A shrewd move which should have led to some serious chin scratching in Brussels and Amsterdam. The line-up between SABMiller and Turkish Efes not only allows the two also-rans in Russia to better compete against market leader Baltika, it also adds another protective layer to SABMiller and makes the world’s number two brewer less easy to take over.

Trade meeting in Milan

Milan does not only mean fashion – it also turns into a platform for producers, fillers and marketers from the beverage industry every two years, from wine, mineral waters, beer and carbonated beverages to juice and brandy or vinegars and oils. The average worldwide consumption of beverages amounts to over 4 billion hl, with tendency to rise. In beverage production, machines and producing lines also have to be cutting edge. Simei caters to these expectations. From 22 to 26 November 2011, visitors can see for themselves on the 90 000 m2 of the newly-built exhibition centre of fieramilano in Rho-Pero. On the occasion of the 24th edition of Simei BRAUWELT International talked with Lucio Mastroberardino, president of Unione Italiana Vini (holder of the Simei trademark since 2010).

As of October 2011, Stephen Wilkinson is Director of Sales at Ybbstaler Fruit Austria.

There seems to be an amazing lot to talk about when it comes to paper labels. The 9th international label conference, which had been organised by Austria’s paper manufacturer Brigl & Bergmeister and was held in the mountain resort of Bad Hofgastein from 12 - 14 October 2011, certainly drew a large crowd, considering that the label business is comparatively small when you look at who’s producing the labels, who is refining them, who is printing them and who is providing the technology and machinery for it all.

A temporary victory for long-suffering publicans. On 4 October 2011 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against the UK football’s Premier League stating that the imposition of national borders to sell rights on a territory-by-territory basis contravened EU laws on free trade. The court said that restricting the sale of European foreign satellite decoder cards is “contrary to the freedom to provide services”. Essentially the court agreed with Karen Murphy, a publican from Portsmouth. Ms Murphy’s lawyers had argued she was entitled to show the matches because she had paid a subscription to a Greek broadcaster and that to enforce Sky’s exclusivity in the UK was against European free trade laws.

How silly of us to think that beer price wars are only a thing the Germans and the Brits engage in. In neighbouring Belgium brewers seem to have resorted to this last ditch effort too given that beer sales in the self-styled Beer Paradise have gone south for almost two decades.

The Coca-Cola Company seems to have high expectations for a fermented non-alcoholic beverage. Although its Spirit of Georgia brand failed to dethrone Bionade, a similar but long-established malt-based soft drink, in Germany, Coke has not given up on the category yet. Instead it has decided to launch Tumult, a fizzy drink made from a natural fermentation process without the production of alcohol, in Paris, hoping to take it to the rest of Europe eventually.

Perhaps The Coca-Cola Company should speed up the roll-out of Tumult. On 5 October 2011 the French Government released more details of a plan to levy a tax on fizzy drinks, which is part of an aggressive campaign to fight a growing obesity epidemic. A recent study found that a diet of junk food is turning the traditionally skinny French into a nation of fat bottoms.

Will they stay or will they leave – Carlsberg’s German employees have wondered. After a series of brewery sales in recent years, which have shrunk Carlsberg’s German unit to merely two production sites, many wondered if Carlsberg was still interested in keeping a presence in Germany. Following a review of its business, Carlsberg announced on 21 September 2011 that they would invest more than EUR 40 million in Germany – especially in its Hamburg Holsten brewery. Hamburg’s mayor, Olaf Scholz, who had travelled to Copenhagen to talk to Carlsberg’s top brass, is pleased that a total of 700 jobs have been saved.

It’s a bit like “spot the difference”. And be damned if you cannot. On 19 September 2011 Heineken announced the launch of a new global company visual identity that is supposed to reflect the “significant transformation of the Heineken business over the past decade.”