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Gourmet News April 2014

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General News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 2 Craft Brewers Conference Comes to Colorado April 8-11, Denver will play host to the 31st edition of the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America ® . Presented by the Brewers Association, CBC is the largest industry event, and the only one that serves both brewpubs and packaging breweries. BrewExpo America is the premier trade show for craft brewers, allowing exhibitors and buyers to develop profitable business relationships, and helping brewing and brewery restaurant professionals encounter the latest and the best products and services that industry vendors have to offer. CBC 2014 also serves as home to the World Beer Cup ® , often referred to as "The Olympics of Beer Competition." As the world's largest global beer competition, WBC creates greater awareness about different beer styles and flavors while promoting international brewing excellence. For more information on the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, visit www.craftbrewersconference.com. Expo Finefood Joins Forces with HOTELEX As one of the largest, most effective and highest level exhibitions in the hospitality industry, HOTELEX Shanghai will be held from March 31-April 3 at Shanghai's New International Expo Center. One of the most important areas of HOTELEX, Expo Finefood, will have an exhibition area of over 45,000 square meters, with many exciting world-level events. It is reported that the exhibition area of Expo Finefood 2014 has sold over 40,000 square meters and will have more than 30 percent growth over last year. There are over 450 exhibitors scheduled to participate in Expo Finefood 2014. Exhibitor categories include bakery & ice cream, coffee & tea, beverages, wine & spirits, cooking ingredients and more. Expo Finefood has always concentrated on bringing the highest quality, on-trend food ingredients onto the show floor. Visit www.hotelex.cn to get more information or to register to attend Expo Finefood 2014. The Second Edition of Food Ingredients Istanbul is Back with a Bang On April 24-26, Food Ingredients Istanbul will become once more the only food ingredients exhibition that joins together Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Asia and Europe are amongst the largest economies in the world with Istanbul bridging these advanced markets. With such a superb geographical location, a rapidly expanding economy and being one of the largest countries in the world for agricultural production, Turkey provides an essential placement for business development, innovation and trade opportunities in the entire region. The show has generated an unprecedented interest with a forecasted audience of more than 4,500 attendees. Two hundred exhibitors from across all five continents guarantees that Fi Istanbul will be a place for innovation featuring food ingredients, distributors as well as service providers for food & beverage professionals. Learn more about Fi Istanbul at www.fi-istanbul.com. U.S. Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey Drive Export Records in 2013 American distilled spirits exports broke new records in 2013 crossing the $1.5 billion threshold, driven by premium bourbon and Tennessee whiskey which exceeded the $1 billion mark for the first time. This is ac- cording to a recent report from the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS). "Eighty years after Prohibition repeal, this global whiskey renaissance is a trend that is benefiting producers, large and small, in the U.S. and around the world," said DISCUS CEO Peter H. Cressy. "These export records are driven by industry inno- vation, a very positive perception of Amer- ican distilled spirits quality and heritage, and market-opening trade agreements." In the important U.S. home market, DIS- CUS reported steady supplier sales growth in 2013 of 4.4 percent to $22.2 billion, paced by whiskeys of all varieties. Total U.S. volume growth was up 1.9 percent to ap- proximately 206 million cases. DISCUS es- timated overall retail sales of distilled spirits in the U.S. market at upwards of $66 billion. Key factors cited as contributing to the U.S. market growth included industry product innovations, consumer fascination with premium-ization, heritage and cock- tail culture, expanded access through state market modernizations and effective hos- pitality tax restraint by legislatures. "The wide product selection spirits sup- pliers offer consumers again paid off with solid revenue growth," said DISCUS Chief Economist David Ozgo. "For the first time in decades, all whiskey categories saw some growth. Whiskey was once the dominant spirit of choice for most Americans. While growth had been picking up over the last few years, 2013 was a banner year." Ozgo reported that whiskeys of all vari- eties in the domestic market grew 6.2 per- cent to 52.7 million cases, worth just over $7 billion in supplier sales, up 10.1 percent or $643 million in 2013. Highlights within the whiskey category include Irish up 17.5 percent in volume to 2.5 million cases worth $500 million, single malt scotch, up 11.6 percent in volume to 1.8 million cases worth $590 million and bourbon and Ten- nessee whiskey up 6.8 percent in volume to 18 million cases worth $2.4 billion. "There is a genuine affection for 'Brand America' as a symbol of quality and taste," said DISCUS Senior Vice President for In- ternational Trade Christine LoCascio. Lo- Cascio also pointed to "the strong heritage backstory for American whiskey brands dating to George Washington, whose re- constructed distillery has received interna- tional media coverage." Other factors LoCascio cited for strong American distilled spirits export growth were market opening and other trade agree- ments in recent years that have seen tariffs significantly reduced or eliminated in key countries and regions including Panama, China, Australia, Colombia, Korea and Chile, among others. LoCascio also pointed to the Council's own export promotion program—Cheers from the USA—which, in partnership with USDA since 2005, has conducted American spirits promotions in 15 key targeted coun- tries, and that currently has American Whiskey Ambassadors in China and India. Other important contributing factors in- cluded a globally resurgent cocktail culture, into which U.S. whiskeys fit well, rising middle classes with disposable income around the globe and industry innovation in bringing new products to market, cou- pled with general premium-ization trends around the globe. GN Just-Drinks Research: Flavored Vodka Sales Stalling A new report from online beverage resource just-drinks has suggested that the dy- namism and growth of the flavored vodka category, long one of the key engines be- hind the vodka sector, is in decline. According to "just-drinks: On-Trend: Vodka Flavors Review," while the flavored vodka sector has spurred growth in the larger vodka category in recent years, the growth in the flavored market has been slowing down. In 2012, the flavored vodka market increased by 5.6 percent to 23.3 million cases. However, this represented a slowdown from the 7.8 percent growth achieved in 2011 and the 9 percent growth registered in 2010. While the growth in flavored vodka is declining, the number of new flavored product launches per year has continued to rise. Still, the pace of new product develop- ment is slowing. Some 21 new flavored products hit the market in 2011, with more than double the following year (44). While 2013 saw 50 new flavored vodka launches, the just-drinks report points out that this represents only a 14 percent increase from 2012, versus the 110 percent change seen between 2011 and 2012. "This suggests that brand owners are reacting but are behind the consump- tion trend curve," warned the just- drinks report. Established in 1999, just-drinks is a lead- ing online resource for the global beverage industry, publishing around 20 news arti- cles, analysis, features and insights every working day. Under the direction of man- aging editor Olly Wehring, its experienced team of journalists, consultants and ana- lysts provide a unique and comprehensive blend of reports and interpretation of the beverage industry, including key events, trends, interviews and research that are de- livered to over 92,000 business executives per month. For more information, visit www.just-drinks.com. GN

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