December 23, 2024
Portfolio changes, factory closures, NPD and celebrity investments (and legal spats) were among the topics on Just Drinks ’ news pages that caught your eye throughout the year.
But one company’s woes featured prominently in the list of the top 24 most-read news stories on our site in 2024 – and next year could see the business offload the asset that attracted negative headlines to the group.
Scroll down for a flavour of the stories that shaped the drinks-industry agenda over the last 12 months.
7 October
Carlsberg’s UK venture Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) is planning to shut Banks’s Brewery in the English Midlands next year.
20 August
Anheuser-Busch InBev has revealed plans to shut a distribution facility belonging to its US arm Anheuser-Busch, in Medford, Massachusetts.
5 June
Footballer Lionel Messi has launched a non-alcoholic “hydration drink” brand called Más+.
The beverage is described as having a “balanced blend of electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals”. Más+ comes in four flavours: Miami Punch, Orange d’Or, Berry Copa Crush and Limon Lime League.
24 July
US wine group Vintage Wine Estates has filed for bankruptcy and is to voluntarily delist its common stock after failing to pay off $60.5m in debt.
23 August
Brown-Forman has scrapped its diversity and inclusion policies and ended its participation in an LGBTQ corporate equality index.
3 January
Thailand’s cabinet has approved slashing taxes on wine and spirits in a bid to promote tourism.
30 January
Nestlé has admitted to breaching regulations in France in the way it treats bottled mineral water against contamination.
25 September
Diageo and PepsiCo have partnered to launch an alcoholic RTD drink combining Captain Morgan spiced rum and Pepsi Max.
6 August
Australian wine group Treasury Wine Estates has revealed plans to divest wines sitting under its commercial portfolio.
15 February
Dutch beer giant Heineken has touted the potential for growth in Europe this year as cost pressures in the region ease.
10 May
Coca-Cola FEMSA has temporarily shut one of its production sites in Brazil following severe floods in the local area.
11 March
Canada’s federal government is capping the duty on alcohol at 2% for two additional years following its introduction last year.
5 September
Canada-based cannabis and beverage company Tilray Brands has cut “a limited number” of jobs in its drinks division.
19 November
Nestlé is to separate its water and “premium beverages” activities into a global stand-alone business from the start of next year.
27 November
Hundreds of employees at a Diageo packaging plant in north-west Italy downed their tools today (27 November) following the company’s decision to shut the site.
25 April
Nestlé has “temporarily suspended” a well in France that supplies its Perrier bottled-water brand following contamination.
25 April
The co-founder of US-based sports-beverage brand Prime, wrestler Logan Paul, has denied claims the drinks contain harmful so-called “forever chemicals”.
18 July
Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg’s US ready-to-drink (RTD) brand Gin & Juice is being launched in the UK this month, with production being expanded to the country.
8 March
Fabien Simon, the chief executive of coffee major JDE Peet’s, is to leave the business next month.
10 April
UK-based pubs and bars group Stonegate Pub Company has revealed it may struggle to refinance its debt of £2.2bn ($2.8bn).
29 October
PepsiCo is closing a bottling plant in the US, citing the facility’s “physical limitations”.
12 June
The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and alcohol among four products that cause 19 million deaths per year globally.
23 July
US energy drinks producer Prime Hydration has been accused of using trademarked symbols associated with the US Olympics team.
2 September
Diageo has started a longer-term test sale of its non-alcoholic Guinness on draught in the UK on-premise.
"The top 24 news stories on Just Drinks in 2024" was originally created and published by Just Drinks , a GlobalData owned brand.
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