Which came first, the brewer or the coffee? Clearly, coffee came first for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR), Waterbury, Vt., which has been roasting specialty coffees since 1981. But when the company added its Keurig division in 2006, which supplies Keurig Single-Cup Brewing Systems, the business plan became: If you sell the brewer, single-cup sales will come. And they have.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, Vt., through its Green Mountain Coffee division, plans to sell about 38 million pounds of coffee in the 2009. In a typical day, Green Mountain Coffee will fill 5,000 orders, and is prepared to handle large orders from restaurant chains, mass merchandisers and club stores as well as single bag orders from direct-mail customers.

Unlike some health concerns, digestive health is important to all consumers — men, women and their children alike.

The ability to create smaller particles is just one of the possible applications that nano-scale science and technology hopes to bring to the beverage and food industries.

Category management is imperative for success in a good economy, but even more critical to survival in a bad one. Still, a research study from IHL Group, Franklin, Tenn., says that as many as 20 percent of consumers find out-of-stocks on at least one shopping list item per visit. The retailer loses the sale, and it leads many consumers to quit shopping with the retailer altogether.

The continual development of health and wellness beverages also has advanced the application of hydrocolloids. These ingredients used as emulsifiers, stabilizers and gelling agents include acacia gum, pectin, carrageenan and xanthan, among others.

In this tough real estate market, house staging has become key with homeowners’ efforts to make their houses stand out from the rest. Much like a homeowner tries to present the best looking option, shrink and stretch labels make it their jobs to bring consumers’ eyes to the beverage bottle, can or container...

“True beauty comes from within,” says the host of ABC’s new reality television show “True Beauty.” Many beverage formulators would agree with that philosophy, and add to it the science of beauty-enhancing ingredients. With consumers’ interest in improving their appearance, beverages offer an ideal medium to deliver beauty from within.

Cap and closure innovations this year are targeting cost saving, sustainability, safety, differentiation and interactive packaging solutions.

Last year proved to be one of the most difficult years bottlers have faced in awhile. Instead of focusing on rising raw material costs, fuel prices and consumers’ declining disposable income, Beverage Industry’s 2009 Bottler of the Year, Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV), Raleigh, N.C., looks at what it can control in a difficult year, says Keith Reimer, PBV’s president and chief executive officer.