Mupy, a reference brand for soy drinks with fruit juice, and SIG, a leading solutions provider of packaging for better, recently signed a partnership for SIG to provide carton packs and filling services to Mupy via a copacker.
Mupy is projecting growth for the coming years and packaging solutions from SIG will play an integral part in achieving their target of doubling turnover by 2025. Mupy, under the new management of Alexandre Moreno, had revenues of 115 million reais and produced 11.7 million liters of soy drinks with fruit juice in 2023.
In order to achieve future growth with soy and juice beverages, Mupy relies on the high speed and flexible filling machines from SIG. The efficiency rate in the production process is very high, with a waste rate of just 0.5 %. In addition, SIG’s filling machines provide maximum flexibility and make it possible to fill products of different categories and viscosities in different volume sizes on one and the same filling machine.
Mupy offers its soy and juice drinks in the flavours grape, pineapple, apple, passion fruit, strawberry, orange, and peach in two SIG carton formats: SIG MiniBloc 200 ml and SIG MidiBloc 1,000 ml.
The combination of juice and soy milk allows Mupy to diversify its product offerings within the juice or plant-based drinks category, catering to a health-conscious market while at the same time tapping into the growing demand for plant-based alternatives, thereby enhancing market competitiveness and meeting the evolving preferences of consumers.
The South American market for plant-based products has been growing in recent years, according to The Good Food Institute Brazil (GFI). The plant-based drinks market grew by 15 % in 2022 and is expected to have an average annual expansion of almost 12 % by 2027. According to data from Bloomberg Intelligence, Brazil is the largest consumer of plant-based foods in Latin America, followed by Mexico, Chile and Argentina.
Today’s consumers are seeking more balanced and nutritious beverage options. The beverage blend of soy and juice offers a unique fusion of fruity flavours from the juice, the creamy texture of soy milk and notable health benefits of soy. Soy is a rich source of plant-based protein, making the beverage an excellent option for individuals looking to increase protein intake. Additionally, soy contains essential amino acids, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals, contributing for instance to immune health. The combination of the nutritional advantages of soy reinforces the appeal of the juice for both health-conscious consumers and producers aiming to offer a wholesome beverage option.
Renata Kasahara, Head of Marketing America South at SIG: “With our agile and flexible filling system, customers are well positioned to respond efficiently to any trend that is shaping the market.”
Consumer demand for plant-based products has been driven by the search for a healthier diet and products that are more sustainable. “Carton packaging is among the most sustainable packaging options. 75 % of its composition is paperboard from renewable sources and at SIG, 100 % of the paperboard we source is FSCTM-certified. All of the aluminum we purchase for SIG aseptic carton packs is certified against the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Standards and we produce all our cartons with 100 % renewable electricity. In other words, opting for SIG means responsibly sourced and sustainably produced packaging to meet the demands of Mupy’s consumers”, Renata adds.
With success in 2023, Mupy’s ambitions for the coming years are high. Alexandre Moreno, the company’s CEO, is optimistic about 2024: “In 2023 we grew by more than 22 % compared to 2022 and our plan is to double our turnover by 2025. For this, the partnership between Mupy and SIG is fundamental.”
Back to his old domain: on January 1, 2024, Tobias Wetzel will become the new managerial head of Sales and Service at KHS. This has now been confirmed by the company’s supervisory board. The 50-year-old switches from the Mannesmann Stainless Tubes group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of seamless stainless steel and nickel-based alloy tubes and pipes, to the systems provider. Between 2011 and 2020 Wetzel already held various managerial positions at KHS, most recently as head of the Service Division. He joins Kai Acker (CEO), Martin Resch (CFO Finance, Procurement and IT) and Beate Schäfer (CHRO) to complete the KHS Executive Management Board.
After finishing his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in general management at what is now the Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, Wetzel gained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from FOM International University for economy and management. His studies complete, he then started his career at Coca-Cola where he remained for over three years, amassing extensive experience in the beverage industry.
Prior to his starting in his new post, Wetzel held a number of managerial positions for the Dortmund systems provider over a period of ten years, first as head of RC Service Sales Support, then as executive vice-president of Corporate Controlling and finally as head of the Service Division until his departure. Between April 2015 and August 2019 he also assumed the management of the production site in Hamburg, then active under the name of KHS Corpoplast GmbH (now KHS GmbH). Before his time with the turnkey supplier, the graduate business economist spent around ten years in various functions at and companies of Mannesmannröhren-Werke – and has thus been working for Salzgitter AG, to which both companies belong, for over 20 years.
From now on, JuiSea Shipping will operate a regular shipping service from Ghent in North Sea Port for the export of orange juice to the United Kingdom. North Sea Port thus manages to strengthen its position as a foodport.
JuiSea Shipping is a collaboration of Refresco and Trilobes, both with headquarters in the Netherlands. The orange juice will be loaded on board the 89m vessel MV Marilie in Ghent at Louis Dreyfus Company and Citrosuco. Chartered by JuiSea Shipping, this vessel will sail between Ghent and the port of Portland, UK, 32 times a year, where it will be offloaded for Refresco’s Bridgwater plant. The vessel, sailing under the Finnish flag, will carry both concentrates of orange juice and fresh orange juice.
Global players
For the import and export of orange juice, North Sea Port is home to companies from all over the world. The Refresco Group is the world’s largest independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices. It operates with over 10,000 employees at more than 60 production sites in twelve countries. Trilobes specialises in tank construction, terminals and ship cargo systems for liquid bulk. It operates on all continents, for example in Brazil, Belgium and Japan.
Foodport
So from now on, orange juice will also be shipped to the United Kingdom from Ghent. This strengthens one of North Sea Port’s strategic pillars. Indeed, with this shipping service, the port is further developed as a foodport. Brazil and the United Kingdom are therefore of great importance here: in 2021 Brazil was the third most important trading partner for North Sea Port, the United Kingdom the fourth.
thyssenkrupp is investing in the safety of fresh food products by building Germany’s biggest center for high-pressure processing of food in the town of Quakenbrück, Lower Saxony. Construction of the center in Quakenbrück’s business and innovation park will commence in early 2020. From the start of 2021, up to 26 metric tons of food products daily will undergo gentle and reliable preservation at the roughly 630 m2 facility, which is being built at a cost of around 3 million euros.
Nowadays, more and more people attach importance to a healthy diet with fresh, natural produce. Using thyssenkrupp’s high-pressure pasteurization (HPP) process, food can be preserved gently without the need for heat or chemical additives. High pressures of up to 6,000 bar eliminate contaminants such as pathogens, fungi and yeasts, significantly slowing and in some cases even preventing decay while retaining valuable ingredients.
Christian Myland, CEO of Uhde High Pressure Technologies: “Quakenbrück is one of the most important research and technology centers for the German food industry, making it the ideal location for our project. In the future, food manufacturers will be able to come to our service center to see the advantages of high-pressure processing for themselves. HPP technology will help them serve the rising demand for natural, additive-free products.”
The new service center will be able to process a wide range of food products including juices, purees, dairy products, meats, seafoods and many more. It will be built in the direct vicinity of the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL), with which thyssenkrupp cooperates on research and development. The DIL is one of Europe’s leading food industry research and development facilities. Cooperation will focus among other things on microbiological testing and the development of completely new long-lasting, clean and wholesome food products based on HPP technology.
Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) will invest over EUR 500 million in 2019, as part of an ongoing multi-year EUR 1.5 billion investment programme.
The announcement was made at CAGNY Conference for investors in Miami. The programme focuses on delivering more for our customers by investing in new technology, supply chain capabilities and coolers.
Damian Gammell, Chief Executive Officer at Coca-Cola European Partners, said: “We’re investing in key areas of the business to make it easier for customers to do business with us, and to offer consumers a wider range of great products. Last year our targeted investment programme helped to create EUR 8.7 billion in value for customers – nearly EUR 600 million more than 2017.”
Next generation digital solutions
Making it easier for customers to do business with us by developing and investing in new digital solutions. Highlights include:
- Mobile sales tools which not only improve the customer experience but also increase productivity and optimise sell time
- New business analytics capabilities to improve promotions and forecasting with customers
- Expanding digital services for customers, such as Kollex, a recently established digital joint venture for the beverage wholesale trade and the away-from-home market in Germany
Boosting capabilities across our supply chain
Increasing capacity and capabilities to service our customers quickly and easily, and support our growing portfolio of drinks sustainably. Highlights include:
- New manufacturing lines in Halle, Mannheim, Barcelona, Seville, Ghent and Wakefield to provide consumers with a greater choice of products and packs
- Increasing the amount of recycled plastic in our products, such as the ongoing work with Ioniqa to transform hard to recycle plastic waste into high quality, food-grade PET
- Increasing capacity for refillable glass bottles and trialling new routes to market, such as our new partnership with Loop and Carrefour in France for returnable and refillable glass
Increasing product availability
Expand cold drink equipment, making it easier for consumers to find our drinks on the go. Highlights include:
- Placing 69,000 more coolers in customers’ outlets in 2019
- Better outlet targeting and segmentation through an expanded range of cooler sizes and types
CCEP Ventures
At CAGNY Conference, CCEP also announced the creation of an innovation investment programme.
The programme – CCEP Ventures – will focus solutions across customer experience and support, logistics and distribution, future packaging design and technology, prediction and pricing analytics
On the launch of CCEP Ventures, Mr Gammell said: “Our business faces future disruptive trends that need innovative solutions and we need to adapt and learn quickly. CCEP Ventures will help us bring the best minds and ideas from the outside world into our business. It will help us find, fund and foster new solutions and scale with speed.”
SIG offers manufactures a new remote services solution to maximise filling line uptime
As part of its expanding Digital Service portfolio for customers, SIG has launched Remote Services, offering food and beverage manufacturers a smarter way to service their filling machines and to generate more filling line uptime.
Remote Services from SIG is a new digital service that can instantly connect a customer or service engineer to an SIG service expert from anywhere in the world. By using video-enabled smart glasses, SIG can provide a secure live-feed to an SIG expert who can guide users through solving any fault or issue.
SIG developed Remote Services in response to new customer challenges and demands. With the food and beverage industry facing higher competitive pressures, operational complexity and shorter production cycles, manufacturers can no longer afford long waiting times for support and the risk of downtime.
Remote Services ensures SIG’s customers receive fast response times, an improved first-time fix rate, more data insights and analysis, and ultimately more filling line uptime. In addition, Remote Services can help reduce costly travel times, expenses and CO2 emissions.
Remote Services is part of SIG’s value-adding Smart Factory platform – a commitment to deliver smarter filling line solutions and technical services that help transform customer filling plants into intelligent and connected factories.
As part of the Remote Services solution, SIG smart glasses provide a live-feed from the customer plant to an SIG Remote Services expert. This remote service creates a secure data connection and enables the SIG expert to see exactly what the onsite customer or service engineer sees. The Remote Services expert can then send detailed instructions or technical drawings and guide them through resolving the issue. At the same time, the Remote Services expert can identify any parts that need replacing and order them for fast delivery and repair.
