Pittsburgh-based investors F.N.B. Capital Partners, along with a group of local investors, including Jim Rudolph and Len Caric, have acquired the region’s fastest growing meat processing company, Uncle Charley’s Sausage Co. The investors say they plan to increase funding to expand the business while keeping its unique brand value, leadership, Vandergrift, Pa.-based manufacturing facilities and […]
Category: Suppliers
Posted in, Midwest, Suppliers
Waybright Hired As King Arthur Flour Regional Sales, Marketing Manager
King Arthur Flour has hired David Waybright as regional sales and marketing manager for the upper Midwest region. Waybright leaves a sales and marketing position at HJ Heinz he has held since 2004 to join America’s oldest flour company. “Joining King Arthur Flour is an opportunity to join a company that has been successful for over 200 […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
Ocean Mist Farms Celebrates 90th Anniversary
Ocean Mist Farms will celebrate a 90-year legacy of growing artichokes and premium fresh vegetables with activities planned throughout the year ahead. The fourth-generation grower-owned business was founded by Italian immigrants in 1924 who started the business by growing artichokes and Brussels sprouts along the Pacific Ocean’s Monterey Bay in Castroville, Calif. Today the company farms […]
Posted in, Beverage News, National, Suppliers
PepsiCo Plans To Invest $5B In Mexico
PepsiCo Inc. plans to invest $5 billion in Mexico over the next five years. The investment is designed to further strengthen PepsiCo’s food and beverage business in Mexico, one of the most attractive markets in Latin America with a growing middle class and numerous opportunities for long-term economic growth, according to the company. PepsiCo says […]
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Maxim Marketing Sues ConAgra, Trader Joe’s $60M For Interfering With Pretzel Biz
Maxim Marketing Corp. on Wednesday filed suit against ConAgra and Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles County Superior Court for breach of contract, intentional interference with contractual relations and violation of California antitrust law. “The lawsuit alleges that the actions of Trader Joe’s and ConAgra breach a number of their obligations to Maxim and also violated […]
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GMA Responds To Couric’s ‘Fed Up’ Film
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is responding to “Fed Up,” the documentary film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Sunday. The film is produced and narrated by Katie Couric and explores the childhood obesity epidemic and its apparent causes. “Our companies have been trusted by generations of families to […]
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Better Bean Co. Receives B Corp Certification
The Better Bean Co., the pioneer of refrigerated “rethought” beans, has become a Certified Benefit Corporation (B Corp). The designation is awarded to companies that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. “From the beginning, we were committed to using […]
Posted in, Beverage News, National, Suppliers
Survey: Nearly 6 In 10 Energy Drink Consumers Worry About Their Safety
As a new year begins and consumers return to work, many will be looking for an energy kick. But according to new research from Mintel, nearly six in 10 Americans (59 percent) who are current energy drink or shot users say they worry about the safety of energy drinks and energy shots. However, despite allegations […]
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Reily Foods Buys New England Tea & Coffee Co.
Reily Foods Co. has acquired New England Tea & Coffee Co., one of the country’s largest independent coffee roasters. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This transaction is not expected to change the day-to-day operations of Malden, Mass.-based New England Tea & Coffee, which will operate as New England Tea & Coffee Co. LLC, […]
Posted in, Midwest, Suppliers
Chobani’s Twin Falls Facility Reaches Full Capability Milestone
Chobani’s Twin Falls, Idaho, facility has reached optimal production capability, a significant milestone achieved in less than a year, according to the New York-based yogurt brand. This will serve to support the continued growth and demand for the company’s Greek yogurt, as its sales have increased 32 percent year-to-date and are projected to grow even […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
Inventure Foods To Invest $3.9M In Freezing Capabilities, New Equipment
Inventure Foods Inc., a leading specialty food marketer and manufacturer, plans to purchase two state-of-the-art IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) freezing tunnels in 2014 for an estimated $3.9 million. “We continue to look for opportunities to meet growing demand for our frozen fruit products, while also improving margins in our frozen fruit segment by increasing our […]
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Study: Digital Commerce Remains Largely Untapped Opportunity For CPGs
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are underestimating the e-commerce channel’s growth potential and consequently may be missing out on a substantial market opportunity, according to the first of a two-part Deloitte study, “Digital Commerce in the Supermarket Aisle.” The study analyzed responses from a survey of 2,040 online shoppers who are responsible for shopping and […]
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BeBevCo Looks To Expand Into Another Category With Relaxation Ice Cream
Bebida Beverage Co. (BeBevCo), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of relaxation drinks and energy products, plans to enter into a new industry through a wholly-owned subsidiary. BeBevCo CEO Brian Weber, who developed the company’s flagship product, KOMA Unwind Relaxation drink, recently embarked on another curiosity. Now, that curiosity has taken another step into becoming a […]
Posted in, Southwest, Suppliers
Cargill Gives 1K Turkeys For Tornado Victims
Thousands of Oklahomans impacted by the Moore tornado are still working to recover and rebuild their lives. Thanks to Cargill, 1,000 families in Moore will receive a turkey to help make their Thanksgiving complete. The 1,000 donated turkeys will be available at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s partner agencies that are serving Moore tornado […]
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Sue Bee Honey Now Bears ‘Support The USA Honeybee’ Seal
Sioux City, Iowa-based Sue Bee Honey has begun placing “Support the USA Honeybee” seal labels on all its branded products to inform consumers that they are buying 100 percent all-natural American honey and supporting American beekeepers and the role their bees play in pollinating more than $47 billion in American crops. David Allibone, president of […]
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Specialty Food Association Accepts 152 New Members
The Specialty Food Association has accepted 152 companies for new membership, including makers of ghost chili sea salt, bacon brittle, burrata and lavender martini mocktails. Among the new members are Blis Caviar of Grand Rapids, Mich., maker of flavor-infused wild domestic caviar; Califia Farms of Pasadena, Calif., producer of cold brewed coffee, almond milk and […]
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Blue Diamond Posts Record Sales And Revenue
Blue Diamond Growers’ global almond sales soared to $1.2 billion, up $189 million in fiscal year 2012-13. Value-added sales volume increased by 14 percent, even with a crop that was 7 percent smaller, according to President and CEO Mark Jansen, who addressed the cooperative’s grower owners at the company’s annual meeting. Value-added sales now represent more […]
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Food Packaging Choices: Sustainability Trumps Novelty
An independent research study conducted by MindClick Global on behalf of the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), found that when asked about sustainability in food packaging choices, two-thirds of consumers preferred steel cans. The results support findings that consumers consider sustainability to be a […]
Posted in, National, Suppliers
Clear Lam Introduces PrimaPak For Flavor Tree Pretzels
A new package innovation featuring the PrimaPak packaging system is launching at a regional East Coast retailer. Developed by Clear Lam Packaging for John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s Flavor Tree brand, the packaging for the Limited Edition Premium Dark Chocolate Pretzels will be sold throughout the holidays. The PrimaPak technology is designed to replace heavy, […]
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Kentucky’s Homegrown By Heroes Brand Goes National
A Kentucky initiative to identify farm products produced by veterans will become a national brand, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer announced on Veterans Day at the Frazier History Museum in Louisville. The Farmer Veteran Coalition will administer the Homegrown by Heroes program on the national level. At the announcement, the Farm Credit System announced a […]