Drinks Sector News

  • Soft drinks tax slashes sugar consumption

    Soft drinks tax slashes sugar consumption

    The UK Government is facing renewed calls to tax sugary foods after research found the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) has been successful in reducing sugar consumption. A study found that free sugars consumed from soft drinks fell by around… Read More

  • Brewing up a British hops revival

    Brewing up a British hops revival

    A taste for tropical New World flavours has taken business away from traditional British hop farmers, but a fightback is underway centred on innovation and sustainability. Nick Hughes reports. It’s been a difficult decade for British hop farmers. Between 2011… Read More

  • Pernod Ricard expands reuse scheme to cut scope 3 emissions

    Pernod Ricard expands reuse scheme to cut scope 3 emissions

    Pernod Ricard is rolling out a reusable packaging scheme for delivery of gin, vodka and rum to hospitality venues globally which it says will save considerable amounts of carbon emissions and reduce glass waste. The new system, in which products… Read More

  • The fizz firm fudging its footprint

    The fizz firm fudging its footprint

    How can Keurig Dr Pepper report a 12% reduction in scope 3 emissions when they’ve actually increased by 14%? David Burrows reports. If more companies commit to measuring and reporting publicly on their sustainability performance, four things should happen. ESG… Read More

  • Regenerative beer on the way as barley is harvested

    Regenerative beer on the way as barley is harvested

    Heineken has announced its first harvest of barley from its “large-scale regenerative agriculture model”.  The crop has been produced on 25,000 hectares of land managed by 200 members of Vivescia, the French cooperative farming and food processing group. The number… Read More

  • Diageo launches paper(ish) bottle for Baileys

    Diageo launches paper(ish) bottle for Baileys

    Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky, Don Julio Tequila and Guinness has this month been trialling paper-based packaging for Baileys. The dry moulded fibre bottle is 90% paper, with a thin plastic liner and a foil seal. The liner is… Read More

  • Sugary food brands using unsavoury marketing tactics to entice kids

    Sugary food brands using unsavoury marketing tactics to entice kids

    More than three quarters (78%) of products with ‘child-appealing’ packaging are unhealthy, according to research published by the youth activist movement Bite Back. The analysis of 262 products from the UK’s 10 largest food and drink companies also showed that 67%… Read More

  • New alliance to accelerate uptake of packaging alternatives for wine

    New alliance to accelerate uptake of packaging alternatives for wine

    Can wine be packaged in something other than glass? Undoubtedly. Wine is now available in aluminium cans, boxes (lined with plastic bags) and even PET plastic.  Producers are changing formats in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – glass being… Read More

  • Aluminium miniatures take off for drinks brands

    Aluminium miniatures take off for drinks brands

    Virgin Atlantic and easyJet are stocking British spirit brands that come in aluminium bottles in a bid to reduce their carbon emissions. The Alumini bottle, created by travel packaging start-up Sustainaholics and available on easyJet, is less than half the… Read More

  • Fizz firm requests furlough for staff due to climate change

    Fizz firm requests furlough for staff due to climate change

    Cava producer Freixenet SA this week asked the Spanish government to approve the furlough of up to 615 workers after a years-long drought has hit grape yields.  The “terrible drought, originated by climate change, is affecting us since 2021 but… Read More