Having shored up its flagship brand globally with the marketing momentum provided by its London Olympics sponsorship, Coke this fall will turn its attention to a category where it has been lagging -- even behind thirst-slaking archrival PepsiCo: ready-to-drink tea.

Fuze, a better-for-you juice brand that Coke acquired in the same era of diversification that landed it Vitaminwater several years ago, is becoming the recipient of Coke's decision to go harder after the fast-growing mainstream RTD tea segment in the U.S. market when its 20-year-long joint venture with Nestle to market Nestea in the U.S. comes to an end at the beginning of next year.

Independent Arizona leads the rising market with about a 40 percent share, followed by PepsiCo which fields the Brisk brand, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Nestea. Coke would like a much bigger share of tea drinkers than has so far been afforded by its homegrown Gold Peak refrigerated brand and its acquisition of organic-tea expert Honest Tea a few years ago. Continue reading...

A major food fight is brewing in California with potential consequences for all Americans, and it’s not the old-fashioned kind immortalized in movies set in school cafeterias. Proposition 37, one of 11 statewide measures on the docket for California voters in November, would require stores and vendors to label genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods by 2014. 

"It's an epic food fight between the pesticide companies and consumers who want to know what's in their food," said Stacy Malkan, media director for the California Right to Know campaign, which has raised $2.4 million to promote their initiative. Continue reading...

Apple and Samsung urged to make peace by patent trial judge.

Apple retail chief rehires employees he "mistakenly" fired, as brand's vision for TV set-top box becomes clearer.

Samsung launches Galaxy Note 10.1 in three major markets.

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange gets caught in a diplomatic stand-off as Ecuador offers him asylum.

Facebook shares drop to lowest point yet.

Best Buy founder presses his case for company takeover.

Budweiser sponsors Jay-Z documentary.

Heineken reportedly in talks with F&N to raise APB bid.

Macy's sues JCPenney over Martha Stewart deal after suing Stewart.

Nestlé loses bid to prevent sales of rival coffee capsules.Continue reading...

AIG pushes plan for independence from U.S. government.

Burger King says that menu and marketing changes have boosted bottom lilne.

Campbell Soup creates limited edition to help food bank.

Chick-fil-A supporters (and Wendy's) show up for "Appreciation Day."

Christina Aguillera lends her voice to a good cause.

Costco experiences strong U.S. sales.

Crocs celebrates milestone a little too exuberantly.

DirecTV sees U.S. subscribers decline for first time.Continue reading...

McDonald's and Coca-Cola aren't the only food and snack brands whose sponsorship of the planet's premier platform for healthy living — the Olympic Games — has been challenged by healthy living advocates. Cadbury is the official snack brand of the London 2012 Summer Games, and has been conducting a marketing blitz in the UK including hosting a free interactive pavilion in London's Hyde Park from July 27 through Aug. 12. And it may not be such a stretch to argue that some chocolate products may aid health.Continue reading...

Neiman Marcus and Target join brands for unusual Christmas collaboration: 50 limited-edition American designer items, plus $1M donation to the CFDA.

Starbucks rolls out low-cal Refreshers drinks.

Marks & Spencer fires clothing head following worst sales in three years.

American Airlines and U.S. Airways keep dancing around a merger.

Apple removes green electronics certification from products.

Chase launches Chase Liquid reloadable card.

Coca-Cola takes stake in Mexican juice company Jugos del Valle.

Conde Nast confirms London location of namesake fashion college.

DirecTV could drop 26 Viacom channels in dispute.

Dodge places major ad push behind new Dart.Continue reading...

Since the late ‘70s, chocolate maker Nestle has had one group of customers so irate with it for allegedly misrepresenting the positives of breast-milk substitutes to uninformed consumers that they’ve been boycotting their products for decades. Now the company has another problem on its hands.

A study commissioned by Nestle found “numerous” violations of its “measures to combat child labor in the Ivory Coast cocoa industry,” according to Bloomberg.

The Fair Labor Association’s report found that “four-fifths of (Nestle’s) cocoa comes from channels for which information on labor is opaque.” In response, the company hosted a webcast in which it outlined its cocoa plan, including “new monitoring programs in two cooperatives this year and in 30 by 2016.”

“The use of child labor in our cocoa supply goes against everything we stand for,” Jose Lopez, Nestle’s head of operations, stated on the webcast. “You can be here talking about child labor but if there’s no school, it’s not going to work.”Continue reading...

Apple pays $60M to end iPad trademark dispute in China, looks to secure ipad3.com domain.

Barclays scandal forces out chairman, saying "the buck stops with me."

Bristol-Myers agrees to buy Amylin Pharmaceuticals for $5B in cash, expands diabetes alliance.

Rupert Murdoch will rebrand the Wall Street Journal as WSJ as part of News Corp. split.

AMC parent ends AT&T U-verse TV dispute with long-term agreement, as Dish feud continues.

Applebee's rolls out fresh menu, look and campaign.Continue reading...