AGP Executive Report

US-Canada Trade War Hits Drinks: The White House moved to ban Canadian dairy, most alcohol (including whey proteins, certain rye whiskies and liquors, malt beer, and grape wines), plus motorcycles, with the alcohol/dairy portion starting 29 Sept, as tariffs expand and Canadian retaliatory measures bite. Food Inflation Pressure: In the UK, the Food and Drink Federation warns grocery inflation will stay elevated, forecasting a £100 basket rising to £147.50 by next July as energy, logistics, and packaging/recycling costs keep squeezing manufacturers. Sweetener Debate, Reframed: A new review in Nutrients says non-nutritive sweeteners aren’t a weight-management fix by themselves, but controlled studies don’t support fears they boost sugar cravings or worsen weight outcomes. Lallemand Enzymes Move: Lallemand launched Solyve as a dedicated food and beverage enzyme business, consolidating teams and branding while keeping product lines and customer relationships intact. Coffee Tech at IFA: KAXFREE showcased smart home coffee machines at IFA 2026, including 2-in-1 hot/cold milk frothing and app-controlled brewing. Health Watch: Oxford research links very hot tea/coffee (65°C+) with higher oesophageal cancer risk, reinforcing “let it cool” habits. Hospitality & Rent Squeeze: Mallorca restaurants say exorbitant rents are forcing closures and pushing dining into cheaper industrial areas.

Capital Markets: Qatar Stock Exchange and Baladna say the dairy-and-beverage producer has completed a rights-issue capital increase, issuing 535.9M new shares on a one-for-four basis at QR1.01, lifting capital 25% and starting trading of the new stock. Public Health & Food Policy: A new study in JAMA Health Forum finds social media warning labels could reduce teen and young adult use, landing after Meta’s $18B settlement that also includes youth usage limits and filter changes. Food Safety & Enforcement: Tamil Nadu’s hooch tragedy commission blames administrative negligence and delayed action across police and excise/revenue departments for the 2024 Kallakurichi methanol deaths. Trade & Alcohol: Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on about $20B of U.S. imports take effect, with Walla Walla wine retailers reporting tourism declines as Canadian buyers shift away. Sustainability in Drinks: Greenhouse highlights plastic-free glass packaging and plastic-neutral certification, while Steam Whistle Brewing details refillable bottles and water-saving brewing tech. Nutrition Debate: A report questions whether fortifying ultra-processed foods is a public health fix or a new risk.

EU Trade & Procurement: The EU is set to unveil “Buy European” procurement rules aimed at cutting dependence on China, using public spending as leverage and potentially limiting bidders that don’t offer reciprocal access. Wine Spotlight: Les Grands Chais de France is bringing Blue Nun back to the UK with refreshed branding and wider distribution, leaning into approachable, fruit-forward, lower-ABV styles. Canada–US Tariff War: Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on $20bn of US imports kick in, with duties up to 50% hitting items like cheese, honey and aluminum foil—raising costs for food and beverage supply chains. Food Safety Crackdown (India): India’s regulators are intensifying checks and pushing front-of-pack warning labels, after reports of misleading labeling, expiry tampering and hygiene lapses. Shelf-Stable Innovation (Australia): Jarlicious Cupcakes markets refrigeration-free jar cupcakes with a 10-day best-before date for delivery, travel and gifting. Armenia–UAE Produce Exports: Armenia begins exporting up to 40 tons/week of fresh fruits and vegetables to the UAE via a Watermelon Ecosystem partnership. Coffee Retail Shift (South Korea): Mega MGC Coffee says its budget pricing is driving growth as consumers trade down from Starbucks.

Counterfeit Crackdown: Nigeria’s NAFDAC says it destroyed fake regulated products worth over N1.5trn and secured 64 convictions, with 47,830 facilities under surveillance to stop substandard drinks and other goods. Alcohol-Free Growth: Asahi UK pushes its “Fixture of the Future” plan for retailers, arguing better alcohol-free beer merchandising could double the category by 2030. Wine Under Pressure: France faces its weakest wine production in 30 years as drought and heatwaves slash harvests, with Champagne hit especially hard. Packaging Policy Shift: Australia shelved a 2023 plan for national plastic packaging standards, citing cost-of-living pressure and moving to work with states instead. Food & Nutrition Scrutiny: A University of Glasgow study finds many baby food pouches contain more sugar than breastmilk and are often low in protein, raising calls for stricter rules. Beverage Supply & Water: Afghanistan reports major rural clean-water network builds, while South Africa braces for El Niño-driven heat and below-normal rainfall that could ripple into food and drink supply.

Matcha Supply Crunch: Japan’s global matcha boom is pushing up tencha prices, with shipping costs more than doubling as farmers shift from sencha to tencha—raising costs for mainstream tea drinkers. Food Safety Enforcement: A Sydney wholesale bakery was fined $84,000 after inspectors found pest-chewed food, dirty equipment, and uncovered storage, leaving the site under a prohibition order. Shelf-Life Chemistry: A new industry explainer highlights sodium benzoate powder as a key preservative lever for extending acidic beverage shelf life by targeting microbial control and formulation stability. Packaging Shift: Elopak says home and personal care brands are moving toward paper-based cartons to cut plastic use and meet retailer and regulatory expectations. Tea as a Drinks Engine: IWSR/WGSN research points to tea’s expanding role across hard tea, spirits, RTDs, and low-/no-alcohol, with matcha and other varieties driving new flavor innovation. Beverage Retail & Policy: The UK’s delayed bottle deposit return scheme is confirmed for 2027, including single-use drinks containers (PET, steel, aluminum) and excluding glass. Industry Events: Sidel will spotlight smart, complete-line beverage production tech at ALLPACK Indonesia 2026. Beer & Community: Newcastle Beer Fest is set to return in 2027 under GABS ownership, reinforcing the independent brewing push.

Beverage & Hospitality Watch: McDonald’s is dropping its pumpkin spice latte from the fall menu for the first time in a decade, swapping in a caramel apple pie flavor—an early sign that the pumpkin spice craze may be cooling. Beer & Brewing Business: Champion Breweries has named Malolan Sampath as its new CEO, signaling a push for growth and market-strengthening across Africa’s beverage and FMCG landscape. Foodservice on the Move: Regal Theaters is rolling out Star Trek 60th anniversary popcorn buckets and drink cups, leaning into collectible “theater retail” to drive fan spending. Water & Cooling Pressure: Protests are spreading against data center expansion over water use and pollution concerns, a reminder that beverage and food operators will feel downstream impacts as water stress rises. Local Beverage Ops: Vietnam’s Petrolimex and Ohmee Vietnam launched Ohmee Express convenience stores at Hanoi petrol stations, adding food and beverage retail to refueling stops. Industry Jobs/Spillover: US food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs in August, even as the broader information sector shed 23,000.

Aperitif Arms Race: Pernod Ricard is boosting Lillet sales as Brits keep chasing spritzes, with NielsenIQ data showing volumes up a third year-on-year and the brand positioning itself against Campari’s Aperol dominance. English Wine Shift: In England’s Crouch Valley, early harvests in a hot, dry 2026 summer are fueling optimism for more still red wine, with winemakers pointing to Pinot Noir as a key bet. Water-Saving Push: Bengaluru’s BWSSB is rolling out aerators on about 9.3 lakh taps to cut water use by up to 25%, aiming to ease recurring shortages. Food Labeling Fight: India’s front-of-pack warning labels are finally moving after years of delays, with court pressure forcing clearer sugar disclosures for packaged foods. Alcohol Access Under Pressure: In northeast Syria, new taxes and stricter rules are driving up alcohol prices and pushing more sales into smuggling channels. Local Seafood Pivot: Italian fishermen hit by invasive blue crabs are exporting the crustaceans to protect livelihoods and preserve native clams and mussels.

Beer & Brewing: Altitude Brewing teamed with Gibbston’s Fleck Water to launch Waterman’s London Porter, a 5.1% beer built on mineral-rich spring water traced through decades of aquifer filtration. Wine & Tourism: Denmark’s Mon island is leaning into wine tourism as small producers turn cellar-door demand into visitor experiences, including plans for hotels and visitor centers tied to sparkling and natural wine growth. Alcohol Industry Leadership: Champion Breweries PLC named Malolan Sampath as Managing Director/CEO effective Sept. 1, bringing 26+ years across beverage, FMCG and brewing roles. Food Safety & Public Health: A hazmat incident shut down part of Pennsylvania’s I-83 again after a tote leaked gas, disrupting traffic during the Labor Day weekend. Sustainability & Supply Chains: A report on 3M’s PFAS handling revisits how internal blood tests showed “forever chemicals” in the general population while concerns were dismissed or suppressed. Hospitality & Travel: Norwegian Cruise Line opened its Great Tides Waterpark on Great Stirrup Cay, adding 19 slides and new island-day attractions.

Water & Farms Funding: Virginia’s VACS program is using voluntary, local soil-and-water district support to cut nutrient runoff and protect drinking water, with farmers urged to apply through their local offices. RTD & Beer Innovation: Kirin is pushing Hyoketsu, a lighter, fruit-forward canned chuhai concept, into Korea’s fast-growing ready-to-drink boom. Alcohol Labeling Fight: India’s FSSAI says Old Monk can’t be sold as “rum” because it relies on neutral spirit plus rum flavoring, pushing it toward “rum-flavoured spirit” labeling. Public Health Watch: Hong Kong’s CHP reports five linked food-poisoning clusters tied to The Astor buffet at Eaton Hong Kong, with 14 affected. Hospitality Pressure: UK celebrity chef James Martin says operating restaurants is “getting bloody hard” as costs keep rising. Local Nightlife & Licensing: A North East nightclub licence was suspended for six weeks after alleged underage drinking and serious allegations tied to the venue. Trade Missions Debate: Manitoba brewers question a $500k provincial plan for interprovincial trade missions, arguing markups—not travel—are the barrier. Cancer & Alcohol: A new US study finds alcohol’s share of cancer deaths has doubled over 33 years, even at about one drink a day.

Retail Pulse (Eurozone): Eurozone retail trade volumes fell 0.6% month-on-month in July, the steepest drop in 14 months, with food, drinks and tobacco up 0.4% while non-food products slid 1.4%. Vineyard Threat: California officials warned the glassy-winged sharpshooter could spread Pierce’s disease, putting the state’s $73B wine industry and farm jobs at risk as budgets strain. Jobs & Dining Demand: U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in August; food services and drinking places accounted for 59,000, a potential tailwind for restaurant traffic and beverage-adjacent leisure spending. Health & Alcohol Risk: A new U.S. study links about one standard drink a day to higher cancer death risk across multiple cancers, including breast, prostate and colorectal. Litigation Watch: Consumer-protection cases are expanding, including suits targeting “zero sugar” allulose claims and sustainability/food-safety marketing by major brands. Tea Market Pricing: Matcha demand is pushing up Japan’s raw material costs, with sencha price pressure reshaping supermarket beverage choices. Food Safety Oversight: Records reviewed in a Washington pulp mill disaster point to prior safety complaints and environmental violations.

Climate & Water Risk: Nairobi County has mapped 246 flood “hotspots” ahead of El Niño-linked October–December short rains, with major road flooding risks flagged on Uhuru Highway, Jogoo Road, Kangundo Road and Thika Road, and emergency clearing of drains and waterways underway. Labor & Wine: Sonoma County’s Rodney Strong Vineyards is accused of firing a long-time bottling-room worker and running “union-busting” tactics, including alleged intimidation involving ICE agents, as workers push for better pay and protections. Food Tech & Supply Consistency: New research highlights why chocolate variability is hard to control—from cocoa fermentation microbes to sugar particle shape and cocoa butter crystal behavior—aiming for more predictable gloss, snap and shelf life. Awards & Quality Signals: Margaret River’s House of Cards winery hit a rare perfect 100-point score for its 2025 chardonnay “Ace High,” alongside multiple gold medals at the IWSC. Beverage Innovation: Mane is buying US citrus ingredient supplier Cvista to expand natural citrus solutions for beverage formulation, including citrus oil fractions and natural essences. Hospitality & Drinks Culture: Hong Kong’s Wine & Dine Festival returns Oct. 29–Nov. 1 with 300+ booths and a Bordeaux spotlight, plus ongoing citywide dining and drink offers.

Tea & Matcha Expansion: Washington’s tea scene is getting a major boost as Vale Concepts plans a 365-acre matcha-focused farm on Whidbey Island, aiming to position the Pacific Northwest like Napa did for wine. Trade & Wine Margins: Tariffs and retaliation are squeezing Walla Walla wineries, raising costs and pressuring margins as some price increases reach consumers. Foodservice Pop-Ups: Golden Wonder is bringing a free “World of Wonder” build-your-own crisps event to Glasgow (Sept. 11-12), letting shoppers mix custom seasoning blends on site. PFAS Regulatory Delay: The Trump administration has stalled a wastewater PFAS survey that would help regulators identify which industries are the biggest sources. Water Stress Hits Shipping: The Panama Canal will cut ship transits again due to El Niño drought, with daily crossings reduced to conserve water. Hemp THC Deadline Shift: A federal hemp THC ban has been delayed again, extending uncertainty for hemp beverage makers and retailers. Local Hospitality Growth: A new Vietnamese-twist coffee and ice cream shop, Kafeen & Ice Cream, opens in Raynham, adding specialty drinks like Vietnamese coffee and matcha lattes.

Front-of-Pack Labeling: India’s FSSAI has proposed a red, hexagonal warning label for packaged foods and certain highly sweetened beverages, with a two-phase rollout that starts when products hit thresholds for added sugar, saturated fat and/or salt—set for Supreme Court review on Sept. 10. Retail Convenience Shift: Reuters reports China’s “instant retail” is reshaping shopping habits after a delivery-price war, with consumers increasingly expecting groceries, cosmetics and even medicine within about an hour. Hospitality Tax Pressure: Ireland’s Taoiseach says excise cuts on alcohol are still on the table for next month’s Budget, while noting support may be considered across sectors. Coffee & Traffic: Starbucks’ turnaround continues, with nostalgic limited-time offers like the Pumpkin Spice Latte driving big footfall in North America. On-Premise Tech: South Africa’s Pilot launched Navigator, an AI layer that turns restaurant POS data into quick answers on sales trends, supplier pricing anomalies and menu profitability. Craft Beer Calendar: Australia’s Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show wraps judging, with winners due Sept. 17 and products showcased at a Sept. 19 food-and-grain event. Market Entry: Korean café chain Twosome Place plans its first U.S. store in Alexandria, Virginia, opening in October and expanding through the DMV area.

Trade Tensions & Alcohol/Ag Impacts: Vermont Sen. Peter Welch warned business leaders that Canada’s planned retaliatory tariffs (starting Sept. 8) are hitting more than just costs—“rhetoric” and eroding trust are worsening the damage to cross-border travel and revenue. Policy & Pricing Pressure: Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin said an alcohol excise cut is still on the table for Budget 2027, after last year’s VAT hospitality reduction helped food and non-alcoholic drinks but not alcohol. Dairy Investment: Chobani will invest $1.2B in a new Allentown, Pennsylvania facility aimed at higher-protein, lower-sugar milk products, targeting 900+ jobs and sourcing 3B+ pounds of Pennsylvania milk annually. Spirits & Distribution: Dunville’s Irish Whiskey is expanding in Canada via a new partnership with Dandurand, with rollout expected to finish in Alberta by end-2026. Retail/Consumer Promotions: Langers Juice launches a Crayola Scribble Scrubbies mail-in toy promotion on about 1M bottles, betting on family-friendly brand tie-ins. Hospitality Demand Shift: Christchurch hospitality reports record-low alcohol consumption as younger people drink far less than past generations. Sustainability/Water: India’s PM Modi urged AI-driven water data governance to improve collection and use across the water sector. Industry Restructuring: Brewster Heights Orchard and Heritage Orchard Alliance cleared a key creditor step in BHPO’s Chapter 11 restructuring, paving the way for a combined fruit operation.

Food Safety Crackdown: India’s food safety probe in Navi Mumbai found nearly 5,000 cartons of major packaged brands allegedly expired or near-expiry, with investigators citing chemicals to erase dates, machines to reprint labels, and replacement nutrition info—raising concerns about fake labeling and altered products. Water & Infrastructure: Israel shut down most desalination plants after a spike in seawater turbidity, prompting limits on landscaping/agricultural use while officials shift pumping and activate extra capacity; in Vermont, regulators reminded large groundwater users about annual reporting and permitting thresholds. Beverage Business Moves: Tilaknagar Industries is buying a 30% stake in Black Tiger Distilleries via a Rs 22 crore investment, marking its tequila entry as India’s tequila market grows fast. Sustainability & Ops: Tetra Pak won its fifth straight Kepner-Tregoe Excellence Award for service operations, highlighting predictive maintenance and resource efficiency for food and beverage producers. Research & Innovation: A study suggests carob flour can improve gluten-free pasta firmness and reduce stickiness, with performance tied to inclusion levels.

Premium QSR & coffee momentum: Starbucks’ fall menu launch hit record North American demand, with Pumpkin Spice Latte driving strength and new seasonal items like the Hedgehog Cake Pop posting top single-day sales. Dealmaking beyond home turf: Yum Brands closed its $1.5B Pizza Hut sale outside China to LongRange Capital, setting up a new chapter for the brand after the earlier $1.2B Pizza Hut China deal. Foodservice supply chain innovation: McLane rolled out McLane360 and new foodservice items at its 2026 summit, plus supplier awards spanning logistics, category growth, and philanthropy. Beverage-adjacent packaging & recycling policy: California’s AB 2253 recycled-content claims bill advanced to Newsom, tightening standards for environmental labeling that beverage and CPG brands use. Water & sanitation for communities: Manila Water Foundation activated emergency WASH support in flood-hit areas, distributing potable water and hygiene kits. Sustainability tech for water: CETCO’s FLUORO-SORB® adsorbent won a WEF Innovative Technology Award for PFAS removal. Craft beer spotlight: New Jersey Brewers Cup crowned 27 breweries across 15 styles in a blind-judged competition.