Cott Corp.’s President and Chief Operating Officer John Sheppard will take on the role of chief executive officer, effective Sept. 1, 2004. Frank Weise, who has served as CEO of the Toronto-based company since 1998, will stay on as chairman, assisting in long-term strategy, customer relations and investor relations.

“With the company delivering record results, now is the time for John’s promotion,” Weise said in a statement. “I am enthused to move forward and concentrate on areas that will help keep the company on the successful course that our team has driven for six years.”

Sheppard joined the company in 2002 as president of its U.S. business unit. Cott also announced it will acquire the Cardinal Cos. of Elizabethtown LLC, Elizabethtown, Ky. Cardinal has been a longtime soft drink co-packer for Cott, and the acquisition is expected to add $12 million to Cott’s annual sales and add capacity in the midwestern United States. The company now owns nine U.S. bottling plants.

Kraft Foods closed its purchase of Veryfine Products Inc. last month, adding Veryfine juices and Fruit2O flavored waters to its beverage business. The deal includes Veryfine’s 350,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Littleton, Mass.; a 204,000-square-foot distribution center in Berlin, N.H.; and a 216,000-square-foot distribution center in Ayer, Mass. The Veryfine business will be managed from Kraft’s Tarrytown, N.Y., offices, but the company plans to continue operating the Massachusetts and New Hampshire facilities.

“One of the biggest reasons we chose Kraft as our partner was their reputation for treating their employees fairly and well, and the fact that they intend to operate and grow our New England-based operations,” said Samuel Rowse, president and chief executive officer at Veryfine, in a statement.

Constellation Wines U.S. has announced a number of changes to its wine operations. The company has created a new sales and marketing company called North Lake Wines, streamlined its portfolio for Canandaigua Wine Co. and created a new channel management group to represent its three wine companies in national accounts and international markets.

North Lake Wines will have a portfolio of 35 brands, including Paul Masson table wines, Taylor California Cellars, J. Roget, Viña Santa Carolina, Marcus James, Dunnewood, Heritage and Great Western. It also will incorporate the business formerly handled by Batavia Wine Cellars. Tim Richenberg will serve as president of North Lake Wines.

Canandaigua Wine Co. has streamlined its portfolio to focus on 22 nationally distributed brands. Bill Encherman has become president and Jim Kocoloski has been named senior vice president and national sales manager of that division.

Pacific Wine Partners portfolio of brands will remain largely unchanged. Ben Dollard has been tapped as president of that division, and David Kelly will serve as senior vice president.
The company’s new channel management group will include off-premise and on-premise national accounts, international sales, category management and business information. It will represent brands from all three companies, and work with large supermarket and restaurant chains. Abbot Wolfe will serve as senior vice president of the group, Joe Castrilli vice president of off-premise national accounts, John Heinz vice president of on-premise national accounts, Doug Kahle vice president of international, and Rob Oberhofer vice president, category management and business information.

Xtream Beverage Group, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has acquired Hawaii’s Maui Juice Co. “We consider the Maui Juice Co. to be one of the hidden gems in the beverage industry,” said Jerry Pearring, Xtream Beverage’s chief executive officer. “Maui Juice has been a Hawaiian favorite long before any of the prominent national brands in the functional drink/new age category were even developed. In essence, they were one of the pioneers in the category, which domestically has grown to more than $5 billion in annual sales.”

Until now, Maui Juice products have only been available in Hawaii, but Xtream plans to bring the juice to the mainland United States. That endeavor will be helped by the company’s second acquisition last month, that of Ayer Beverage, a Massachusetts beverage distributor. The company distributes new age beverages to schools, independent retailers, health clubs, cash-and-carry accounts and mobile caterers in central Massachusetts.

Coca-Cola launched Dasani bottled water in the United Kingdom last month, only to pull the product from the market weeks later because of higher-than-allowed bromate levels. The British launch was mired in controversy from the start, inciting negative press for being purified water rather than the spring water to which European consumers are accustomed.

Shortly after the product hit the market, Coca-Cola was forced to recall 500,000 bottles because bromate levels were higher than the 10 parts per billion allowed in bottled and tap water by British standards. The bromate is said to be formed by the addition of calcium chloride to the water.

The Switch 100-percent carbonated juices will be distributed by 7 Up Bottling Co. in Northern California.

“7 Up Bottling has access to channels where we sell the best — schools, supermarkets, vending accounts, up-and-down-the-street accounts, etc.,” says Bill Hargis, co-founder and chief executive officer at The Switch Beverage Co., Richmond, Va.

The product will be available in the San Francisco Unified School District and the Oakland Unified School District as part of the state’s recently passed healthy food and beverage law.

Micropack Bottled Water, Natick, Mass., has acquired the assets of Vermont Pure Springs Inc., the leading producer of private label spring water in the Northeast. The deal includes Vermont Pure’s state-of-the-art bottling facility and spring sources in Randolph, Vt. The plant will add 10 million cases of capacity to Micropack’s four-plant network, and the purchase is expected to double Micropack’s revenues. In addition to the bottling facility, Micropack acquired the Hidden Spring trademark and plans to continue marketing spring water under the Vermont Pure brand name.

Represented by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, U.S. spirits companies lobbied British members of parliament last month to oppose a proposed stamp tax in the United Kingdom. The stamps, which would be placed across the top of liquor bottles, are intended to help fight tax fraud. But distillers say the machines that attach the stamps would slow production and increase costs. Post-Prohibition, the U.S. spirits industry used similar stamps, but did away with them during the 1980s.

“It is baffling that the British government — contrary to the advice of its own best experts — would seek a 19th Century solution to a perceived problem in a 21st Century economy,” Peter Cressy, DISCUS president and chief executive officer, told the visiting members of parliament. “Further, at a time when the World Spirits Alliance has agreed on a policy of elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to global free trade in spirits, this plan represents a serious trade impediment.”

The British leaders are expected to report their recommendations on the proposal this month.

Cara Morrison has been named winemaker at Brown-Forman’s Jekel Vineyards… Allied Domecq Spirits has selected Simon Hunt as senior vice president of marketing… Harris Tea Co. has named Al Hernandez vice president of coffee and tea sales and marketing… Dianne Maher has become director of marketing for Franciscan Estates’ Simi Winery in Healdsburg, Calif., and Columbia Winery in Washington State. Franciscan Estates also has named Markley Lapointe manager, environmental, health and safety… Don Mann has been tapped as marketing group general manager for Modelo brands at the Gambrinus Co., San Antonio, Texas.

Pepsi-Cola North America has bestowed the 2003 Donald M. Kendall Bottler of the Year award on Bernick’s Pepsi-Cola of St. Cloud, Minn.

“While providing impeccable product quality and customer service and giving back so generously to the communities it serves, Bernick’s Pepsi-Cola has been a fixture of St. Cloud’s economic and cultural life for more than 50 years,” said Dawn Hudson, PCNA president, in a statement.

Nackard Bottling Co., Flagstaff, Ariz.; The Pepsi Bottling Group in British Columbia, Canada; and Walton Beverage Co., Bellingham, Wash., also were finalists for the award.

The J.M. Smucker Co., Orville, Ohio, has acquired International Multifoods Corp. for $840 million. Smucker anticipates the addition of Multifoods will result in a stronger growth platform, significant cost savings and enhanced financial strength.

Good news for the soft drink industry… The Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at Virginia Tech recently announced results of a study indicating that while U.S. teens are not getting enough calcium, it doesn’t seem to be linked to soft drink consumption. According to the study, teens drink fewer soft drinks than is commonly perceived, and Caucasian boys, who drink the most soft drinks, also are the closest to getting the recommended intake of calcium. The mostly likely reason for the finding, says the study’s author, is that milk and soft drinks are not close dietary substitutes, and a more likely trade-off happens between soft drinks and fruit drinks. The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from the National Soft Drink Association.

The vending agreement between Snapple and New York City may still be in doubt. New York Comptroller William Thompson refused to register the contract, calling the deal “tainted and flawed”, and said it promoted corporate cronyism because it prevented other companies from fairly competing for the contract. Thompson’s decision will not affect Snapple’s $40-million agreement with New York City schools, but may impact the decision to make the company the exclusive vendor on other city-owned properties. It also pits the comptroller against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who stands behind the deal.

E&J Gallo will acquire Bridlewood Estate in Santa Barbara, the company announced last month. The winery produces about 25,000 cases per year, and the deal is expected to close in May.

Bacardi has filed a lawsuit in a Washington, D.C., federal district court over a recent decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office regarding ownership of the Havana Club trademark. The board had ruled that Pernod Ricard gained the trademark through the proper renewal process in 1996, but Bacardi is asking for a declaratory judgement that it is the exclusive owner of the brand.

Jones Soda Co., Seattle, recently announced distribution through Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada. U.S. outlets will carry Jones’ Root Beer and Sugar-Free Black Cherry products, and Canadian stores also will take on Jones Sugar-Free Ginger Ale.

Laurent-Perrier has acquired champagne house Chateau Malakoff. The purchase includes the Jeanmaire, Beaumet and Oudinot brands, and expands Laurent-Perrier’s annual sales to more than $250 million.

Moderate beer consumption could help prevent osteoporosis, according to a study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Beer is a source of highly bioavailable silicon, and research conducted by Harvard Medical School, Tufts University and the University of London found a positive correlation between silicon intake and bone mineral density in men and pre-menopausal women. Silicon, however, had little effect on the bones of post-menopausal women, indicating hormones have a stronger influence than the mineral. The study also leaves open the possibility the results could be the combination of moderate alcohol (ethanol) consumption and silicon rather than silicon only.

GO Figure
1	10
Billions of bottles of Absolut Vodka that have shipped since the product was first exported to the United States in 1979, according to V&S Absolut Spirits. The billionth bottle features a gold cap to mark the milestone.	Millions of dollars slated for Evian water’s branding campaign in the U.S. market, according to The New York Times. Approximately $800,000 was spent on the brand last year.
44	50
Percent decrease in likelihood that a man with high blood pressure who drinks one or two drinks per day will die of cardiovascular disease when compared to men with hypertension who rarely or never drink, according to The Associated Press.	Number of calories in a 2.4-ounce glass of Bordeaux, according to the Bordeaux Wine Bureau. An apple contains the same number of calories.
72	81
Percent of 18 to 34 year olds who are online, according to research conducted by the Online Publishers Association and comScore Networks Inc. Among the findings, 30 percent of Americans in the same age group visit entertainment Web sites on a daily basis.	Percent of overweight, diabetic women who reportedly consumed more calories than recorded during a self-reported food intake study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to Diabetes Care as reported by HeartCenterOnline and Reuters.
100
Number of cocktail recipes Captain Morgan’s new Web site, captainmorgan.com, features in its online database.