Beverage bites: news up to May 29, 2015
Suntory goes shopping, Lipton launches festival, and more beverage bites
Suntory to buy Japan Tobacco’s beverage business
Suntory Beverage & Food announced on Monday it will buy Japan Tobacco’s beverage vending machine business.
The 150 bn yen ($.1.2bn) deal will see Suntory take over Roots canned coffee and Momono Tennen-sui flavoured water brands.
Suntory says it wants to be the number 1 beverage maker in the country by 2020. The purchase is expected to be completed in July, reports Reuters.
Indra Nooyi stays comfortably on 100 Most Powerful Women list
PepsiCo CEO and chairman Indra Nooyi is #15 on Forbes’ The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ list, with the 2015 rankings released on Tuesday.
Nooyi moves slightly down the list, from #13 in 2014.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the fifth year running. She is followed by Hillary Clinton and Melinda Gates.
Other women on the list (which is compiled by Forbes according to money, media, impact and influence) include Michelle Obama (#10), Oprah Winfrey (#12) and newcomer Taylor Swift (#64).
‘Move over beer, we’ve got energy drinks!’
Today’s Finnish teens are more likely to prefer energy drinks while their 1996 counterparts would have chosen beer, according to research from national broadcaster Yle.
Its analysis compared 19-year-olds leaving school this spring to those who left school two decades ago.
In 1996, 19-year-olds would have been into drinking alcohol and smoking, whereas today’s teen is more likely to choose energy drinks and cannabis.
Today’s teen is also more likely to have a multicultural take on society, be politically engaged, have higher living standards, but be in worse shape physically.
Core values on the importance of work, education and family have stayed the same.
Prosecco in danger of running out?
Prosecco is in danger of running out with demand putting pressure on supply, attendees at London Wine Fair have been told.
Producers of the Italian sparkling wine suffered a wet summer last year, while promotional activity in supermarkets has put pressure on the sector.
The value of UK Prosecco sales rose 55% last year (Nielsen data) while 95% of consumers who enjoy Prosecco consider it good or good value for money (Wine Intelligence).
A big birthday party for Lipton
Tea brand Lipton will host its first ‘Be More Tea Festival’ on October 24 in North Charleston’s Riverfront Park, South Carolina, US.
Music acts will include Passion Pit, The Roots, St. Lucia and Walk the Moon.
The Be More Tea campaign – which features the Muppets – encourages people to “take time to engage with others and enjoy the world around them.”
The event is part of Lipton’s 125th anniversary celebrations. “The festival will feature live music, food, games, attractions – and, of course – tea,” says the brand.
See the related news section below for more of this week's top stories.
