India: Nestle to return Maggi instant noodles to shelves
Nestle is to bring its Maggi brand of instant noodles back to the Indian market having cleared the mandatory quality tests as directed by the Bombay High Court. The company is now eyeing a comeback in time for the Hindu festival of Diwali. Earlier this year, Maggi noodles were banned in India after the Food […]
Japan: Japan Tobacco strengthens presence in Iran
Japan Tobacco has bolstered its presence in the Iranian tobacco industry through the acquisition of a local cigarette manufacturer, according to a report in the Financial Times. Through its Iranian subsidiary JTI Pars, the company is said to have purchased tobacco firm Arian Tobacco Industry (ATI) for an undisclosed sum. Japan Tobacco currently produces cigarette […]
Japan: Lotte launches lactic acid bacteria chocolate
Confectionery giant Lotte has announced the launch of a new milk chocolate product in Japan that is claimed to be especially rich in lactic acid bacteria. According to information, Sweets Days Lactic Acid Bacteria Chocolate contains 100 times as much beneficial bacteria as conventional chocolate, enabling consumers to “take a piece of wellness” with them […]
Lime and peach top flavour lists in new alcoholic drinks
Insight by Gama Compass™ MANCHESTER – 16th October 2015: Lime and peach are the most popular flavours in new alcoholic drinks launches, according to the latest study of global NPD by Gama. Based on analysis of products reported on Gama Compass™ over the past 18 months, lime was the leading flavour across new alcoholic launches […]
Australia: Diageo sells wine business to Treasury Wine Estates
Australian wine giant Treasury Wine Estates has announced that it is to acquire the majority of assets from Diageo’s wine operations in the UK and the USA in a cash deal worth $600 million. As a result of the acquistion, the company behind brands such as Penfolds, Rosemount Estate and Wolf Blass will now also add Blossom […]
India: Tata launches “nourishing” Tata Sampann brand
Tata Chemicals , a subsidiary of Tata Group, has added a new “nourishing” brand called Tata Sampann to its food portfolio, according to reports in the Times of India and AFAQs.com. Sampann, which means “enriched”, “prosperous”, or “complete” in Hindi, aims at providing extra nourishment within everyday foods. The new brand will initially include a […]
Japan: Japan Tobacco buys Natural American Spirit outside US for $5 billion
Japan Tobacco has announced that it is to buy $5 billion of cigarette assets from rival tobacco firm Reynolds American to acquire the Natural American Spirit business outside the US. The company said that the deal included the trademarks and all outstanding shares of Reynolds American’s subsidiaries outside the US which sell the brand. Japan […]
Thailand: Lactasoy invests to open two new factories
Lactasoy, which produces and distributes Lactasoy UHT soy milk products, has announced a 2.1 billion THB ($33.7million) investment plan that will see the opening of two new factories in Thailand. The company plans to establish one factory at its complex in Prachin Buri and a second facility in the northeast of the country. At the […]
‘Ready to drink’ meets ‘freshly brewed’ in new coffee launch
The latest innovation insight from Gama Compass™ MANCHESTER – 9th October 2015: In this week’s Innovation Insight, we look at the launch of a drink seeking to bring the benefits of ‘freshly brewed’ to the chilled coffee space through packaging innovation – L Cafe Snowing Black Coffee Drink. Starting from the principle that ‘fresh is best’ […]
Netherlands: Heineken and Diageo swap emerging market beer & spirit assets
Heineken, the world’s third biggest brewer by volume, has announced that it has entered into a partnership with global spirits firm Diageo to realign its ownership interests in a number of emerging markets. The deal sees Heineken take control of Desnoes & Geddes by acquiring Diageo’s 57.9% shareholding and also gives the firm full ownership of GAPL. Desnoes […]