Danone has reported a return to growth across all categories in the second quarter after posting a 6.6% net sales increase on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. The owner of Evian and Activia posted €6.17 billion in second-quarter sales, up 3.6% on a reported basis. The results are in line with Danone’s expectations announced in Q1: a goal of returning to profitable growth in Q2 and H1 thanks to the gradual reopening of economies. For the first half of the year, Danone’s like-for-like sales went up 1.6% to €11.84 billion, while operating income fell 4.2% LFL to €1.55 billion. Danone’s second quarter results were driven by a recovery in the company’s Waters unit, as well as sustained momentum for its Essential Dairy and Plant-based (EDP) division and a return to growth for Specialized Nutrition. In the quarter, the company’s Waters unit increased 19.5% to €1.13 billion, led by 6.6% volume growth. Recovery was mainly driven by Europe mobility, while emerging geographies remained more impacted by Covid-19 related restrictions. Last year, Danone was significantly impacted by a 28% fall in bottled water sales amid Covid-19 related lockdowns, with Q2 2020 sales falling 5.7% to €5.94 billion. Second quarter net sales in the company’s EDP unit rose 4.8% LFL to €3.25 billion, resulting in 3.2% growth in H1. Continued growth in dairy was driven by protein and probiotics (led by Actimel); while Danone’s plant-based portfolio was driven by its creamers and yogurt. “We maintained strong momentum in our EDP business, led by growth in dairy, and plant-based reporting its 6th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, and a solid performance in Europe and Noram,” said interim co-CEOs of Danone, Véronique Penchienati-Bosetta and Shane Grant. Europe and North America sales rose by 6.4% LFL in Q2, while sales in the rest of the world increased 6.9%. Danone’s Specialized Nutrition division also returned to growth in the quarter, rising at 2.8% to €1.79 billion; with adult nutrition delivering high single-digit growth and infant nutrition low single-digit growth.       Danone says its return to growth was driven by its portfolio review process – including the sale of its plant-based nutrition brand Vega and its minority stake in China Mengniu Dairy – supported by selective reinvestments and channel execution focus. Danone has also launched a share buyback programme of up to €800 million, as it prepares for the appointment of Antoine de Saint-Affrique to CEO in September. The company reiterated its 2021 guidance: a return to profitable growth in H2 and full-year recurring operating margin broadly in line with 2020.

Snowdonia Cheese Company has announced the release of a new vintage Cheddar cheese aged 500 feet underground in Welsh slate caves for 18 months. Rock Star marks the company’s first vintage cave-aged Cheddar and will be available from Ocado and Waitrose, as well as wholesalers, independents, delis and premium grocers from 1 September. The new cheese is aged in a former slate mine buried deep in remote mountains surrounded by Snowdonia National Park and the protected Dark Sky Reserve. Snowdonia Cheese Company says maturing the cheese for 18 months in sealed slate chambers is what gives it a deeper flavour and denser texture. Rock Star is described as smooth and creamy with the occasional crunchy crystal. “On the palate, complex umami flavours and sweet caramel notes lead to a long finish with a savoury tang,” added the company. Richard Newton-Jones, commercial director at Snowdonia Cheese Company, said: “It’s a real labour of love to mature a cheese deep underground in such a remote setting and for us, it’s absolutely worth it. “The flavour is stunning and the setting is incredible – it’s a real honour to work with the natural landscape in this way, surrounded by the majestic beauty of Snowdonia. “Rock Star is sure to elevate special occasions with family and friends. It brings a real sense of luxury and wow-factor to the cheeseboard and we have no doubt it will prove an extremely popular addition to the Snowdonia Cheese range.” Rock Star Vintage Cave-Aged Cheddar has an RRP of £4.50 per 150g truckle.

Investment platform Bond Bakery Brands has strengthened its sweet goods platform after investing in Coco Bakery, a Canada-based manufacturer of macaron and premium baked products. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Coco Bakery provides macarons and other French pastries such as eclairs and profiteroles to retail and food service customers across North America.  "Coco Bakery is a leader in a segment of strategic importance to us and expands our production footprint into the Ontario market,” said Nicolas Mulroney, co-founder, president and CEO of Bond Bakery Brands. He added: “Coco Bakery's founders have built a strong reputation within the industry, and we are very excited to invest in the company's growth in Canada and the US.” The transaction strengthens Bond Bakery Brands’ investment platform that aims to accelerate the growth of bakery companies. Coco Bakery will now join Bond’s portfolio alongside Portofino Bakery, and Pace Processing and Product Development, which the company acquired last October. Bond Bakery Brands employs more than 600 people across ten facilities in Canada. Oksana Marjanovic, founder of Coco Bakery, said: "I'm delighted to announce that we will be partnering with Bond Bakery Brands for the next phase of Coco Bakery's growth journey. “Since founding the business in 2012, we've worked hard to become the North American leader in French macarons and other similar bakery products, and look forward to joining Bond's exciting bakery platform. I'm excited to see what Coco Bakery can achieve under their guidance."

Dried fruit snack brand Rind Snacks is expanding its portfolio with the introduction of a range of thin-cut Fruit Chips. Rind – which announced a $6.1 million raise just last month – says that its new chips are made with US-grown, non-GMO fruit. A source of fibre and vitamin C, the range features orange, kiwi and apple varieties. “At Rind, we're all about offering consumers new twists on snacking classics. Potato chips have dominated this aisle for as long as we can remember, and it's time to make room on the shelf for a snack that delivers both flavour and function,” said Matt Weiss, founder and CEO of Rind. “We're excited to 'flip the script' on chips by bringing fibre and immunity-boosting vitamins to a category rarely known for nutrition. Enjoy Rind Chips on their own, dipped in a favourite spread or elevating your next happy hour on the rim of a glass.” By retaining the rind on its products, Rind claims to have helped divert more than 120,000lb of edible peels from landfill last year. With an MSRP of $4.99-5.99, Rind Chips will come in 3oz bags and be available via the brand’s website, as well as on Amazon, FreshDirect, Hungryroot and at additional retailers later this year.

Mondelēz International has witnessed a 12.4% increase in second-quarter net revenue and raised its full-year guidance, as sales in emerging markets continue to bounce back. The owner of Toblerone and Oreo recorded revenues of $6.64 billion in Q2, which it says was driven by organic net revenue growth of 6.2%, favourable currency and incremental sales from the company’s acquisitions of Hu, Grenade and Gourmet Food. The company recently entered an agreement to buy Chipita, a manufacturer of cakes and pastries in Europe. For the three months ended 30 June, Mondelēz saw its emerging markets grow by 19.6% in net revenue including double-digit growth in Brazil, India, Russia and Mexico. This continues improvement seen in Q1 where the unit recorded 6% growth following a 2.5% decline in Q4 2020. “We remain encouraged by the resiliency and underlying strength of our emerging market, while we continue to invest behind attractive growth opportunities for the long term,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International, in a conference call. He added: “We are also expanding our presence in emerging markets, where we continue to gain distribution in key countries like China and India with another 60,000, and 20,000 stores added this quarter.” The company’s developed markets, however, posted net revenue growth of 8.9%. In Europe, Mondelēz witnessed a 15.7% increase in sales to $2.47 billion; while the North America region only saw a 1.1% increase to $2.05 billion. In the Latin America region, the company’s second quarter revenue grew 30.9% to $669 million. Meanwhile, Asia, Middle East & Africa net revenues stood at $1.45 billion, representing a 17.4% increase. Mondelēz is raising its organic sales outlook for the full-year to an upwards of 4% growth, compared to its previous expectations of +3%. Van de Put continued: “Mobility is increasing as restrictions ease but at-home consumption remains elevated and it appears that higher levels of working from home and shopping online are here to stay. More time at home, the desire for trusted and comforting brands and the return of impulse and on-the-go consumption are driving sustained growth in our core categories.”

San Francisco-based coffee start-up Spinn has secured $20 million in a new funding round, as it aims to redefine the at-home coffee experience. The round was led by Spark Capital, with participation from Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Bar 9 Ventures and existing investors. Looking to tap into the growing market for at-home coffee machines, Spinn offers all-in-one brewing systems that make a variety of coffee types including espresso, americano, drip and cold brew. Spinn’s machines use a centrifugal force to spin the coffee grounds rather than press them; and can be controlled via voice command from Amazon’s Alexa, from a mobile app or by a single tap on the machine. “Spinn is doing for coffee what Dyson did for vacuums and what Nest did for homes, rethinking technology and connectivity for better results,” said Kevin Thau, general partner at Spark Capital. The machines do not require filters or pods as part of Spinn’s goal to provide a more sustainable solution. The company has built a delivery network encompassing more than 500 artisan roasters globally. With the funding, Spinn plans to scale production and accelerate growth, further develop its patented brewing technologies, as well as complete the delivery of outstanding pre-orders.  "Spark, the Alexa Fund and Bar 9 represent some of the most impressive track records in consumer products, connected devices and coffee industry investing. Their capital and expertise will be instrumental in our growth and ability to deliver a superior coffee experience to millions of people," said Roderick de Rode, CEO of Spinn.  Paul Bernard, director of Amazon Alexa Fund, added: “We are impressed with Roderick and the team’s ability to advance the state of the art at-home coffee experience in a way that is also good for the planet. Spinn has a compelling vision for how its system can make use of voice and be part of the convenience of a truly smart home.”

Nestlé has announced an investment of $70 million in its Burlington factory to begin the production of Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. Located in Burlington, Wisconsin, the facility initially manufactured confectionery products such as 100 Grand and Nestlé Crunch. In 2018, Nestlé sold its US confectionery unit to Ferrero; however, the company retained its Toll House baking products and the Burlington plant for the production of its ice cream, baking and beverage lines.   Reports suggest that the facility has also continued to produce confectionery products for Ferrero. The investment will see the installation of four new lines, which will “add new technology and infrastructure designed for refrigerated cookie dough”. Nestlé says the upgrade will create more than 100 positions to be filled by May 2022.

Mars Wrigley has announced the release of new limited-edition Zero-G Skittles in the US, marking the brand’s first trip to space. The product was inspired after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently flew to space in Blue Origin’s New Shepard space capsule, bringing the candy with him, and was seen in a video throwing Skittles to a colleague. Zero-G Skittles come in an aluminium pouch and feature blue and purple candies in a mix of three flavours: pineapple passionfruit, raspberry, and berry punch. "Skittles is always looking for ways to surprise fans, both earthlings and extraterrestrials, with shocking innovation," said Fernando Rodrigues, Mars Wrigley senior brand manager for Skittles. "We're thrilled to bring better moments to fans by marking Skittles’ first trip to space with limited-edition packs and look forward to pushing the boundaries of confectionery space exploration." As part of the launch, Skittles is making a donation to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. In 2019, Mars released Zombie Skittles as part of a Halloween campaign. Mars Wrigley also recently announced a partnership with Danimer Scientific to develop biodegradable packaging for its confectionery products, starting with its Skittles brand.

Mars Wrigley UK has expanded its Maltesers chocolate brand portfolio with the introduction of new Maltesers Orange Buttons. The new citrus-infused chocolate will hit UK shelves this week and follows the release of an orange variant of the company's Maltesers Bunnylast Easter. Original Malteser Buttons launched onto the market back in 2018 and have since sold 68 million packs in Britain. “We’ve given our hugely popular Maltesers Buttons an ‘a-peeling’ makeover and I know that citrus crazed Brits will love our brilliant new orange flavour,” said Leah Dyckes, Maltesers brand director.  Maltesers Orange Buttons will be available nationwide in four formats: single, treat bag, share pouch and more to share pouch, for an RRP of 63p, £1.19, £2.09 and £2.79, respectively.

Unilever has recorded underlying sales growth of 5% in its second-quarter results but has cut its operating margin outlook to “around flat” amid rising commodity costs. The owner of Ben & Jerry’s, Marmite and Hellmann’s reported turnover of €13.5 billion in Q2 and €25.8 billion in its first half. Meanwhile, underlying sales growth for Unilever’s first half stood at 5.4%. However, the company warned that surging commodity costs would squeeze its full-year operating margin and revised its outlook to “around flat”. In Unilever’s second quarter, the company’s foods and refreshment unit grew its underlying sales by 6.8%, ahead of beauty and personal care (up 4.2%) and home care (up 3.2%). Following a strategic review process announced early last year, Unilever has said that the operational separation of its tea business is “substantially complete” and is due to conclude in October. The next phase for the business is expected to be either an initial public offering, sale or partnership. In the first half of the year, Unilever’s ecommerce business grew 50% and the channel now represents 11% of sales. Ice cream sales grew across both in-home and out-of-home products in the first half, and performed strongly in Turkey, China and India. Out-of-home ice cream in Europe grew double digit with a gradual easing of living restrictions, although sales have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, Unilever’s food solutions business grew double digit in its first half, with sales in China exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels, while most other markets continued to see adverse effects from out-of-home channel restrictions. In-home foods grew low single digit, even as Unilever lapped a spike in demand in the prior year. Unilever says that it took pricing action across food and ice cream to counter rising input costs. Meanwhile, underlying sales in functional nutrition – which includes Unilever’s vitamins, minerals and supplements brands and nutrition brands Horlicks and Boost – grew high single digit in Q2. Underlying sales grew across Unilever’s Asia/AMET/RUB, Americas and Europe segments in its second quarter, by 5.7%, 4.8% and 4% respectively. In Europe, recovery in out-of-home ice cream in the second quarter, particularly in Italy and Spain, led volume growth in Unilever’s first half. Although renewed restrictions in India impacted the market in Q2, they were less severe than in the same period last year. In Indonesia, large parts of the country have entered lockdown following a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, impacting Unilever’s performance in that market. Unilever CEO, Alan Jope, said: “Unilever has delivered a strong first half, with underlying sales growth of 5.4% driven by our continued focus on operational excellence.” He continued: “Competitive growth is our priority, and we are confident that we will deliver underlying sales growth in 2021 well within our multi-year framework of 3-5%, despite more challenging comparators in the second half. “We have seen further cost inflation emerge through the second quarter. Cost volatility and the timing of landing price actions create a higher than normal range of likely year-end margin outcomes. We are managing this dynamically and expect to maintain underlying operating margin for 2021 around flat.”

The Coca-Cola Company has witnessed net revenues accelerate by 42% in the second quarter, driven by the ongoing recovery from the pandemic in several markets. The global beverage giant posted net revenues of $10.1 billion, with 26% growth in concentrate sales and 11% price/mix growth. Coca-Cola’s second quarter results represent a significant recovery by the business where coronavirus-related uncertainty is easing, and comes after it saw slight recovery in Q1 with 5% growth to $9 billion. The owner of Sprite and Smartwater particularly benefitted from the rebound of its away-from-home channels as restrictions abated in certain markets. As a result, the company has updated its full-year guidance and expects to deliver organic revenue growth of 12-14%, compared to its previous predictions of high single digits. In the quarter, organic revenues went up 37%, while operating income rose by 52%. Global unit case volume benefitted from the recovery and increased 18%, but was still partially offset by the impact of a resurgence of Covid-19 in some markets. Sparkling soft drinks posted 14% growth in the quarter with strong performance in the US, India and Brazil – sparkling flavours went up by 19% driven by both Sprite and Fanta, while the company’s trademark Coca-Cola drink rose by 12%. Coca-Cola’s coffee category increased significantly by 78% due to the reopening of Costa retail stores in the UK. Meanwhile, tea witnessed more modest growth at 19% led by the US, Japan and Brazil markets. The company’s nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages category grew 25% thanks to strong performance by its Minute Maid and Fairlife brands. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola’s Powerade brand in North America drove the sports drink category to rise by 35%. In Q1, Europe, Middle East & Africa unit case volume grew 21%. The company's Latin American division saw volume go up 12%, 17% in North America, 16% in Asia Pacific, and 25% in its bottling investments segment. “Our results in the second quarter show how our business is rebounding faster than the overall economic recovery, led by our accelerated transformation,” said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “We are executing against our growth plans and our system is aligned. We are better equipped than ever to win in this growing, vibrant industry and to accelerate value creation for our stakeholders.”

Dole Packaged Foods has added two new functional lines to its US portfolio featuring tropical juices and fruit bowls with no added sugar. The new products form part of Dole’s goal to eliminate added sugar in all of its products by 2025. Dole Fruitify marks the brand’s first line of tropical juice drinks crafted to deliver enhanced nutrition. The beverages are 65% juice and claim to be a good source of vitamin C to help support immunity. With less than 100 calories per can, Dole Fruitify comes in in three flavours: Glow (pineapple and mango juice with turmeric); Replensih (pineapple juice and coconut water); and Energize (pineapple juice with green tea extract). Dole Essentials joins the brand’s portfolio of fruit bowls and features fruit in a 100% fruit juice blend. The functional snacks are high in vitamin C and come in three varieties: pineapple chunks with cucumber and mint natural flavours; mandarin oranges with turmeric; and mixed fruit with green tea extract (offering 45mg of caffeine per serving). "We understand that today's consumer seeks products that are not only good for their health and fit their lifestyle, but also minimise environmental impact," said Orzse Hodi, vice president of marketing, Americas at Dole Packaged Foods. "We are committed to developing innovations that are better for people and the planet. Dole Fruitify juice drinks and the Dole Essentials line of Dole Fruit Bowls deliver on both fronts, with simple, clean ingredients and responsible sourcing and packaging methods." Dole Fruitify juices are available in single flavour four-packs, while Dole Essentials come in packs of two 7oz single-serve bowls – which can be purchased now in grocery stores nationwide.