Gordo's Cheese Dip has announced it will expand its portfolio with the launch of Gordo’s Homestyle. Gordo’s Homestyle features pieces of tomato, chiles and jalapeños. The new dip will join the brand's existing flavours, including Gordo’s original, mild and hot, which are currently sold in all 50 US states. The company said: "With its real, high-quality cheese, and convenient microwave-safe container, Gordo’s elevates gatherings and makes moments around the table with chips and dip feel a little more fun". Gordo’s Homestyle will be available at select Walmart locations from 1 November.

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and Minerva Foods have acquired Australian Lamb Company (ALC) for AUD 400 million ($253 million approx.). ALC, one of the largest meat producers in Australia, has the capacity to process up to around 100,000 tons of lamb and sheep meat annually, exporting to more than 70 countries worldwide. The acquisition was completed through Minerva Foods Australia, a joint venture established last year between SALIC and Minerva. Sulaiman Al-Rumaih, CEO of SALIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said: “The acquisition is in line with SALIC’s strategy to contribute to the national food security objectives through globally diversified investments in countries with a competitive advantage such as Australia, which accounts for 42% of global red meat exports, taking into consideration that sheep meat represents 49% of red meat consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

Fonterra has announced an NZD 51 million investment to improve wastewater processing at its Te Awamutu site in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The wastewater upgrade is said to be key to Fonterra’s long-term sustainability goals, as the cooperative looks to reduce water consumption at its manufacturing sites. “Reducing water use and improving wastewater at our manufacturing sites is a key part of our long-term strategy, and over the next eight years, the co-op will invest around NZD 600 million on improvements,” said Fonterra Te Awamutu operations manager, Russell Muir. The upgrade at Te Awamutu is one of the first projects being run by the newly established Wastewater Community – a partnership made up of companies including PDP, Babbage, Beca, Vertex Engineers, Aurecon, Tetra Pak, Fulton Hogan and TEG. Over the next ten years, these partners will work together to share knowledge in order to make improvements on subsequent projects. Fonterra's general manager of water and environment, Ian Goldschmidt, said: “We know that we will need to do things differently to achieve our goals and are excited to have developed this cross-industry partnership, bringing together a well-respected group of subject matter experts”. He continued: “Throughout the project at Te Awamutu, we will be continuously looking for ways to improve – not only to implement within this project but to share our knowledge with the wider Wastewater Community team”. Stage one of the construction project has just reached completion and the dairy giant claims that environmental performance has already improved significantly.

Hiru Corporation has announced the purchase of a full-scale water bottling company in Roseville, California. The value of the bottling plant is around $7 million, and the deal included both cash and equity. The facility offers 133,000 square feet of floor space, four automated bottling lines and the capacity to produce all sizes of water bottles, which will support the company in fulfilling its invoices from Alkaline 88 and other clients. Hiru president and CEO, Kathryn Gavin, said: “The acquisition of the Roseville water bottling plant will allow us to expand our relationship with Alkaline 88 and our other major national and regional clients. It will also let us significantly surpass our previous projected top-line revenue for 2023, which was $30 million.” Gavin continued: “We are currently working to make sure all four automated bottling lines are fully operational as soon as possible. This new location is very versatile as it will allow us to produce any size water bottle to meet all of our current client needs. Closing this acquisition was a priority for Hiru as soon as we discovered it was available. It is exactly what we needed to move to the next level and to continue the exponential growth we have experienced since inception.”

Treasury Wine Estates has completed its majority acquisition of Château Lanessan, one of the oldest wine estates in Bordeaux, France. The acquisition will strengthen the company's multi-regional Penfolds wine portfolio, doubling the existing production capacity for the Penfolds brand in France. The purchase includes 390 hectares of land and 80 hectares of Haut-Médoc vineyards planted with Bordeaux varieties of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot. Château Lanessan was founded by Bordeaux wine merchant Jean Delbos in 1793, with nine generations of the Bouteiller family serving as its custodians. Tom King, managing director of Penfolds, commented: “We look forward to collaborating with the Bouteiller family and winemakers to enhance the Château’s production capability and reputation for quality wine, while also deepening our relationships with the local Bordeaux community”. He continued: “The region’s winemaking traditions complement the quality and innovation that Penfolds is known for, and we have ambitious plans to invest in the historic property and welcome wine lovers to experience the region’s unique winemaking traditions”. Kerrin Petty, chief supply officer for Treasury Wine Estates, said: “The majority acquisition of Château Lanessan is an exciting addition to the Treasury Wine Estates portfolio in Europe. Increasing our production capacity with such a historic site will support our future growth plans as we respond to consumer demand for wines across our portfolio of brands, including Penfolds.” In addition to Penfolds wine, the winery will continue to produce wine under its Château Lanessan, Les Caleches de Lanessan and Château de Sainte Gemme labels, which will be distributed through existing channels.

Darling Ingredients, a US producer of ingredients made from animal by-products, has agreed to acquire all of the shares of Gelnex for approximately $1.2 billion. Headquartered in Brazil, Gelnex is a global manufacturer of gelatin and collagen peptides. With five facilities located in South America and one in the US, Gelnex has the capacity to produce 46,000 metric tons of collagen products annually. The company exports its ingredients to over 60 countries worldwide and employs around 1,200 workers. Chairman and CEO, Randall Stuewe, said: "Driven by strong growth in demand for collagen products in the global health and nutrition market, we anticipate the collagen peptides market to double in the next five years...This acquisition will allow Darling to continue to grow its presence in the health and nutrition market and increases our production capacity for grass-fed bovine collagen in South America to help meet the future demand of our collagen customers worldwide." Darling Ingredients manufactures and supplies hundreds of collagen products made from bovine, porcine and fish sources under the brand Rousselot, which has 11 facilities across four continents around the world. Stuewe added: "Collagen is the most abundant protein naturally found in the body, and it plays an increasing role in the health and nutrition market by consumers seeking benefits to their hair, nails, skin, joints, bones and muscles. Our versatile and high-quality collagen products can be used in a broad range of applications, including powder blends, capsules, tablets, nutritional bars, drinks, dairy, confectionery and more."

Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, has announced that it is launching three limited-edition Lay's flavours ahead of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022. The new flavours include: Lay’s Adobadas, which combines chilli, tomato and lime; Lay’s Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper, a combination of jalapeño and smoky BBQ; and Lay’s Wavy Carnitas Street Tacos, which delivers a taco-style pork carnitas flavour.Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay North America, said: "Soccer is the fastest growing sport in North America and, with snacking so intrinsically tied to the at-home viewing experience, now is the perfect moment to enter the game and offer our consumers new ways to heighten their Fifa World Cup experience. As teams from around the world compete in the Fifa World Cup, we wanted to provide a way to connect fans over their love of the game – and love of snacks – to deliver even more smiles throughout the tournament." All flavours will be available in retailers nationwide for $4.59 per 7.75oz bag. However, Lay's Adobadas and Lay's Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper will also be available in 2.62oz bags for $2.29.

London-based Hoxton Farms has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Collaborative Fund, an early backer of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, and venture capital fund Fine Structure Ventures. The investment will be used to build a 13,000-square-foot pilot facility in Shoreditch, London, capable of producing cultivated animal fat. Sophie Bakalar, partner at Collaborative Fund, commented: “These brands have done a phenomenal job delivering on the protein side of the equation, but we still need a breakthrough in fat to compete with conventional meat on taste, texture, health and cost." She added: "We’re convinced that Hoxton Farms is the company that will deliver on that promise”. Hoxton Farms seeks to address the issue of carbon-intensive foods by producing animal fat from stem cells to be used in cooking. According to the company, cultivated fat will revolutionise how meat alternatives look, cook and taste, making them more realistic and versatile. Speaking of the cultivated animal fat, co-founder of Hoxton Farms, Max Jamilly, said: "Fat is the single most important sensory component in all of the meat that we eat. Using cultivated fat alongside plant proteins, we have shown that we can make products with the juiciness and flavour that plant-based meat has been missing.” Hoxton Farms will sell the cultivated fat as a B2B ingredient for meat alternatives. Cultivated in bioreactors, the fat is then used by customers to combine with plant-based protein, bringing together cell-cultured and plant-based products. The result is a blended meat alternative that provides the realistic taste and texture of meat, but at a fairer price and with a reduced environmental impact. Ed Steele, co-founder of Hoxton Farms, said: “Traditional methods for commercial cell culture are based on building larger and larger bioreactors. This approach makes sense for the pharmaceutical industry but it’s no match for the vast scales and low costs needed to produce food." He continued: “Instead, Hoxton Farms has built a 'scaled out' approach using many smaller bioreactors connected through software and automation. The team has proven that this dramatically lowers the cost of producing commercial-scale cultivated fat.” In addition to its pilot facility, the funding will enable Hoxton Farms to further develop its customer partnerships to demonstrate its cultivated fat in products and improve the cost of growing cultivated fat at scale.

Home Chef has teamed up with Impossible Foods to offer two ready-to-cook vegetarian meal options, Home Chef’s first in-store plant-based meat products. The two meals are made with Impossible’s plant-based beef. Home Chef Meatloaf is seasoned to bring the flavour of homestyle meatloaf with a cheesy topping. Home Chef Taco Stuffed Poblano Pepper provides a smoky taco alternative. The meals are available in select Kroger stores across the US, for an RRP of $12.99 per pound.

RoboBurger has opened a $10 million Seed 2 round of funding in partnership with London-based private equity firm, Promethean Investments. The company claims to have created the world’s first fully autonomous robotic burger chef in a box. The robot can grill, toast, add condiments and assemble a fresh burger in around four minutes. The funding will enable the company to meet consumer demand. Audley Wilson, CEO of RoboBurger, said: "We have received an overwhelming amount of interest from around the world. This new round of funding will allow us to rapidly scale up and keep up with the incredible demand as we continue to roll out RoboBurger units across the US." Michael Burt, founding partner at Promethean, commented: “Audley and his team have delivered a remarkable product with patented solutions, addressing the challenges of grilling fresh food in a robotic vending machine”. “Promethean believes that Roboburger and their focus on automation and robotics are the solution to deal with the labour availability and cost as well as inflation challenges we see in hospitality and food production today. We look forward to helping take Roboburger global.” The company opened its first pop-up location in Jersey City in March this year and has used the feedback to improve the taste of the burgers and the time taken to make them. “Our newest units reflect these changes and customers can now get a hot, freshly grilled burger in about four minutes," added Dan Braido, CTO of RoboBurger.

Tyson Foods has expanded its Jimmy Dean portfolio with the introduction of new “protein-packed” Egg Bites. Containing 17g of protein per serving, the microwaveable offering is available in two varieties: Meat Lovers and Sausage & Three Cheese. “Breakfast is crucial to get your day started with your best foot forward, but we know it can feel daunting to make a meal from scratch – especially during the week,” said Jimmy Dean brand manager, Janee Luhrsen. “That's why Egg Bites are a great option. No prep time or clean-up, just flavourful, filling and portable, so you don't have to sacrifice a delicious breakfast on even the busiest of mornings.” The new bites come in packs of two, with an SRP of $2.99, and can be found at Walmart stores across the US.

General Mills has announced the release of its new Old El Paso Fiesta Twists in the US under its Old El Paso brand. The light corn twists come in three flavours true to the Tex-Mex-inspired brand: Queso, Zesty Ranch and Cinnamon Churro. The crunchy chips mark Old El Paso’s entrance into the snack category and the chip aisle with both sweet and savoury options. The ‘twist’ shape provides a crispy texture with maximum flavour and was selected by the brand after consumer research and testing. “Old El Paso fans trust us to help make taco night a breeze with our seasonings, meal kits, tortilla shells and other products,” said Ryan Harrington, VP of Walmart Sales, General Mills. “We’re excited to expand our offerings and bring our consumers bold, new flavours to the snack aisle.” Old El Paso Fiesta Twists are available at Walmart for an RRP of $3.48.