Today Nestlé announced the establishment of the Chocolate Centre of Excellence, the company's first R&D facility entirely dedicated to the development of premium and luxury chocolate. The new centre will be located at Nestlé's chocolate factory in Broc (Switzerland), will be operational in the first half of 2009 and will bring together both internal and external know-how of international chocolate-making professionals such as top confiseurs, sensory experts and packaging designers. The project launch was attended by Nestlé Switzerland Marketing Head Roland Decorvet and Beat Vonlanthen, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Fribourg. Petraea Heynike, Global Head of Nestlé's Chocolate Strategic Business Unit, and Klaus Zimmermann, Global Head of Nestlé's R&D and Product Technology Centers, also attended. The establishment of the new Chocolate Centre of Excellence is a further sign that Nestlé sees luxury and premium products as one of its key strategic areas with above-average growth and profit potential over the coming years. In confectionery, the strong growth of dark and premium chocolate is the most visible sign of "premiumisation", as witnessed by strong brands such as Cailler, Perugina, Baci and Nestlé Noir. It also explains Nestlé's partnership with Belgian luxury chocolatier Pierre Marcolini who will provide inspiration to the team in Broc for some of the company's future chocolate ranges.

*Aquafina Alive adds more functionality to PepsiCo's hydration portfolio with reformulated nutrient enhanced waters. * PepsiCo believes consumers are looking for great tasting beverages and they're seeking more functionality from their enhanced waters. To provide for consumer needs the company has introdued four reformulated versions of its Aquafina Alive Nutrient Enhanced Water Beverage lineup, including a new option with 10% of the daily recommended value (DV) of fibre. – Aquafina Alive Satisfy (10 calorie peach mango, with 10% DV of fiber) is one of the only waters on the market with a significant amount of fibre to help lightly fill you up. – Aquafina Alive Protect (calorie free Berry Pomegranate, with 10% DV of Vitamins E and C) contains beneficial antioxidants that help protect the body from free radicals. – Aquafina Alive Energize (calorie free orange lime, with caffeine, 10% DV of Vitamin B) is enhanced with about as much caffeine as an average cup of coffee. – Aquafina Alive Hydrate (calorie free lemon, with electrolytes, sodium and potassium) is enhanced with electrolytes to replenish the nutrients an active body loses throughout the day. "These beverages build on Aquafina's heritage, adding the relevant benefits of nutrients and delicious flavours - delivering the multitasking enhanced water consumers seek," said Aquafina Vice President Ahad Afridi. Aquafina Alive will also feature new label graphics, designed to clearly convey flavour, benefits and ingredients in a clean, simple way that brings the new flavours to life.

*Canadian drinks manufacturer Cott, which has struggled with flagging sales of carbonated beverages, has now developed Fortifido - a line of flavoured vitamin water for dogs. * The move will allow the company to tap the lucrative pet industry in the US valued at $40 billion. Fortified with calcium and zinc, Fortifido is sold in four flavours - peanut butter, spearmint, zinc and lemongrass. The drinks are touted for bone strengthening and healthy skin properties.

There have been protests from anti-drug campaigners in the US over a new energy drink called Blow. The drink comes in the form of a white powder, which is intended to be added to water or other beverages. Opponents claim that it's more like fake cocaine. The fact that 'blow' also happens to be street slang for cocaine is not the biggest objection. The critics are still more concerned about the packaging and presentation of Blow. The product website features showgirls in skimpy costumes against a background of heavy metal music. Blow Energy Drink Mix is described as “Pure uncut energy”. Online ordering options include 12 phials of Blow in an expanded polystyrene 'brick' that resembles a block of cocaine. There’s also a 'Stash Box Sampler Pack' and a 'Recreational User Pack'. Special promotional packs mailed out by the Las Vegas-based producer even include a mirror and Blow 'credit card'. The background behind Blow In reality, Blow gets its kick from familiar energy drink ingredients: Taurine, caffeine and carnitine, with a dash of kola nut extract and B vitamins. But US authorities fear the powder will encourage consumers to seek out “the real thing". The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has written to Blow founder Logan Gola, ordering him to change his marketing platform. The FDA also noted that Blow itself could be classed a drug “intended to affect the structure or function of the body”, and had not been officially cleared for sale. The agency made similar warning noises last year when another Las Vegas company, Redux Beverages, launched a carbonated energy drink explicitly branded as Cocaine. However, Cocaine is still on the market. Blow boss Gola was unrepentant. In an interview with cable TV network CN8, he defended the drink’s “tongue in cheek” presentation, adding: “Our product is marketed 100% towards adults. It’s an adult beverage product ... We’re very careful not to target anyone under the age of 18.” Gola claimed the powder was already stocked by about 1,400 stores across the country, in addition to online sales. According to the company, Blow may also go on sale shortly in Europe. “We've received a tremendous amount of inquiries from the UK, and are actively speaking to potential distributors,” a spokesperson told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. “We're in the process of getting approved in the Netherlands, which will give us entry into most of the European Union.”

*Argentina’s Gota, which recently launched an eponymous premium natural mineral water brand, is eyeing opportunities to expand its distribution in the Middle East region, particularly the UAE. * Gota is available in glazed glass bottles of 25cl and 50cl, aimed at fine dining and upmarket hospitality channels. Key officials such as Gota CEO Leonardo Soifer Piazzetta showcased the bottled water and brand related ready to be frozen ice cubes at the trade fair Gulfood 2008 in the UAE held in February.

*At the beginning of 2008, news broke that Danone’s Volvic Revive, the company’s first functional water brand launched in the UK less than a year earlier, was under threat of being delisted due to a poor response from consumers. * The brand is thought to have failed against established competitors such as GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade and Hydro Active brands, as well as a burgeoning number of vitamin enhanced water drinks with fruit flavours in the marketplace. Danone had reportedly decided to delist Volvic Revive Citrus Kick, but that it had no intention of delisting the Berry Blast variant, which it claims has performed well and will be the focus of its future efforts. We talked to Steve Flanagan, Grocery Customer Marketing, Danone Waters UK & Ireland, about the functional water brand. Volvic Revive was an ambitious launch. Did the gamble pay off? Although ambitious we did not consider the Volvic Revive launch to be a gamble, as extensive consumer research demonstrated a very strong consumer interest in a “better for you“ hydrating energy drink, linked without doubt to a growing demand for healthy yet functional products which fit into consumer’s busy lifestyles. Throughout research consumers responded very well to the Volvic Revive concept and product, which reached a higher Purchase Intent level in tests than leading competitor brands. So how has Volvic Revive performed since its launch? Volvic Revive was the biggest soft drinks launch in 2007, despite the challenge of launching in a year in which the soft drinks market was dampened by poor weather. Moreover, strong launch activity drove an outstanding return on sales (ROS) across trade channels, with Volvic Revive outselling established competitor brands at key times of year. Analysis of current consumer trends suggests that functional water has strong growth potential and we look forward to building on Revive Year 1 success in the future. Are you going to delist Volvic Revive Citrus Kick? Volvic Revive has done extremely well in its launch year and overall the brand was in fact the biggest soft drinks innovation in the UK in 2007. As with all our products we track all key success factors and emerging trends very closely and based on these we have decided to proactively delist Volvic Revive Citrus Kick from the market as it has not met our internal success hurdles. What about Volvic Revive Berry Blast? We remain highly confident in our strongest performing SKU, Berry Blast, which has a very strong repeat rate demonstrating that with the right offering consumers are genuinely connecting with the Revive product. Have you pinpointed why Berry Blast is connecting with its target audience? Throughout 2008 we plan to drive as much trial and awareness on Berry Blast as possible via frequent in store promotions and activation, and we are confident that this will deliver good volume growth. This will act as a launch pad for any future developments on Volvic Revive beyond 2008. What is Volvic Revive? Marketed as an alternative to mainstream energy drinks, Volvic Revive is targeted at 18 to 35 year olds. The no added sugar drinks contain guarana and ginseng extracts – which, it is claimed, has energising properties. The functional water range has been sold across supermarkets in sports cap bottles, along with multipacks of four, in an effort to appeal to a young demographic. The sub-brand recently won an award for Best Marketing Campaign in the 2007 water innovation awards.

According to industry analysts IRI, the bestselling new non-alcoholic drink in the US last year was Coca-Cola’s Vault, with sales of $70 million. Vault came third in the 2007 bestselling new US food and beverage brands list, which measured total year $1 sales across food, drug and mass channels, excluding Wal-Mart. The IRI New Product Pacesetters report put Campbell's reduced sodium soup top of the list with sales of $101 million in 2007. Gatorade AM sports drink was fourth with sales of $70 million, and Jazz Diet Pepsi was at number 10 with sales of $56 million. In sixth place, the bestselling new alcoholic drink was Heineken Premium Light, with sales of $63 million. "These brands are case studies in how to surpass abysmally low new product success rates in the consumer packaged goods marketplace, where less than 5% of new brands reach $50 million in year one sales," said IRI Executive Vice President of Business and Consumer Insights, Anne Berlack. Berlack said that the functional category would be the sector to watch in the US in 2008. "During the next year, demand will explode for functional food and beverages that deliver health benefits beyond basic nutrition."

The soft drink was introduced during a press briefing in Istanbul's Loft Restaurant last week. Fayrouz, which means turquoise in Arabic, was first developed in Egypt, the birthplace of beer. In the 10 years following its launch, the full-flavoured non-alcoholic beverage has become a popular soft drink in more than 15 countries. “It's a product that will form its own category,” said Fayrouz Turkey Manager, Suat Roe. As a flavoured carbonated beverage, Fayrouz is a novelty in Turkey. “It's a product that is an alternative to fruit juice, soda, coke and iced tea,” he added. What makes Fayrouz different from the other soft drinks already in the Turkish market is that it doesn't contain additives, artificial flavouring or colouring. The main ingredient of this lightly fizzy, mildly sweet, full-flavoured beverage is malt. The barley is heated, filtered, cooled and left to mature. However, as no yeast is added, Fayrouz doesn't undergo any fermentation process and therefore remains non-alcoholic (unlike other brewed products such as malt vinegar, beer and whisky). The other ingredients are sugar solution, purified water, citric acid, natural flavour and carbon dioxide.The sugar solution is made of glucose and fructose. The flavours are created in the Fayrouz Manufacturing and Technology Center in Switzerland. They're blended at the final stage of the beverage's production cycle to ensure freshness and pure flavour. “We aim to reach 120,000 sales points and sell two million litres by the end of the year,” said Roe. The soft drink will be available in peach, pear and pineapple flavours.

Increased sales of energy drinks and bottled water helped the National Beverage Corp, the fifth biggest US soft drinks producer, rise above high raw material costs and slack CSD sales in the third quarter of the company’s current fiscal year, ended 26 January. National Beverages’ total revenue for the quarter grew 5% to $123.2 million, with operating income up 13% to $4.9 million. The Florida-based company’s net income rose 7% to $3.3 million or $0.07 per share. “Led by our Rip It energy drinks and LaCroix water brands, the continued volume gains of higher-margin products allowed us to overcome significant cost pressures and softness in the carbonated soft drink market in what is traditionally our weakest quarter,” said Nick Caporella, Chairman and CEO of National Beverage. “On an operating basis, this was one of our best third quarters ever, with the Everfresh/Mr Pure juice lines also reporting solid growth.” Caporella added that the company’s most recent launches had been well received by the market: “We're pleased with the initial response to our newest functional products, the Asante line of enhanced waters. Fortified with vitamins, minerals and electrolytes, Asante will provide consumers superior flavour and lower calories at a value price.”

Pepsi-Cola North America has launched Tava, a zero-calorie sparkling beverage in festive fruity flavours celebrating dances. Mediterranean Fiesta combines black cherry, tangerine and lime; Tahitian Tamure blends tropical berry tones, tangerine tings and lime notes; while Brazilian Samba blends passionfruit, pineapple and lime. "There has never been a beverage before quite like Tava," said Pepsi-Cola North America vice president of flavoured carbonated soft drinks, Frank Cooper. "Tava allows consumers to say yes to a flavourful, vitamin-enhanced beverage while they say no to calories and caffeine. The discerning consumer no longer needs to compromise. "The Tava brand stretches traditional soft drink boundaries. It offers a unique value proposition that combines beneficial ingredients with sophisticated flavour blends and helps with weight management. In fact, the product scored well above average in consumer testing. They want to explore and discover new things but are also acutely aware of the amount of calories they consume. Tava allows them to have a calorie-free beverage experience that's rooted in the fun of bubbles."

*Ethos Water, the brand dedicated to helping children get clean water, is driving support for its mission by collaborating with H20 Africa, a foundation focused on clean water initiatives. * Later this month, H20 Africa’s co-founder, Matt Damon, will appear in a national Ethos Water print advertising campaign encouraging consumers to get involved in raising awareness and funding for the world water crisis. The campaign coincides with the expanded distribution of Ethos water into more than 40,000 convenience, grocery, mass and drug stores across the US through the Pepsi-Cola bottling system. Joint venture Since Starbucks acquired Ethos Water in 2005, the product has become available in more than 7,000 company-operated stores in the US and Canada. Ethos water is packaged, distributed and marketed by Pepsi-Cola through the North American Coffee Partnership (NACP), a joint venture between Starbucks and Pepsi-Cola North America. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with H20 Africa, which shares our commitment to the same mission,” said Ahad Afridi, VP of waters at Pepsi-Cola North America. “This is a unique partnership where the Ethos Water brand, H20 Africa and Matt Damon join forces with the public to encourage millions of people to make a difference against the world water crisis.” For each bottle of Ethos water sold, US$0.05 and C$0.10 is directed to the Ethos Water Fund, which is part of the Starbucks Foundation. To date, the Ethos Water Fund has generated a total of more than US$6.2 million in grant commitments benefiting an estimated 439,000 people in water-stressed countries. Ethos Water aims to contribute US$10 million by 2010 to non-governmental organisations implementing water, sanitation and hygiene education programmes.

Alfred L Wolff has recently sold the European distribution of the hydrocolloids Guar Gum, Xanthan, Carrageenan, Tara Gum and Locust Bean Gum, as well as of Shellac, Damar and Copal resins, to A2 Trading Ltd. As of 1 March 2008, the aforementioned raw materials will no longer be marketed by Alfred L Wolff but by A2 Trading. In the field of hydrocolloids, Alfred L Wolff will further enhance its market position with gum arabic (acacia gum) and agar-agar. Alexander Wolff, General Manager of Alfred L Wolff GmbH, and Mirko Ahrens, General Manager of A2 Trading Ltd, are convinced that the European clients will benefit from this distribution channel and from A2 Trading's specific knowledge of the hydrocolloid business.