Japanese lab rats have paved the way for a new wave of sodas. Back in 2006, Japan’s National Institute of Health and Nutrition found that rodents that were fed dextrin and fat simultaneously absorbed less of the fat into their system than the rats that were given fat without dextrin.

Welcome to your new dextrin-rich diet, Japan! Earlier this year brewer Kirin released a Mets Cola beverage, which contains dextrin, onto the market, selling it as a soda that would keep consumers from packing on too much fat. It sold well enough that PepsiCo and Suntory, the sole bottler and distributor of Pepsi products in Japan, are jumping into the fat-blocking cola fray on Nov. 13 with Pepsi Special. As the Huffington Post notes, the “Japanese government certifies these colas as ‘food for specific health use.’”

Pepsi has long experimented with novel flavor combinations in Japan (case in point: yogurt, watermelon or strawberry/milk flavored cola, anyone?) In fact, in December it's also introducing a new clear cola called Pepsi White in time for the holidays with seasonally cute snowmen. Despite being clear, ABC News reports that it's tangerine-flavored. And that's not the only limited-edition variation PepsiCo is rolling out internationally.Continue reading...

Victoria Bitter beer used to rule the roost in Australia, but that was before some marketing genius at Carlton & United Breweries decided to go all New Coke on the poor suspecting brewski drinkers Down Under and changed their beloved VB's recipe. It turned out, of course, to not be such a good idea. Why mess with success?

That was way back in 2007 and, since then, VB has, of course, fallen to second place in Australia behind Kirin Holdings Co.’s XXXX Gold, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. 

SABMiller acquired Carlton & United last year and now they are undoing the damage done, Businessweek reports. The old formula will be back in action starting in October and the alcohol content will go up from 4.6 percent to 4.9 percent from October this year.

To commemorate the event, SAB bought ads in Australia’s largest daily newspaper, the Herald Sun, that read, “We Got It Wrong.” Thanks for the newsflash, fellas.Continue reading...

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Heineken offers $4.1 billion to buy out JV partner for Asia Pacific Breweries stake as Kirin's next move pondered.

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The last major food that promised to cut weight by inhibiting digestion of fat after ingesting it was potato chips that contained Olestra. And we know what happened with that.

Now, Japan's Kirin Holdings is selling a beverage called Kirin Mets Cola that claims to reduce fat absorption by the body if it's consumed with a meal. Launched in Japan in April in 480ml bottles, Mets Cola became the first cola to receive clearance under Japan's strict new food-regulatory regime, according to BeverageDaily.com.

While it has nothing to do with the New York Mets or baseball, it certainly has a pitch as a "fat busting health drink" for men. No surprise, the cola drink is a runaway hit in Japan.Continue reading...

If you’ve got a piece of $2.53 billion coming your way, do you try to stop it? Well, you do if you’re a minority shareholder in Brazil’s second-biggest brewery, Schincariol. The Associated Press reported that the brewer’s minority investors "are seeking an injunction against the … bid by Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co. for a controlling stake in the Schincariol Group."

The three shareholders looking to stop the deal, which emerged earlier this week? Gilberto, Daniela and Jose Augusto Schincariol, who own 49.55% of the family-held company’s shares.Continue reading...

Japan’s national men’s soccer team is ranked 19th in the world and has qualified for the last four World Cups. There’s no reason to think the team won’t be making it to Brazil for the next one in 2014. And when it does, it looks like their fans will be able to enjoy the fine taste of Kirin beer.

Japan’s beer giant Kirin Holdings just purchased a majority stake in Brazil’s second-biggest brewer, family-held Schincariol.

According to Dow Jones Newswires, Kirin is shelling out $2.56 billion for a 50.45% stake in Schincariol, which only accounts for 10% of Brazil’s beer sales. (Meanwhile, 70% of those sales are going to industry leader AmBev.)Continue reading...

Apple and Samsung tablet war reaches Australia.

Facebook facial-recognition feature is ruled as violating German privacy laws as comScore and Nielsen introduce metrics for measuring Facebook ads.

Google+ tops 25 million users, growing at 1 million users daily.

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Kirin acquisition intends to tap into Brazil’s boom.

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With financial markets seeming to have moved beyond the debate, the federal debt bill gets House passage, including an emotional appearance by Gabrielle Giffords, and awaits Senate action today, as economic effects are gauged and Washington, D.C., begins to examine the deal in post-mortems.

Apple releases iCloud pricing and developer specs.

BMW outshines Audi as 5 Series sales boost profits.

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Ford and Volkswagen build online loyalty in the U.K.

GM pilots OnStar feature that helps keep better track of teen drivers.Continue reading...