Asahi
Asahi Shifts Softdrink Bottles To Recycled Plastic
Asahi Beverages moved its Australian soft drink portfolio to bottles made from 100 percent recycled plastic, excluding caps and labels, covering brands such as Schweppes, Solo and Pepsi Max. Roughly 350 million bottles are now produced each year using repurposed rather than virgin plastic, building on Asahi's recycled-plastic use across its Cool Ridge and Frantelle water lines and Cottee's cordial range. Direct investment in Australia's Container Deposit Schemes and local processing capacity accelerated the shift. Asahi is part of the Circular Plastics Australia (PET) joint venture, which built the country's two largest PET recycling plants, located in NSW and Victoria.
Hard Rated Launches National Campaign For New Flavor
Hard Rated launched a two-part national campaign to promote its new Orange Passionfruit Zero Sugar 4.5% flavor, pairing a social and online video push called Pash Hard with Body Double television commercials tied to its AFL sponsorship on Seven and NRL sponsorship on Foxtel. A creator-led challenge, Code of Passion, pits former AFL player Dan Gorringe against former NRL player Cooper Johns across three challenges to settle which code has more passionate fans. Consumers who take part can win AFL and NRL grand final tickets and $5,000.
Cascade Debuts Its First-Ever Mid-Strength Draught For Tasmania
Asahi Beverages' Cascade brewery, Australia's oldest, launched Cascade Draught 3.5%, its first mid-strength beer and a new version of one of Tasmania's most iconic beers. At one standard drink per can, it targets beer lovers who want the classic Cascade taste while moderating alcohol intake. Cascade Draught 3.5% is sold exclusively in Tasmania in 30-packs of 375ml cans.
Hard Rated Passes $1.5 Billion With New Flavor
Hard Rated, Australia's most popular pre-mixed alcoholic drink, passed $1.5 billion in retail sales since its July 2023 launch and now accounts for roughly one-third of light spirit RTD retail sales. Asahi Beverages is adding a new flavor, Orange Passionfruit Zero Sugar 4.5% ABV, joining the existing Lemon, Lemon Lime and Orange range. Orange Passionfruit is available in 375mL cans in 4-packs, 10-packs, 24-packs and 30-packs.
Carlsberg
Carlsberg Launches RedNote Campaign For Digitally Savvy Consumers
Carlsberg's Asia unit has launched a digital marketing campaign, "Cheers From the Origin," with Chinese platform RedNote, targeting China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. A nearly four-minute video featuring actor Shawn Dou anchors the launch, and Dou will also host "online-to-offline" beer experiences encouraging store visits, tailored to each market. Other activations, including an in-app "daily mission" rewarding check-ins with points toward merchandise, run through October 9. Carlsberg said the push builds on its year-old partnership with RedNote, part of a "long-term" digital growth effort
Companies
Carlsberg Misses Profit Estimates As China Sales Disappoint
Carlsberg missed half-year profit, volume and revenue estimates, sending shares down as much as 4% to a seven-week low as severe weather compounded weak demand in China, its largest beer market. CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said typhoons and flooding into July had hit sales and expects the impact to extend into the third quarter. Soft drinks were a bright spot: Carlsberg said soft drink sales volume grew 9% and now makes up 30% of its portfolio, helped by its 2025 acquisition of Britvic. Carlsberg narrowed its full-year operating profit growth guidance to between 4% and 6%, up from a prior 2% to 6% range.
Suntory Sets $1 Billion Sales Target For India
Suntory Global Spirits is targeting $1 billion in annual India sales by 2030, up from roughly $150 million last year, as it expands in the world's largest whisky market by volume. Its strategy combines locally produced Oaksmith whisky, expected to sell about two million cases this year in the mass and mid-premium segments, with imported brands such as Jim Beam, Hibiki and Toki aimed at higher-priced urban consumers. Success would put India ahead of Europe as Suntory's third-largest market after the US and Japan. Rather than building an Indian single malt from scratch, as rivals Diageo and Pernod Ricard have done, Suntory plans to develop demand for its existing portfolio and pursue joint manufacturing deals instead of large-scale acquisitions.
Asahi Adds New High-Speed Bottling Line In Wisconsin
Asahi installed a new bottling line at its Octopi beer production site in Waunakee, Wisconsin, capable of producing up to 20,000 bottles per hour, part of a $35 million investment across several projects. Asahi Beer USA said the addition "reinforces Octopi's position as a leading co-manufacturing partner for beverage brands scaling across formats and retail channels." Asahi Super Dry, brewed in the US since Asahi acquired Octopi two years ago, is one of the fastest-growing beer brands in the USA across bottles, cans and kegs. New bottling capacity will help localize supply and reduce reliance on ocean freight. Initial output includes 12oz six-pack and 21oz 12-pack bottles, launching from mid-September.
Carlsberg Malaysia Posts Higher Second-Quarter Profit And Revenue
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia reported second-quarter net profit up 1.2% year-on-year to RM82.9 million, on revenue up 5% to RM514.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The improvement comes from stronger sales from Malaysia operations while Singapore posted lower revenue and profit as weak consumer sentiment and a stronger ringgit weighed on results. First-half net profit rose 3.1% to RM181.9 million and revenue grew 5.9% to RM1.22 billion, helped by a longer selling period ahead of Chinese New Year. Management said the environment remains challenging and expects "a bit more volume softness" in the second half.
Suntory Reports Flat Alcohol Sales, Weak US Demand
Suntory Holdings reported broadly flat alcohol sales for the first half of 2026, up just 0.2% to ¥653.6 billion including liquor tax, as softer North American demand offset growth at home, while operating income in the alcohol business fell 24.6% to ¥53.9 billion. Japan's business performed strongly, with Suntory Draft Beer volumes up 12% and the -196 RTD brand up 10%. In the US, softer consumer demand and distributor inventory adjustments created headwinds, though bourbon brands Jim Beam and Maker's Mark built momentum through marketing and sports partnerships. Asia-Pacific outperformed the prior year, driven by Oaksmith whisky growth in India. Group revenue rose 7.1% to ¥1.733 trillion; Suntory still expects full-year revenue of ¥3.58 trillion, up 4.3%.
Suntory Invests ¥5.5 Billion To Grow Japan Gin
Japan's domestic gin market reached approximately ¥24.7 billion in 2025, more than tripling from 2020, driven largely by younger consumers and women drawn to gin mixed with soda water. Suntory, which previously built the highball into a major trend, invested ¥5.5 billion in its Osaka plant to boost gin production capacity by 2.6 times, upgrading four distillation stills and adding eight botanical infusion tanks. Its flagship brands, "Sui" and "Roku," use Japanese botanicals including cherry blossoms, sencha green tea, sansho pepper and yuzu citrus.
Consumers
Lotte Chilsung Wine Sales Rebound In Second Quarter
Lotte Chilsung Beverage's wine sales rose 8.8% year-on-year in the second quarter, reversing a first-quarter decline and making wine the company's second-fastest-growing alcohol category in the first half of 2026, behind only RTD beverages, which surged 111.7%. First-half revenue reached KRW 2.07 trillion, up 3.4%, while operating profit climbed 18.5%. Soju remained the largest alcohol category, up 2.2%, while beer fell 29.5%. Its wine portfolio spans the domestic Majuang label, launched in 1977, alongside imported brands including Australia's Yellow Tail and Chilean label L Wine, which underwent its first packaging revamp in a decade in February. Lotte Chilsung said weak consumption and rising raw-material costs pressured its beverage business, even as carbonated drinks and coffee kept growing.
Lotte
Lotte Chilsung Cuts Buyer Research Time With AI
Lotte Chilsung Beverage has built an AI agent to help sales staff find new global buyers, cutting the time needed for buyer-discovery tasks from more than 50 hours to about three hours. The agent researches market conditions and regulations in target countries, cross-checks information from multiple sources, and compiles reports identifying potential counterparties and contact details, work staff previously did manually through websites and other materials. Staff now review the findings before using them to contact buyers and negotiate deals, freeing time for core sales work.
Lotte Wellfood Overseas Growth Offsets Chilsung's Cost Pressures
Lotte Wellfood and Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Lotte Group's food affiliates, posted diverging second-quarter results, with Wellfood's operating profit jumping 88.5% to 64.7 billion won on overseas growth in India and Kazakhstan, while Chilsung's operating profit fell 10.4% to 55.8 billion won as overseas subsidiaries faced higher costs. Wellfood's India revenue rose 27.9% as its Pune plant stabilized and Choco Pie sales stayed strong, while Kazakhstan revenue climbed 39.7%. An analyst credited higher sales volume and an improved product mix. Chilsung's global institutional sector saw operating profit drop 27% despite higher revenue, with Pakistan, the Philippines and Myanmar all pressured. An LS Securities analyst blamed surging can and PET prices for the heavier burden on import-reliant units.
Pepsi Zero Lime Leads Korea's Growing Cola Market
Coca-Cola released Coca-Cola Zero Lemon Lime in Korea to expand its zero-cola flavor lineup, a reversal after Lotte Chilsung's Pepsi Zero Sugar Lime, launched in 2021, established lime as the leading flavor in Korea's zero-cola segment. Pepsi Zero Sugar's share of that segment rose from 2.8% in 2021 to 47% last year, per Lotte Chilsung's analysis of Nielsen data, while Korea's zero-cola market grew roughly 40-fold and Coca-Cola Zero's share slipped from 59.8% to 53%. A Coca-Cola official said the flavor reflects "recent trends so that Korean consumers can enjoy a wider variety of flavors."
PepsiCo
Carlsberg Becomes PepsiCo's Bottler In Azerbaijan Starting 2027
Carlsberg Group will become PepsiCo's bottler in Azerbaijan starting January 1, 2027, taking over production, sales and distribution of PepsiCo's soft drinks portfolio there under an expanded partnership. Carlsberg's Xirdalan brewery will be expanded to produce the PepsiCo range, with the deal expected to double Carlsberg's business in the country. Carlsberg's PepsiCo bottling markets will grow to 15, including the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Cambodia, plus Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joining from 2029. PepsiCo International Beverages CEO Eugene Willemsen called Azerbaijan "an important step" in strengthening the companies' footprint across high-potential markets.
Regulation
Court Blocks Varun Beverages' New Yogurt Drink Trademark
Delhi High Court granted an injunction restraining Varun Beverages from using the mark "SMOOTH" for a planned yogurt drink, finding it prima facie deceptively similar to Parle Agro's registered "SMOODH" trademark. Justice Jyoti Singh found Varun Beverages engaged in "smart copying" by substituting the letter "D" in "SMOODH" with "T." Parle Agro, which adopted "SMOODH" in 2020, cited sales exceeding Rs. 1,648 crores between 2021-22 and 2025-26. It learned Varun Beverages, partnering with Japan's Asahi Group, planned a RTD yogurt under the brand "CALPIS" bearing the "SMOOTH" mark, though the product had not yet reached Indian shelves. Court found packaging that shows "SMOOTH" more prominently than "CALPIS," strengthened the case, and restrained Varun Beverages from using the mark.
RJ Corp
Varun Beverages Enters Alcohol, Names New Venture CEO
Varun Beverages approved plans to expand into alcoholic beverages and set up a joint venture in Tunisia, per a regulatory disclosure dated August 25, 2026. It will wholly own a new subsidiary, KIVA Spirits and Company Limited, operating in RTD alcoholic beverages, subject to government approval. Varun Beverages will separately hold a 75% stake in a Tunisia venture producing carbonated soft drinks, juices, water and dairy products.
Varun Beverages Bets Big On Milk-Based Drink Growth
Indian consumer goods companies are adding protein to milk-based drinks as health-conscious consumers shift toward on-the-go products, with milk-based drinks emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments of India's RTD beverage market. Hindustan Unilever and Varun Beverages, PepsiCo's largest bottler outside the US, are among companies that have launched milk-based drinks combining convenience with added protein over the past two months, aided by quick-commerce platforms that make it easier for new brands to reach consumers. Varun Beverages reported June-quarter revenue up 20.8% to ₹8,650.6 crore and net profit up 15.1% to ₹1,525.4 crore. Management said dairy is expanding more than 40% for the company, growing three to four times faster than its overall business.
Suntory
Suntory Partners To Recycle PET Bottles In Thailand
Indorama Ventures is partnering with Suntory Holdings, Suntory PepsiCo Beverage and Iwatani Corporation to recycle PET bottles into preforms at commercial scale in Thailand, marking the first commercial use of Suntory's Flake-to-Preform Direct Recycling Technology in Southeast Asia. Developed with recycling firm Kyoei Industry and introduced through Indovida, a joint venture between Indorama Ventures and Iwatani, the technology will manufacture PET preforms from recycled bottles. Suntory PepsiCo Beverage becomes its first commercial customer from 2028, and the partners expect to produce recycled preforms equivalent to roughly 400 million bottles annually.
Suntory Debuts New Limited-Edition Kiwi Chuhai In October
Suntory will launch "-196 Kiwi," in Japan as a limited-edition addition to its long-running "-196" chuhai series, nationwide on October 13, 2026. Debuting in 2005, the series uses Suntory's proprietary "-196°C Manufacturing Method". The new Kiwi variant uses kiwifruit-infused liquor made with the same freezing technique, delivering what Suntory describes as a crisp, refreshing kiwifruit flavor, and its packaging highlights fruit "Grown in Ehime" to emphasize quality. It will be available in 350-milliliter cans priced at ¥171 and 500-milliliter cans priced at ¥232, both at 5% ABV. Suntory said the release is intended to expand the "-196" series' base during its limited nationwide run.
Japanese Beverage Makers Shrink Bottles For More Portability
Japanese beverage makers are introducing smaller, slimmer bottles to reach new buyers as private-label competition intensifies. Suntory Beverage & Food redesigned its top-selling 1-liter Natural Mineral Water bottle in May 2024 into a taller, slimmer square shape suited to solo, on-the-go drinking, lifting sales volume 1.5 times; in March it introduced a smaller 375-milliliter bottle, easier to carry, which draws more than 90% female buyers at supermarkets. Rival Ito En adopted a 350-milliliter bottle 13 millimeters shorter than its previous design across six products, including its top-selling green tea. Wine maker Mercian has grown sales of its 200-milliliter bottle-shaped wine cans by roughly 40% in 2025.
Suntory Invests £57.5 Million In UK Coleford Factory
Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I is marking 80 years of production at its Coleford factory, known as the "Ribena factory," with a £57.5 million investment covering manufacturing, packaging and energy infrastructure. Production began there in 1947, and the site now employs more than 300 people, producing over 420 million liters of Lucozade and Ribena annually. Its largest element is a new £25 million manufacturing line due to begin production in 2027, alongside a £14.5 million blackcurrant facility in Ledbury and a £6.1 million electrification project expected to cut emissions by 58%. Suntory also spent £13.9 million over six years improving bottle recyclability across Ribena, Lucozade Sport and Lucozade Energy.
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