St Austell Brewery acquires Bath Ales

Cornwall-based St Austell Brewery Company acquired brewer and pub company, Bath Ales.

The financial details of the deal have not been divulged by the company.

The deal comprises the Bath Ales brewery, situated between Bath and Bristol, UK, its portfolio of beer brands, and its 11 pub estate, which includes three Graze outlets and three Beerd bars.

Diageo’s Distill Ventures invests in Seedlip

Diageo-funded spirits innovation company Distill Ventures acquired a minor stake in Seedlip, a UK-based non-alcoholic sprit brand.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed by the companies.

This is the first time that Distill has invested in a non-alcoholic company. Seedlip is used as an alternative base spirit for making cocktails in UK.

Coca-Cola invests £10m to promote Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in UK

Coca-Cola UK invested £10m on a promotional campaign for its new Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.

This campaign, aired on television, carries a message that the product 'Tastes more like Coke, looks more like Coke'.

The television spot will be supported by out of home, experiential and in-store activity. As part of this, the firm plans to give away over four million samples.

Alaskan Brewing launches craft beers in Ohio

Alaskan Brewing, a US-based brewery, launched a range of craft beers in Ohio.

In 2014, the company launched its products in Michigan and now, with the addition of Ohio, the firm is serving its products across 18 states in the US.

Alaskan Brewing communications manager Andy Kline said: "This is a big milestone for us because Ohio is home to some great craft beers and because of that there are a lot of really well educated beer drinkers.

Ball Corporation completes Rexam acquisition

Ball Corporation completed the acquisition of Rexam for approximately $6.1bn of cash and equity, in addition to the assumption of approximately $2.4bn of net debt.

Ball agreed to acquire Rexam last year.

The company's total global metal beverage business now operates 75 metal beverage manufacturing facilities and joint ventures, in addition to various support locations in North and Central America, Europe and Russia, South America, Asia and the Middle East.

Arla Foods launches Arla Farmer Milk in UK

Arla Foods introduced its Arla Farmer Milk range, which means its dairy farmers receive an additional 25p.

The company has taken this initiative based on a research report that revealed approximately 63% of consumers are willing to pay more for dairy products if it benefits dairy farmers.

Arla Farmers Milk is available in a four-pint format at all Asda stores in the UK.

The new milk range is available in both semi-skimmed and whole milk options at a retail selling proce (RSP) of £1.20.

Baileys launches duty-free exclusive product Baileys XC

Ireland-based alcoholic beverage company Baileys launched its new Baileys XC product, which will be available exclusively for shoppers in duty-free stores.

Baileys XC is a combination of cream, cognac and fine spirit, and takes its name from the 'Exceptional Cream' liqueur.

The drink is inspired by French sophistication and the growing popularity of luxury liqueurs among duty-free shoppers, Baileys XC gives travellers a new product which cannot be purchased elsewhere.

Lidl to sell GMO-free milk in Germany

Supermarket chain Lidl secured genetically modified organism (GMO)-free certification for its own milk brand.

Lidl has begun by ensuring a GMO-free diet for all its cows, from which it sources milk sold under its own brand, Milbona.

GMO-free milk and dairy products will be sold at its supermarkets in Germany from September this year.

Major US brewers to provide nutritional information on beer bottles by 2020

Major brewers in the US agreed to include nutrition labels on beer packaging by 2020.

The nutritional label will feature information on calories, carbohydrates and alcohol present in the beer bottle.

Included among the companies that will take part in this initaitve are Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Heineken USA, Constellation Brands, Craft Brew Alliance, and North American Breweries.

Peet’s Coffee launches ready-to-drink cold brew

US-based company Peet’s Coffee launched its new ready-to-drink (RTD) line into the market.

Including Baridi Black, Coffee au Lait, and Dark Chocolate, the line is produced using freshly-roasted beans, which are later cold brewed as per the standards used in Peet’s cafés.

The new RTD Cold Brew will soon be available for a suggested retail price of $3.99 at selected Peet’s Coffee cafés, grocery stores, and some other partner locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.