TraceGains, a networked ingredients marketplace for the food and beverage industry, has acquired NutriCalc, known for its precise nutritional calculation software. The announcement was made during the annual Together Conference and aims to position TraceGains as the provider of comprehensive and user-friendly end-to-end solutions in the industry. NutriCalc, a European nutrition and food labelling solution, has developed nutrition calculation software that empowers food businesses to effortlessly achieve their recipe nutrition targets and meet allergen labelling requirements swiftly, efficiently and cost-effectively. TraceGains says that this integration aims to enhance its offerings in the food and beverage sector by simplifying and automating processes, integrating AI solutions, and enabling manufacturers and suppliers to leverage digital transformation. According to TraceGains, the acquisition will help the two companies counter the trend of "overpriced, inferior solutions in the market' and offer affordable integrated solutions". Gary Nowacki, CEO of TraceGains, said: "We're excited about this acquisition because it offers a unique opportunity to drive industry advancement by merging top-tier nutritional calculation, reporting and labelling solutions with TraceGains' established compliance and product development leadership". The collaboration between TraceGains and NutriCalc strengthens the supply chain's capacity to address new product development, reformulation, global safety, environmental, social and governance challenges and evolving consumer preferences. David Bartley, founder of NutriCalc, added: "Since developing NutriCalc 30 years ago, it has become the industry standard in nutrition labelling across the globe at companies both large and small". He continued: "Our acquisition by TraceGains fuels the development of future innovations to the product and provides an immediate benefit to customers today by linking them to a robust ingredient marketplace and streamlining their processes. The combination of these products is powerful." Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed

ProAmpac has partnered with Aptar CSP Technologies to introduce a patent-pending moisture-adsorbing packaging technology – ProActive Intelligence Moisture Protect (MP-1000) – that eliminates the need for desiccant packets. The MP-1000 packaging uses Aptar’s 3-Phase Activ-Polymer platform technology to lower the moisture level in the packaging headspace, making it suitable for applications that require optimal moisture control, such as point-of-care diagnostic kits, live culture probiotics and hygroscopic powdery food products. It offers a range of benefits, such as removing sachets, reducing downtime, enhancement of product quality and texture by preventing clumping and minimising product waste through extended shelf life. In the case of probiotics and hygroscopic food products, the solution not only absorbs excess moisture within the package headspace but also protects the contents from moisture exposure that usually occurs when moisture molecules pass through the packaging. Hesam Tabatabaei, senior vice president of global product development and innovation for ProAmpac, said: “We are excited to launch the Moisture Protect MP-1000 platforms, the newest addition to the ProActive Intelligence product line. This innovative product has a high moisture-adsorbing capacity and is set to revolutionize moisture protection in flexible packaging. Our extensive material science work and exclusive collaboration with Aptar CSP Technologies has enabled us to bring the latest active packaging products to the market." Badre Hammond, vice president of global commercial operations and GM APAC for Aptar CSP Technologies, commented: “We are pleased to unveil this new platform of active material solutions with ProAmpac. This goal of this collaboration is to transform the way active packaging is delivered and fulfill unmet needs by providing the market with a fully integrated, flexible, multi-layer film solution, powered by CSP’s proven Activ-Polymer technology." Sam Kessler, senior innovation engineer for active/intelligent packaging for ProAmpac, added: “MP-1000 delivers customised microclimate protection with varying moisture capacities to meet different product needs. Our cutting-edge technology has excellent seal characteristics and runs on high-speed form-fill-sealing equipment, ensuring product integrity and compatibility with existing flexible packaging equipment.”

Ofi has announced the next phase of its customer-first strategy by introducing a new business platform called 'Ofi F&B Solutions'. The platform will be part of Ofi's ingredients and solutions reporting segment. The F&B Solutions platform is part of the company's existing category solutions capabilities and innovation infrastructure, aiming to enhance support of a diverse range of customer requirements. Customers focused on single ingredients – from sourcing to manufacturing – will be supported by Ofi's five product platforms in cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices. These platforms offer global origination and sourcing capabilities, a competitive sustainability offering and expertise in plant science and product innovation. The service will be further strengthened through a close collaboration with the F&B Solutions platform, providing category insight and application development capacity. This collaboration aims to enable customers focused on single ingredients to access more value-added ingredients and services. Ofi's group CEO, A Shekhar, said: “With ever-evolving consumer preferences, our global and regional customers across FMCG, retail and QSR channels are looking for trusted, reliable partners in identifying and capitalising upon new opportunities". He continued: “We have therefore combined our application and category capabilities into a dedicated platform to address customer requirements with even greater focus. In turn, the F&B Solutions teams will draw on the strengths of our five product platforms – their global and sustainable supply chain capabilities, complementary portfolio of ingredients and extensive ingredient expertise to provide comprehensive product solutions that delight consumers." “This step change in our approach will be led by Jain in his new role as CCO for Ofi. He brings strategic thinking, a customer-first mindset and deep experience in ingredients. Along with his leadership team, he will accelerate our capabilities and create value for customers.” Ofi's chief commercial officer, Sandeep Jain, added: “From beverages to confectionary, culinary to snacking, we are taking our application and R&D capabilities to the next level so that we can provide an end-to-end integrated customer experience. One that is built on deep consumer, category, and application understanding. This will open up more on-trend and inspired product ideation opportunities, which can be commercialised through the Ofi network or via our co-manufacturing eco-system, increasing speed to market. Most importantly, we can strengthen relationships with customers and help make their ambitions real.” This marks the most recent advancement in Ofi's goal of enhancing its category solution capabilities. In November 2023, a new Customer Solutions Center (CSC) was inaugurated in Amsterdam. Additionally, an expanded Chicago CSC is scheduled to open later this year, collaborating with Ofi's CSCs in Bangalore and Singapore, along with its innovation centres worldwide.

Arla Foods has announced plans to conduct a strategic operational evaluation of its speciality cheese facility in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, UK. The co-op has put its Melton Mowbray creamery, also known locally as Tuxford & Tebbutt, up for sale. Arla said in a statement: "The business will be exploring the market for any buyers of its Melton Mowbray creamery". The Melton Mowbray facility, which currently employs 60 people, will remain in operation throughout this period, with no disruptions to production, customers or employees. Fran Ball, VP of production at Arla Foods, said: “At Arla, we are committed to supporting all colleagues through periods of change and we understand that today’s announcement will bring a sense of uncertainty for those who work at Melton Mowbray and those who work directly with the site team". “Over the last few years, the speciality cheese market in the UK, which includes Stilton, has continued to decline, and as a farmer-owned cooperative, we are therefore looking at what this means for our business so we can continue to return a fair price back to our 2,000 UK farmer owners." “Here at Arla Foods, we are proud of the heritage that we have from our creameries across the UK. We are privileged to employ some of the finest cheese makers in the country, which includes those at our Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK." “We’d like to reassure shoppers that there will be no impact to the supply of our products, during this review period.” The dairy cooperative expects to deliver an update on the review by April 2024.

Aniai, a provider of robotic kitchen solutions, has successfully secured $12 million in a pre-Series A funding round. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York, US, Aniai’s mission is to empower foodservice businesses to improve their kitchen operations by delivering automated and AI-powered solutions to increase production, reduce costs and enhance service quality. The funding round was led by South Korean venture capital firm InterVest. New investors participating included SV Investment and UK-based Ignite Innovation, alongside existing investor Capstone Partners. This most recent investment brings the company’s total funding to date to $15 million. It aims to fast-track the launch of Aniai’s first dedicated manufacturing facility in South Korea, ‘Factory One,’ to help ensure stable production and supply chain management for its flagship Alpha Grill solution. Alpha Grill is a robotic solution for cooking hamburgers, featuring a double-sided grill that can cook up to eight patties simultaneously or 200 patties per hour. When deployed in a kitchen, Alpha Grill can help restaurants to streamline operations by eliminating repetitive tasks associated with hamburger patty cooking tasks, such as pressing and flipping. Benefits include reduced coking time and decreased labour intensity for employees. Gunpil Hwang, CEO and co-founder of Aniai, said: “This capital infusion will help our mission to improve kitchen productivity through robotics and automation while helping us ramp-up production to meet current and future demand”. Hwang added: “Additionally, Aniai plans to augment its robotic solutions by adding advanced, cloud-based AI software to further enhance the capabilities and performance of the Alpha Grill early this year, which will benefit new and existing Aniai customers”. The upcoming software release for Alpha Grill will include an AI-powered feature to discern the colour of the hamburger patties and assess their quality through real-time vision sensors during the cooking process. If a hamburger patty does not meet the brand’s cooking specifications and requirements, the Alpha Grill will promptly notify the cooking staff to ensure “rigorous and enhanced” quality control. According to Aniai, Factory One will have the capacity to produce over 1,000 Alpha Grill units per year when operational. A representative from lead investor, InterVest, said that Aniai can deliver “industry-leading” profitable impact to its customers, adding: “The company enhanced its value by pioneering a new market and securing substantial contracts within a brief timeframe. We look forward to seeing the positive impact that Aniai's cooking robots will make on the US Quick Service Restaurant industry." Aniai has been piloting Alpha Grill with several North American hamburger brands since Q3 of 2023, targeting multiple implementations and initial rollouts within the next 12 months. The company has already successfully deployed the solution in seven South Korean hamburger franchises.

Cypressa is expanding its array of Foods of the Sun in the grocery aisle, introducing a selection of olives and tapenades to help shoppers in crafting Mediterranean-inspired dishes in the comfort of their homes. Known for bringing the authentic flavours of the Mediterranean to UK consumers since 1964, Cypressa is set to unveil five ambient products this January. Harry Constantinou, commercial controller for Cypressa, said: “We are excited to be launching this range into Tesco at a time when the Mediterranean diet is gaining momentum for its health benefits. Our tapenades and olives are always popular, and we are sure our new Nocellara Olives will be too.” The launch will feature four products from Cypressa’s existing 'Foods of the Sun' range: Aubergine & Feta Mezze, Tomato, Feta & Kalamata Olive Tapenade, Greek Mixed Olives with Garlic & Herbs and Greek Double-Stuffed Olives with Garlic & Pepper. Additionally, the new Nocellara Olives will be introduced—green Sicilian olives boasting a nutty, buttery flavour and a crisp texture. These additions will complement Cypressa's current grocery selection, already available at Tesco stores, which includes products such as Tahini and Stuffed Vine Leaves.

The McCormick-owned brand Flavor Maker has unveiled a 15-strong collection of seasonings designed to enhance the flavour of meals throughout the entire cooking process. Featuring 15 distinct blends, these seasonings are crafted to elevate the flavour of any dish, catering to all levels of home cooks. Conveniently, they can be incorporated as ingredients during cooking or used as a topping when eating, offering quick and easy flavour enhancement. Each blend is crafted with McCormick spices, free from additives. The Flavor Maker seasonings are designed to added to a range of dishes and culinary styles covering chicken, vegetarian, pasta, avocado, egg, sandwich, pizza, chili, salmon, potato, Asian-style rice bowl, macaroni and cheese, Mediterranean, ramen and taco. The pots feature pun and wordplay based titles and are made up of a combination of spices, herbs and ingredients which can be used to enhance a meal using specific ingredients like smoked and regular paprika for chicken dishes in the "Taste that's im-peck-able" pot, breadcrumbs to top macaroni and cheese in the "You mac me smile" pot, nori flakes and Szechuan pepper for the "hopeless ramen-tic" pot, and bell peppers for tacos in the "Let's taco-bout it" pot. Ingredients like salt, onion and garlic feature in all the pots. Tabata Gomez, chief marketing officer for McCormick & Company, commented: "The new line of McCormick Flavor Maker seasonings is for everyone who wants to add flavour to their dishes in an easy, quick way. With this line, there is truly something for everyone to upgrade their favourite foods and make them taste even more delicious." This collection is currently available online at the official McCormick website and other sites.

Beverage giant Diageo has unveiled an open innovation initiative aimed at optimising water usage across its global supply chain. The call, consisting of five water-focused challenges, seeks solutions to enhance water efficiency in various aspects of Diageo's operations. The challenges, integral to the Diageo Sustainable Solutions programme that was initiated in 2020, align with Diageo's ten-year ESG plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress. This latest phase aims to bridge the innovation gap necessary for achieving sustainability goals, recognising the need for novel technologies and approaches. These challenges mark the fourth instalment in a series that has already seen 14 successful pilots across Diageo's operations, addressing issues such as packaging, agriculture and carbon emissions. The innovation challenges cover key points in Diageo's supply chain, targeting improvements in water efficiency in its operations, maximising the value of waste streams, minimising climate and water risks in ingredient sourcing, optimising water efficiency in agricultural operations, and enhancing water use across the hospitality sector. Ewan Andrew, president of global supply and procurement and chief sustainability officer at Diageo, said: “Water is our most important resource at Diageo for our communities, our operations and our products. Diageo Sustainable Solutions gives us a unique opportunity to search far and wide externally to connect with fast-moving innovators who can challenge our status quo and scale their technology.” John Cant, head of Diageo Sustainable Solutions, added: “Our Diageo Sustainable Solutions programme gives us the unique opportunity to work closely with innovators and start-ups in a collaborative way to test their technology within our supply chain. We will give successful innovators the platform to pilot, the investment to scale it if successful at the pilot, and throughout the process, we’ll support the innovators with our expertise and resources for success.” Applications for the water-focused challenges are open until 20 March 2024, with global innovators invited to contribute.

Kirin Brewery has declared its commitment to exclusively utilising renewable energy for purchased electric power across all company plants and sales offices from January 2024. This transition is expected to result in a reduction of approximately 20,700 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually. Having joined the RE100 international initiative in 2020, which comprises companies striving for 100% renewable energy usage, the Kirin Group has set an ambitious target to achieve complete reliance on renewable energy for electricity consumption by 2040. As part of this initiative, Kirin Brewery has been progressively integrating renewable energy since 2020, with five plants already running on 100% renewable energy for purchased electric power. In a press release, the company stated: "By newly converting four plants and all sales offices to 100% renewable energy, the ratio of renewable energy in the electricity used by Kirin Brewery as a whole will be 66%. In the future, we aim to achieve RE100 as soon as possible by replacing all electricity used in Kirin Group operations with renewable energy." The Kirin Group's Environmental Vision 2050 aims to achieve net-zero GHG emissions across the entire value chain by 2050. In 2022, Kirin had its net-zero targets validated by the Science-based Targets Initiative (SBT), established in 2015 by CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Remaining steadfast in its commitment to addressing various environmental challenges, such as biological resources, water resources, containers and packaging and climate change, the Kirin Group will continue to adopt an integrated approach. Collaborating with all stakeholders throughout the value chain, the company aspires to preserve and pass on the Earth's abundance to future generations. The Kirin Group is dedicated to proactively promoting initiatives that positively impact both nature and people.

Molson Coors has announced the release of a new Simply Spiked flavour: limeade. Simply Spiked Limeade, which has a 5% ABV, is available in four flavours: Signature limeade, cherry limeade, passion fruit limeade and blackberry limeade. The line is made with 5% real fruit juice "that's squeezed and then concentrated," said Molson Coors. The new variant joins the brand's existing flavours, which include lemonade and peach. Jamie Rotnicki, vice president of innovation at Molson Coors, said: "We're always at the forefront of the next big thing in flavour, identifying trends through a combination of category insights, emerging consumer interest and, of course, listening to our day-one fans to shape our innovations". "It's no secret that limeade is a fan favourite...it's the number three flavour in alternative beverages after tea and lemonade, so it only made sense for Simply Spiked Limeade to be the third addition to the Simply Spiked family. With the launch of Simply Spiked Limeade, we're looking to build on the brand's momentum from the past few years and bring our day-one fans a new line of flavours that's as on trend as they are." Simply Spiked Limeade is available for purchase in 12-pack variety packs, as well as standalone 24oz single cans.

Plukon Food Group has reached an agreement to acquire Spanish poultry company Redondo. The Netherlands-based Plukon primarily specialises in producing fresh poultry products for the retail markets in which it operates. Meanwhile, Redondo provides chicken products to key retail, B2B and foodservice companies in Spain. Based in Madrid, Redondo supplies poultry products to customers in the surrounding areas. Redondo operates facilities across three locations in Spain, including feed mills, mother flock facilities, a hatchery, growing farms and a modern slaughterhouse. Employing approximately 250 people, Redondo achieved revenues of €54 million in 2022. Kees Kraijenoord, CEO of Plukon, said: “I am pleased to announce the acquisition of Redondo that greatly strengthens Plukon’s position in Spain. In 2020, Plukon entered the Spanish market through the acquisition of Grupo VMR and together with Redondo, this provides our group with a strong platform for future growth in Spain. This deal aligns with our ambition to become a leading player in the production and marketing of poultry in Europe.” José Luis Redondo, CEO of Redondo, added: “We are convinced that Redondo will continue to grow as part of the Plukon Food Group, and we look forward to realise this together. Plukon is a strong owner for Redondo and all its stakeholders, with a similar view on quality standards and, therefore, we are proud to have achieved this milestone for the company.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) has appointed Ismael Roig as interim chief financial officer following the decision to place Vikram Luthar, chief financial officer and senior vice president, on administrative leave, effective immediately. The appointment comes in light of an ongoing investigation regarding certain accounting practices within ADM's Nutrition reporting segment, including related intersegment transactions. Terry Crews, lead director of ADM's board, said: “The board takes these matters very seriously. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the board determined that it was advisable to place Luthar on administrative leave. The Board will continue to work in close coordination with ADM’s advisors to identify the best path forward and ensure ADM’s processes align with financial governance best practices.” Roig first joined ADM in 2004, serving a variety of global operation and financial leadership roles. Juan Luciano, ADM's chair of the board and CEO, commented: “We are fortunate to have a leader of Roig's caliber step into the chief financial officer role on an interim basis. Having served in various leadership positions at ADM over the past 20 years, as a member of the executive council for 10 years, and with his global financial and operating experience, Ismael is the right choice to lead the finance organisation.” Roig added: “I look forward to working closely with the management team and board, including the audit committee, as we resolve this matter and continue to drive value for our stockholders and customers.” ADM, under the oversight of the audit committee, is working with its advisors to promptly conclude the investigation. ADM said that it will make "further announcements regarding this matter when the board of directors approves any course of action for which further disclosure is appropriate".