WE Soda, the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash, on Wednesday unveiled plans for a listing on London’s main bourse, injecting life into a market that has been struggling to attract new listings. Author of the article:
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(Bloomberg) — WE Soda, the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash, on Wednesday unveiled plans for a listing on London’s main bourse, injecting life into a market that has been struggling to attract new listings. Advertisement 2
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Chemical Producer WE Soda Seeks UK IPO, Boosting Weak Market Back to video
The company’s controlling shareholder, Turkish industrial conglomerate Ciner Group, will sell shares in the initial public offering, according to a statement. At least 10% of the share capital will be available for trading, in line with new London listing rules. Financial Post Top Stories
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Based on a Bloomberg News report from March, WE Soda will seek a market capitalization significantly higher than the roughly $5 billion it had earlier aimed for after its profits jumped. The listing will help boost London’s flagging IPO market, where just under $600 million has been raised so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rising interest rates, heightened inflation and volatile markets have kept investors on the sidelines, with some now selectively putting money in stable, cash-generative assets. Advertisement 3
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WE Soda has had “a very broad dialog” with investors and “some extremely supportive meetings and feedback,” said Nicholas Hall, the firm’s chief strategy and risk officer, who was previously a managing director at JPMorgan Chase & Co. The company’s listing decision was also helped in part by rule changes in London allowing companies to reduce the free float, that is the proportion of shares available to the public for trading, to 10% from 25%, given its large size, he said by phone. WE Soda, which is one of the lowest cost producers of soda ash globally, produced about 5 million metric tons of natural soda ash and sodium bicarbonate in 2022. Soda ash is primarily used for glass-making and is also a key ingredient for chemicals used in lithium ion batteries, which could add to demand in the future. While most of global supply is produced synthetically using brine and limestone in an energy-intensive process, WE Soda extracts it in its mineral form at sites in Turkey. It also has a new greenfield project in Wyoming that’s expected to come on stream before 2030. Ciner Group also has a presence in the energy, shipping and media industries. It operates the BloombergHT television channel in Turkey under a deal with Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News. BNP Paribas SA, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan are joint global coordinators on the offering, while Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Liberum, Morgan Stanley, MUFG and Numis Corp. are joint bookrunners. (Adds executive’s comments in fifth and sixth paragraphs, banks in last)

Chemical Producer WE Soda Seeks UK IPO, Boosting Weak Market

This Week’s New Beverages: Minions Soda, Adventurous Mocktails and Lemon Tea
In this week’s roundup of new beverages, Olipop rolled out a new limited edition soda flavor inspired by Illumination’s Minions, KUL MOCKS unveiled its 3-SKU Adventure Collection and Montauk rolled out Lemon Tea amid rapid sales growth in the Tri-State. Olipop
In conjunction with the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, Olipop teamed up with Illumination to release a new limited-edition flavor: Banana Cream. Inspired by the minions’ love of bananas, the limited-edition flavor joins Olipop’s existing lineup of classic flavors like root beer and orange soda. The “most diabolical soda in the world” is available now through July for $35.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit drinkolipop.com . Remedy Drinks
New York-based sparkling kombucha brand Remedy Drinks announced its newest variety: Mango Passion. The new addition comes as the brand makes headway in regional retailers nationwide into Erewhon, Savesmart and Lucky’s in California and Cub, Tops and Weis on the East Coast. Each 8.5 oz. can has just 5 calories and zero sugar. Remedy Drinks Mango Passion is available for $38.99 per 24-pack. For more information, visit remedydrinks.com . Montauk Iced Tea
Montauk Iced Tea is expanding its line of teas and lemonades with Lemon Tea, available for purchase in-store and online later this month. For more information, visit montaukbev.com . Teaonic
Functional wellness brand TEAONIC rolled out its new line extension of functional sodas, Fresh Pop. First showcased at Expo West 2022, the better-for-you sodas are available in three varieties: Detox (Ginger + Lemon), Chill (Tart Cherry + Hibiscus) and Immunity (Orange + Elderberry). The Fresh Pop variety pack is available online for $32 per 9-pack. For more information, visit teaonic.com . Mayawell
Texas-based prebiotic soda brand Mayawell is offering up Watermelon Mint as its newest release. The flavor features black currant and carrot extract to provide an antioxidant boost. The new addition is available online for $34.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit drinkmayawell.com . KUL MOCKS
Wisconsin-based mocktail maker KUL MOCKS added a new Adventure Collection, a variety 6-pack that features three new ready-to-drink cocktails. Like all of KUL MOCK’s beverages, the Adventure Collection – available in Classic Mock-arita, Mock G & T and Peach Hibiscus Cider varieties – are 0.0% ABV and caffeine-free. For more information, visit kulmocks.com . GuS Soda
Grown Up Soda (GuS) is introducing its newest flavor, Mango Peach, at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. The drink features mango puree and peach juice and delivers a “full-bodied tropical taste sensation.” Each 12 oz. bottle contains 90 calories, clocking in at 40% less fewer calories and carbs than typical sodas, according to the brand. GuS Mango Peach will roll out regionally, then nationally with new and existing distributors. For more information, visit drinkgus.com .

This Week’s New Beverages: Minions Soda, Adventurous Mocktails and Lemon Tea

Soda and Beer Companies Are Ditching Plastic Six-Pack Rings
In an effort to cut down on plastic waste, packaging is taking on different forms that can be more easily recycled or that do away with plastic altogether. Send any friend a story
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March 30, 2022Updated 1:17 p.m. ET
The plastic rings ubiquitous with six-packs of beer and soda are gradually becoming a thing of the past as more companies switch to greener packaging. The changes are taking different forms — from cardboard to six-pack rings made with leftover barley straw. While the transitions can be a step toward sustainability, some experts say that simply switching to different packaging material could be the wrong solution or not enough, and that more plastic needs to be recycled and remade. This month, Coors Light said it would stop using plastic six-pack rings in the packaging of its North American brands, replacing them with cardboard wrap carriers by the end of 2025 and eliminating 1.7 million pounds of plastic waste every year. The initiative, which the company said would be supported by an $85 million investment, is the latest by a major brand to replace the six-ring plastic loops that have become a symbol of harm to the environment. Since the 1980s, environmentalists have warned that discarded plastic is building up in landfills, sewers and rivers, and flowing into oceans. One 2017 study found that plastic polluted all major ocean basins, and that an estimated four million to 12 million metric tons of plastic waste entered marine environments in 2010 alone. Plastic rings have been known to entangle sea animals, sometimes staying stuck on them as they grow, and are more often ingested by animals. While cutting up the plastic rings became a popular way to prevent the creatures from getting ensnared, it also posed issues for companies trying to recycle, Patrick Krieger, vice president of sustainability for the Plastics Industry Association, said. “When you were a kid, they taught you before you disposed of a six-pack ring that you were supposed to cut it into small pieces so that if something terrible happened that it didn’t catch a duck or turtle in it,” Mr. Krieger said. “But it actually makes it small enough that it’s really hard to sort out,” he said. Mr. Krieger said companies have for years preferred plastic-loop packaging because it was cheap and lightweight. “It kept all those aluminum cans together in a pretty, neat and tidy way,” he said. “We now understand that we can be doing better as an industry and that customers are wanting to use different kinds of products.”
The material has been challenged by activists for the harm it can pose to wildlife and concerns about pollution. In 1994, the United States government mandated that plastic six-pack rings must be degradable. But plastic continued to grow as an environmental problem. With more than eight billion metric tons of plastic produced since the 1950s, 79 percent has piled up in landfills, according to the 2017 study . In its announcement, Coors Light said it would pivot to using material that is 100 percent sustainable, meaning it is plastic-free, fully recyclable and reusable. “Earth needs our help,” the company said in a statement. “Single-use plastic is polluting the environment. Water resources are limited, and global temperatures are rising faster than ever. We’re chill about a lot of things, but this is not one of them.”
Other brands are also making changes. Last year, Corona introduced packaging made of surplus barley straw and recycled wood fibers. In January, Grupo Modelo announced a $4 million investment to replace hard-to-recycle plastic packaging with fiber-based materials, according to AB InBev, which oversees both beer brands. Coca-Cola produced 900 prototype bottles made almost entirely of plant-based plastic, excluding the cap and the label, and PepsiCo has committed to making Pepsi bottles with 100 percent recycled plastic in nine European markets by the end of the year. By starting in select markets, companies can “take a local approach to identifying solutions that can be scalable,” Ezgi Barcenas, chief sustainability officer of AB InBev, said. But “some healthy skepticism” is in order, Roland Geyer, a professor of industrial ecology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said. “I think there’s a big difference between companies just managing their reputation and wanting to be seen to be doing something, and companies doing something that is really meaningful,” Professor Geyer said. “Sometimes it’s really hard to tell those two apart.”
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Plastic rings hold together sets of beer cans. Credit...GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Elizabeth Sturcken, a managing director for the Environmental Defense Fund, said that Coors Light’s announcement and others that address the overuse of plastic is a “big step in the right direction,” but that companies must change their business models to tackle other environmental issues like emissions. “When it comes to addressing the climate crisis, the hard reality is that changes like this are not enough,” Ms. Sturcken said. “Tackling the micro without addressing the macro is no longer acceptable.”
Alexis Jackson, an ocean policy and plastics lead for the Nature Conservancy, said that “ambitious and comprehensive policy” is needed to create a more sustainable future. “Voluntary and intermittent commitments are not enough to move the needle on what may be one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time,” she said. When it comes to plastic, some experts say simply switching to a different packaging material would not stop landfills from overflowing. “If you transition from a plastic ring to a paper ring, or to something else, that thing will probably still have a decent chance of ending up in the environment or being incinerated,” Joshua Baca, vice president of the plastics division at the American Chemistry Council, said. He said companies are being forced to change their business models. Some are increasing the amount of recycled content used in packaging. Coca-Cola plans to make its packaging recyclable worldwide by 2025, according to its Business & Environmental, Social and Governance Report , published last year. PepsiCo also plans to design recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging by 2025, its sustainability performance report said . Some craft breweries — like Deep Ellum Brewing Company in Texas and Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co. in New York — use durable plastic handles, which can be easier to recycle even though they are made of more plastic than the rings. Mr. Baca said that can be beneficial if it is easier for the plastic to be remade rather than being thrown away. For shifts to more sustainable forms of packaging to really make a difference, collecting and sorting need to be easier, recycling facilities updated, and less new plastic must be produced, Mr. Krieger said. As for criticism from groups opposed to plastic, he said: “We’re not going to be able to recycle our way out of the problem of overconsumption.”
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Soda and Beer Companies Are Ditching Plastic Six-Pack Rings

Hank’s Gourmet Beverages Introduces Newest Seasonal Soda, Caramel Apple Cream
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PHILADELPHIA– Hank’s Gourmet Beverages, the Philadelphia-based concern that helped pioneer of the Craft Soda boom, is adding an exciting 10th flavor to its lineup just in time for the holidays, a new seasonal offering, Hank’s Gourmet Caramel Apple Cream Soda. This latest limited-entry for the company’s annual Hanksgiving event was developed over two years of painstaking, but very pleasurable research. Hank’s Caramel Apple Cream marries the tart bite of a perfectly ripe Granny Smith apple with the smooth body of toffee and hints of golden butter-caramel. The product is being released as a limited edition now through New Years, along with a new supply of Hank’s Pumpkin Spice, the hugely popular seasonal introduced during 2019’s Hanksgiving promotion, the Company’s yearly event celebrating the pairing of gourmet sodas with food. “Our new Caramel Apple Cream is like a trip to the Farmer’s Market, where you could smell that buttery caramel aroma in the air, even before you saw the glistening caramel apples on-a-stick,” says Tony Salvatore, Partner and Chief Customer Officer, Hank’s Beverage Company. “Tart, sweet, creamy all at once, you’ll be delighted at the blend of flavors our Product Development maven Bill Dunman managed to cram into each bottle! Together with the return of Pumpkin Spice, we are making the holiday season the most delicious time of the year for our retailers and fans alike.”
Hank’s Caramel Apple Cream comes packed in signature, award-winning amber bottles, as a 24-unit single case. It promotes well with fall imagery at retail, and can work nicely in displays throughout the holiday season. Based on aggressive pre-orders, Caramel Apple has shown real traction across a range of new and innovative Retail outlets, including bakeries, ice cream stands, orchards, farm stands and holiday shops. The flavor is also expected to be a featured in several supermarkets’ seasonal aisles nationwide. About Hank’s Gourmet Beverages
Since launching in 1995, Hank’s Gourmet Beverages have become available in upscale restaurants, bars, gourmet and specialty stores and via online sales to the booming, nationwide audience of craft soda lovers. The original variety, Hank’s Gourmet Root Beer, today anchors a 10-item craft soda product line that has grown to include Diet Root Beer, Orange Cream, Vanilla Cream, Wishniak Black Cherry, Birch Beer, Grape and Caribbean Ginger Beer, along with Pumpkin Spice and new Caramel Apple Cream. This flavor line-up reinforces Hank’s authentic, high-quality image along with its upscale, award-winning packaging and consistent use of pure cane sugar. Hank’s has become a favorite of hip gourmet food devotees, chefs, bartenders, restaurateurs, soda fanatics as well as critics at prestigious media outlets like Eater, Grub Street and the Los Angeles Times. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently honored the company as a leading multi-generational family business. For more details about individual Hank’s accounts and retailers in your area or more info: www.hanksbeverages.net
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Hank’s Gourmet Beverages Introduces Newest Seasonal Soda, Caramel Apple Cream

September 3, 2020
IPV , experts in intelligent video content management for more than 20 years, and Integrated Media Technologies, Inc. (IMT) , a leading media technology provider, today announced the integration between IPV’s Curator media asset management and IMT’s SoDA application. SoDA enterprise software predicts the costs and streamlines data transfers to and from the public cloud. “Media organizations are currently dealing with an unprecedented challenge: how to manage massive amounts of content remotely, with a distributed workforce accessing heavy data files from their homes,” states Martin Coles, VP of Marketing at IPV. “IMT developed SoDA to provide a window into the costs and transfer times associated with these data-heavy workflows. Giving IPV customers those insights directly from the Curator interface enables organizations to make smarter media decisions and keep operating costs in check.”
Working remotely, content owners have accelerated the move to cloud-based or hybrid workflows, resulting in an increasing number of users accessing content remotely, without insight into the cost associated with moving data in and out of the cloud. Without insight into that data, cloud costs can balloon quickly. SoDA data management software puts users in control of their entire storage environment, simplifying data movement and delivering actionable insight into cloud storage spend. “When working in a hybrid cloud environment and using multiple cloud tiers with different SLAs, it’s important to understand the cost and speed at which you can access your data,” said Greg Holick, VP of Product Management for Software at IMT. “With SoDA and Curator, customers are in control of their cloud costs. This insight is incredibly valuable for users who are navigating an entirely new way of managing media and remote workflows, and when budgets and media usage need to be tightly managed.”
Using the Dry Run feature in SoDA, Curator users can set up a real-world policy-based file transfer and determine the costs ahead of time before committing, enabling users to control their budget. SoDA provides a simple interface to manage and automate data movement through a rich policy engine. It automatically monitors and tracks every job and generates reports on-demand for departmental and client billing. “IMT and IPV have a strong track record for building successful on-prem and hybrid cloud digital media solutions. With IPV’s new SoDA connector, we are accelerating our partnership to provide a best-of-breed data management experience for our mutual customers as they look to embrace the cloud,” said Jason Kranitz, President of IMT, Systems Integration. SoDA for Curator Powers Esports Gaming Company
SoDA for IPV Curator has been deployed by a world-leading Esports gaming company to help manage media and enable users to make intelligent decisions about which assets to move to and from the cloud. The company needed insight into its cloud costs when working with competition footage as well as in-game content. In a hybrid deployment model, IPV Curator and SoDA enable editors to edit from home via a proxy then conform on-prem, increasing employee productivity while delivering real-time cost analytics to help control the budget. Read the case study here: https://info.ipv.com/the-story-of-the-esports . For more information on SoDA for IPV Curator, view the solution brief here .

IPV and IMT Launch Integration to Bring Rich Insights to the Cloud

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SODA operates CREAM, a CMS platform that enables users to easily create, edit, and design HTML pages and articles, manage keywords and SEO efforts, insert advertising widgets, and more. The company also offers Taskle, a media platform that provides information and solutions for maintaining home living spaces.

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Title	Chief Executive Officer
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