Will Barr take Rapidz action?

just-drinks' readers may have noticed a product launch story we published on the site recently.

It was from UK soft drinks firm Calypso drinks, which last week unveiled a line of carbonated soft drinks called Rapidz.

Nothing wrong with that you may think.

Rapidz is available in three flavours; Cola, Iron Brew and Lemonade.

Yes Iron Brew….

Upon asking AG Barr for comment today, I was swiftly told that it is not their policy to comment on competitor activity.

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling this won’t be the last we hear on the subject.

The smile returns to the UK high street - for now

The sun on our backs, a World Cup to entertain us - so far the summer has provided a welcome tonic, it seems, to months of economic gloom and the belt-tightening that has inevitably followed it. The clearest sign is that consumers are finally returning to the UK high street.

Sales by the country's retailers increased in July compared with a year ago, and surpassed expectations, according to the latest Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry.

The organisation also expect sales growth to continue strongly next month.

The survey said that, while 18% of retailers said that sales were lower than a year ago, 51% said they rose, giving a positive balance of 33%. This compares with an expected figure of +11% based on survey findings last month, and was the highest balance since April 2007 (+44%).

The sub-sectors with the strongest growth were grocers, clothing and footwear & leather.

Monthly figures like these have a habit of being misleading as they can be easily influenced by one-off events that hide a contrasting long-term trend - the sun and World Cup are cases in point.

But, what's interesting this month are the expectations of retailers for August and the comparisons with years gone by.

Looking to next month, a balance of +45% expects a higher volume of sales for August - and that's the most positive figure since June 2004 (+46%).

That retailers remain so optimistic, despite concerns about the impact of public spending cuts and weak prospects for real take-home pay in the coming year, is encouraging.

It was not all good news, though, and the grand picture remains frustratingly hard to see. The wholesaling figures, for one, were less encouraging.

Comparing July with a year ago, 42% of wholesalers said the volume of trade was lower and 31% said it was higher, giving a balance of -11%. This was notably lower than the +26% figure expected last month. Wholesalers also expect the volume of sales next month to be lower than a year ago (a balance of -18%).

On top of that, figures out earlier this week show that job worries drove US consumer confidence in July to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of economic recovery there.

The UK typically lags the US in the economic cycle, so the current relief for retailers may be short-lived.

Alcohol Licensing - Local laws for local people

The UK Government is going to put alcohol licensing laws in the hands of common men and women who form the fabric of society. 

That is, local communities will have the power to do what the Government wants them to do.

And that means restrictions on the number of alcohol licences served up in any one local authority, as well as restrictions on opening times and a possible "late night levy" for bars wishing to stay open later.

Home secretary Theresa May sternly announced today (28 July) that local people will have a "proper say" over licensing in their areas. It turns out that people will be able to write letters to their local authority's licensing board. Letters! Just imagine...

Licensing boards are, of course, already capable of withholding and withdrawing alcohol licenses - as well as, I imagine, receiving letters.

The subtext to May's announcement, then, is that the lazy licensing boards haven't been doing a very good job. The same goes for the police, who have not always taken antisocial behaviour "seriously enough", May added.

Then there's the conflict within the Government's own thinking, which sets its ideal of choice against the fretful middle classes that form the backbone of its political support. Many of these were horrified to see the last Government opening the gates to 24-hour drinking culture by relaxing the licensing rules - after all, just think of all those people guzzling booze 24 hours-a-day!

"We want to help people to take responsibility for their own lives, but, for goodness sake, they have to be told when and where to exercise that responsibility," seems to be the mantra.

Er, right.

Bill Hicks - Ever the Advertising Prophet

Writing up the story today (28 July) about 901 Silver's new advertising campaign reminded me of the late, great Bill Hicks.

Take a look at the first advert - be quick, because I don't think it'll be around for too long.

As I (too) gasped and shrieked "You can't do that", I remembered Hicks' take on what would be the zenith of advertising (headphones on if you're in the office, mind).

Don't buy that, buy this - or the Iberian lynx is for it

We had a press release come through earlier this week that has been troubling me a tad.

The Portuguese Cork Association, APCOR, sent out a statement on Wednesday (21 July) aimed at debunking what it claims are widely-believed myths about natural cork.

That's right, folks. It's stopper-time again.

Anyway, the three myths are:

• “Trees are cut down in the production of cork so it's better for the environment to buy other closures.”

• “Screw caps are the most environmentally friendly closure.”

• “Corked wine is still an issue of wine using natural cork stoppers.”

I'll leave myth number three, because it's boring. But the first two clearly show that the cork producers are going for the green card.

“According to Conservation International,” the release goes on, “the cork oak forests are a top diversity hotspot and have some of the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth e.g. the Iberian lynx.”

Then, adding the final layer with a trowel, Jose Tavares from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is quoted as saying: “For centuries, the production of cork has helped to retain cork forests, one of the richest wildlife habitats in southern Europe. A range of species from eagles and Iberian lynx to songbirds and reptiles find a vital refuge in these forests, and a reduction in the use of natural cork threatens the existence of these special species and also a magical and vibrant landscape.”

Now, hold on there. Is this not the equivalent of holding a gun to a puppy's head and saying: “Buy cork, or the puppy gets it?"

It's the emotional blackmail that makes me squirm.

More importantly, however, do you know if a bottle of wine has a natural cork stopper or a synthetic stopper when you're buying it? I don't.

And I'd HATE to get home and open the bottle only to find out that I've unwittingly killed an Iberian lynx.

The highs, and lows, of drinks results week

After a conveniently quiet month during the FIFA World Cup, the drinks world has swung back into life this week with a flurry (a flurry, no less) of quarterly results news. So, who's up and who's down?

Remy Cointreau was one of the first to publish results and the company could have saved us all time by releasing only two words: China, Cognac.

China's seemingly unquenchable thirst for pricey Cognac continues and has helped Remy Cointreau to surpass heights achieved even prior to the year of doom (2009). Pernod Ricard reported yesterday, too, that Asia helped to nullify downbeat consumers in Western Europe - who remain so poor and depressed that they don't even want to drink more.

Or do they? A run of Champagne figures from Remy, Laurent-Perrier and Vranken-Pommery Monopole suggests that consumers in the UK and US are reacquainting themselves with the famous French fizz.

Bargain-hunting is still the order of the day for many and consumers have found willing accomplices in the UK supermarkets - something that continues to drag on Champagne.

However, Vranken-Pommery Monopole believes that this is coming to an end. Unfortunately, the company has yet to supply volume sales figures for its half-year and so we are forced to take its word as gospel, for now.

Alongside Cognac-sipping China, comes whisky-dramming India, which has continued to propel market leader United Spirits on to greatness over the last three months. If India can just keep its economy on the rails, things are looking pretty good.

United Breweries also powered to an impressive quarter in the country, helped by brewers finally sorting a supply deal with authorities in Andhra Pradesh.

India turned positive, too, for SABMiller, which was the only global beer firm to report results this week. I was one of the last people to see SABMiller's beer business in India, as one company employee recently joked to me, but things appear to be looking up in the country at last.

However, beer business was less positive for SABMiller elsewhere as Eastern Europe, the US and poor weather in South Africa negated any volume benefits for the brewer from the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Lastly, but by no means least, comes soft drinks. PepsiCo appears to have thrown enough money and marketing nouse at Gatorade to reinvigorate sales, which must be pleasing after more than a year of decline for the sports drink brand. Still, it's early days.

The firm also said that it is getting along famously with its bottlers. Hot summer weather has also boosted PepsiCo's partner in the UK, Britvic.

The Coca-Cola Co, reporting results a day later than PepsiCo, generally brought pleasure to analysts and investors. However, CEO Muhtar Kent confusingly described himself as "cautious, yet confident". It's hard to be both of those things, but we take it to mean that things look generally better than they did.

All in all, signs of promise but the positives are very patchy. Best to keep the celebrations on ice for a little longer.

Sun shines on Britvic results

Britvic recorded an increase in third-quarter sales this morning and insisted it remains confident of meeting market expectations for its full financial year.

No doubt the summer sunshine has had a positive impact on Britvic’s figures, as it has done for most soft drinks firms this year.

Official figures show that the UK has experienced its hottest June this year since 1975, while the north-west has experienced its driest period since 1929.

Of course, this is sweet music to the ears of UK soft drinks firms and bottled water producers, yet there are likely to be other factors boosting the Tango and Robinsons maker’s group profits.

In May, Britvic submitted a binding offer to acquire independent French soft drinks maker Fruité Entreprises for EUR237m (US$294m). Britvic said the deal will provide it with an entry point into the attractive French soft drinks market, which had a value of EUR12.5bn in 2009.

Britvic France, the newly-created division comprising Fruité, contributed sales of GBP23.2m for the month of June.

Add to that Britvic’s good track record in the UK with Pepsi brands and it was inevitable the firm would release sparkling results.

Yet, as I sit here writing this blog and a dark cloud passes over, I hope, for Britvic’s sake at least, that the summer holds out a little longer.

BrewDog serves beer in stuffed animals - Of course they do

BrewDog's latest publicity stunt has seen the brewer combine the arts of beer production and taxidermy.

BrewDog has created a 55% abv beer and released 12 bottles that have been placed inside stuffed animals - to be precise, seven dead stoats, four squirrels and a hare.

This is probably the most bizarre press release I have dealt with at just-drinks.

In a typically provocative and ridiculous statement, BrewDog said the beer has been called "The End of History" in a nod to philosopher Francis Fukuyama - "implying this is to beer what democracy is to history". Sure.

"This is the beer to end all beers," declared BrewDog co-founder James Watt. "It’s an audacious blend of eccentricity, artistry and rebellion."

Stuffing beer bottles into dead animals isn't rebellious, James, it's just weird. 

BrewDog's founders are so keen to be known as industry mavericks that they seem to have lost their grip on reality. However, I'm sure that my opinion is only a result of my failure to understand the nuances.

Judge for yourself, if you've a spare GBP500 (US$757) under the bed.

Coffee, beer, rum, Scotch - all in a day's work

On paper, it looked like an excellent plan. If I was going to be in London for one meeting, why not arrange more, and fill the day?

I'm paying for it today.

First up yesterday morning was a coffee with David Hume, brand communications director at William Grant.

David was most excited about the firm's purchase of C&C Group's spirits and liqueurs earlier this year. Of the additions to William Grant's stable, he's hoping for great things from Tullamore Dew, so watch this space. Also, he and I are looking to nail down CEO Stella David for an interview next month. Get your questions in now.

Next, lunch with the communications manager at Carlsberg UK, Adam Withrington.

Once a peer of mine, Adam has turned gamekeeper after spending his formative years writing for The Publican.

He appears to be enjoying life on the other side of the fence. My favourite of his stories since turning to the dark side is when it came to checking the spelling on some Carlsberg 'phonebox posters for the World Cup: Cape Town is 6,000 miles in that direction, while Cock (sic) was only 250 metres in that direction.

The Cock.

After lunch, off to say hello to Joy Spence, the master distiller at Appleton Estate in Jamaica.

Joy is in the UK for a week and it was good to see her again, the last time being in Kingston five years ago. She was most complimentary about the just-drinks redesign so, Joy, I apologise if my hug was too tight.

Finally, a whisky tasting and dinner with one of the more colourful characters in the Scotch industry, Ardbeg's brand ambassador, Bill Lumsden.

We were taken through the Ardbeg range – one of my favourite whiskies – and Bill was his usual informative self. The highlight of the six Islay single malts was Corryvreckan, named after a whirlpool – the world's second-largest - just off the Scottish mainland. I'm proud to say I got the better of Bill's expertise. I mean, do you know if they measure whirlpools by depth or diameter?

Recession has cheapened Champagne

Rome may not have been built in a day, but it was knocked down in one - as Champagne producers are discovering in 2010.

Laurent-Perrier has brought a little cheer to northern France's most famous wine region today (21 July) by reporting a 17% jump in first quarter sales.

However, the group reluctantly admitted that many consumers are still opting for cheaper brands within its range: Volume growth in Q1 massively outpaced value sales.

This will not come as a surprise to the Champagnois, but it may cause a little concern.

The global economic downturn has washed away several years of steady price rises in Champagne's key export markets and the industry, although rebounding from the lows of last year, is finding these gains difficult to win back.

Rome never regained its former glory. Champagne will probably fare better, but it may take a while.

What's the worst that could happen?

Yes, that’s probably the question Coca-Cola GB asked itself when it approved the latest Dr Pepper advertising campaign, which allowed the hijacking of peoples' Facebook status updates.

Harmless you may think….until the updates began referring to what some are describing as a notorious pornographic movie – 'Two Girls One Cup'.

In particular, the promotion launched in May resulted in the target of a 14-year-old girl who’s status suggested she had watched the movie on YouTube.

It is understood the message said: “I watched two girls one cup and felt hungry afterwards.”

A very angry mother complained to Coca-Cola about the ad and it seems the advertising firm responsible - Lean Mean Fighting Machine - is now in danger of losing the digital advertising accounts for Dr Pepper and Coke Zero.

But is the responsibility down to the ad firm? Surely Coca-Cola would have approved the ad?

A statement released by Coca-Cola apologised for “any offence caused”.

“As soon as we became aware of this we took immediate action and removed the status update from the application. We have also taken the decision to end the promotion. We were unaware of the meaning of this line when the promotion was approved and have launched an investigation into why it was included.

"We take full responsibility and will be reviewing our promotional procedures. We will take all steps necessary to ensure this does not happen again," it added.

Courvoisier party poopers

The tenant of the building that housed Courvoisier's lake of Cognac has got himself into hot water with London authorities over the stunt.

Westminster City Council is after Lord Edward Davenport for illegally hiring out the building he was renting for "hedonistic parties", reports the Daily Telegraph.

It turns out that one of those 'alleged' parties was the Courvoisier event last year, which, allegedly, saw the drinks firm help to install a swimming pool of Courvoisier punch in one of the building's rooms.

just-drinks knows that this happened, because we were there. We could add that Blur band member-turned foodie hippy Alex James was floating on said swimming pool with the help of a giant inflatable orange slice.

Courvoisier is not in trouble over the incident, as far as we know, but it looks like Lord Davenport could have hosted his last party.

What 'the people' reckon about alcohol

The new UK Government has given everybody a chance to speak up on the laws of the land and alcohol has proved something of a hot topic. So, what has the Great British public been saying?

Prime minister David Cameron has handed the initiative to Nick Clegg, chief gimp leader of the minority party in the Conservative-dominated coalition - rather like a master might throw his dog a bone to keep it occupied.

But nevermind the high-brow politicking, what a fascinating opportunity we have to see what people reckon the Government should do to stop us escaping our monotonous lives by drinking ourselves into moronic stupors.

First up is drink-driving and the general consensus is that drivers should be banned from consuming any alcohol at all, or at the very least that the Government should lower the limit. "No alcohol for drivers!" exclaims an incensed pauldb38.

Quite a few other posts dive straight in on the thorny issues of minimum age and restricting supply. Perhaps people are taking this seriously afterall.

What soon emerges, however, is that for every post in favour, you can find another one saying exactly the opposite. Perhaps Clegg will toss a coin to decide upon which avenue the Government should pursue - that's if he can find any coins (cheap austerity joke, apologies).

Some do-gooders, having mistakenly taken Clegg at face value, have been snuffed out by the forum's moderators.

'lisax' agrees with the Scottish Government that the minimum purchase age should be 21 in the off-trade and 18 for the on-trade.

However, a faceless forum moderator has rebuked lisax. "Please note, this website is about repealing or amending existing laws in order to restore civil liberties and cut business and third sector regulation," said the moderator in response to the post. "For that reason, we have closed this idea for further comments," said the Government's referee of libertarian principles.     

Beyond the do-gooders come the real nut-jobs.

"Legalise ecstasy or ban alcohol," says an ultimatum from 'ninjalinesman', who goes on to declare that "illigocity drives me ruddy crazy". More people should use the word 'ruddy' in general conversation, I feel.

ChrisThorp, meanwhile, wants to ban the supermarkets from selling alcohol. I'd like to see Sir Terry Leahy (Tesco CEO) work out a way to make money from that...

Hmm, after the initial cautious optimism, I can't help feeling that I've just wasted my time and that maybe the Government has, too.

I guess we'll just have to rely on responsible politicians like Mark Reckless to point us in the right direction.

To duty free or not to duty free?

A query from a just-drinks member. Any ideas, folks?

"I was recently at Schipol and Barcelona airport duty free shops. The signage on the liqours stated the prices were for 'ALL DESTINATIONS'. In the past, there was inside Europe pricing and outside Europe pricing.
 
My question is what taxes are included in the prices?  VAT/local Dutch or Spanish alcohol taxes?"

Answers to news@just-drinks, please.

'EarlyBird' Twitters catch the worm

Twitter quietly launched a new account last week - EarlyBird – seemingly primed to channel offers and deals from outside retailers.

Although it is yet to be made public, it seems the site will be used by Twitter as another route to making money, something Twitter neither confirms nor denies, according to The Guardian.

The website appears to be a natural progression of other recently-launched revenue streams, promoted tweets and sponsored trends, which companies like The Coca-Cola Co are already claiming early successes from.

There is no doubt that a lucrative return could be had on a modest investment here.

But, while this new form of advertising is relatively inexpensive compared to online ads, maybe companies using this form of advertising need to tread with a little more caution.

The effectiveness of these ads could be relatively short-lived as users become used to their presence and start ignoring them.

And, of course, you have to take into consideration the whole point of Twitter and such services.

Social media is indeed that – social. This is a point which may be missed by businesses which believe that advertising and one-way promotion is a quick fix on such a channel.

Social media requires interaction on both sides, so it would be wise for businesses to ensure the interaction is there in order to back up any paid-for promotion.

Drinks education under the austerity axe

The UK Government's commitment to education on responsible drinking should be questioned following a freeze on marketing spend.

The Coalition Government has scrapped plans to develop an iPhone app that helps people to monitor their drinking, according to an investigation by the BBC.

Several other apps have also been ditched in a freeze on advertising and marketing spend as part of the cash-strapped Government's austerity drive.

In the grand scheme of things, we are talking thousands rather than millions saved by scrapping the iPhone drinks app. Doesn't this send the wrong message about about education on responsible drinking?

On the other hand, you could argue that unit messages on bottles and the Drinkaware website provide enough opportunities for concerned drinkers to monitor their consumption.

Sshhh! Don't mention the lawsuit

Constellation Brands would have us believe that everything is sweetness and light between itself and joint venture partner Grupo Modelo.

Everyone is best of friends down at Crown Imports, according to Constellation CEO Rob Sands, despite the fact that the US beer venture's owners have been engaged in a legal dispute.

It's like the scene from the hit television series Fawlty Towers here in the UK, where the English hotel owner reminds staff not to mention the war to a party of German guests. "I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it," goes the line.

However trivial the lawsuit filed by Modelo - and Constellation has called it "financially immaterial" - can two firms really work past a dispute that has reached such a level?

For now, both sides appear to be getting on with the job.

But, I would still question their long-term relationship. If, as expected, Anheuser-Busch InBev swoops in and buys up Modelo then I doubt Crown will survive the change. A-B InBev doesn't need distribution funds from Constellation.

Perhaps that is the break that both companies can see on the horizon.

Why drinks firms should cheer Spain and Germany

Europe's economy is in danger of sinking into the bog so, for the sake of drinks sales, let's all support Germany and Spain in this weekend's World Cup Quarter Finals.

Reports of Germans partying like maniacs after thumping England at the World Cup last weekend made me feel ill. But, my national pride aside, I bet drinks producers were rubbing their hands.

Beyond the street parties, the dark shadow of bank debt is threatening to block out the sun in Europe. Banks in the eurozone owe hundreds of billions of euros to each other in a horrible dominoe system that stretches from the rot in Athens to Berlin, via Madrid and Paris.

If Europe's economy were a football team, it would be England - sluggish, rotten and reliant on past glory.

FIFA's World Cup is not going to deliver us from this fiscal nightmare-in-waiting, we'll probably have to rely on so-called economic experts for that.

But, there has been growing acceptance down the years that World Cup success really can lift the mood of a nation. 

Legend has it that an England victory in the 1990 World Cup (they lost, of course, to Germany) would have prompted an ailing Margaret Thatcher to call a snap election.

While, only this week there have been reports that New Zealand's Government could time its own General Election next year to the fortunes of the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup.

If a World Cup win means that people are happy enough to vote for you, then they will be happy enough to buy things too. Just for a brief moment, they may forget their own impending doom and order a beer/whisky/Magnum of Champagne. Ok, well, maybe not the Magnum.

So come on (hesitates) Germany, and Spain, let's build some consumer confidence. Vuvuzelas at the ready.

We Have Proof

A typo in one of our news stories this morning - "94% abv? You'd die!" - got us querying what the term 'proof' actually means, and why this is used in place of abv (alcohol by volume). So that you don't have to, we looked it up:

In the 18th century and until 1 January 1980, Britain defined alcohol content in terms of “proof spirit”, which was defined as the most dilute spirit that would sustain combustion of gunpowder.

The term originated in the 18th century, when payments to British sailors included rations of rum. To ensure that the rum had not been watered down, it was 'proofed' by dousing gunpowder in it, then tested to see if the gunpowder would ignite. If it did not, then the rum contained too much water and was considered to be “under proof”.

It was found that gunpowder would not burn in rum that contained less than 57.15% abv. Therefore, rum that contained this percentage of alcohol was defined to have "100 degrees proof."

Naughty Ads - A Breach of the First Amendment?

I received an email late yesterday (29 June) from a company called Star Industries in the US. Star, which is headed up by a chap called Martin Silver, is the owner of, amongst other drinks brands, Georgi Vodka.

Silver made a speech yesterday outside the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City bus depot, protesting at the MTA's decision to pull two adverts for Georgi Vodka from its buses.

Apparently, the ads were removed “in response to numerous complaints filed by religious groups”, Silver said, countering: “This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment grants freedom of speech to individuals and companies with the exception of pornographic materials.

“Take a look at the ads that have come under attack,” he continued. “Both women are clothed. No inappropriate body parts are shown, and in the case of the African American woman, she is cradling her knees so her chest is completely covered. These ads are clearly not pornography.

“Running these ads is our Constitutional right,” Silver concluded. “We must fight back against this obvious breach of the First Amendment.”

Well, here are the 'offending' adverts – whose side are you on?