Mega-superstars, One Direction, signs endorsement deal with Pepsi

The boys of One Direction are in for a even bigger payday. The international boyband sensation has signed a new multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Pepsi, according to The Sun.

The new deal will feature Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson alongside several NFL football stars in a new commercial set to debut soon. The boys filmed the top secret commercial in New Orleans last weekend where they filmed with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees among others. A unnamed source told The Sun: "The boys were under strict instructions to stay quiet on this one and refrain from tweeting about their whereabouts," the source said. "They flew to Tampa before boarding a private jet laid on by Pepsi to New Orleans where they met Drew Brees, who taught them the ropes on American football. Other football stars are in the ad too.”

The new endorsement has One Direction following in the footsteps of superstars like Madonna, David Beckham, Michael Jackson, Pink, Beyonce, Enrique Iglesias, Nicki Minaj, and Britney Spears, who have all endorsed Pepsi in their careers.

One Direction rose to fame on the UK version of The X Factor and strangely enough Pepsi is a large sponsor of the U.S. version of The X Factor, which premieres its second season on Wednesday, September 12 on Fox (KDVR- Channel 31 locally). This has many people wondering if the company is using them for their big X-Factor commercial. But with the addition of several NFL stars joining the boys in the commercial, the possibility is high we could also see it during NFL football games this season. This would definitely expose the band to a whole new audience.

One Direction is just coming off a night of success at the MTV Video Music Awards where they performed their song "One Thing" and walked away with three awards, the most of any artist. The band is also gearing up for the release of their second album, Take Me Home, on November 12 and the first single from that album, "Live While We're Young," on October 1.

One Direction brings their 2013 World Tour to Pepsi Center in Denver in July 2013.

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Coca-cola is first retail brand to surpass 50 million fans

Coca-Cola passed 50 million fans on Facebook shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the company.

Several celebrities like Rihanna and Lady Gaga have more more than 50 million Facebook fans, as do services like YouTube and Facebook, but Coca-Cola is the first retail brand to hit this milestone. Disney, Converse and Starbucks, three of the other most popular retail brands, each have fewer than 40 million fans on Facebook at the moment.

To celebrate crossing such a major threshold, Coca-Cola launched a new application on its Facebook page. The app encourages fans to submit ideas for inventions and causes that this online community of 50 million can turn its energy towards to improve the world. Coca-Cola will ultimately provide support for one of these ideas and unveil the finished result sometime next year.

“Throughout its history Coca-Cola has always had a role in bringing simple moments of happiness to people around the world every day,” said Joe Tripodi, Coca-Cola’s chief marketing and commercial leadership officer, in a press release. “Today we have an engaged global community more than 50 million strong connected through Facebook. This provides an opportunity to engage our most supportive and enthusiastic fans in a quest to find ways to make the world a happier place.”

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Unilever could be about to launch a chain of branded tea shops to drive growth of its tea brands.

The global fmcg firm is hoping to “transform” the global out of home tea market and is preparing to launch a “new concept” for cafes serving tea that could see the launch of a chain of branded cafes, according to a job spec for a global manager to lead the operation.

It owns Lipton, which it claims is the world’s best known tea brand, PG Tips, Lan-Choo and Irish tea brand Lyons.

Unilever has form in branded cafe operations and has previously launched a chain of Bru World Cafe coffee shops in India under its instant coffee brand Bru.

Unilever cites the “Starbucks and Nespresso effect” for changing perceptions of coffee in terms of value, range and quality, over the past 20 years. It now wants to mirror this in the tea market by creating “the definitive tea experience”.

Nespresso operates a chain of branded coffee “boutiques” selling its espresso drinks in the UK, Europe and the US, as well as a successful ‘at home’ machine system while Starbucks has expanded its coffee shop brand into at-home coffee products.

Unilever declined to provide any further details about the concept but it is due to launch in selected countries this year ahead of a global roll out from 2013, with full roll out expected by 2017, according to the job spec.

The concept will be part of Unilever Food Solutions division, which supplies restaurants and the catering industry, but will form a new strand of the business.

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Mtn Dew A.M: Taco Bell Adds Mountain Dew Mixed with Orange Juice to Breakfast Menu

Rise and shine. It's time for breakfast soda.

Taco Bell said Friday that it's adding Mtn Dew A.M – a mix of Mountain Dew soda and Tropicana orange juice – to its breakfast menu, which was rolled out earlier this year at select locations. Separately, the industry tracker Beverage Digest said that PepsiCo Inc. next year plans to introduce a drink made with juice, Mountain Dew Kickstart.

Mtn Dew A.M. is mixed in restaurants and only available at Taco Bell. Kickstart would be a packaged drink sold by PepsiCo.

John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest, noted that giving consumers drink options for the morning is a way for companies to boost their performance. Overall, per capita soda consumption has been on the decline since hitting its peak in 1998.

Mountain Dew Kickstart would also be a way for PepsiCo to feed off the popularity of energy drinks, which saw sales volume grow by nearly 17 percent last year. Each of the top three brands – Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar – saw double-digit gains, according to Beverage Digest.

A representative for Taco Bell wasn't immediately available to provide details on the orange juice-to-soda ratio in Mtn Dew A.M., or how widely it was available before earning a permanent spot on the breakfast menu. A PepsiCo spokesman declined to comment about Kickstart.

Taco Bell, which is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., announced the addition in conjunction with its new A.M. Crunchwrap, which combines scrambled eggs, cheese, a hash brown and bacon or sausage in a single tortilla. It has 680 calories with bacon, or 730 calories with sausage. A 16-ounce cup of Mtn Dew A.M. has 160 calories.

The Mexican-style chain introduced breakfast – which it refers to as "FirstMeal" – at about 800 restaurants in 14 states earlier this year. The chain plans to take the menu national by 2014 if the test goes well.

Although Taco Bell is looking to expand by offering higher-end options such as its new Cantina Bell menu, it's also finding success by appealing to younger men who crave junk food. In the U.S. sales at Taco Bell restaurants open at least a year experienced double-digit growth during the second quarter.

Yum Brands attributed the boost to its new tacos featuring shells made out of Nacho Cheese Doritos.

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Diet Pepsi Testing New Mix of Artificial Sweeteners

Diet Pepsi is tweaking its formula to stay sweet a little longer.

PepsiCo Inc. is testing new artificial sweeteners that let the soda keep its taste for a longer period of time. The problem is that the current sweetener used in the soda – aspartame – loses its potency faster than high fructose corn syrup, the sweetener that's used in most regular sodas.

A person with knowledge of the situation says the company had considered importing versions of Diet Pepsi sold in other countries to the U.S. But now it's testing other sweetener mixes, with a new version set to come out as soon as next year.

The new version will use the same formula that creates Diet Pepsi's overall taste, according to the person, who requested anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak publicly. But it will use a mix of artificial sweeteners, including acesulfame-potassium, or ace-K, that has a longer shelf life.
Aspartame on its own is more sensitive to heat, which is a problem when sodas are sitting in trucks or waiting to be shipped to retailers.

In an e-mailed statement, PepsiCo said that it's "always looking at ways to provide the best consumer experience," but that it has no plans to change the taste formula of Diet Pepsi.

It's not the first time PepsiCo is tweaking a diet soft drink. The company, based in Purchase, N.Y., made a similar switch to its Diet Mountain Dew in 2006. The Coca-Cola Co. tweaked the sweetener used Diet Sprite in 2000.

By blending artificial sweeteners, companies create a "synergistic effect" that prolongs the sweetener's potency, said John Sicher, publisher of the industry tracker Beverage Digest.

PepsiCo's latest tinkering comes as an increasing number of diet drinks have come on the market. Coca-Cola in 2005 introduced its Coke Zero, which is intended to taste more like the original Coke. Pepsi followed up two years alter with Pepsi Max. But Pepsi Max hasn't performed as strongly as Coke Zero.

After losing market share to Coke in recent years, PepsiCo is looking to bolster its flagship soda brand this year. The company is significantly boosting advertising for Pepsi, which two years ago was edged out by Diet Coke as the No. 2 soda in the country. Coke remains No. 1.

Diet Pepsi ranks as No. 7, according to Beverage Digest, and its sales volume last year was about half that of Diet Coke,.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola, Scott Williamson, said there are no changes planned for Diet Coke, which still uses only aspartame as a sweetener.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ace-K for use in 1998. It is often used in combination with other artificial sweeteners, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food safety advocacy group. The sweetener is used in a wide range of foods, including baked goods, chewing gum and gelatin desserts, as well as diet soft drinks.

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Fifth grader prompts Jamba Juice to make syrofoam cup pledge

Fruit smoothie chain Jamba Juice has unveiled a timeline for eliminating its use of Styrofoam cups after receiving a petition started by a 10-year-old girl.

During her summer vacation, Mia Hansen started a petition using online campaign platform Change.org, urging the chain to replace its Styrofoam cups with an environmentally friendly alternative. More than 130,000 people signed her petition, the web site said.

Following the petition Jamba Juice contacted the fifth grader to let her know that they intend to phase out the use of Styrofoam by the end of 2013.

The company says that it had been working for over a year prior to the petition to create a more suitable and sustainable cup.

Mia’s petition, titled “Jamba Juice: Stop using Styrofoam cups that kill animals!,” asserts that “in the ocean, several animals think that this product is food, so when they go to eat it, the Styrofoam can kill them!”

The petition’s page also says that Jamba Juice does not use Styrofoam cups in cities such as Seattle that don’t allow the product’s use. In October last year, Foster City in San Mateo County, Calif., banned the use of Styrofoam cups, matching an ordinance already on the books covering unincorporated San Mateo County, according to the The Daily Journal.

Jamba Juice spokeswoman Janice Duis confirmed to the Journal that the company was switching its Foster City location to paper cups. Around 60 Jamba Juice locations in the East Bay area already use the paper cups, the news report said.

In June, Eco-Products launched what it calls the first reusable “event” cup made from post-consumer recycled content. The cup is made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled polypropolene and saw its first use at Planet Bluegrass’s 39th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colo., in July.

New Zelanders invited to "Share a Coke" with names on Bottle

Do you have a friend called Matt? Have a crush on Josh? Want to meet Jess? Miss Kate? Why not ‘Share a COKE’ with them?

Some of New Zealand’s most popular first names will appear on millions of COCA-COLA bottles and cans this spring in a campaign that will inspire people to connect and ‘Share a COKE’ with friends and family.

From now until Christmas, bottles of COCA-COLA will have first names ranging from Aaron to Zoe on one side of the bottle inviting them to share the COKE. Cans of COKE will also invite consumers to share with the likes of their mates, Sis, and Bro.

"This is a playful social invitation to Kiwis that puts them front and centre using the power of the first name," says Brid Drohan-Stewart, COCA-COLA Sparkling Beverages Marketing Manager.

"We want people to have fun finding the names of friends and family they want to catch-up with, those they’ve lost touch with, or even someone they’ve yet to connect with, so they can enjoy sharing a COKE together."

Last summer Aussies were invited to ‘Share a COKE’, but COCA-COLA says the New Zealand campaign is distinctively Kiwi: "The 150 names are New Zealand’s most popular and reflect our own unique identity and diversity."

New Zealanders may also see the names and faces of their friends and family members appear in one of a kind COCA-COLA advertisements, including a 30-sec television commercial. Real Kiwis named ‘Jess’ and ‘Josh’ volunteered to share their ‘Share a COKE’ experience with the rest of New Zealand.

For those that can’t find their name or names of friends and family, consumers will also be able to request 600mL COKE bottles and 200mL COKE cans with a name of their choice at select universities, grocery stores and shopping centres - visit the website for dates, locations and conditions.

"Inspiring Kiwis to connect or re-connect is at the heart of this campaign. If they can’t get together face-to-face, we’re also providing places online to share great stories about how Kiwis are connecting over a COKE."

COCA-COLA Facebook fans can personalize and share a ‘virtual COKE’ with friends, as well as swap notes and pictures of how they are connecting.

For more information head to www.shareacoke.co.nz or the COCA-COLA New Zealand facebook page.

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Girls Just Want to Have Fun!! (Diet Pepsi 'Fun Report' Results)

PepsiCo Releases Results of Diet Pepsi Fun Report

Women have a thirst for fun and a love affair with flair, according to a new Diet Pepsi survey. The Diet Pepsi Fun Report reveals that nearly three-quarters of women (72 percent) are literally craving more fun in their lives, while 56 percent believe that adding more flair (e.g., great shoes, bright lipsticks, trendy accessories) brings more fun. To help quench that thirst and quell that craving, Diet Pepsi is launching the Sip in Style Sweepstakes.

From now through September 22, Diet Pepsi fans can enter for the chance to win prizes big and small at www.DietPepsi.com. From lipsticks and refreshing fizz to a once in a lifetime fun-filled experience, including a wardrobe makeover by Sofia Vergara’ s personal stylist along with a $1,000 shopping spree in New York City, the opportunities for fun, fizz and flair abound at DietPepsi.com.

“No one should have to work so hard to add more fun into their lives,” said Sofia Vergara. “That’s why I’m happy to help Diet Pepsi bubble up the fun for women everywhere.”

Highlights from the Diet Pepsi Report:

• Women in the West edge out the rest when it comes to fun. Thirty-seven percent of women in the West say they have just enough fun each day, compared to 34 percent of those in the Northeast, 29 percent in the Midwest and 28 percent in the South.
• Women in the Northeast and Midwest crave even more fun than most. Seventy-six of women in the Northeast and 76 percent of women in the Midwest crave fun, while 70 percent of those in the West and 68 percent of those in the South crave fun.
• Women in the South are more likely to instigate fun. Fifteen percent of women in the South say that when it comes to fun, they are instigators, compared to 12 percent of those in the West that say they are instigators and 9 percent each in the Northeast and Midwest.
• Fun or Fiction? If you’re reading a social media post from a woman who lives in the Northeast, it’s hard to know if she’s really having fun, since 33 percent report sharing fictionalized fun. Having fun with a co-worker? Don’t count on it. Sixty-five percent of women reported that they pretend to have fun at a work event or activity.
• Want fun? Add flair. When women are looking to dial up the fun they most often turn to jewelry (45 percent), followed by great shoes (27 percent) and bright lipstick or gloss (18 percent).

“This survey confirms what Diet Pepsi has known all along; women are craving a little more fun in their lives,” said Angelique Krembs, vice president, TM Pepsi Marketing. “Diet Pepsi is encouraging women everywhere to take a much needed break and add a little refreshing fun to their day!”

For more information on the Sip in Style Sweepstakes, fun seekers can visitDietPepsi.com, Facebook.com/DietPepsi or Tweet Diet Pepsi on Twitter @dietpepsi #fizz.

About The Diet Pepsi Fun Report

This survey was executed by KRC Research on behalf of Diet Pepsi and Weber Shandwick. KRC conducted a total of 500 interviews among women ages 25+ in the US. All interviews were conducted online between August 7 and 9, 2012.

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Diet Coke still scoring high with demanding Millennial consumers

Diet Coke is still scoring high with young, critical, health-conscious Millennial consumers, market research firm Mintel has claimed.

According to Mintel, Millennial consumers - those born after 1980 - are a constant challenge to food and beverage manufacturers. They grew up with more product variety and as a result are accustomed to having more choices.

For carbonated soft drink manufacturers this has meant an increase in the demand for energy drink innovations, reduced calorie sodas and enhanced water products.

Despite the demands for variety, 30 year-old Diet Coke continues to be popular and is still the leading diet brand among 18 to 34 year olds in the US. According to Mintel's February 2012 Carbonated Soft Drinks report, 68% of diet carbonated soft drink consumers under the age of 34 drink Diet Coke.

Millennial Demand

According to Mintel, Diet Coke's continued focus on style and fashion has helped it maintain its popularity with these young consumers, while not alienating older demographics.

"Millennial consumers, in general, are willing to spend more on products if they believe they are worth it," Mintel director of consumer trends Alexandra Smith told BeverageDaily.com.

"But they are also very critical of the products they buy. If they decide to spend their money on a product, they expect the product to live up to its claims."

As a result, carbonated soft drinks manufacturers have been forced to diversify their products in recent years to meet these Millennial generation demands.

Obesity - a major issue, particularly in the US - has birthed demand from consumers for more diverse and healthier alternatives to carbonated soda.

Earlier this year, PepsiCo launched Pepsi Next, which contains 60% less sugar than Pepsi Cola. Dr Pepper 10, which is formulated to taste like regular Dr Pepper but with only 10 calories, was also launched in late 2011.

Not a gamble

Despite these demand, Millennial consumers will still often go back to "what they know."

"Looking at functional beverages, these Millennial consumers might try them, but if they feel that the claims met by the product are not met they might go back to products they know - products like Diet Coke," says Smith.

"Diet Coke was launched in the early 80s, so many of these younger consumers have grown up with it. It is the brand and product they know, it isn't going to be a gamble. It is a safe product and something they are comfortable with," she added.

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Tea of a Kind uses a pressurized bottle cap to infuse their tea with fresh, preservative-free ingredients

Tea of a Kind has used Gizmo Closure and Delivery System, a pressurized bottle cap design that infuses a drink with fresh, preservative-free ingredients upon opening, in its tea line.

The pressurized nitrogen chamber cap defends UV light, oxidation and other damaging conditions that degrade nutrients in most pre-mixed beverages.

Once the cap is twisted, the ingredients burst into the bottle and self-mix, creating a color change and a visual confirmation that the drink is fresh and ready to consume.

Available in Peach Ginger Black Tea, Citrus Mint Green Tea, and Pomegranate Acai White Tea, Tea of a Kind is 100% natural, contains only 20 calories per 16oz bottle, and is loaded with antioxidants.

Tea of Kind marks the first application of the Gizmo technology by Gizmo Beverages, run by the duo of founder & CEO Don Park, and co-founder & president Walter Apodaca.

Gizmo Beverages co-founder Walter Apodaca said that the company feels proud to have brought great tasting, healthy, all natural, preservative-free options to the market.

Tea of a Kind is available online at gizmo-tea-of-a-kind.myshopify.com and will be available at Whole Foods across the country later this year.

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