Muhammad Shahid Nazir, a fish-seller at Queen's Market in East London's Upton Park, soared to fame when his "Come on, ladies" song to lure buyers to his "one pound fish" stall when it was captured on video and posted on YouTube in April, and now has more than 4.5 million views.

On Dec. 10th he got his own music video — "£1 Fish Man - One Pound Fish - O-Fish-Al Video" — chalking up more than one million views in two days and more than 1.6 million views so far. There's even a Speakerbox remix and a Trap remix (buy them on iTunes), and he has been profiled beyond the UK including on CBS in the US and in Australia. Follow him on Facebook for more.

The relaunching of Vitaminwater in the U.K. relies on the confluence of two big developments: the growth of the Vitaminwater brand in what has become an important new market, and the rise of stevia-based beverages in Europe.

Glaceau is introducing fresh and more nutritionally informative new packaging for Vitaminwater in the U.K. and a new formula including stevia sweetener that cuts calories by 30 and reduces sugar levels by 30 percent. The company also is altering its nutrient blend in some varieties as well, boosting vitamins and minerals. 

"Being able to keep the products tasting great, but with fewer calories and introducing" stevia and more nutrients "is a fantastic step," Philippa Classey, a marketing manager for Vitaminwater, said in a Glaceau press release.

Stevia — the super-sweet extract of a bush native to South America — has been slower to penetrate the European beverage market than the U.S. in part because European regulators were slower to approve the low-calorie ingredient. But major beverage makers also including PepsiCo lately have been ramping up their use of the natural sweetener there.Continue reading...

Fashion retailers are embracing sustainability with ever-widening arms, becoming increasingly accountable for the byproducts their industry creates. With their latest moves, H&M and Marks & Spencer (M&S as it's better known) are leading the rack-pack.

Following in the footsteps of the UK-wide recycling push launched by M&S earlier this year, H&M is planning to launch the world’s first global clothing collective initiative, to be introduced in all of its 48 markets in February.

According to the fast-fashion retailer's press release, “Any pieces of clothing, from any brand and in any condition are accepted. In return, the customer will receive a voucher for each bag brought. The collected clothes are then handled by H&M’s partner, I:Collect, which provides the infrastructure in which consumer goods are repeatedly reprocessed and made available for new use."

“Our sustainability efforts are rooted in a dedication to social and environmental responsibility. We want to do good for the environment, which is why we are now offering our customers a convenient solution: to be able to leave their worn out or defective garments with H&M,” stated H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

No value was stated for the voucher H&M is offering in return for donations to in-store collection boxes to be processed by I:CO, as its Swiss recycling partner is branded; its tagline is "Rethink. Recycle. Reward."Continue reading...

McDonald's U.K. seems relentless in its efforts to appeal to kids and their parents.

Lately, the chain's initiatives in that direction have included a healthier revamping of its Happy Meal for the London 2012 Summer Olympics and the rolling out of a carbonated juice drink for kids. Now, McDonald's in the British Isles is experimenting with interactive gesture-recognition technology to select stores (with high traffic from families) for a Happy Meal Digital Play zone.

The interactive installation combines a Wii-like experience with digital signage. Kids trigger games featuring McDonald's characters and other beloved characters (such as Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird) to play games and get moving.Continue reading...

Pizza Hut Canada thrilled its Facebook fans by whipping up a batch of limited-edition perfume and sending it to the first 100 to raise their wrists — with a new batch on its way — while sending one lucky follower an original cartoon on the inside lid of a pizza box (check 'em both out, below).

Now the brand's Canadian marketers are rolling out (no joke) a hotdog-stuffed pizza crust, previously tested in the UK, from Dec. 4 to Jan. 7. Only in Canada, eh? Pity.Continue reading...

Starbucks is certainly feeling bullish these days. Just a few years after scaling back its US retail footprint in a rocky economy, the coffee giant is now eyeing "accelerated global growth" with plans to open thousands of new locations. It's even offering a luxe "superpremium" gift card that'll cost $450 to put in a Christmas stocking.

In a presentation at the company's biennial investor conference today, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz glowed with the news that he plans to boost the number of Starbucks cafes in the Americas by more than 20 percent — opening more than 3,000 new shops over the next five years, including 1,500 in the United States, still its biggest market.Continue reading...

It turns out that Fresh & Easy was neither, in the end.

Tesco, the third largest retailer in the world, has announced that is ready to pull up stakes and close its 200 Fresh & Easy supermarkets in California and Nevada after a largely unsuccessful five-year run.

As Tesco CEO Phil Clarke put it about why the US grocery store brand is "under strategic review," "It just became clear to us that the journey to sustainable returns was going to take too long. ... It's likely but not certain that our presence in America will come to an end."

Tim Mason, deputy chief executive in charge of the U.S. business, has left the company, effective immediately, after 30 years of service. But as we reported back in July, the writing has been on the wall for Tesco's US expansion.Continue reading...

Starbucks execs likely haven’t had to caffeinate to get energized for the job ahead of them in the United Kingdom, even as they promote the annual 12 Days of Gifting and a holiday promotion via LivingSocial.

Sales are declining in the market, customers aren’t happy, and a House of Commons committee report singled out the brand along with other multinationals for avoiding taxes.

Starbucks has made £1.3 billion ($2 billion) in the UK over the last three years but has shelled out no corporate taxes in that same time, reportedly paying only £8.6 million ($13.7 million) in UK income tax since 1998.

The company claimed that it was losing money on its paperwork while telling investors that it had a profitable business in the UK, and chairman and CEO Howard Schulz reassured British customers of the company's commitment to the UK.Continue reading...