Britvic
New Packaging, Ad Campaign For Britvic’s 7Up Brand
British beverage company Britvic is launching new packaging for its 7UP brand with a multimillion-pound ad campaign -- the theme is “Feel Good to be Free” -- on TV, out-of-home and digital platforms during the summer. The new 7UP PET bottles and cans will feature the familiar green and yellow color scheme. 7UP variants, all of which are sugar-free, avoid the recently-imposed U.K. sugar tax levy. The brand recently posted a 14.5 percent year-on-year sales increase.
Carlsberg
Carlsberg Sees Coal-Free Power Generation Within Four Years
Danish brewer Carlsberg is committed to obtaining all of its energy from renewable sources and eliminating the use of coal by 2022. With the energy storage market expected to double six times over the next 12 years, Danish brewer Carlsberg is exploring integration methods for energy storage to support and optimize onsite renewable power generation. Carlsberg’s director of environment and utilities told a webinar that storage solutions are being explored as only one part of the energy matrix. The company considers battery storage a supplementary solution along with solar projects. Carlsberg is one of only three major companies that has approved a science-based target to reach a 1.5 C ambition in line with the Paris Agreement. It sources 45 percent of its electricity onsite, but storage solutions aren’t as advanced as onsite renewables.
IPO Planned For Carlsberg's Indian Business
Carlsberg is planning a local IPO (initial public offering) of its Indian business, betting that middle class customers will continue to have an appetite for foreign beers. The Indian beer market is forecast to hit $10.7 billion by 2020, up from $8.6 billion last year. Carlsberg is the third largest brewer in the country with a 13.7 percent market share, trailing Kingfisher owner United Breweries Ltd. (39.2 percent) and Budweiser parent Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (23.3 percent). Carlsberg may be attracted to the high valuations in the Indian stock market, where United Breweries is trading at about 73 times estimated earnings,
Suntory
Suntory To Release Third No-Age Statement Whisky In September
Suntory announced it is adding a Hibiki whisky named Blender's Choice to its portfolio in Japan in September 2018. The company recently discontinued the Hibiki 17-Year-Old in Japan from September. The new variant is the third no-age statement (NAS) whisky to join the Hibiki core range, alongside the Hibiki Japanese Harmony and Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select. The blend will be sold in 700 ml bottles, at 43 percent, and will initially be released for the domestic on-premise Japanese market. The company does not plan to export it.
Suntory Imports New Blended Whisky Into U.K.
Japanese whisky maker Suntory is importing its newest blended whisky Toki into the U.K. on the heels of a successful launch in the U.S. two years ago. Toki, which is a blend of whiskies from the Hakushu, Yamazaki, and Chita distilleries, puts a greater emphasis on malt than normally. A Suntory spokesman called it a “two-pillar” concept that focuses as much on the malt as on the grain. The whisky is priced at $46 a bottle.
