Beverage Producers Debate Future Trends

The Hospitality and Gaming Australasia (HGA) expo came to a close yesterday (Apr 20), with some informative discussions to finish the conference part of the show.

The Trends – Focus On Beverage session featured a panel discussion with representatives from Foster's, Lion Nathan, Coca-Cola Amatil, Espresso Essential and Peter Lehmann Wines.

The panelists addressed a number of different trends across wine, beer, coffee and spirits, with some interesting issues discussed.

CUB regional director - Queensland, Greg Philipp, talked about both the growth of craft beer, with patrons now drinking seven or eight different beers, as well as the growth of premiumisation.

Peter Lehmann national public relations manager, Malcolm Stopp, talked about the issues and trends in the wine industry, such as overproduction, the continued dominance of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the growth of cleanskins and the potential outcomes of the Henry tax review.

“95 percent of all wine would increase in price if the Henry tax review was introduced and around 12,000 people would lose their jobs,” Stopp said.

Espresso Essential Australasian sales manager, Scott Groves, discussed the exponential rise of coffee in pubs, clubs, hotels and bars throughout Australia and world-wide.

“Coffee is the second biggest trading commodity in the world, second only to oil,” Groves said. “500 billion cups of coffee are consumed world-wide each year.”

TheShout caught up with Malcolm Stopp late yesterday for his views on the discussions and Peter Lehmann Wine's latest releases.