Vitamin Well-owned functional beverage brand Nocco has expanded its portfolio with the launch of the first product of its new Focus range. Focus Ramonade features flavours of rambutan, apple and melon and contains 180mg of caffeine. Amy Banerjee, head of marketing at Nocco, said: “We’re excited to launch the first product in our brand-new Focus range. Ramonade delivers on caffeine, is sugar-free and hits really big on taste. It’s sleek, elegant and the infinitely cool ‘must-have’ drink this year.” Nocco's Focus Ramonade is available to purchase for an RRP of £2.49 in selected gyms and stores nationwide, including WHSmith.

Snax-Sational Brands has released a new breakfast-inspired snack, Cereal Pop popcorn made with Fruity Pebbles. The popcorn is a sweet and savoury snack and is 150 calories per serving. Jerry Bello, CEO of Snax-Sational Brands, commented: “This new Cereal Pop brand extension is truly going to ‘wow’ consumers of all ages… The taste is absolutely delicious, exploding with Post Brands’ much-loved Fruity Pebbles cereal.” SNAX-Sational Brands is planning a wider release in February, at which point the fruity popcorn snack should be available at US retailers in 5.25 oz bags, retailing at $6.98.

California-based botanical beverage maker, Amass Brands, has announced the purchase of operating assets from direct-to-consumer (DTC) winery Winc. Founded in 2019, Amass offers ‘botanically focused’ beverages across a number of spirit categories, including gin, vodka and mezcal, as well as a distilled non-alcoholic product. The acquisition of the Winc wine portfolio expands Amass Brands’ offering to cater for a wider cross-section of consumers and consumption occasions. Following the deal, the company will hold the keys to ‘industry-leading’ DTC platform, Winc Wine Club, while also controlling a “rapidly growing” portfolio of wine and spirits sold through traditional retail partners. Amass says that Winc’s advanced ecommerce capabilities strengthen its own “omni-channel approach to growing brands”. CEO Mark Thomas Lynn commented: “We are so excited to add Winc wine brands to our Amass portfolio”. “With Winc offerings like Summer Water Rosé, Pizzolato prosecco and Biokult organic wines alongside Amass’s botanical beverages, we’re expanding our customer base of modern drinkers who are thoughtful about their drink choices. From a picnic with friends to craft cocktails at one of the world’s 50 best bars, Amass will have a premium option for every occasion.”

Promoted: The seminar programme for IFE is now live, with this year’s event putting the issue of sustainability at the heart of discussions.

Danone North America's Stōk Cold Brew has released a new Espresso Blend Cold Brew to add to its existing line of cooled coffees. The Espresso Blend Cold Brew brings together cold coffee and espresso for a dark and boald roast. It is brewed low and slow, featuring hints of chocolate, brown sugar, caramel, dried fruit and nuts. Brittney Polka, vice president of RTD beverages and lead for Stōk Cold Brew at Danone North America, said: "Stōk's Espresso Blend Cold Brew answers what consumers are looking for in the category, and we're excited to continue giving them new ways to enjoy the coffee house experience from the comfort of their homes." Available in 48oz multi-serve bottles, Stōk's Espresso Blend Cold Brew can be found in selected US stores for an SRP of $5.99.

Mexican poultry group Industrias Bachoco has announced the retirement of CEO Rodolfo Ramos Arvizu, who will be succeeded as chief executive by Ernesto Salmon Castelo. Ramos Arvizu, who joined the company in 1980, has held the position of CEO since November 2010. Bachoco chairman Javier Bours said: “I would like to thank Rodolfo for his commitment, work and dedication to the company during these 43 years. Under his leadership, the company not only achieved becoming an international player but also made solid steps towards being an important multiprotein player in Mexico.” He continued: “With no doubt, he leaves a solid company ready to become a top competitor worldwide. Furthermore, I am also pleased to announce that Mr Ramos will be nominated as a member of the board of directors of Industrias Bachoco.” Meanwhile, Salmon Castelo joined the company in 1991 and has held positions in sales, operations and supply chain. Currently serving as Mexico operations director, he is set to assume the leadership position on 17 April.

The Hershey Company-owned brand Reese's has announced a new addition to its line-up: Reese’s dipped animal crackers. The bite-sized crackers, which feature 13 different animal shapes, are covered in peanut butter and dipped in milk chocolate. Nowell Kahle, manager of snacks and grocery at The Hershey Company, said: "Reese's dipped animal crackers are sweet and crunchy, creating the ultimate snack".

Diageo has reported a rise in half-year net sales of 18.4% to £9.4 billion but indicated that demand for its drinks is slowing in some key markets, including North America. On an organic basis, net sales grew 9.4% in the first half of fiscal year 2023, reflecting price hikes, premiumisation and organic volume growth of 1.8%. The increase was ahead of analysts’ forecasts of a 7.9% rise, according to Reuters. While Diageo saw growth across all regions, its North America business, which Reuters says accounts for nearly 30% of overall sales, fell short of analysts’ estimates. Organic growth of 3% was significantly less than the forecast 6% rise. Meanwhile, volume declined 4% on an organic basis, as Diageo lapped strong demand in the year-ago period when consumers drank at home during Covid-19 restrictions. For the six months to 31 December 2022, Diageo’s operating profit increased 15.2% to £3.16 billion. The company's 'premium-plus' brands drove 65% of its organic net sales growth. Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, commented: “Organic net sales grew 9%, with growth across all regions, organic volume grew 2% and organic operating profit grew 10%. In a challenging cost environment, our organic operating margin increased 9 basis points whilst we also continued to invest for the future.” He continued: “Sales growth was supported by our continued focus on premiumising our portfolio, bolstered by strong global premiumisation trends, with our super-premium-plus brands growing organic net sales 12%”.

New and existing scientific research into permaculture and permaculture-inspired techniques in rice cultivation has revealed it has several environmental benefits, outweighing certain impacts created by traditional agricultural practices. Franco Vessio, co-founder of plant-based food producer MozzaRisella, reveals the findings from the company's latest report on permaculture rice cultivation. The report – titled 'Research and systematisation of data on rice permaculture' – summarises key research in this area and highlights that the technique represents “an evolution in organic farming practices”. Key factors used to determine this included a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the contribution to the sustainment of stronger biodiversity levels by creating more habitats. This conclusion was reached by analysing the results of several studies in the past two decades and most recently in the last two years, including rice and plant cultivation techniques and those inspired by permaculture. Overall patterns pointed to a majority of organic farming practices favouring permaculture techniques, supporting elevated levels of biodiversity, and having a positive impact on soil quality, the diversity and quantity of populations and pollinators, and a reduction in water consumption. Additional benefits to permaculture highlighted in the research also included a reduction in land consumption (due to using less space in a more intensive output), better results for human health due to the absence of chemicals, protection of natural resources, prevention of water shortages, less energy use due to self-sufficient system implementation, as well as a diminished risk for farmers from not having to depend on monocultural practices. Ethical and environmental principles of permaculture Permaculture is a relatively new organic farming technique used in rice farming and is said to help manage “social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability” and is defined by its self-sufficient design, which assures the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. The term permaculture was coined in the 1970s and was originally inspired by Fukuoka Masanobu, a Japanese farmer and philosopher who created a method commonly known as “natural farming” or “do nothing farming”. In comparison to its highly conventional counterpart, permaculture does not involve heavy use of synthetic chemical fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified organisms and irrigation. Traditional agriculture may be deemed effective in terms of yielding short-term efficiency gains and high productivity rates, but with climate change and pollution now causing serious concerns for both the future of farming and the environment, it’s a method that is no longer environmentally sustainable in terms of resources and energy consumption. By looking at the studies within this report, we can infer that permaculture emphasises crop diversity and the use of perennial and annual crops in addition to organic or chemical-free soil and plant management practices. However, not a lot of in-depth research has yet been done on permaculture rice cultivation, but results from these findings can still be used to advise and improve the environmental performance of both producers and suppliers. What are the environmental impacts of rice cultivation in comparison to traditional techniques? Different practices can help alleviate environmental impacts that are created in conventional rice production, which involve the vast application of plant protection products (primarily herbicides) and poor agricultural practices that can lead to risks to human health and contamination of natural resources. Organic rice cultivation systems involve numerous operations that are carried out in both the farm and the field, which consider organic fertilisation, soil tillage and sowing, crop management and harvesting, and storage operations. Before the rice is sowed, the sowing is predicted a combination of vetch and ryegrass (approx. 220 kg ha-1 of seed, 70% ryegrass and 30% vetch) and the biomass produced is incorporated into the soil in May when dry mass production is about 5 t ha-1. Organic fertilisation with compost is also envisaged (22.5 t ha-1). In comparison to conventional rice production, the seeding rate is higher by approximately 10% due to increased mortality as a result of competition with weeds and mechanical control operations. The crop management phase is also simplified compared to conventional rice production as it doesn’t require intervention with chemicals (herbicides or pesticides) or chemical fertilisers. The core differences between organic rice production and conventional rice production can be defined by the following categories: fertilisation, weed management, drainage of flooded fields and grain yield. Organic fertilisation using compost is used for both production systems; however, green manure is used purely for organic rice production. The more organic matter that is input into the soil with green manure, the higher the methane emissions. Yet, using mechanical weeding, which does not require the use of agrochemicals, implies a greater consumption of diesel fuel. When it comes to weed management, organic rice production does not use chemical herbicides but uses mechanical weeding, whereas conventional rice production does (two applications). For drainage of the flooded field, there is one aeration in conventional rice production, but none in the organic rice production scenario. The grain yield with conventional production is 8.02 ha-1 27% moisture corresponding to 6.81 t ha-1 commercial moisture. Overall, the results of this study show that organic rice production in comparison to traditional systems, when using less pesticide application, has a better performance (-94%) due to the absence of plant protection products. In terms of environmental effects, yield reduction and different use of agronomic inputs and means, have an acute effect on environmental performance. The future of permaculture rice farming and its pros and cons One study in particular, which took place at Cascina Belvedere farm and uses permaculture-inspired cultivation practices by Mr Bio Food – the producers of BioSuRiceÒ (brown sprouted rice) which is the main ingredient of MozzaRisella products, alongside what other authors have concluded from their rice studies using different cultivation techniques – it’s possible to predict several environmental benefits. These benefits include a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to using dry seeding and the use of intermittent flooding tailored to the needs of the crop, which limit the time period where anaerobic conditions can develop and subsequent methane emissions. Dry seeding and intermittent flooding also can be linked to a reduction in water consumption in comparison to continuous flooding, using higher water efficiency that doesn’t negatively affect production yields. Thanks to not using herbicides, the winter cover of herbaceous plants and the ensuing mulching layer that contains weed development, it also helps reduce the negative effects on human health and ensures that the return to the environment of water is uncontaminated by pollutants. Furthermore, soil quality is helped by nutrients that are brought through the mulching of the winter herbaceous species and the use of rice straw that is left in the paddy field and buried, which contributes to the supply of nutrients. Other greenhouse gas emissions are also positively impacted due to a reduction in synthetic products (plant protection products, herbicides, fertilisers) at least equal to those resulting from the production process, but the benefit should be weighed against any greater emissions. There are some critical issues that have yet to be confirmed if they can be compensated for with a lower environmental impact and require further investigation regarding production yields, greenhouse emissions and eutrophication. Cultivation techniques that reduce absolute emission values can reduce the environmental benefit with extremely low production yields. Some studies show that intermittent irrigation techniques can possibly compromise production yields by up to 14-28%. However, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions they should be compared by emissions generated from the potential increased use of agricultural inputs in comparison to alternative techniques, the use of organic soil conditioners and mulching under anaerobic conditions during the flooding period. Due to a lack of data concerning the nutrient content of water (mainly nitrogen and phosphorous), it’s also impossible to determine considerations regarding the possible effects of eutrophication. Overall, the majority of studies confirm that organic farming practices generally favour permaculture practices and indeed support high levels of biodiversity. Ultimately, the ecological sustainability of rice can be attainable by restoring the biodiversity of rice paddies by protecting the surrounding environment, alternative cultivation models and the lessened use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

ByHeart is acquiring an additional infant formula manufacturing facility in Allerton, Iowa, from DairiConcepts, a subsidiary of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA). The acquisition will enable ByHeart to scale production capacity for its infant formula, as well as increase domestic infant formula supply in the US. This news follows ByHeart's acquisition of Cascadia Nutrition earlier this month. The company says these facilities and its manufacturing plant in Reading, Pennsylvania, will provide the business with sufficient manufacturing capacity to achieve its goal of feeding an estimated 500,000 infants each year. ByHeart CEO and co-founder, Ron Belldegrun, said: "Infant formula is a fundamental category and often the sole source of nutrition for babies. Since our launch, we've seen incredible demand for our product. The outpouring of positive feedback from ByHeart customers strengthened our conviction to double down on our supply chain in order to provide families with safe and reliable nourishment for their babies." He continued: "... By acquiring these additional facilities, we are not only providing critical products to more families but also further strengthening the vulnerable infant formula supply chain in this country". Martin Bates, president of DFA Ingredient Solutions, added: "Infant formula is one of the most value-added dairy products in the world. We at Dairy Farmers of America are committed to producing high-quality milk and dairy ingredients in a sustainable way while building relationships that leverage the value of dairy nutrition for infant formula. We look forward to continuing to work with ByHeart, which we believe has the potential to unlock significant opportunity for our 11,500 family farmers across the country." Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

French biscuit brand LU (Lefèvre Utile) has expanded its portfolio with the launch of Le Petit Ganache, the first filled biscuit in the LU range. The new biscuit features a chocolate hazelnut filling surrounded by a buttery biscuit casing. Charlotte Parkes, senior brand manager at LU, said: “We’re really excited to bring this delicious addition to shoppers. With the chocolatiness of Le Petit Chocolat and the more traditional, rich buttery taste of Le Petit Beurre, the LU range is perfect for sharing occasions among family and friends, as there is something for everyone to discover.” LU's Le Petit Ganache is available at all major supermarkets in the UK for an RRP of £1.50.

Mondelēz International has released two new products to its Easter egg collection, Cadbury Dairy Milk Chunky Egg and Cadbury Oreo White Egg. The new Cadbury Dairy Milk Chunky Egg has an extra-thick shell while the Cadbury Oreo White Egg has a creamy white chocolate shell with crunchy Oreo biscuit pieces included inside. Laura Gray, senior brand manager for Cadbury Easter at Mondelēz International, said: “We’re confident that these updates for the 2023 season will make our shell-egg collection that ‘egg-stra’ bit special for our chocolate-lovers.” She continued: “Having a clear and easy-to-shop portfolio is so important for retailers’ ranges and their shoppers’ experience in-store come Easter-time.” The Cadbury Dairy Milk Chunky Egg and Cadbury Oreo White Egg are available at selected UK retailers for an RRP of £12.