The facility, which will begin operating by 2014 producing Galaxy and Galaxy Jewels, will be one of the largest chocolate factories in the GCC region. Mars Saudi Arabia has made an initial investment of US $60m with an additional $150m planned over the next 10 years.

The facility will be built to Leed Green Building standards and will initially employ 60 Mars associates on the project team with a further expected 300–400 associates once the factory is fully operational.

Mars has been operating in Saudi Arabia for 30 years and contributed to the direct and indirect job creation of a thousand jobs to date. The company is excited by the prospect of investing more in Saudi Arabia over the longer term, creating opportunities for Saudi nationals, and in supporting community-​based programmess to benefit Saudis as the company has done in other parts of the GCC. The business is especially keen to encourage Saudi women who want to work, and for whom Mars is an appropriate professional environment, to join Mars Saudi Arabia and grow professionally.

Consumers can now find plenty of domestic high-​end bottled water at any medium-​sized supermarket, ranging from glacier mineral water from Tibet to spring water from Qingdao Laoshan.

The bottled water comes in different sizes, different shapes and different brands, but they have one thing in common: High-​end water – whether from China or overseas – is eight times to 10 times more expensive than the cheapest domestic versions.

Increasing concerns over water safety and the deeper pockets of Chinese consumers have led to a booming market, says Liao Lei, secretary-​general of the natural mineral water committee for the China Mining Association. “Around 70% of rivers have been polluted. And the pollution isn’t getting any better. Water sources that haven’t been contaminated are very scarce, which are usually located in remote areas,” he said, adding the high transport costs is one reason for the high prices of high-​end bottled water.

With the improvement of living standards, more and more people want better quality drinking water, as well as safer options. Unlike in Western countries, tap water in China is undrinkable and has to be boiled before ingested.

The increasing demand for quality drinking water has made more companies jump into the high-​end bottled water market, transporting the finest water over long distances.

According to Liao, the size of the bottled water market has grown at an average of 20% a year over the past decade. “With more people starting to care about the quality of their drinking water, the growth for high-​end bottled market will be even faster.”

In addition to profile pages, walls and photo albums, Over Coffee offers people  the chance to write their own personal stories about coffee and life, which can  become featured in the “Coffee Stories” section. There are also editorial pieces  on different coffees, their backgrounds, and how to make them at home. An  interactive map of the world lets people add their favorite coffee shop and  there is a shop where users can buy coffee beans, coffee makers, mugs and other  coffee-related gifts. Over Coffee plans to continue its expansion and open a  coffee chain in order to bring people’s activity and stories on the social  network to life, so there will be both an online and offline place for its users  to connect over coffee.

To help people avoid the consequences of excess caffeine, researchers have  developed the app Caffeine  Zone that helps people track their daily intake. The developers drew from  several studies that illuminated the proper amount of caffeine for mental  alertness and how much could begin causing issues. Users input their daily  drinking habits as well as how fast they drink it and it will regiment their  intake accordingly.

By putting this information in the hands of the consumer, it makes caffeine  consumption more dynamic and allows people to modify how they drink coffee on a  daily basis. Rather than drinking caffeine the same way every day, it makes it  less habitual and more functional. It visualises as a line graph the positive  and danger zones and lets users tailor the values to their individual habits,  physiology and needs.

By visualising caffeine intake, coffee or soda drinkers can modify how and  when they drink it to get the ideal amount of help without any of the drawbacks.  The ability to keep track allows people to not simply give up caffeine but to  have stronger control over how they drink it. In developing an app, the  researched data about a product is put it into the hands of the consumer  allowing them to leverage more control over it and to use it to their advantage.  Use is thus tailored to the individual.

The app is available to download  for free through iTunes app store for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.

Facebook fans can experiment with unconventional coffee combinations in the ‘Create Your Deliciousness’ game including coffee blends and lots  of cream and sugar options. There are also countless ingredients including  birthday cake, salted toffee, peanut butter puffs, candy canes, mini  marshmallows, chocolate chips and cotton candy, which can be mixed in or used as  a topping!

Chief marketing  officer Chris Bruzzo, said:  “We’ve always known how much people love their coffee, and what an important  part of their day it is. What surprised us was that most consumers are really  thinking outside of the mug when it comes to what they are coupling with their  coffee to make it delicious. More than 80% of those surveyed have gone to  interesting lengths playing barista themselves, adding items like cayenne  pepper, balsamic vinegar, grape soda and even gummy bears to their  coffee.”

Things like batteries and CFLs should not be thrown away  with household hazardous waste (HHW) but many consumers don’t know what  they should be doing instead. This is what UK company reVend hopes to change – they are the first company in the world that specialises in  supplying “reverse vending machine systems, installation, material recovery and  recycling through their experienced management team in RV technology, recycling  and waste management.”

What all this means is very simple: when you put your CFL into a big slot in  the vending machine, a video camera fitted inside identifies the bulb so it can  be sorted, and then you receive a voucher for a free cup of coffee. Swapping an  old CFL for a cup of coffee sounds like a good deal! In addition to  recycling, reVend also provides regular maintenance services for their machines.  The machine also comes with an extractor filter to capture any mercury vapour in  case of accidental breakage of a light bulb.

Indirect materials, such as tools, PPE and consumables, can be a small but costly part of the manufacturing process. They are normally relatively low unit cost items which can collectively make up a sizeable chunk of the manufacturing budget. The key to controlling these costs lies with the five ‘W’s. What was used? Who used it? When was the material used? Where on the factory floor was it used and finally, why was it used?

Monitoring is often easier said than done, but the answer may lie with these vendor managed inventory (VMI) solutions. The software, situated in the vending machine, which is then connected to the internet, offers reports on what has been vended in the last day or week and even has the ability to compare the performance and spend of different departments and individuals.

David has been with Seaga UK Ltd for the last year in the position of Sales Manager and has been influential in Seaga UK Ltd’s recent successes and further development of the company’s excellent record of customer relationships, market development, and commitment to on-time delivery. Previous to his time with Seaga, David has been involved in the Vending industry since the early 1990’s in a variety of roles with Nestlé’s of MultiSnack and Vending divisions. More recently David gained valuable experience working with a wide variety of companies through the Llewellyn Long consultancy.

Steve Chesney, President of Seaga added, “As quality and dedication to customer satisfaction is very important for Seaga’s long-term success, we look forward to David’s ability to achieve the highest targets in his new role as our General Manager for Seaga UK Ltd.”

The water bottle, called Eau Good, contains a stick of active carbon called  Binchotan, sourced from trees, and is the same stuff the Japanese have been  using to filter their water for centuries. This eco-friendly stick works just  like your Brita, filtering chlorine and other chemicals out, balancing the pH,  and putting the good minerals back in.

Black + Blum designed the bottle to be easy on the eyes and kind to the  environment. The charcoal stick sits snugly in a curvy BPA-free bottle, has a  cork top, and filters for up to 6 months. When it’s time to exchange the filter,  you can toss your old one in the compost.