Amid negative headlines for the high street, supermarkets have painted a brighter picture, posting record sales of £29.3 billion over the Christmas trading period. Though lower inflation took its toll on sales, the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks to 30 December 2018, show consumers still spent an extra…

The Coca-Cola Company has completed the acquisition of Costa from Whitbread. The $4.9 billion transaction follows approval from regulatory authorities in the European Union and China. The acquisition was first announced on August 31, 2018.

Costa, which has operations in more than 30 countries, gives Coca-Cola a significant footprint in the global coffee business. Worldwide, the…

Orkla, the leading branded consumer goods company in the Nordic region, has agreed to purchase a 90% stake in Easyfood, a Danish producer of bread-based convenience products for the out-of-home channel. The purchase price values Easyfood at DKr330 million (NOK433 million, €44 million). The agreement is subject to the approval of the Danish competition authorities.

Established…

PepsiCo’s board of directors has unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta as the company's Chairman, succeeding Indra K. Nooyi who announced in August 2018 her intention to step down as PepsiCo CEO effective October 3, 2018 and remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. The appointment is effective when Chairman Nooyi retires from the company…

Valio’s consumer-packaged infant formulas have received an export permit from the Chinese authorities. These new export permits allow the Finnish dairy co-operative to export its powdered infant formulas, manufactured at the Lapinlahti plant, and ready-to-feed liquid infant formula, made at the Turenki plant, to China.

Valio has exported milk powders and demineralised Valio Demi™ whey powders for industrial use in…

Piper, the private equity firm, has invested £6 million in Mindful Chef, the UK’s favourite healthy recipe box brand. Mindful Chef was set up by childhood school friends Rob Grieg-Gran, Giles Humphries and Myles Hopper with a mission to make healthy eating easy. Since its launch in 2015 it has experienced rapid growth – including…

Hochland, the German cheese manufacturer, is purchasing a 25% stake Greek Feta producer Greek Family Farm. Based in Almyros, Greek Family Farm has been providing Hochland with original Greek Feta since 2015. Greek Family Farm also produces Feta and goat’s milk cheese for the European, US and Australian markets and trades in milk, sheep and…

Cherkizovo Group, the largest vertically integrated meat producer in Russia, is to acquire 75% of St Petersburg-based Samson – Food Products, a group of companies offering meat products under such brands as Samson, Grillmania, Fileya and others. The acquisition will cost Cherkizovo RUB350 million (€4.5 million), with about RUB550 million in debt to be assumed…

Through its purchase of the Great Lakes Cheese Company’s production site at Seymour in Wisconsin, Swiss dairy group Emmi is gaining additional capacity for the production of blue cheese in the United States. The United States is Emmi’s largest foreign market, where the company primarily produces and sells cheese. The business involves both exported cheeses…

Leading international spirits company, UK-based Quintessential Brands, has expanded its first-class operations at the multi-award-winning G&J Distillers in Warrington to include a new production line for 20cl miniature bottles, as demand for ‘minis’ grows around the world. The site produces up to 160,000 bottles of gin each day.

The new miniature bottles production line has the…

Optimized comfort is at the heart of a new whey protein-based concept for infant formula developed by Arla Foods Ingredients. Infant formulas contain significantly more protein than human milk. Since protein is hard to digest, this can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort issues in infants, such as colic and constipation, resulting in excessive crying. Other problems…

Mark A Clouse will become the new President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company on January 22, 2019. He previously served as CEO of Pinnacle Foods and will succeed Campbell’s interim President and CEO Keith McLoughlin, who will remain a Director of the company and will work closely with Clouse to ensure a seamless transition.

Israel-based start-up, Yofix, one of the 10 finalists in PepsiCo’s European Nutrition Greenhouse programme, has been awarded the final €100,000 grant following a six-month journey. Yofix, which makes clean-label plant-based fermented dairy alternatives impressed PepsiCo’s selection committee with its strategic launch and significant retail growth during the programme.

Earlier this year Yofix…

Cargill has launched its artisan chocolate brand Veliche Gourmet in the Netherlands at the country’s leading hospitality fair – Horecava, in Amsterdam. Inge Demeyere, managing director for Cargill’s chocolates and compound activities in Europe explains: “We are proud to launch Veliche Gourmet, our high quality Belgian chocolate range with outstanding sensorial profile that brings a…

AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer, and Tilray, a global pioneer in cannabis production and distribution, have announced a partnership to research non-alcohol beverages containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The partnership is limited to Canada and decisions regarding the commercialization of the beverages will be made in the future.

Industrial Pack, the UK’s only dedicated show for industrial, transit and protective packaging, is set to make its debut alongside Packaging Innovations, Empack and Label&Print at Birmingham’s NEC on 27 & 28 February 2019. The protective and transit packaging industry is forecast to be worth £3.7 billion in the UK next year, cementing…

A leading European natural starch specialist, KRÖNER-STÄRKE has developed an exciting range of new clean label, native, pre-gelatinised, starches and flours to boost the health credentials of many food products. All products also offer a cost-effective solution for the food industry at a time when many raw materials have increased in price, and profit margins…

The leading 20 global grocery markets are set to generate an additional US$1.9 trillion in sales, growing by 28% between 2018 and 2023, new forecasts from global research organisation IGD predict. IGD’s forecast anticipates:

• Europe will be the second most important region in terms of additional sales between 2018 and 2023. It is forecast to generate US$322.0bn…

Public Health England (PHE) has published the first assessment of the food industry’s progress towards meeting the government’s salt reduction targets, showing a mixed picture overall. Set by the government in 2014, the most recent targets cover 28 food categories for…

The UK’s largest provider of High Pressure Processing (HPP) services to the food industry has announced an investment programme that has doubled the company’s processing capacity. Deli 24 is based in Milton Keynes in the UK and has made a £2 million investment in a new 420-litre HPP machine from Hiperbaric to operate alongside the…

Packaging Innovations 2019 is set to welcome back Contract Pack for the twelfth-year at Birmingham’s NEC on 27 & 28 February 2019. Supported by the British Contract Manufacturers and Packers Association (BCMPA), the Contract Pack 2019 zone will host 20 BCMPA accredited exhibitors, offering an unrivaled opportunity for brand owners and manufacturers to…

Brillopak has announced its groundbreaking innovation, a new affordable ultra-high speed top seal case packer. Responding to market requests for a versatile, speedy yet affordable top seal punnet packer, the system, which is priced from £87,500, caters specifically to the fresh produce market, where productivity and profit margins are under intense pressure.