Brand new: Kellogg's, Coca-Cola, Heineken and Nestlé feature in latest brand round-up
Kellogg's, Mars, Nestlé pledge to reduce sugar, salt and fat as Saudi authorities launch the Healthy Food Strategy
Global food and beverage manufacturers such as Kellogg's Arabia, Mars Saudi Arabia and Nestlé Middle East have signed a voluntary pledge with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) that seeks to reduce sugar, salt and fat content in their products.
Besides cutting down on sugar, salt and fat, the companies also pledged to place clear nutritional labels on their products.
Other companies which have signed the pledge include included Mondelez Arabia, Ferrero, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo International, Unilever, and Freeze Land.
They are all members of the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA), an organisation founded by food and beverage companies to drive the promotion of healthier diets. The alliance boasted a combined annual revenue of over USD$410 billion in 2016.
Carlsberg, Heineken weigh in on SST impact on Malaysian beer industry
Malaysian beer industry leaders Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd (Carlsberg) and Heineken Malaysia Bhd (Heineken) have expressed varying opinions about the implementation of the Sales and Service Tax (SST).
The SST has been re-introduced in Malaysia from September 1, replacing the unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Carlsberg Malaysia has expressed deep concerns over the new sales tax.
“We expect the implementation of SST to impact consumer spending on beer negatively, especially in on-trade which is exposed to double-taxation from both 10% sales tax on products at a manufacturer level and 6% service tax at the retail level such as restaurants and bars with annual revenue above RM 1.5 million,” said Carlsberg Malaysia managing director Lars Lehmann to FoodNavigator-Asia.
Coca-Cola stands firm amid criticism of ‘human rights violations’ in South East Asia
Coca-Cola has denied allegations of human rights violations against workers across the globe, including in Indonesia and the Philippines.
An international delegation of Coca-Cola workers staged a protest at the company’s Engaging Business Forum held in its Atlanta-based global headquarters last week.
The objective of the forum was to discuss ‘the importance of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and the challenges faced by business in demonstrating respect for human rights in their business operations’.
The protest was organised by the International Union of Food Workers (IUF), an international federation of trade unions representing workers involved in the food and beverage preparation and manufacturing industry.
Will Bega snap up Capilano? Market movements suggest so
Despite widespread media speculation, Bega Cheese insists it has still made no decision to acquire Capilano Honey.
Bega has announced plans to make possible future deals by raising more money, but the first of these will not be for the Queensland natural honey maker, its executive chairman said.
The New South Wales dairy major has been touting its plan to imminently issue shares to raise around A$200m to reduce debt following Bega’s acquisition of Murray Goulbourn’s Koroit factory in July.
Moreover, it hopes to use the floatation to gain the resources to make further moves "to take advantage of future growth opportunities in dairy and food”, according to its executive chairman.
“Nestle is here to stay”: Nestle Philippines denies plans to quits coffee production post-TRAIN tax implementation
Nestle Philippines has denied any plans to quit the coffee production business in Philippines.
Local media reports had earlier reported that the company had decided to shut down its local coffee production plant in Cagayan de Oro following higher taxes and increasing costs.
This included the first round of implementation of the government’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), enforced in January this year.
Although Nestle Philippines has multiple production centres in the country, this plant is the sole manufacturing hub for the company’s Nescafe coffee products.
In an official statement to FoodNavigator-Asia, Nestle has denied any facility closures.
