java brand. But the acquisition was not a success and Planet Java was quietly dropped two years later. In September last year, Coca-Cola launched a surprising new attempt to cash in on coffee – focusing on the fresh brewed rather than RTD beverage. The company unveiled Far Coast, a range of premium ground coffees in capsules, to be used in conjunction with specially designed coffee making machines. The Far Coast system (right) is not intended for domestic use, however, but for upmarket hotels, restaurants and bars. A similar system was simultaneously launched under the CHAQWA brand, to produce fresh brewed coffee and tea in less exclusive catering locations such as snack bars and convenience stores. The new systems were introduced at a chic 'concept store' in Toronto. Other Far Coast stores have subsequently opened in Oslo and Singapore as well as in the recently revamped World of Coca-Cola museum in Coke’s home town, Atlanta. A further significant but less widely reported development came at the beginning of this year, when Coke and Nestlé of Switzerland announced they had revised their international joint venture Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW), which produces and distributes Nestea iced black tea. Crucially, the revised joint venture agreement left both companies free to market their own RTD coffees and non-black tea products. This August, Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) teamed up with Caribou Coffee – second biggest US coffee house chain after Starbucks – to launch of a new line of premium RTD iced coffees under the Caribou brand (see below, centre). Packaged in a unique 12oz (35cl) resealable Alumi-Tek aluminium bottle from Ball Corp, the Caribou drinks are initially being distributed in three flavours (regular, espresso, vanilla) in major US cities in the Midwest and Southeast. Since Coke has not yet revealed its long term plans, it is not clear whether the company would consider launching any illy RTD coffee line in markets such as Japan and the US, where it is already represented in the category. But there are still many other markets to conquer – and Coke evidently hopes it has finally found a winning formula for coffee. “illy is a proven leader with an uncompromising commitment to high quality espresso coffee and a strong history of innovation, with whom we are proud to partner,” said Coca-Cola President and Chief Operating officer Muhtar Kent. “We will be able to bring our brand building and distribution expertise together with illy’s premium brand reputation.” Said Andrea Illy (above), Chairman and CEO of illycaffé: “We are proud to partner with the top brand name in sparkling beverages to offer the illy taste to a new range of consumers, as well as those who love our traditional espresso tastes, to meet new consumption moments. Our R&D and product know-how will join The Coca-Cola Company’s industrial and distribution infrastructure to develop a high quality ready to drink coffee.” It is expected that the final joint venture agreements between Coke and illy will be signed by the end of this year.

*Antistress Brennessel from Austria’s Sonnenalm Getrankevertrieb GmbH is a new soft drink made from stinging nettles that has an anti-stress effect. * Non-carbonated and even suitable for diabetics, it contains fructose with added magnesium, vitamins and a mixture of plant extracts including aloe vera, gingko and ginseng.