Ithaca Hummus has expanded its range of hummus products with the launch of squeezable hummus pouches. Ithaca Squeeze is available in three flavours: plain, beet and red pepper. The 3oz pouches contain 5g of fibre and 7-8g of plant-based protein. Made with sunflower butter in place of traditional sesame, these snacks are free from the top nine allergens. Chris Kirby, founder and CEO of Ithaca Hummus, said: "As a parent myself, I know the challenge of providing kids with nutritious foods they'll actually want to eat. We found that one in four parents are concerned their kids aren't getting enough protein, so we took this notion head-on when creating Ithaca Squeeze, while also prioritizing the bold, delicious flavour Ithaca is known for." Ithaca Squeeze is available at select retailers, including Whole Foods, Fresh Direct, Big Y, Hungryroot, Price Chopper, Albert's Organics and UNFI Fresh, for $2.99 per pouch.

Primo Water Corporation has announced the acquisition of two French spring water companies, Eureau Sources and Defeaus. Founded in 1996, Eureau Sources is a specialist in packaging spring water in 5-gallon returnable bottles for refrigerated water coolers. Meanwhile, Defeaus has been marketing Hermes spring water since 2015. Primo Water CEO, Thomas Harrington, said: "The acquisition of Eureau Sources and Defaus further strengthens Primo's vision to offer sustainable water solutions to customers and consumers across our footprint. Customers will continue to receive products and services from Eureau Sources and Defaus while benefiting from being a part of Primo's global family of brands focused on healthy and sustainable hydration." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

N!ck’s, the better-for-you snack brand, has launched a limited-edition collection of light ice creams in square pints, in collaboration with Minecraft. The collection marries the innovation of two Swedish brands, merging N!ck's patented food science technology and flavour expertise with Minecraft's game elements to create treats that are a healthier alternative to the full-fat and high-calorie ice creams on the market. The two companies were brought together by their shared heritage and a mutual desire to provide healthier snack and dessert options in and beyond the gaming community. The brand released four keto-friendly flavours, including: emerald minta, a creamy mint ice cream with peppermint chips; cake blocka, a creamy birthday cake ice cream swirled with strawberry and sprinkles; peanöt choklad glowdust, a rich chocolate ice cream with gold mines of peanut butter cups; and enchanted äpple pie, a sweet apple pie ice cream with a swirl of graham crackers. "Bringing Minecraft to life in our latest N!ck's light ice cream flavours and unique packaging was a dream come true for our team. We are beyond excited to be partnering with Minecraft to share the limited-edition collection with their community and beyond", said Carlos Altschul, N!ck's CEO. The ice cream collection is the first of its kind to bring Minecraft flavours to life in the real world, while also owning the iconic square pixelation design from the game. To this end, each pint is packaged in distinctive square containers, a departure from N!ck's traditional round pints, as a physical embodiment of Minecraft's signature in-game blocks.

Keurig Dr Pepper has expanded its connected brewer line with the introduction of K-Café Smart. The new brewer connects to the Keurig mobile app for over 70 coffeehouse recipes. K-Café Smart also uses the brand's BrewID technology, which can select the perfect settings for whatever K-Cup pod consumers choose to use. The machine includes a milk frother that features three speeds, enabling users to make rich froth from a wide range of milk options, such as dairy or non-dairy, as well as the ability to make cold froth for brewing over ice café-style beverages. The K-Café Smart also uses Keurig's MultiStream Technology, which the company says "uses five streams of water instead of one concentrated stream to thoroughly saturate the coffee grounds more evenly throughout the pod for full flavour and aroma in every cup". Mauricio Leyva, group president at Keurig Dr Pepper, said: "The K-Café Smart takes customisation to a new level. It goes well beyond black coffee, enabling café-style creations like London Fog Lattes and Cinnamon Macchiatos." He continued: "With the K-Café Smart, coffee lovers can craft the speciality drinks they crave and discover new favourite recipes simply by connecting to the Keurig app. With over 70 recipes to choose from, we know our consumers will be delighted to taste and trial all the new coffeehouse beverages they can make from the comfort of their home." The K-Café Smart is available exclusively at Keurig's website for $249.99, with plans for expansion into retailers nationwide this autumn.

Alpla and PTT Global Chemical (GC) have opened Thailand's largest plastics recycling plant, strengthening the region's circular economy and supplying the markets with high-quality recycled material. Following 18 months of construction and installation, Envicco, the newly-opened recycling plant, will have an annual production capacity of 45,000 tonnes of PET and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), making it one of the largest plants for these plastics in Asia. Located in an economic zone on the coast of the south-eastern province of Rayong, the plant features recycling technology and production lines to manufacture high-quality plastic recyclates with approval from the FDA. Austrian-based Alpla contributes more than 25 years of recycling experience to the joint venture. It will supply its production facilities in Asia with recycled material and is also fostering the circular economy at the local level. With the plant, majority shareholder GC supports sustainable development in the region, moving it towards resource-conserving business and lifestyles. “Demand for recycled, sustainable packaging materials is rising sharply in Southeast Asia, and high-quality plastics have a key role to play here. With this new plant, we are now applying our many years of expertise in the treatment and processing of packaging made from post-consumer recycled resins in Thailand”, explained Bernd Wachter, corporate director of circular economy and recycling at Alpla. “This joint venture is a truly circular, eco-friendly project creating a comprehensive value chain for plastics in Thailand and is an excellent example of the worldwide use of Austrian green tech know-how,” added Georg Weingartner, Austrian commercial counsellor in Bangkok. Dietmar Marin, managing director of recycling at Alpla, commented: "The site also has significant expansion potential, the 30,000-square-metre plant is on a plot of land measuring 90,000 square metres at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, providing space for future capacity expansions. “We have long-term plans to promote the bottle-to-bottle cycle not only here in Thailand, but across Asia and other regions around the world. Carbon emissions and waste can be reduced through optimised resource consumption.”

Huhtamaki and Stora Enso have joined forces to create a new paper cup recycling initiative, The Cup Collective. The programme aims to recycle and capture the value of used paper cups on an industrial scale. The programme will initially be implemented across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Cup Collective will create the necessary collection infrastructure to increase the recycling rate of wood fibre in paper cups. It will make it easier for consumers and businesses to collect used paper cups to be regenerated into valuable recycled raw material. The first paper cup collection bins will be available in restaurants, cafés, office buildings and transport hubs in the Brussels and Amsterdam metropolitan areas. The programme is managed by Co-cre8, a UK-based firm with experience in designing and implementing recycling projects across Europe. Eric Le Lay, president of fibre foodservice EAO at Huhtamaki, said: “We want to ensure that recyclable cups also get effectively recycled. We have combined the best expertise from Huhtamaki and Stora Enso to create this new vision for industrial-scale cup collection and recycling." “Stora Enso wants to accelerate the circularity of all packaging materials and we have the foundation to make that happen. By partnering with Huhtamaki and Co-cre8 we will now be able to provide a platform to collect and capture the value of paper cup fibres on an industrial scale,” added Hannu Kasurinen, EVP of Stora Enso packaging materials division.

Monin has announced the release of White Tea Concentrate, a new addition to the existing Monin concentrates range which includes green tea and rooibos variants. The low sugar white tea recipe can be enjoyed in iced teas, cocktails or bubble teas. Lee Hyde, beverage innovation manager at Monin, commented, “We know that tea is on trend and Monin White Tea Concentrate is the perfect ingredient to create a delicious, reduced sugar serve, in no time at all. We also know that versatility and value matters more than ever right now, so the many hats of the White Tea Concentrate can be a strong and useful addition to any bar or coffee shop. This diverse product allows for a range of different serves, a must-have product for operators looking for something a little adventurous to offer consumers!”

Fever-Tree has acquired US non-carbonated cocktail mixer brand, Powell & Mahoney, for $5.9 million, announcing the purchase as part of its interim results. Tonic water producer Fever-Tree acquired Powell & Mahoney in August 2022. The strategic move is part of Fever-Tree’s ambitions to capitalise on additional opportunities in the US market and extend its bottling capacity. Charles Gibb, CEO North America at Fever-Tree, said: “Alongside extending our range of carbonated mixers, we are also extending into the significant opportunity within the non-carbonated cocktail mixer category in the US. This segment of the mixer market is the same size as the tonic water and ginger beer markets combined and is growing and premiumising at pace.” He added: “Consequently, we acquired Powell & Mahoney, a premium non-carbonated US cocktail mixer brand, with national retail listings and an asset light business model with an established production partner. We believe the acquisition will provide Fever-Tree with the ideal platform to accelerate its entry into this exciting adjacent category.”

PeakBridge Growth II has completed its first closing in partnership with Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity and made its first two investments in alternative protein technologies. A global impact fund manager in agri-food tech, PeakBridge focuses on scalable, patented and sustainable technologies addressing long-term environmental and nutrition challenges. Dutch company Rival Foods and French company Standing Ovation were the beneficiaries of the first investments by PeakBridge’s Growth II fund. Rival Foods is a spin-off from Wageningen University & Research, providing solutions to improve the taste and texture of plant-based proteins. The company has developed new technologies, equipment, processes and product formulations that can help create more appealing animal protein alternatives. The PeakBridge-led investment was joined by France’s Roquette Ventures. Standing Ovation contributes to the agri-food transition by developing animal- and lactose-free substitutes for conventional dairy products, using dairy proteins produced by microbial fermentation. Through this process, the company produces caseins, without resorting to cattle farming. Erich Sieber, general partner and co-founder of PeakBridge, said: “Product innovation, meeting new consumer needs and resource optimisation are long-term solutions that agri-food tech funds such as PeakBridge, and innovative companies, such as Rival Foods and Standing Ovation, help drive”. Johnny El Hachem, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity, added: “We believe that technologies that address the dislocation of global food chains by bringing more resilience and security to shocks such as tariffs, pandemics and wars are here to stay”.

Plenty has announced it has secured up to 120 acres of land near Richmond, Virginia, to build an indoor vertical farm campus. The centrally located Plenty Richmond Farm Campus marks the company’s expansion beyond the US west coast, and will bring fresh produce to the east coast. Plenty plans to deploy several vertical farms on the campus in the coming years, with hopes for an annual production capacity exceeding 20 million pounds across multiple crops, including strawberries, leafy greens and tomatoes. The first campus farm will grow Driscoll’s strawberries, with plans to grow more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually, helping to meet demand for berries in the northeast. The deal follows an agreement with Walmart, announced earlier this year, to bring Plenty’s leafy greens from its Compton farm to all of the retailer’s stores in California. Plans to expand the campus over time include additional farms growing different produce, such as pesticide-free leafy greens. Through the use of advanced technology, Plenty claims that it can produce yields of up to 350x more per acre compared with conventional farms. “Plenty’s decision to establish its first major east coast vertical farming campus in Virginia shines a spotlight on the advantages that make the Commonwealth the best location in the nation for companies growing our food safely and sustainably indoors,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “This transformational project further bolsters Virginia’s agriculture and technology industries and positions the Commonwealth as a leader in this next generation of agriculture. I am pleased to welcome Plenty to Virginia and look forward to the company’s growth and success in Chesterfield County.” Over the next six years, $300 million will be invested into the new campus, which Plenty says will bring additional employment opportunities to Virginia. The first crop of Driscoll’s strawberries grown by Plenty will be available in winter 2023-2024 at retailers throughout the US northeast.

Waterloo Brewing has announced an additional three small batch premium brews to its Waterloo Signature Series Collection. The first in the series is an Irish Cream Stout flavour, featuring flavours of chocolate, vanilla and brown sugar. Roasted Vanilla Espresso Lager, the second to feature in the series, includes hints of espresso beans, vanilla and dark chocolate, followed by Apple Crumble Porter with notes of cinnamon and apple. "Fall is the perfect time to experiment with new flavours, and we believe there's something for everyone in this new instalment of our Signature Series Collection," says Trish Benne, director of Brewing & Blending. "As Ontario's first craft brewer, we're proud of our heritage and the bold spirit of the Waterloo Signature Series," says Kim Mannerow, director of marketing. "Our brew master gets to experiment with fresh flavours and our fans get the chance to treat their taste buds." This premium mix pack contains 6x473ml cans for $21.95. Available in-store or online at the Waterloo Brewing Beer Store.

Weight management brand, SlimFast has announced its first nationally distributed intermittent fasting product line at Walmart. The product line includes protein shake mixes, electrolyte drink mixes and complete meal bars, each intended to support phases of fasting. The protein shake mixes come in two flavours, Double Chocolate Cake and Vanilla Cupcake with 15g of protein and 6g of fibre per serving. Electrolyte drink mixes are available in Berry Lemonade and Fruit Punch and meal bars offer two flavours, Chocolate Nut Crunch and Vanilla Almond Crunch. "One of the well understood benefits of intermittent fasting is that it can assist in helping individuals consume less calories, yet there are few options on the market to actually help consumers stay committed to their fasting zones," said Maryann Walsh, registered dietitian and SlimFast consultant. "These new offerings from SlimFast bring consumers easy-to-use, delicious options that support them during their eating and fasting zones, so they can successfully achieve their milestones and feel confident they have the tools to properly practice intermittent fasting." The SlimFast Intermittent Fasting Protein Shake Mix comes in a ten serving canister for $16.49, the Energizing Hydration Supplement Drink Mix comes in a 12-count box for $9.99 and the Complete Meal Bars come in five boxes for $9.99. All products are available at Walmart locations in the US.