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UPF-free: The Next Big Claim in Food and Drink?
Ilona Fleischmann
The debate surrounding ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has grown significantly due to concerns about their health impact. This scrutiny is prompting political action, like past regulations on alcohol and tobacco, possibly leading to more regulations in Europe. Amid this regulatory shift, demand for healthier, natural options is strong. Brands can leverage this by tapping into clean label claims and highlight their clean ingredients more effectively.
Growth Opportunities for Chinese Coffee Shops
Jin Liu
Amid fierce competition and a price war in China’s coffee shops, product innovation and differentiation are the key to standing out. China's coffee culture is thriving, transforming coffee into a daily routine for many consumers. Coffee shops have expanded rapidly into lower-tier cities, fuelled by chain expansions, leading to fierce price competition.
Rigid Plastics’ Circularity: Demand for Renewable Packaging Intensifies
Rosemarie Downey
There is ever-growing expectation for sustainable packaging. The search for better is reflected in consumer sentiment and regulatory attention. The focus on plastic goes wide with regulation increasingly the lever used to secure more rapid progress on the road towards a circular economy.
How E-Commerce Is Reshaping the Cola Wars
Rabia Yasmeen
The cola wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi have long defined the global soft drinks industry. The two market leaders have continuously reshaped the carbonated drinks business through product innovation and marketing, leading to intense competition and unusually high levels of brand loyalty. However, digitisation and changing consumer preferences are leading to structural shifts in cola carbonates, setting up a new showdown between the market leaders as they need to rethink where and how to play.
Innovation in Soft Drinks: Fewer Launches, More Functional Focus
Howard Telford
Soft drinks innovation strategy in 2024 is being developed in the context of a more challenging economic and financial environment. Sharp rises in the cost-of-living have made premium-priced products (generally the focus of beverage innovation investment) more difficult for consumers to afford and adopt
Personalising the Drinking Experience in the Technological Age
Anna Ward
The impact of technological advances and the rise of digital channels is now unmistakably evident across alcoholic drinks. One promising consequence is an increasingly personalised consumer experience, facilitated by tailored communication and customised drinks. And that can take many guises.