Wine is generally perceived as a healthier alcoholic drink.

Health concerns have impacted alcohol consumption in Europe with perhead consumption peaking in 1975 and falling subseuently. Boozing has fallen in France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, the UK, as well as Japan and many other countries. The trend is likely to continue for the next five years according to a new report, “Innovations in Healthier Alcohol Drinks: Healthy Positioning Strategies, Case Studies and Future Opportunities” released by Research and Markets.

There is also a shift taking place in the types of alcohol consumed. The consumption of beer/cider/FABs is declining in most western countries whereas wine is generally perceived as a healthier alcoholic drink and so consumption in many countries is rising. In western countries consumption of spirits has not been as harmed by health concerns as spirits are often perceived by consumers to be healthier than beer because of their lower calorie content.

Health issues have already had a fundamental effect on food and non-alcoholic drinks markets and are now going to shape beer, wine and spirits.” We have already seen the emergence of significant low/no alcohol and low/no calorie segments. Expect to see growth in organic/natural, low/no carbohydrate and functional segments, as well as more responsible drinking campaigns and a marketing focus on quality over quantity,” the research report said.

Key Market Issues
-In a climate of increasing government, media and to some extent consumer pressure, the largest drinks companies are rolling out international responsible drinking campaigns.
-The ageing population of developed countries particularly the baby boomers of the US present an attractive market for alcoholic drinks with functional health benefits such as higher levels of antioxidants.
-There is a question as to whether the current natural and organic craft products on the market can make the transition to super-brand status.

Key findings from this report
-New products with at least one healthier attribute made up 12% of new product launches in 2009.
-The largest proportion was registered in the beer market where 20% of launches were healthier in some way. This was almost double the proportion in the spirits market (11%), which in turn was higher than that in the wine market (8%).
-The most common health claim on new alcoholic drinks present in 8% of launches in 2009 was that the product lacks at least some artificial ingredients.
-The key trends in the low/no calorie segment are the emergence of super low calorie beers, the targeting of women and dieters, the adding to product ranges of more flavours and greater sophistication and the growth of sales outside the US.

Twinings launches Royal Tea
Twinings the premium specialty tea brand has launched Royal Tea. It is a velvety smooth and full flavoured blend of the finest Assam and South Indian teas. Royal Tea is a unique blend from Twinings creating a rich and gratifying taste. Today’s hectic and stressful lifestyle leads to a yearning for a refreshing beverage that revitalizes. This bright, copper-coloured tea’s strong flavour makes it both brisk and refreshing. It provides instant refreshment at any time of the day and is ideal whenever you need revitalizing or you feel like indulging yourself to a royal treat.

Twinings Royal Tea is initially available in all high end retail outlets, grocery stores; super market in major cities including Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad.It is available at high end retail outlets and super markets in pack of 25 sachets, initially priced at Rs. 50.

As part of Associated British Foods (ABF), United Kingdom a £9.3 billion company, Twinings has been at the forefront of the tea trade since 1706, – blending and innovating; improvising on the design and the packaging; and introducing new products along with new ways of doing business. Customers in more than 115 countries enjoy Twinings products, a press release said.

Hispanics drive US Food & Beverage industry
Hispanics have become the most important U.S. demographic growth driver in the food, beverage and restaurant sectors, according to data presented by Latinum Network (www.latinumnetwork.com) during the Sanford C. Bernstein Investor Conference Call recently . 

The U.S. Hispanic segment made up more than 50% of real growth in the midst of a stagnant U.S. consumer economy between 2005 and 2008, with $52 billion of new inflation-adjusted Hispanic spending outpacing $40 billion of new spending by non-Hispanics. This growth can be attributed primarily to an increase in the number of U.S. Hispanic households, and secondly to an increase in consumer spending among U.S. Hispanics. In the food, beverage and restaurant business, this new spending offset most (84%) of the real decline in demand across the entire $1 trillion sector. This divergence in demand is driven mainly by differences in ethnic preferences, economic and cultural integration, and demographics.

Among Latinum’s key findings:
-Over $9B of new value in Food and Beverage was created by Hispanics in otherwise dormant or declining categories such as fish and seafood, fresh fruit juice and dairy products between 2005 and 2008
-$5.9B of new value was created by Hispanics in growing categories where they represent approximately 20% of the growth such as vegetable juices and fruit drinks, meats including pork, ham and mutton and frozen meals, which represent the highest-growth food category among Hispanics. It appears that busy Hispanic professionals are increasingly turning to frozen meals to feed their children.
-While health & wellness trends reduced non-Hispanic consumption of beef, ethnic preferences buoyed Hispanic buying of beef
-Hispanics are eating out more while others are cutting back, driving growth in fast food and full-service. In particular, Hispanics are increasingly likely to eat out during the work day, driving new sales in fast-food breakfasts and full-service lunches
-The increasing rate of Hispanic home ownership is driving growth in household goods, while non-Hispanics are doing the opposite – reducing real estate holdings and their purchase of household goods
-Hispanic teens are driving the majority of new growth in deodorant and feminine hygiene and at least 20% of growth in cosmetics and shaving needs.

Healthy Coffee Intl launches new internet platform
Healthy Coffee International, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: HCEI) announced that it has launched the Healthy Coffee Sales Platform, an internet marketing system, which could be the most powerful in the direct sales industry.Healthy Coffee distributors can now sign up on www.HealthyCoffeeMarketingCenter.com and immediately have a powerful automated system to promote their business worldwide by harnessing the power of the internet.

Lee Daniels, CEO of Media Networks, said: “I have seen sales explosions many times where the company went from 500 to 10,000 plus members and $25,000 a month in sales to $765,000.00 a month in a few short weeks utilizing this system. We are excited about Healthy Coffee because the product is a natural to promote via the internet.”
Rick Aguiluz, architect of the Healthy Coffee concept and CEO of Healthy Coffee International, added: “This system will provide our distributors with the tools they need to be able to promote Healthy Coffee, generate leads and more importantly, to do automatic follow-ups to help them close the sale and enroll more distributors. We have built the infrastructure to be able to handle the sales explosion that will be generated by this system, so we are ready to handle the projected growth.”

Healthy Coffee International, Inc., category creator of Healthy Coffee, is focused on bringing health to the world’s largest and most popular drink, coffee. The company’s proprietary formulas combine the health benefits of Ginseng, Reishi Mushroom, and other top quality ingredients with the world’s finest coffee beans to create a line of deliciously healthy instant gourmet coffee drinks.

Buying wine online
Buying wine online is now becoming increasingly popular, but at the same time many people have felt that choosing wine online can be difficult, because it’s often not easy to tell how reputable or knowledgeale the wine company is with who you are dealing. The Colchester Wine Company in UK which has been in the 150 years claims it is better positioned to offer the right choices to its customers onlline than from websites who have been around for a short time.

The Colchester Wine Company isn’t merely selling wine online, because they also have a well laid out and thoroughly extensive wine selection at their shop in Colchester. Knowing that you can actually visit your wine supplier, sample the wines and meet the experts at one of their many wine tasting events makes buying wine online. More information about The Wine Company  at http://www.thewinecompany.co.uk/.

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