Icelandic Provisions is expanding its skyr portfolio with the launch of four new fruity flavours under its Extra Creamy and Traditional Skyr categories. The flavours for its Extra Creamy category include: honey & apricot, which has a balance of whole milk skyr, sweet honey and a touch of apricot; and passion fruit & mango, a combination of tangy passion fruit and ripe mango with whole milk skyr. Meanwhile, its Traditional Skyr category features: berry medley, a blend of raspberries, strawberries and cranberries with a hint of blueberry; and pineapple, packed with pieces of pineapple in thick and creamy skyr. Icelandic Provisions Skyr is available at retailers nationwide.

Food and beverage organisations around the world are facing a dilemma. Navigating the drive towards a more sustainable future is being met with increased scrutiny from consumers, regulators and investors, leading to the rise of so-called ‘greenhushing’. However, with the world facing critical climate-related targets, organisations must ensure they are still taking the lead when it comes to greener actions. Heather Moore, technical director for sustainability at global assurance provider LRQA, tells us more. What is 'greenhushing'? A relatively new concept to some in the business world, 'greenhushing' is the term given to a lack of communication regarding progress in sustainability. With reports of greenhushing expected to become more prominent in the food and beverage industry this year, concerns are growing over whether this silence will have a detrimental impact on the drive to a net zero future. The reason for the increase in greenhushing is understandable. Often, global organisations are intensely probed over their green pledges, leading to accusations of greenwashing and negative headlines. This is particularly the case in the food and beverage industry, given how consumer-centric it is. Packaging, ingredients and responsible sourcing are just some of the areas where food and beverage organisations have been put under the magnifying glass. The subsequent damage of being called out for overstating commitments can be significant to brand integrity and reputation. Much of the scrutiny can be understood, as marketing campaigns sometimes overstate the deliverable actions, leading to scepticism and negative publicity. However, it must not come at the expense of sustainable action. With environment, social and governance (ESG) issues rising up the agenda, organisations are facing more pressure than ever to commit to more sustainable practices. Increasingly, investors expect clear strategies and the ability to deliver against expectations. As fears of being called out for greenwashing increase, how can organisations find the perfect balance? Taking action The best ESG strategies are from those whose environmental health and safety (EHS) and sustainability functions work together, rather than in parallel. Unfortunately, there are many instances of tunnel vision being applied, whereby teams focus on their own targets rather than working as a collective. If teams do not collaborate, organisations may miss opportunities to build effective management systems that guide and influence sustainable strategies. Collective learning is a powerful tool that organisations should grasp at the first opportunity. Collaboration doesn’t stop at EHS and sustainability teams, either. Marketing and communications teams must also be involved to ensure announcements – both external and internal – are in line with the strategy. By working together, anti-greenwashing strategies can be implemented to help rebuild any lost trust and transparency. Communication must be formalised to ensure messaging is accurate while also meeting the needs – and expectations – of all stakeholders. Some investors will require updates on sustainability pledges to be communicated through reports. There are several effective ways that companies can report their sustainable operations, including end-of-year financial statements or specific sustainability reports. Others host ESG sections on their website, where information is kept updated. These sit alongside shorter versions of annual sustainability reports to meet investor requirements. The case for verification Regardless of how claims are communicated, pressure is on organisations to deliver honest and achievable sustainable policies. As such, achieving assurance through independent verification is going to grow in importance. Take the ISO 14064 standard, for example, which provides a framework for greenhouse gas accounting and verification for organisations looking to quantify and reduce emissions. The benefits are clear; not only does it showcase integrity by validating systems and processes, but it also helps you hit projected greenhouse gas reduction targets. Through verification, organisations will have the necessary assurance of any external carbon footprint declaration, meaning accusations of greenwashing reduce. Of course, ISO 14064 is just one of the many standards in place that can support a more secure and sustainable future. There is a plethora of other standards to be aware of, all of which help bring order and peace of mind that the best processes are in place. Regaining confidence in sustainability pledges Greenhushing may be high on the agenda for many organisations this year, but it could have a detrimental impact on long-term sustainability targets. In order to even attempt to address the world’s problem of climate change, we need to share our successes and failures and learn from each other. While it’s true that greenwashing can have a negative impact on perceived brand integrity, staying silent could have a detrimental effect on the long-term goals – both organisational and governmental. The best way to safeguard sustainability objectives from scrutiny is through independent third-party verification. That way, organisations can be safe in the knowledge that they are on the best path to success. Crucially, it creates transparency with stakeholders, building trust and greater ownership.

Post Holdings-owned cereal brand Weetabix has expanded its breakfast offering with the launch of Chocolatey Hazelnut Melts. The new soft-centred crunchy hazelnut bites are HFSS-compliant and are set to evoke a sense of nostalgia among UK consumers, as the brand states chocolate hazelnut is aligned to memories of after-school snacking. Ginni Farbon, Weetabix brand manager, said: “The launch of this new flavour into our popular Melts range is set to be a hit with consumers as tasty cereal is the largest segment of the breakfast cereal category, with demand growing YOY over the last three years”. She continued: “With over half of consumers looking to reduce their sugar intake in their diets, Melts will hit this sweet spot for them without compromising on taste”. Last month, under its Weetos brand, Post Holdings launched Caramel Chocolatey Hoops, a non-HFSS cereal with high fibre and strong nutritional credentials such as vitamin D, iron and vitamin B12 Weetabix says that contrasting hard and soft textures are an effective growth driver in many categories, positioning the new cereal to be a hit with consumers. The Chocolatey Hazelnut Melts will be available in ASDA stores from the beginning of May, for an RRP of £3 per box. Further retailers will stock the cereal in the coming months.

Fonterra has opened its fifth application centre in China, in the southern city of Shenzhen. The co-op says the new centre will focus on the development of beverage applications. The new facility is equipped to design innovative solutions for China's "competitive beverage market". “Many of China’s leading beverage customers are headquartered in Shenzhen, where new ideas flourish due to the city’s young population and innovative environment," said Fonterra Greater China CEO Teh-han Chow. “We see great potential in combining Fonterra's high-quality dairy products with the rich flavours of Chinese beverages. This fusion is sure to create some exciting new products that will delight both consumers and industry players alike.” Last year, 1,434 new kinds of non-alcoholic beverages were launched in China by key tea and beverage brands. Fonterra expects new product launches that successfully combine traditional tea ingredients, dairy and fruit to drive sales growth in the country. “The Shenzhen application centre provides a new platform to explore the diverse use of Fonterra products in beverages and provide innovative application solutions to meet the local needs of Chinese consumers,” added Teh-han. "We see great potential in combining Fonterra's high-quality dairy products with the rich flavours of Chinese beverages. This fusion is sure to create some exciting new products that will delight both consumers and industry players alike." He continued: “We must be more agile and continue to develop our capabilities to produce cutting-edge solutions that add value to our customers' businesses. As a New Zealand company deeply rooted in China for 50 years, we want to play an active role in the industry, integrate ourselves into the local innovation ecosystem, and empower the high-quality development of the whole value chain.” The centre will house a dedicated team of experts and experienced chefs, to help create an interactive, experiential space for customers to create products, offering development seminars, demonstrations and virtual live teachings. In addition to beverage solutions, the new centre will also focus on bakery applications – similarly, the co-op's four other facilities will have beverage application capacity. Fonterra's other four application centres are located in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. You may also like to read: Fonterra makes further investment in decarbonisation strategy Fonterra COO Fraser Whineray to step down Interview: Can seaweed help reduce dairy emissions?

Fonterra has opened its fifth application centre in China, in the southern city of Shenzhen. The co-op says the new centre will focus on the development of beverage applications. The new facility is equipped to design innovative solutions for China's "competitive beverage market". “Many of China’s leading beverage customers are headquartered in Shenzhen, where new ideas flourish due to the city’s young population and innovative environment," said Fonterra Greater China CEO Teh-han Chow. “We see great potential in combining Fonterra's high-quality dairy products with the rich flavours of Chinese beverages. This fusion is sure to create some exciting new products that will delight both consumers and industry players alike.” Last year, 1,434 new kinds of non-alcoholic beverages were launched in China by key tea and beverage brands. Fonterra expects new product launches that successfully combine traditional tea ingredients, dairy and fruit to drive sales growth in the country. “The Shenzhen application centre provides a new platform to explore the diverse use of Fonterra products in beverages and provide innovative application solutions to meet the local needs of Chinese consumers,” added Teh-han. "We see great potential in combining Fonterra's high-quality dairy products with the rich flavours of Chinese beverages. This fusion is sure to create some exciting new products that will delight both consumers and industry players alike." He continued: “We must be more agile and continue to develop our capabilities to produce cutting-edge solutions that add value to our customers' businesses. As a New Zealand company deeply rooted in China for 50 years, we want to play an active role in the industry, integrate ourselves into the local innovation ecosystem, and empower the high-quality development of the whole value chain.” The centre will house a dedicated team of experts and experienced chefs, to help create an interactive, experiential space for customers to create products, offering development seminars, demonstrations and virtual live teachings. In addition to beverage solutions, the new centre will also focus on bakery applications – similarly, the co-op's four other facilities will have beverage application capacity. Fonterra's other four application centres are located in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. You may also like to read: Fonterra makes further investment in decarbonisation strategy Fonterra COO Fraser Whineray to step down Interview: Can seaweed help reduce dairy emissions?

Danone has announced that its net sales have grown by 10.5% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis during the first quarter, indicating a "strong start to the year". The French dairy giant posted Q1 net sales of €6.96 billion, up from €6.24 billion in the same period last year. Price and volume/mix contributed 10.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Europe and North America recorded LFL sales growth of 6.2% and 11.8%, respectively. In Europe, the growth in sales was led by brands such as Actimel, Alpro, Evian and Aptamil, which performed well in France, Poland and the UK. Danone said that the European countries have also made progress in transforming its Essential Dairy and Plant-based (EDP) portfolio. In North America, Danone reported that the company sustained "strong and balanced growth momentum," primarily driven by its yogurt and coffee creamers brands, including Oikos, Activia, International Delight and Stok. In addition, Danone's plant-based products delivered "moderate growth". China, North Asia & Oceania saw the highest increase (16%), with double-digit growth recorded in its EDP, Specialized Nutrition and Waters categories. Latin America sales grew by 12.6%, led by Mexico and Brazil, while the rest of the world registered sales growth of 11.8%. In Q1, the company’s EDP category posted LFL sales growth of +9.3%. Meanwhile, Danone’s Specialized Nutrition and Waters businesses saw sales grow 12.0% on an LFL basis. Danone's CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: “This first quarter showed a strong start to year 2023...This performance was driven by all our categories and geographies and notably the North America and CNAO zones, but also supported by favourable phasing." He continued: "This quarter again, we consistently delivered against the pillars of our 'Renew Danone' strategy, further improving the quality of our execution, and investing behind our winning brands and platforms, while continuing to streamline and improve our portfolio. While this is encouraging progress, there is still much to be done. We remain fully focused on delivering on our 'Renew Danone' agenda, setting a solid base for long-term sustainable value creation.”

ADM has posted revenue of $24.07 billion in its first-quarter results, beating Wall Street projections of $23.48 billion. The company reported that the results from its ag services and oilseeds segment were much higher than the year-ago first quarter, with an operating profit of $1.21 billion generated from this segment alone. Ag services and oilseeds' South America origination reported "higher export demand due to the record Brazilian soybean crop driving significantly higher year-over-year results". Meanwhile, North American origination was also higher, driven by stronger soybean exports. The company's carbohydrate solutions segment delivered “solid results” in Q1; however, they were much lower than the Q1 results from the prior year. ADM chairman and CEO Juan Luciano said: “ADM’s integrated value chain has helped each of our business segments to deliver strong earnings in the quarter. Our foundational businesses in ag services & oilseeds and carbohydrate solutions both continue to manage market volatility and deliver strong margins across the value chain.” He added that the company continues to “see healthy pipeline growth and win rates in human nutrition,” with results in line with the first quarter of 2022, as the business continued to manage demand fulfilment challenges and destocking in certain categories". Speciality ingredients results were higher in the year-over-year period, driven by healthy margins. Luciano continued: “With a strong balance sheet and healthy cash flows, ADM is poised to continue investing in profitable growth, and we are excited about our strategic plan for 2023 and beyond”.

Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to remove the plastic and foil sleeves from wine bottle necks, in a move to reduce unnecessary packaging. The British retailer will remove capsules from four lines of its Loved & Found range. If the trial is a success, Waitrose plans cut down the packaging from the full ten-bottle range by the end of year, which could result in the supermarket saving an estimated half a tonne of unnecessary packaging per year. Barry Dick, beer, wine and spirit sourcing manager for Waitrose, said: “Bottle neck sleeves were introduced many years ago to prevent pests such as moths and weevils from ruining wines kept in dark, damp cellars. The caterpillars of this moth species would bore into the wine corks, causing the wine to leak or taste musty. Nowadays few people have wine cellars and those who do tend to keep them in much better conditions. This has meant that the sleeves have remained for purely aesthetic reasons and are no longer needed to protect wine." He continued: “The quality of corks used by the wine industry has also been dramatically improved. The bottles in our trial will be corked with a new FSC cork which has been extensively tried and tested for its ability to resist being contaminated with TCA, which makes corks smell and taste mouldy and ruins wine. TCA is the reason why cork fell out of favour, but cork has great sustainability credentials which is why it’s making a comeback." “The bottles look quite different as the neck appears naked, so it will be interesting to see how our customers react to us removing these familiar sleeves. I for one am looking forward to not having to wrestle with the packaging.” In addition, Waitrose said that this year it converted "as many small wine bottles as possible" to cans, thereby halving its carbon footprint per drink.

The fourth edition of FoodBev Media's World Plant-Based Innovation Awards is officially open for entry! The Awards, which celebrate global plant-based innovation, will take place during a special ceremony at the Javits Center in New York on Thursday 7 September 2023. Last year, the judging panel reviewed over 140 entries from 20 countries. This year, there will be 20 categories to choose from – including some new ones! – spanning areas such as product innovation, packaging, sustainability and brand marketing. Whether you are a small challenger brand or a globally-recognised business, we invite you to showcase your plant-based innovations by entering this year's Awards. Early bird discounts are available to those who submit their entries before Friday 2 June. In addition, small business rate options are available to ensure that all companies have an opportunity to participate. As consumers continue to recognise the benefits of a plant-based diet – from a sustainability, ethical and health perspective – we are proud to celebrate the very best from this exciting and evolving field. We encourage all companies operating in the plant-based space to submit their entries and join us in celebrating the future of plant-based food and beverage. Have you launched an innovative new plant-based product or service? Enter the World Plant-Based Innovation Awards today.

Fever-Tree has launched a new range of cocktail mixers into the US market, designed to elevate “two most popular cocktail occasions” in the country. The trio of new mixers includes classic bloody mary and classic and light margarita options. The range is crafted with naturally sourced ingredients and contains no GMOs, artificial colours or sweeteners. The Classic Bloody Mary Mix just needs the addition of vodka and is made with Californian tomatoes and a blend of spices, to provide a complex and balanced flavour, with the consumer needing to add vodka and stir. The Classic Margarita Mix just needs tequila or mezcal to create a refreshing margarita. It is crafted with Mexican limes and agave, with a touch of Spanish sea salt to balance sweet and tart flavours. The Light Margarita Mix is made with the same blend of ingredients as the Classic Margarita Mix but with 58% less sugar, it contains 50 calories per serving. Charles Gibb, CEO of Fever-Tree North America, said: "We're just scratching the surface of the potential growth and innovation in the premium cocktail mixer category. Like with carbonated mixers, the non-carbonated category is primed for tremendous growth and represents a bigger market opportunity than tonic water alone. It's the perfect time for Fever-Tree to enter the market." He continued: "From tonic to mules and palomas to now with the launch of Classic Bloody Mary and Fever-Tree Classic & Light Margarita, we have consumers covered by offering a comprehensive range to uplift any drinking occasion.” In March, Fever-Tree announced the launch of three mixers into the UK and US markets, in espresso martini, classic mojito and classic margarita varieties. The classic margarita differs from the new product as it is made with Mexican limes, Italian blood orange and Scottish sea salt. The new mixers are available to purchase now from select retailers across the US.

Grass-fed organic dairy company, Maple Hill Creamery, has received $20 million in funding from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The funding is designed to grow markets for sustainable, regenerative grass-fed organic dairy farming. It is part of the USDA’s 'Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities' programme, awarding $2.8 billion to pilot projects that will help build and expand opportunities for consumers to purchase food grown in a climate-friendly way. According to Maple Hill, it is the “largest” 100% grass-fed focused dairy business in the US. Mitch Clark, senior VP of supply chain for Maple Hill, said: “Over the past year, leaders from Maple Hill have worked to develop a programme called ‘Pay for Progress’ to educate farmers, measure and improve our industry-leading regenerative practices and expand regenerative dairy farming…With this support from the USDA, Maple Hill will expand its leadership in regenerative agriculture and be able to provide best practices to more farmers.” Maple Hill will use the funding to educate its dairy farmers on how to improve pastures with climate-smart practices to upgrade soil health. ‘Pay for Progress’ is designed to incentivise implementation and provide training support to help farmers enhance regenerative and environmental practices. The creamery will host around 30 regional educational events annually, with resources and experts providing one-on-one guidance, as well as the implementation of pasture scoring to provide trackable data on soil health, diversity of plant cover and ground cover. The company will also use the funding to help consumers understand the regenerative farming practices and the advantages of grass-fed organic dairy for consumers, farmers, cows and the environment. Jim Hau, president of Maple Hill, added: “Once consumers learn about the benefits of regenerative farming and 100% grass-fed organic dairy, they’ll recognise the correlation between these practices and their desires for a healthier environment, healthier animals and healthier dairy products”. You may also like to read: Farmer Focus receives $3.6m grant in second MPPEP round USDA announces investment in climate-smart commodities DFA to receive up to $45m in grant funding to reduce methane emissions

Hershey-owned One Brands has added a limited-edition protein bar – Peanut Butter & Jelly – to its portfolio. The PB&J-flavoured bars are packed with 20g of protein, 1g of sugar and the taste of peanut butter and strawberry jelly flavours. According to the brand, the new protein bar "has the flavour expected from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without all the excess sugar". Michael Reese, head of marketing for One Brands, said: "With this new limited-edition One bar flavour, we are hoping to transport consumers back to the summer of their youth, enjoying a classic PB&J at camp, on the road, or during those long summer days off of school". One's Peanut Butter & Jelly-flavoured protein bars are available now through the end of August at Target and speciality retailers, such as Vitamin Shoppe and GNC, with plans to roll out at Amazon and Walmart stores soon.