Drinks Sector News

A ban on plastic straws and stirrers in England has been pushed back by six months. A memo sent by Defra to companies this week, and seen by the FT, said “supply chain disruption due to the Covid-19 outbreak may make sourcing alternatives to single-use plastics challenging”. The delay was therefore a temporary measure, with…

The way alcohol is sold in Wales was overhauled this week with the introduction of a 50p minimum price per unit. Price increases will be greatest for so-called 'white ciders', some of which are set to more than double in price. The minimum price for a standard-strength pint of beer containing 2.5 units of alcohol…

Scotland’s whisky producers and brewers have been praised for their “exceptionally high standards” of environmental compliance. In the latest set of figures, released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), compliance across the two sectors improved from 93.2% to 95.5% in 2018. Of the 176 sites assessed 142 were rated excellent, 24 good and two…

The regions of the world that are suitable for growing wine grapes could shrink by as much as 56% if temperatures rise by 2°C, according to a new study. With 4°C of warming, 85% of those lands would no longer be able to produce good wines. “In some ways, wine is like the canary in…

Health campaigners have criticised the government for omitting alcoholic drinks from the sugar levy after a survey revealed that some pre-mixed spirits and cocktails contain up to 12 teaspoons of sugar. Popular ‘ready to drink’ (RTD) pre-mixed spirits and cocktails sold in supermarkets are extremely high in hidden sugar and calories whilst lacking in on-pack…

Low-or no-alcohol drinks are gaining popularity with British adults with two-thirds of midlife drinkers saying they have drunk, or would try, lower-strength alcoholic drinks – an increase of 15% in the past two years. The research, from alcohol education charity Drinkaware, also found that more than half (51%) of people aged 45 to 64 have…

Thirty-two per cent of adults have now tried a no- or low-alcohol beer, wine or spirit in the last six months. New CGA data also showed that sales in the no- and low-alcohol category have increased by 48% in the last 12 months to more than £60m a year. Growth for completely alcohol-free options is…

The project is an initiative to build a global community of industry leaders united in the goal of creating a fully bio-based and recyclable paper bottle. To further sustainable innovation within the bottling industry, The Absolut Company is thrilled to be joining Paboco, the Paper Bottle Company, alongside leading industry names Coca-Cola, Carlsberg and L'Oréal. Paboco, which originally launched back…