What happened in the FMCG sector this week? It was a week full of interesting news stories. Read back on the top stories that dominated Inside FMCG’s headlines.
Nestlé launched a new plant-based burger in Woolworths
FMCG multinational Nestlé unveiled a new ‘cook from raw’ plant-based burger in Australia, the Harvest Gourmet Incredible Burger. It’s similar to a beef burger in texture and taste but uses soy, wheat protein and natural plant extracts – such as beetroot, carrots, capsicum and coconut oil to give a marbled fat appearance. Tracy Hardwick, Nestlé marketing manager foods said that the “new burgers don’t compromise on flavour, texture or cooking experience. They underline Nestlé’s increased focus on tasty, authentic plant-based food.”
Amazon Australia boosted grocery offering with subscription service
Online retailer Amazon Australia launched ‘Subscribe and Save’, a service with free delivery on repeat scheduled orders of pantry food and beverages, pet supplies, beauty and vitamins and supplements. Shoppers can choose how often they need their products delivered, starting from a monthly basis to a six monthly basis. Popular brands including Carman’s, Coca Cola, Fairy, Heinz and Huggies are among the thousands of products available on Subscribe and Save.
Pepsi Max takes on Coca-Cola in taste challenge
Soft drinks Pepsi Max and Coke will battle it out in a blind taste test challenge. It’s been decades since Pepsi launched the challenge but it will come to Australia for the first time on November 4. The brand is confident that consumers will prefer the taste of Pepsi Max.
Carolyn Baveystock, marketing manager Pepsi Max Australia said that the Taste Challenge was a huge success abroad.
Johnson & Johnson recalled baby powder due to asbestos
Consumer goods giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has pulled 33,000 bottles of its iconic baby powder in the US after health regulators found traces of asbestos in samples from a bottle bought online. The voluntary recall of Johnson’s baby powder is the first time the company has recalled the product despite facing thousands of lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products caused their cancer. J&J said it was recalling the lot “out of an abundance of caution” in response to the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) test.
Treasury Wine Estates CEO announced retirement
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) CEO and managing director Michael Clarke will retire in 2020 to return to the UK to spend time with his family. He will continue to act as an advisor for a year after his departure. Clarke will support the team with potential mergers or acquisitions. TWE chief operating officer Tim Ford will take up the chief executive role on Clarke’s departure in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. TWE chairman Paul Rayner said in a statement on ASX that Clarke drove “extraordinary transformation and outstanding financial returns” for TWE.
That’s it for this week! We will be back with the top FMCG news on Monday morning.
