Editor's letter

Welcome to the latest edition of Just Drinks’ quarterly digital magazine

There’s little doubt the coffee industry is feeling the effects of the climate crisis.

Variable weather patterns have hit production in major producing countries, driving up commodity prices, fuelling manufacturing costs and pressuring margins.But, as Fiona Holland explores in this issue’s cover story, it’s not the only headwind facing the sector.

Elsewhere on our In Depth pages, Simon Creasey weighs up the explosion in demand for gut-friendly sodas, underlined by perhaps the stand-out M&A deal in drinks so far in 2025, PepsiCo’s near-$2bn move for US brand Poppi.

And we feature two Q&As, with South African winemaker Journey’s End taking in topics from sustainability to wavering demand among Gen Z drinkers and Cotswolds Distillery discussing the potential for English whisky – and the thorny topic of the fledgling industry’s attempts to secure a geographical indication.

Dean Best, managing editor