Entertainment Arts Research (EARI), a diversified beverage and media group, has completed the acquisition of tequila producer Perfectomundo. Perfectomundo Tequila is available in three varieties: Blanco, Reposado and Anejo. The tequila brand is owned by English record producer, Paul Oakenfold, who said: "We are excited to bring this passion project, already revered by the music and entertainment industry and fans around the world, to a nationwide distribution network through EARI". The acquisition will add Perfectomundo to EARI's portfolio, which already includes brands such as Original New York Seltzer, Nature's Fury functional drinks, Neo Caffeine Superwater, Madre Agave wine, and more. Bernard Rubin, CEO of EARI Beverage Group, said: "The acquisition of Perfectomundo is a major milestone for our company as it rounds up our spirit portfolio, adding to our vodka and bourbon brands. It also reinforces our commitment to creating a sustainable platform that can serve our current and future customers and their unique needs." Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Roar Organic is adding a new flavour to its Complete Hydration line and debuting Roar Plus Powders. The latest flavour to join Roar's functional hydration and wellness beverage portfolio is a “refreshingly sweet and mildly tart” offering. The brand is also debuting its Roar Plus line, which consists of naturally flavoured vitamin and electrolyte drink mixes available on QVC and online. Roar Plus contains a blend of antioxidants, vitamins and electrolytes, and is also boosted with 1,000mg of vitamin C, as well as added zinc, elderberry and green tea polyphenols, with only 2g of sugar and 20 calories per single-serve stick. Roar Plus comes in two flavours: Berry Lemonade, which features a fruity and tangy taste, and Strawberry Watermelon, bursting with strawberry and watermelon flavours. Bill Lange, president at Roar Organic, said: “We are incredibly excited about the powders launch as it gives us the opportunity to expand into a trending category and allows us to provide another hydration solution to Roar consumers”.

Sainsbury’s has announced that it will remove all traditional plastic tray packaging across its entire beef mince range and replace it with a vacuum-packed alternative, saving approximately 450 tonnes of plastic a year. The new packaging format, which uses a minimum of 55% less plastic, will support the retailer’s goal of halving plastic packaging use across its own brand products by 2025. The supermarket chain's beef mince will be vacuum-packed by removing all oxygen, leading to a longer shelf life. The packaging will contain the same amount of beef mince, but use fewer materials and be lighter in weight. Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s, said: “We know our customers expect us to be reducing the use of plastic across our products, and we're constantly looking for new ways to innovate to meet our ‘Plan for Better’ plastic reduction targets”. She continued: “We strive to be bold in the changes we are making, which is why we’re pleased to be the first UK retailer to vacuum-pack all our beef mince range without impacting the quantity or great quality of products that our customers expect. This is the latest in a long line of changes we have pioneered in the space working collaboratively with our suppliers, and customers can expect much more to come from Sainsbury’s.” However, some companies have raised concerns that this transition may encourage consumers to dispose of the packaging through inappropriate streams. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, said: “Flexible plastics are almost impossible to recycle, especially where they are food contaminated. The old, rigid plastic packaging would at least have gone into recycling, however limited the UK’s systems are. The new vacuum packs will instead be thrown into general waste and end up incinerated.” She added: “The big brands really need to wean themselves off single-use materials altogether, offering produce in reusable packaging instead. Human beings have been eating mince much longer than they have relied on single-use plastic to package it.” Consumers are now able to purchase beef mince in the revamped packaging in-store and online.

Huhtamaki has taken full ownership of Huhtamaki Tailored Packaging (HTP), its foodservice packaging distribution and wholesale JV in Australia. The company, which employs over 130 staff, imports and distributes foodservice packaging in Australia and serves a wide customer base including packaging and food wholesalers, hospitality suppliers and quick-service restaurant businesses. The debt-free purchase price for the additional shares is approximately €19 million. The deal comes after Huhtamaki acquired a majority stake in the business in 2018.

Come back to the genius of milk proteins with Ingredia. Simple, clear and familiar ingredients – only dairy and only the best of milk. Ingredia's unique milk proteins are the secret to creating food products combining: Health: complete protein to provide high protein content and very low fat Indulgence: unmatchable natural milky taste Clean-label: without additives, stabilisers or emulsifiers Our milk proteins enable manufacturers to develop fresh dairy products for consumers who desire to keep a healthy lifestyle without compromising on taste and indulgence. In the processed cheese industry, food additives such as E numbers are commonly used, as well as emulsifying salts for their functionalities. Ingredia has developed unique milk proteins that replace emulsifying salts while maintaining functionality and a natural milky taste. Created by Ingredia Functional, these clean label milk proteins provide the food industry with innovative solutions for products and applications that can be adapted depending on market demand. Our milk proteins provide both functional and nutritional benefits. They enhance dairy products by: Improving nutritional value for the food industry Optimising organoleptic quality, improving texture and taste: airy mousse, good dairy taste, homogenous dairy beverages, rich cream, thick and delicious Greek yogurt, etc. Optimising product cost with highly functional solutions that replace additives, with specific fields of application (replacing emulsifiers with natural proteins that have equivalent properties) Positioning you in a growing market with clean label products that use natural ingredients and products with 100% dairy ingredients Developing formulas with simple, short labelling Meeting consumer expectations for nutrition, taste and food sensitivities. Find out more: www.ingredia-functional.com/markets/markets-for-foods/clean-label.

Frozen novelties brand GoodPop has released a line of fudgy oat milk-based dessert bars in four flavours. The gluten-free frozen treats are made using organic and fair trade ingredients and contain 130 calories or less per serving. Featuring in the new line is Fudge n’ Vanilla Crunch, with a smooth vanilla filling, chocolate fudge shell and organic cacao nibs topping, while Double Chocolate Fudge combines a chocolate oat milk filling with a fudgy chocolate shell in a two-pop portion size. Made with organic peppermint leaves, the 80-calorie Mint n’ Fudge Chip bars contain fair trade cocoa chips, and Fudge n’ Caramel Crunch is a chocolate and caramel oat milk pop, with a salted caramel filling and fudgy coating, dotted with cacao nibs. Four-packs of GoodPop’s latest treat are available now at Sprouts Farmers Market, Publix Super Markets and via the brand’s website, with a further rollout planned for the coming months.

CarbonCloud, a SaaS climate intelligence platform for the food industry, has secured €7.5 million as it eyes further market expansion. Cusp Capital and Peak led the funding round, which saw continued participation from investors Maki VC and TS Ventures, as well as the arrival of Rivus Ventures. Founded in 2019, CarbonCloud's platform enables companies to trace the climate impact of their food and beverage products at every stage of the supply chain. It has automated the manual life cycle assessment and empowers various stakeholders throughout every organisation in the food industry to target, track and improve climate performance. Dole Sunshine Company and Oatly are among the sustainability-minded companies currently on board with CarbonCloud's platform. David Bryngelsson, CEO and founder of CarbonCloud, commented: “Google has built the search graph, Facebook built the social graph, and CarbonCloud has built the food graph”. He added: “We have witnessed the food industry waste valuable resources searching for supply chain emissions data, but this network problem can only be solved digitally. The latest investment provides us with a strong tailwind when rolling out this much-needed digital solution to the global food industry.” CarbonCloud automatically maps out a digital twin of the food supply chain for each individual product in a portfolio, enabling companies to respond confidently to consumer demand. Jan Sessenhausen, general partner at Cusp Capital, said: “One of the core beliefs behind our investment was that industry-specific solutions will ultimately become the winning climate intelligence platform versus industry-agnostic approaches”. He continued: “We consider CarbonCloud’s data and calculation model to be superior to its competitors and are really happy with the overall development since our initial investment in 2021”.

Danone has posted like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of 7.8% for the full year, near the upper end of its guidance. The owner of Evian and Activia yogurt posted 2022 net sales of €27.66 billion, up from €24.28 billion in 2021. The company had forecast growth of 7-8% for 2022, on an LFL basis. Recurring operating income was €3.38 billion. In 2022, the company’s Essential Dairy and Plant-based (EDP) unit posted LFL sales growth of 5.8%. Meanwhile, Danone’s Specialized Nutrition business saw sales grow 10% on an LFL basis. The Waters business recorded LFL sales growth of 10.5% to €4.54 billion, despite the year’s “unprecedented external challenges and volatility”. Danone’s CEO, Antoine de Saint-Affrique, said: “For Danone, it has been a year of deep transformation and solid delivery…Importantly, 2022 was not only a year of strategy and transformation but also one of meaningful progress and delivery. We closed a year of solid growth, +7.8% on a like-for-like basis, with all regions and categories contributing. While delivering on our financial commitments for 2022, we started reinvesting significantly in our capabilities, product superiority and brand support.” He continued: “Building on 2022 momentum, we are entering 2023 with renewed ambition and confidence in our strategy. In 2023, we will pursue our transformation, and further invest in our brands, products and capabilities while delivering in line with the mid-term guidance defined last year.”

UK olive oil brand Filippo Berio has launched four new pasta sauces. Using all-natural ingredients, such as extra virgin olive oil and naturally sweet Italian tomatoes, the Filippo Berio sauces include Basilico, Arrabbiata, Verdure Grigliate and Olive. Filippo Berio UK managing director, Walter Zanré, said: “When we make our pasta sauces, we cook the vegetables before the tomatoes are added – not at the same time. This two-stage cooking method locks in all the flavour, so our sauces taste fresh – just like homemade”. The range is currently available in Tesco stores for £2.50 per 340g glass jar.

US-based mochi brand, Bubbies Ice Cream, has expanded its mochi line with the launch of two new flavours, Ube and Mocha Chip. The Ube flavour blends classic Japanese-inspired mochi with ube, a purple yam that is a staple food item in the Philippines. Ube ice cream is wrapped in purple mochi dough, offering a creamy, nutty, vanilla flavour. The Mocha Chip flavour wraps creamy, coffee ice cream with chocolate chips in chocolate mochi dough. The coffee ice cream is made using coffee farmed and processed in the Kona coffee belt on Hualalai and Mauna Loa in Hawaii. According to the mochi manufacturer, “this sourcing offers a deeper connection to Bubbies Ice Cream since the brand started off as an ice cream shop on the island of Oahu in 1985”. Katie Cline, VP of marketing at Bubbies Ice Cream, said: “Ube and Mocha Chip are an extension of our promise to offer a better-for-you ice cream experience that meets consumers' interest in flavour profiles that are on trend and exciting”. Both the new variants contain 90 calories per piece and will be available to purchase from major US retailers in early Q2 for Mocha Chip and Q3 for Ube, at an RRP of $5.99-6.99 per six-count box.

Food tech start-up Mush Foods has developed its 50Cut mycelium protein ingredient solution to cut animal protein content in meat products by 50%. Mushroom-derived 50Cut delivers a ‘beefy’ bite of nutrient-dense protein to meat hybrid formulations. Shalom Daniel, co-founder and CEO of Mush Foods, commented: "Our mushroom-derived products address the reality that there is a sizeable population of carnivores who are simply not willing to compromise on beef's rich taste, nutritional boost, and textural experience". He added: "50Cut is tailored specifically for hybrid meat products to satisfy flexitarians and carnivores with the unique sensation they crave while easing the impact of global meat consumption." Mush Foods' 50Cut mycelium protein ingredient product is composed of three edible Mushroom mycelium species. Mycelium is a whole protein, housing all the essential amino acids and is rich in fibre, vitamins with no saturated fat or cholesterol. The ingredient acts as a natural binder and possesses a natural umami flavour similar to meat. In formulations, the mycelium fibres maintain the volume of the ground meat matrix by absorbing the meat juices, further preserving flavour and making the addition of texturised proteins unnecessary.

Tyson Foods has agreed to acquire US-based pork processor, Williams Sausage Company, for an undisclosed amount. Located in Tennessee, Williams Sausage Company employs around 500 members of staff and produces cooked sausages, bacon and sandwiches for the retail and foodservice markets. Stewart Glendinning, group president, prepared foods for Tyson Foods, said: “The addition of Williams Sausage Company aligns with our strategic intent of expanding our capacity to serve our customers. We also look forward to welcoming Williams’ dedicated team members to the Tyson Foods family.” Williams Sausage Company president and CEO, Roger Williams, added: “There are not many companies to which we could entrust what we have built, and we are very pleased that in Tyson Foods we have found that partner who understands the heritage and culture of our family business and will be able to take it to the next level. We believe this to be a very positive move for our family and our team members that will ensure the future of all stakeholders.” The transaction is subject to approval by US regulators.