Page 6 - Food&Drink magazine Feb-Mar 2023

NEWS
Asahi inks venue deal with ASM
ASAHI Lifestyle Beverages has signed a landmark five-year partnership with ASM Global to exclusively supply non-alcoholic drinks to some of the biggest entertainment venues in Australia, includingninevenueswithan annual non-alcoholic drink consumption of 1.5 million drinks.
Entertainment production company ASM Global has a venue network across five continents, with a portfolio of more than
350 arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibition centres, and performing arts venues.
Visitors to the venues can now purchase Asahi Lifestyle Beverages’ drinks including Pepsi Max, Solo, Schweppes, Lipton Iced Tea and Cool Ridge Water.
This latest deal follows Asahi’s partnership with the AFL in December last year, which saw Pepsi Max and Solo become the AFL’s official soft drinks, Cool Ridge the official water, and Gatorade the official sports drink.
Asahi Lifestyle Beverages CEO Nigel Parsons said the company was excited to be partnering with a leading venue management company and producer.
“We’re looking forward to partnering with ASM Global to ensure our great brands are enjoyed in some of Australia’s most iconic venues and to further enhance the consumer experience,’’Parsonssaid. ✷
Coopers starts $50m new home build
THE new build underway at Coopers Brewery will result in a visitor centre, dedicated tasting room, and interactive history display, as well as a microbrewery, whisky distillery and underground stillage for whisky maturation.
The $50 million development at the brewery’s home in Regency Park is expected to create around 500 construction jobs, with completion set for May 2024.
Following a competitive tender, Coopers appointed Australian construction company Built to deliver the new building. Studio Nine Architects developed the design.
Coopers Brewery managing director Dr Tim Cooper said, “This is an exciting expansion for Coopers, and represents a significant investment for the company, with an emphasis on maximising Australian input throughouttheprocess.
ABOVE: Turning the first sod (l-r): GM for Built SA Chris Bate, Louise Cooper, Dr Tim Cooper, Studio Nine Architects director Tony Zappia.
“We hope to create a welcoming experience for local, national and international visitors, while positioning our brewery for the future.”
The company is also spending $15milliontoexpandthesite’s
warehousing facilities to boost beer storage capacity at the brewery by almost 50 per cent. It’s construction is by Ahrens.
Coopers has invested nearly $400 million at Regency Park since1999. ✷
Nestlé trials paper wrapped KitKat
IN a global first for the KitKat brand, Australia will trial a paper packaging wrapper on the KitKat four-finger 45g pack variant. A QR code on pack will allow consumers to have their say about the new pack.
The KitKat paper wrapper trial will run for a limited period as an exclusive agreement with Coles Supermarkets across Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
More than a quarter of a million KitKat bars will be wrapped in the new paper packaging – enough to stretch almost 50km end-to-end.
Nestlé has already rolled out paper packaging for its Smarties packs in Australia, that was awarded a 2023 Worldstar Packaging Award.
More recently, Nestlé rolled out the first commercial scale
recycled content soft plastic wrapper in Australia, with 45g KitKat bars packaged in
30 per cent recycled content wrappers.
The current
shortage of PCR material made a paper-based option
an attractive alternative.
Food & Drink Business
publisher Lindy Hughson spoke to Nestlé Oceania GM Confectionery and Snacks, Chris O’Donnell, who said the wrapper spent 18 months in development and was specifically developed for the Australian market.
“This is the ideal product to trial the new wrapper with,” O’Donnell said, noting that the four-finger KitKat is a top
selling chocolate bar in Australia, making it one of the biggest markets for KitKat globally. Australia was also chosen because of its established kerbside recycling infrastructure, and the vast geographical dispersion.
“The scale and reach of this brand in Australia mean we’ll gain robust insights from this trial, which will provide learnings for the global KitKat business,”O’Donnellsaid. ✷
6 | Food&Drink business | February/March 2023 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au