Molson Coors Beverage Company on Thursday announced that it is taking a majority ownership stake in Zoa, the better-for-you energy brand co-founded by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Dany Garcia, Dave Rienzi and John Shulman.
Molson Coors said taking a majority stake will allow it to lead the entirety of Zoa’s marketing, retail and direct-to-consumer sales and development. The deal represents one piece of Molson Coors’ strategic ambition to expand its total beverage portfolio.
Molson Coors and Zoa first struck a partnership when the brand launched in 2021, and Molson Coors increased its stake in Zoa last September while also assuming a presence on Zoa’s board of directors.
“We’re building a winning portfolio that offers consumers choices across a wide range of occasions, and non-alc is a key part of that strategy,” said Molson Coors chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques.
“Zoa opens the door for us to participate in more parts of the day and incremental opportunities beyond our core business. We’ve built a strong foundation with Zoa over the past three years and we see a ton of opportunity for this brand to achieve its next stage of growth and scale.”
Zoa boasts a repeat purchase rate of 50 per cent and attracts new consumers to the energy category, with 30 per cent of Zoa buyers new to this space. The brand’s direct-to-consumer business is also a significant driver of sales and consumer visibility, including the brand’s position as a top 10 energy drink brand on Amazon.
As Zoa enters its next phase, Johnson will remain a visible face of the brand through the ‘Big Dwayne Energy’ campaign, social media amplification and more.
“Since day one, Molson Coors has shared our passion for Zoa Energy, and as a partner, they’ve been pivotal to bringing new consumers into the energy space with Zoa and keeping them coming back,” said Johnson.
“Zoa is all about crafting drinks that help our loyal and growing consumers show up as their best selves every day, and Molson Coors’ commitment to the brand will give it an enormous amount of firepower in the next phase of growth.”
Müller Yogurt & Desserts said it is converting its iconic Corner yogurt pots from white to clear plastic, as the business works to halve the environmental impact of its packaging by 2030.
The majority of Müller Corner and Müller Bliss Corner yogurt pots have already converted, with the remaining volume taking place by the end of 2024.
The introduction of fully recyclable clear pots facilitates the retention of the material for reuse again within the food sector.
As the business targets a ‘closed loop system’, by converting almost 50 per cent of Müller’s branded yogurts to clear PET, the move could boost the availability of rPET in the UK by over 3,000 tonnes per annum, further reducing industry requirements for ‘virgin’ plastic.
“The foods we eat can have a major impact on our planet and the people in it. As one of the most chosen FMCG brands in Great Britain, we have the scale to deliver meaningful change towards a circular economy,” Richard Williams, chief executive at Müller Yogurt & Desserts, said.
“By making this change, the industry could benefit from increased availability of rPET, while reducing the demand for additional virgin plastic.”
Müller UK & Ireland targets on average 30 per cent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2025, and the business has also confirmed that it is aiming to add recycled content into its clear corner yogurt pots by the end of 2025.
With Müller Corner seeing 11 per cent value growth year on year, and 78 per cent of shoppers preferring a clear Müller Corner pot to a white pot, the move is expected to drive further category growth.
The move follows the launch of Müller’s redesigned branded yogurt and desserts packaging, created to make it more distinctive, cohesive and easy to find and buy.
Müller has also recently completed a project to switch all of its coloured milk bottle caps to clear, increasing the availability of rHDPE (Recycled High Density Polyethylene) on the market by 1560 tonnes.
Mondelēz International has on Thursday announced that its Cadbury core sharing bars, manufactured in Bournville and Coolock and sold in the UK and Ireland, will be wrapped in 80 per cent certified recycled plastic packaging, which can be attributed to plastic sourced from advanced recycling technology.
This move is the result of a collaboration with Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing more sustainable packaging solutions and Jindal Films, an industry leader in the development and manufacture of recyclable films designed for flexible packaging.
Starting from 2025, in a phased approach, the project aims to cover approximately 300 million sharing bars across the UK and Ireland Cadbury core tablet portfolio. The move will see the highest percentage of recycled flexible plastic used within the Cadbury brand globally.
As part of this effort, 80 per cent of the plastic used in the packaging can be attributed to recycled plastic through mass balance and ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification.
Consumers can also access a new platform via an on pack QR code to find out more about the sustainable packaging journey the Cadbury brand is taking and a consumer-friendly explanation about mass balance. The platform also features the Recycle Now locator from WRAP, enabling consumers to check local collection and recycling points for a wide range of packaging materials.
“This is the latest move in our journey to increase our use of post-consumer recycled plastic across our Cadbury tablets portfolio in the UK&I.” said Louise Stigant, SVP and UK&I managing director, Mondelēz International.
“We remain focused on our long-term aim to offer more sustainable packaging, in particular flexible plastic packaging using advanced recycling technologies. For us this is based around a three-part approach aimed at reducing our packaging, evolving, and designing our packaging to be recyclable and improving systems by supporting the development of UK infrastructure and capabilities to collect, sort and recycle it back into food contact packaging.”
Amcor’s AmFiniti solution converts post-consumer plastic waste into new products, providing Mondelēz International with a packaging solution that is made using 80 per cent certified recycled plastic. This innovative process uses advanced recycling material (ARM) that is suitable for food-grade applications.
Leading confectionery wholesaler Hancocks has unveiled ‘unbeatable’ deals for retail customers this Black Friday.
Their big Black Friday event will be held on 28 November from 8am-8pm.
For one day only, Hancocks are cutting the costs of confectionery treats, seasonal sweets, novelty favourites and big brands including Millions, Cadbury and Haribo.
Retailers have the chance to make big seasonal savings and stock up on the confectionery staples their customers love. All deals are available while stocks last.
On the popular classic Swizzels range, Hancocks is offering customers the chance to buy six and save £10.80.
Retailers can buy six, save £10.00 on Haribo pick and mix, including Giant Cola Bottles, Gold Bears, Happy Cherries, Rhubarb & Custard, Heart Throbs and Fried Eggs.
Novelty lines are also on offer this Black Friday. Customers can buy any three Kidsmania lines and save £5.00, including Peek-A-Poo Potty Pops, Shark Bite, Pooplets and Quick Blast Sour Spray.
From Crazy Candy Factory, retailers can buy one Unicorn Laser Pop and get one Submarine Dip n Lick for free.
Hancocks is also inviting retailers to stack and save with their double deal on Kingsway pick and mix favourites, with the offer of buy ten + bags, save 40p per bag or buy 20 + bags and save £1 per bag.
“Our Black Friday event … is a great opportunity for retailers to benefit from massive savings on the products they always restock,” Kathryn Hague, head of marketing at Hancocks, said.
“This year, we are offering great deals on some of our most popular lines and brands, including Crazy Candy Factory, Swizzels, Warheads, Haribo and Cadbury. This is a great chance to stock up, make your money stretch further and keep your customers happy.”
Nestlé has announced a new partnership between Carnation and the Food Network.
Running until April 2025, the campaign will see Carnation condensed milk tapping into the nostalgia of favourite childhood desserts, showcasing the product as a key ingredient in family recipes.
The integrated campaign sees a 30 second slot running across linear TV, video on demand and in selected cinemas, representing a media channel-first for the brand. The sponsorship idents will also feature in 10 second slots around programmes including repeat episodes of The Great British Bake Off, running across Discovery+ and the Food Network.
“The ‘Carnation Makes Memories’ campaign is designed to remind consumers of the joy of homemade baking. As we move into the festive season - a time of gatherings and celebrations – what better way to get creative, whipping up your favourite desserts and sweet treats,” Kelly Light, Carnation senior brand manager, said.
“Research reveals that half of UK bakers remember having Carnation as a child and 63 per cent cited it as a part of their favourite childhood desserts. We wanted to capture the emotional bond UK consumers have with the brand through collective memories of baking, making and sharing desserts.”
The short film showcases a carousel of baking memories where each dessert has been lovingly crafted with Carnation to create classic family favourites such as banoffee pie.
Dark nights may be drawing in but in the world of stylish, conscientiously sourced chocolate, GNEW has opted for new splashes of colour brand identity, not only bringing a welcome dash of vitality and exuberance to the UK’s bustling chocolate and gifting fixtures announcing the business’s new, adult-orientation.
The makeover includes an appreciation of nostalgic comfort food, ambitious flavour marriages and compelling mouthfeel and textures.
New arrivals to GNAW’s flavour stable include a New York Cheesecake bar (milk chocolate), a Raspberry Mojito (milk), a tangy Seville Orange (dark & milk), a Popcorn & Peanut (milk), an Espresso Martini (milk), a Honeycomb & Caramel (milk), a zingy Peppermint (milk & dark) and a Sticky Toffee Pudding (milk).
From GNAW’s original launch back in 2010, the artisanal business’s unflinching vision has been never to skimp either in terms of taste (best-in-class ingredients, inspirational flavour liaisons) or purpose (work exclusively with ethical Colombian cacao producers, compostable/kerbside recyclable packaging using only vegetable inks, all produced using clean, solar energy).
"Over the last 12 months the team and I have been immersing ourselves within the latest food trends, not simply within chocolate but throughout all the key lifestyle food and drink movements," said GNAW’s Managing Director, Mike Navarro. "We have always known that we made incredible chocolate but needed to reaffirm our commitment to unearth bold, unapologetic flavours that tap into happy childhood memories, comfort food yearnings and happy nostalgic moments.
"Initial feedback from both loyalist and pending retailers has been nothing short of incredible, so we simply can’t wait to see how consumers respond in the run up to the festive season and beyond!