Filed under: Beverages

Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.

 

Consumers starting to see coffee price jolt

Americans are getting more than just a jolt of caffeine with their coffee these days — the price is jumping, too.

Coffee for December delivery settled up 2.25 cents at $1.9455 a pound Wednesday after hitting a 13-year high of $1.9865 per pound earlier in the day. Get the full story »

FDA warns Canada Dry, Lipton on health claims

Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.

In a warning letter issued Aug. 30, the Food and Drug Administration takes issue with the labeling of Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale. The agency issued a similar letter Aug. 23 to Unilever Inc., over Web site and product labeling for its Lipton Green Tea. Get the full story »

Starbucks adding 4 flavors to instant Via

Starbucks is adding four flavors to its Via instant coffee portfolio — vanilla, mocha, caramel and cinnamon spice — beginning this fall.

Via launched about a year ago with two black-coffee flavors: Italian roast and Colombia. The company has since added decaffeinated and iced coffee versions. Starbucks is new to flavored coffee, having launched Natural Fusions, its first flavored coffees earlier this summer. Get the full story »

McDonald’s sued over hot chocolate spill

A Northlake woman sued McDonald’s in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that her daughter was seriously burned in 2009 when a hot chocolate she ordered from the fast-food giant spilled and seriously burned her leg.

Vicki LaRocco bought the hot chocolate for her daughter on April 28, 2009, at a McDonald’s drive-through window in Schiller Park, according to the lawsuit. She said the lid of the cup was improperly secured, however, and the beverage spilled onto LaRocco’s daughter, causing “severe pain and scarring,” the suit states. Get the full story>>

Starbucks’ new Reserve line caters to coffee geeks

Coffee chain Starbucks plans to introduce the exotically-named Galapagos San Cristobal, the first in its new Reserve line, next Monday at 700 select stores. These coffees are characterized by “high quality, small quantity and unique stories,” said Anthony Carroll, Starbucks’ manager of green coffee quality. He flew in to Chicago Tuesday to offer an advanced taste of the special coffee at a Starbucks in the Loop.

SABMiller, others eye Foster’s beer unit

Brewing groups SABMiller and Asahi Breweries are looking at Foster’s Group’s beer operations, valued at more than $10 billion, but have not yet made any formal offers, sources said. Long-running interest in the Australian brewer’s beer business, know as Carlton & United Breweries, resurfaced on Monday after newspaper reports said SABMiller was considering buying Australia’s biggest brewer.

Foster’s said in May it would split the beer unit from its ailing wine business, putting its valuable beer operations with brands including Foster’s Lager, Victoria Bitter and Pure Blonde at the centre of takeover talk in the brewing world. Get the full story »

Smucker’s net up 5% in fiscal 1Q

J.M. Smucker Co.’s net income rose 5 percent in its fiscal first quarter on lower costs, though the company was squeezed by higher coffee bean prices and price competition on store shelves.

The maker of Jif peanut butter, Folgers coffee and other foods said Friday that it earned $102.9 million, or 86 cents per share, for the quarter. That’s up from $98.1 million, or 83 cents per share, a year earlier. Get the full story »

Starbucks has no plans to hike coffee prices

Starbucks Corp. has no plans to hike prices, though higher coffee costs are expected to weaken profit in the upcoming fiscal year, the company said Tuesday.

The world’s biggest cafe chain repeated its fiscal 2011 profit target of $1.36 to $1.41 a share, which includes an expected hit of 4 cents primarily from higher coffee prices. Starbucks’ 2011 fiscal year begins Oct. 5. Get the full story »