Ferrero has announced an agreement to acquire US ice cream manufacturer, Wells Enterprises. The deal encompasses Wells' operations and brands, which include Blue Bunny, Blue Ribbon Classics, Bomb Pop and Halo Top. The acquisition supports Ferrero's growth strategy in the ice cream category and is expected to enable Wells to accelerate growth. Wells will "remain a standalone business" with its offices in Le Mars, Iowa, under Ferrero's ownership. The company will also maintain production operations in Le Mars, as well as in Henderson, Nevada, and Dunkirk, New York. Following the closing of the transaction, Wells CEO Mike Wells will serve as an "adviser to support the transition," and current president Liam Killeen will be appointed as chief executive. "I am delighted that Wells has agreed to join the Ferrero group," said Ferrero executive chairman, Giovanni Ferrero. "This represents a win-win partnership, bringing together ice cream experts and confectionery champions. Together, we have the power of one and are well placed to grow and compete in the ice cream market." The transaction is expected to close in early 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Buitoni, a pasta and sauce brand, has released new flavours of refrigerated ravioli to its existing portfolio. Ready to eat in six minutes, the ravioli dishes feature flavours inspired by classic pizza toppings and Italian restaurant favourites like Pepperoni & Cheese and Chicken Parmesan. The Pepperoni & Cheese Ravioli flavour combines smoky and spicy pepperoni with creamy mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Featuring in the Chicken Parmesan Ravioli is seasoned breaded chicken, zesty tomato sauce and grated cheese. Graham Corneck, president and CEO of Buitoni Food, said: "We're excited to bring consumers a fresh take on Italian-inspired dishes that reflect the tastes and preferences of consumers here in the United States. "Perfect for serving any time - from Sunday game day to a weeknight meal in a pinch after a busy day at work or school - these new flavours combine the ease and quality consumers expect from Buitoni with the delicious flavours of their favourite meals, all available from the comfort of their own kitchen." Each 20 oz package can feed a family of four and is available at selected US retailers for a suggested retail price of $8.99.

Natural energy drink brand Tenzing has expanded its portfolio with the launch of a new flavour, apple & seaberry. The latest flavour uses local, British ingredients, such as Cornish seaberries, Cornish Sea Salt and British apples. Seaberries are full of flavour and rich in antioxidants and vitamin C. Tenzing partnered with Cornish Seaberry Co to source seaberries for its latest flavour. Seth Pascoe, Cornish Seaberry's founder, said: “Cornwall is renowned as being a foodie destination, and it's a big part of the Cornish identity...It's fantastic to see Tenzing doing the right thing by sourcing ingredients from local producers such as myself. It bolsters the local economy, and as Tenzing is available nationwide, it helps businesses like ours reach a much larger audience.” Tenzing apple & seaberry flavour will be available nationwide in Co-op stores from this month for an RRP of £2 per 330ml can.

It’s an understatement to say that we’ve experienced severe, widespread supply chain disruptions over the past few years. Now that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is over, we’re still facing a perfect storm of crises that are negatively impacting our food supply – and it’s possible that the worst is yet to come. Consider these simultaneous crises: Climate change is devastating our food supply globally. Extreme weather is destroying crops, ruining soil and causing increased world hunger. Droughts in California, floods in the Midwest and record-setting heat in Europe are making it difficult to farm as usual. The Russia/Ukraine war  will have a long-term impact on our global food supply. Before the conflict, Ukraine exported 6 million tons of agri-commodities, including grain, but now only exports a small fraction of this. As tons of food sit in huge silos, there’s concern it’s not being stored properly or safely and, therefore, won’t be suitable for human consumption. And since Ukrainian farmers have missed several growing seasons due to the war, next year’s crop yields will be lower than average. The ongoing labour shortage is causing problems throughout the supply chain. Simply stated, products aren’t being produced or transported because there just aren’t enough workers to make or transport them. Since many fresh foods are perishable, any delay or disruption can lead to spoilage and waste.  We’re still facing product shortages , as numerous products have become extremely expensive and/or difficult to find. Items including popcorn, sriracha, mustard and olive oil may be scarce – or prohibitively expensive – in the coming months, so restaurants, bars and other food businesses are scrambling to find suitable substitutions.  Soaring inflation is leading to increased food insecurity. Even before the Russia/Ukraine war, prices for wheat and corn were 40-50% higher than average prices from the past decade. As a result, the number of food insecure people is predicted to grow globally from 440 million to 1.6 billion, as 250 million people face famine. As we continue to face serious – and simultaneous – threats to our food supply, food brands and businesses should: Prioritise safety and quality throughout the supply chain . A critical part of supply chain management is carefully assessing the entire process, from farm to table. Every supplier throughout your supply chain must prioritise safety and quality and mitigate risks. Today, there are affordable, user-friendly software solutions that can help manage supplier certifications, organising them into a system you can see and manage. These digital solutions allow you to audit and evaluate all your suppliers’ sustainability and resilience, an effort that would be impossible to track using manual processes. Think alternatively. As extreme weather and an ongoing war continue to impact food production, companies are becoming increasingly interested in alternative solutions. For instance, vertical farms grow produce in indoor, climate-controlled spaces, which protects crops from severe weather, like droughts, extreme temperatures, flooding, etc. The trend is for vertical farms to be located close to their final destinations, which offers multiple benefits, including lowering safety and quality risks, decreasing pollution from truck transport, reducing food deserts and minimising food wastage. Diversify your suppliers. What if you typically rely on Midwestern corn, California berries or Ukrainian grain? With ongoing, widespread food threats, it’s too precarious to rely on just one supplier for your ingredients, so develop backup plans. Build strong relationships with several different suppliers so if one can’t meet your needs, the others can fill in the gaps. Before working with new vendors, however, have systems in place to ensure that they adhere to the highest safety and quality standards.  Rely on suppliers closer to home. As we’ve seen, the Russia/Ukraine conflict is disrupting grain exports, which is impacting the global food supply. And closer to home, the drought out West and Midwestern floods will reduce many states’ food supplies tremendously. This is a good time to rely on local farms – or grow your own produce – to ensure a continuous supply of fresh foods.  Reduce food waste. Make reducing food waste part of your company culture. Since there’s no indication of food prices stabilising anytime soon, reduce waste and make every piece of food count. Tech tools can help you implement programmes to minimise food waste, identify internal theft, make inventory more efficient and provide predictive ordering and historical sales patterns so you can make more informed purchasing decisions. Expect things to get worse. Unfortunately, many experts are predicting that our food supply issues could get worse before they get better. If we look at the Russia/Ukraine war as an example, this year we’re facing logistics issues, such as diminished exports. But next year, the Ukrainian food supply will be lower than normal since their annual farm cycle has been disrupted. Ukraine’s production of wheat will likely decrease by 35-45% next season due to today’s conflict.  As supply chains continue to face unprecedented threats and disruptions, there’s huge uncertainty about what will happen to our global food supply moving forward. Food businesses that are taking proactive steps now will be in a much better position in the future. So, prioritise waste reduction; research and vet new suppliers; stay aware of industry trends and current events that may impact the food supply; and utilise tech tools to streamline operations and make important tasks more efficient and accurate. Kari Hensien, president of RizePoint As president of RizePoint, the longest-lasting quality management vendor in the marketplace, Kari Hensien has been instrumental in launching the company’s Ignite Supplier Certification Management solution and adding new features to make the platform even more valuable. Ignite allows companies to gather, organise and manage supplier documentation and information in a centralised location, track status and deadlines, ensure compliance and reduce time-consuming administrative tasks. Ignite leverages the latest tech stacks in cloud computing to deliver better speed of service, security and performance, with shortened development cycles. For more information or to discuss RizePoint’s solutions, please contact Kari at kari.hensien@rizepoint.com .

Campbell Soup Company has recorded a 15% increase in first-quarter net sales to $2.58 billion, with pricing actions helping to counter the impact of volume declines. Adjusted EBIT was up 15% to $449 million, as a result of higher adjusted gross profit, partially offset by higher marketing and selling expenses. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, the company's meals and beverages division grew its net sales by 15%, a rise driven by US retail products, including soup and Prego pasta sauces, as well as growth in foodservice. Snack unit net sales also increased by 15%, driven by sales of 'power brands'. Cookies and crackers, primarily Goldfish, and salty snacks, such as Snyder's of Hanover pretzels and Kettle Brand and CapeCod potato chips, all contributed to the year-over-year growth. Campbell CEO, Mark Clouse, said: "Our strong first-quarter results reflect our continued success in driving the relevance of our brands and improving our execution across our supply chain. Through a combination of inflation-driven pricing actions and productivity improvements, we have substantially mitigated significant inflationary pressure in the quarter while continuing to provide quality and value to consumers." He continued: "We are investing in the equity of our brands through effective marketing, delivering robust innovation and deploying efficient capital spending to ensure we continue to fuel improving in-market shares and growth. With the momentum of our strong first-quarter performance and confidence in our strengthened supply chain, we are raising our full-year fiscal 2023 guidance while taking into account the volatile economic environment."

Dairy Farmers has released two new yogurt products under its Thick & Creamy brand. Made from Australian milk, Dairy Farmers has launched a limited-edition Guava & Lime flavour that aims to celebrate the "warm and colourful" Australian summer season. In addition, Dairy Farmers has also added a Slightly Sweet tub to its permanent line of 600g yogurt tubs. The plain yogurt features a slightly sweet tang and is lower in sugar than the other yogurts in the Thick & Creamy range. Anne Dowsley, head of yogurt and culinary at Bega Dairy and Drinks, the parent company of Dairy Farmers, said: “We are so thrilled to be offering customers two new tasty products in time for the warmer months". "Here for a good time, not a long time, ‘Guava & Lime’ is a unique and delicious tropical citrus flavour sensation. The ‘Slightly Sweet’ flavour will be a great addition to our core range offering customers a perfectly balanced sweet, mild and creamy taste.” Dairy Farmers' Guava & Lime flavour is available nationwide at Coles and Woolworths stores for a retail price of AUD 2.50 (approx. $1.68). Meanwhile, the Slightly Sweet flavour is also available at Woolworths for AUD 5.50 (approx. $3.69) per 600g tub.

US snack company Second Nature Brands has completed the acquisition of Brownie Brittle from Encore Consumer Capital. Founded in 2012, Brownie Brittle is a range of brownie snacks with a thin, crunchy texture. Victor Mehren, CEO of Second Nature Brands, said: “We have ambitious plans to become a US leader in snacks and treats, and the acquisition of Brownie Brittle is an exciting step on this journey, which expands our presence into baking and unlocks a new growth stream for us”. “It also marks our first acquisition since being acquired by our majority investor CapVest, showing how, with their support, we intend to grow and develop Second Nature Brands through continued investment in the brand, channel and category expansion, as well as continued focus on product quality.” In addition to Brownie Brittle, the Second Nature portfolio includes trail mix brand Kar’s Nuts, as well as Second Nature Snacks and Sanders. CapVest partner Othmane Khelladi described the company's latest acquisition as “a great first step in our plan to transform the business into a highly diversified US snacking platform”. He continued: “We are thrilled to support Second Nature Brands in their next phase of growth and to work with the team to expand their portfolio into adjacent and complementary snacking categories”. Jan Grywczynski, CEO of Brownie Brittle, commented: “We are very excited about this new chapter for Brownie Brittle as part of the Second Nature Brands family, and look forward to working with Victor and the rest of the Second Nature team to accelerate our growth as a leader in thin, sweet, permissibly indulgent snacking”. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Duppy Share, a London-based Caribbean rum brand, has completed a fundraising round of £2 million. Investors include British billionaire Jim Mellon, the Irish horse racing Magnier family and UK energy entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick. Founder George Frost says that the brand plans to use the funds to support its growth, both in terms of UK volume and export sales. Duppy then intends to begin further fundraising in April, as it looks to “conquer” the US market. The rum brand anticipates seeing 10% growth in the UK from 2022-2023 and is aiming to gain a total of eight SKU listings in the country’s top seven grocers from 2023-2025. British musician Kano, who was instrumental in creating the brand's Duppy White expression, said: “For me, whatever I do has to be the real deal...This is something I believe in and genuinely love as a product. That was a major thing for me, creating something that I would like to buy myself.”

Mars Chocolate Drinks and Treats (MCD&T) has announced the launch of a new range of chocolate digestive biscuits under its Galaxy brand. The range includes two flavours: orange and milk chocolate. The new biscuits combine the "familiarity of a digestive biscuit" with a half-coating of Galaxy milk chocolate. Michelle Frost, general manager for MCD&T, said: “One in three households consume chocolate digestive biscuits, however, branded choice is extremely limited. There has been very little challenge to the market leader in recent years, even though research would suggest that there is space for market challenger brand to occupy. Particularly one that reaches different occasions and appeals to a wider spectrum of shopper demographics." She continued: “The Galaxy brand is synonymous with great-tasting chocolate; consumers know the familiarity and quality to expect. Our research shows that 42% of regular chocolate digestive purchasers would prefer Galaxy chocolate on top of their digestive biscuit, versus their current choice of chocolate digestive. "This number rises to 55% in 18-25-year-olds, suggesting there is a fantastic opportunity for retailers to increase penetration with our Galaxy milk chocolate and Galaxy milk chocolate orange digestive biscuits.” Galaxy's milk chocolate and orange digestive biscuits will be available at Asda stores from 29 December for three months for an RRP of £1.89 per 300g pack. From March, both will be available across multiple grocery stores, and in the wholesale and convenience channels.

Ben & Jerry's has teamed up with American director Ava DuVernay on a new ice cream flavour called Lights! Caramel! Action!. The new flavour features a vanilla ice cream base with salted caramel and graham cracker swirls and gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough. Available in both dairy and non-dairy almond milk versions, the ice cream will begin shipping across the US in January 2023. The proceeds from Lights! Caramel! Action! will support DuVernay's ARRAY Alliance, a woman-led non-profit organisation that "works to advance social justice through art," according to ARRAY's website. DuVernay said: "Ice cream is a simple joy of life. A comfort food that I've turned to on many days – making sunny ones brighter and dark ones sweeter". She continued: "Partnering with Ben & Jerry's, a company that I've long admired for their commitment to social justice, has been a thrill ride. I had the opportunity to work with food scientists to create a flavour with all the ingredients that I personally love for a cause close to my heart. Beyond being downright delicious, proceeds from Lights! Caramel! Action! will help ARRAY Alliance further its non-profit mission of inclusion and belonging in the film and TV industries." Additionally, Lights! Caramel! Action! is Ben & Jerry's first flavour ever to feature a Black woman on the brand's pint. Ben & Jerry's CEO, Matthew McCarthy, commented: "Framing this up as a new flavour for the first Black woman to be a featured partner on our pints doesn't do Ava justice. We are humbled by this partnership, impressed by her work sharing not only the struggle but the joy in the justice, and we are inspired by her commitment and vision." The Lights! Caramel! Action! flavour is a full-time addition to Ben & Jerry's ice cream line-up. It will be available across the US at its franchised Scoop Shops, as well as on shelves at a retail price of $6.49 per pint.

Italian cheese company Gennaro Auricchio has acquired 100% of the share capital of 3BLatte Caseificio (3B Latte). Founded in Brignano Gera d'Adda, Italy, 3B Latte produces goat, buffalo and cow's milk cheeses. The acquisition will see the position of the two companies further strengthened. In addition, 3B Latte will be supported by an investment plan aimed at making the company's production operations more efficient, developing new product lines and expanding its distribution internationally. Former owners Florindo and Marco Bertoni and Abramo Bernacchi will remain at the company. Florindo Bertoni, CEO of 3B Latte, said: “This project will allow us to accelerate our growth while maintaining great focus and autonomy in management. We have chosen to enter into a partnership with the Auricchio Group because there is perfect complementarity of products, a vision of future growth and shared entrepreneurial values.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

An exclusive challenge seeks innovative solutions from food tech start-ups to maximise the potential of tomatoes. Future Food-Tech has announced an exclusive Innovation Challenge with The Kraft Heinz Company, culminating at the flagship Future Food-Tech San Francisco summit on 16-17 March. The challenge seeks innovative solutions to unleash the power of tomatoes, delivering on taste, sustainability, nutrition, convenience and/or affordability. The Innovation Challenge Kraft Heinz is interested in a wide range of solutions, including ingredients, processing and packaging technologies, as well as finished products, and companies are encouraged to have proof of principle and prototypes. Start-ups are invited to apply before Friday 20 January 2023 and can find additional information on the challenge at futurefoodtechsf.com/innovation-challenge. Three finalists will be selected to pitch their innovative solutions to Kraft Heinz judges in front of a global audience of food brands, corporations and investors at the Future Food-Tech San Francisco summit on 16-17 March 2023, and the winning start-up will be revealed by Kraft Heinz live on stage. The finalists will also be invited to attend both days of networking and insights at the summit and will benefit from considerable brand visibility to Future Food-Tech’s global network. The Innovation Challenge winner will receive extensive development opportunities, including coaching and expertise from Kraft Heinz North America that may encompass technical, regulatory, innovation, marketing, scale-up and distribution guidance, as well as access to Kraft Heinz facilities for on-site support. Commenting on the challenge, Maxine Roman, new ventures & disruptive R&D lead at Kraft Heinz, said: “At Kraft Heinz, we have the ambition to lead the future of food, and we can’t do it alone. We’re accelerating innovation and growth by bringing in outside expertise to augment what we can do. Kraft Heinz has deep roots in cultivating high-quality tomatoes for our iconic brands, and in this challenge, we’re asking food tech innovators to help us inspire the future of this critical ingredient. What else can we do to make tomatoes better for consumers and our planet?” The Insights Webinar On Tuesday 13 December at 8am PST, Roman and Erin Wahal, head of research and development – taste, meals and away from home at Kraft Heinz, will sit down with the Future Food-Tech team to provide additional information about the Innovation Challenge. The free and interactive webinar will explain the drivers behind the challenge, the organisation’s approach to partnerships and provide tips for start-ups to differentiate their applications. Webinar registration is open at www.crowdcast.io/c/kraft-heinz-innovation-challenge. Full details of the Future Food-Tech summit in San Francisco, with programme, speaking faculty and registration, can be found at: www.futurefoodtechsf.com. For more information please contact: Isabella Deith, marketing executive Future Food-Tech isabella.deith@rethinkevents.com/ +44 (0)1273 789989. About Future Food-Tech San Francisco After returning to in-person events last year with a bang, Future Food-Tech is back in the epicentre of innovation, San Francisco, on 16-17 March 2023. Hosted by Rethink Events, the summit has become a global hub, connecting 1,600 international food brands, ingredient providers, investors, start-ups and technology leaders, whilst digging into the crucial issues facing the food industry today. Over the two-day summit, food tech pioneers and visionaries will discuss innovative approaches to scaling alt-proteins, new formulations for healthier, nutrient-packed foods and commercial opportunities at the intersection of food and medicine. #FutureFoodTechSanFrancisco #KraftHeinz #partnercontent #US