DRINKtech NEW ZEALAND
SOCIAL
MEDIA-
FRIENDLY
DRINK
And according to Mintel
research, hot beverages in
Europe containing turmeric
have more than quadrupled
since 2013…growing by 359%
between 2013 and 2017. Food
and drink analyst Julia Buch
says the turmeric latte has
purported health benefits, is
photogenic and intense, and
a social media-friendly colour.
“Milk has not traditionally been
a trendy or social media-worthy
drink, but colourful, flavourful
offerings such as the turmeric
latte could change that,” she
says. Future formulations
could include fizzy milk, new
colours and textures – with
fizzy milk drinks already
popular in China and parts
of Asia. “Colourful matcha
or spirulina could be the next
buzz-worthy ingredient in the
West, where they are currently
less known. Already, we can
see new foaming ingredients
that infuse drinks with an
unexpected texture such as
the tea macchiato from China
– a drink that blends tea with
whipped cream cheese.”
Spirulina is one of Mintel’s
trend ingredients for 2018,
quickly becoming a popular
ingredient with blue ‘mermaid,
lattes appearing across
Instagram feeds, Buch says.
“Asia Pacific currently accounts
for 86% of fizzy milk launched
in 2017 - the combination of
carbonation and dairy can
create a creamy texture that
is rare in carbonated drinks.
This novel texture innovation
is primed to be ‘the next big
thing’.”
44 DRINKtech NEW ZEALAND MARCH 2018
‘BEER’UUTIFUL
You may have seen Kiwi celebrities on the telly encouraging consumers
to take a closer look at what is in their beers – courtesy of a new initiative
from the Brewers Association of New Zealand. Executive director Dylan
Firth says around 250 million bottles and cans have been involved so far.
MY SAY
KIWI WINE SUPPLY CHAIN
IMBALANCE SEES NEW RANGE
International glass packaging expert Croxsons will begin supplying New Zealand wine
companies with premium antique-green wine bottles from its newly acquired Chinese-based
glass furnace, after customer feedback showed a lack of bottle choice in the market.
Aimed specifically at New
Zealand, Australia and
the United States, the
move will see a new collection of
bottles to compete with lighter
alternatives that have been developed
to provide environmental
benefits. Croxson chairman James
Croxson says Kiwi winemakers
are concerned that the industry
has moved some bottles away
from being super-premium – or
even premium – to light standard
weight ones. “Clearly the risk
to brands using a wrong-weight
bottle is that consumers will feel
a disconnection between the price
point and the aesthetics that the
bottle delivers,” Croxson says. “We
went out and asked the industry
what needed improving with their
supply chain. We listened to the
responses, invested in a furnace
and produced 12 new moulds
specifically for Australia, New
Zealand and the US, to complement
our existing global offering
and provide the market flexibility
with strategic stock holding. With
strong supply chain relationships
spanning more than 80 years, we
take the packaging headaches
away from our customers and
transform their bottle to represent
their brand, by improving on
some market stalwarts and making
them more suitable for the
21st century.” Founded by a wine
merchant in 1872 and strategically
positioned in Europe, Australasia,
the Far East and America, Croxsons
has supplied glass packaging and
closure solutions for 145 years.
Turmeric latte, or ‘golden
milk’, was 2017’s dairy-based
sensation. The golden-hued
drink featured on menus
at trendy cafés, and also
emerged in chilled packaged
formats.
The ground-breaking ad
campaign that aims to
bust myths and share facts
about beer to help educate
Kiwi consumers about what
they are drinking is fronted
by beloved Kiwi actors Robbie
Magasiva and Antonia Prebble,
world champion rower Eric
Murray and Wellington-based
soul singer/songwriter Hollie
Smith. The campaign highlights
the introduction of nutrition
information panels on many
of the Brewers’ Association
members’ beers. The nutrition
information panels carry
information on sugar, calories,
dietary fibre, protein and
carbohydrate content. The ad
campaign is part of a major
initiative called ‘Beer the Beautiful
Truth’, which launched
last year. The initiative has seen
Brewers Association members
Lion and DB Breweries add
nutrition information panels to
the back of approximately 250
million bottles and cans to date.
All products will continue to
carry standard drinks labelling.
It has been a great summer for
beer thanks to unseasonably
warm weather, and people may
be happy to know that most
of the beer they are drinking
is actually 99% sugar free and
preservative free.Research has
shown that there are a number
of misperceptions about what is
in beer, particularly around sugar
content and preservatives.
This campaign is about providing
people with nutritional
information so they can make
informed decisions about what
they drink. We know that New
Zealanders consume an average
of 37 teaspoons of added
sugar every day (six times the
recommended amount). With
this in mind, we think it is
important that consumers who
are choosing to have a beer are
armed with the information
they need to make informed
choices. The beautiful truth is -
beer is not what people might
think. As part of the campaign,
all the nutritional information
included on participating beers
will also be available on the
website beerthebeautifultruth.
co.nz.