DSM has expanded its Dairy Safe cheese biopreservation portfolio with a new range of phage-robust culture rotations. DSM has added four new culture rotations to the portfolio to offer a more robust system, which it claims will help manufacturers effectively manage bacteriophages (phages) and overcome spoilage issues in cheese. Insufficient management of phages can lead to fermentation delays and production slow-down, which can contribute to increased food loss and have a detrimental impact on cheese flavour, yield and texture. The cultures are used in a rotation system with several phage alternatives, which the company says ensures consistent quality and performance among all rotations, while also delivering acidification, flavour and assured bioprotection against late blowing and spoilage. The cultures – which are suitable for all types of milk – protect cheeses without the need for preservatives, enabling manufacturers to meet clean label and sustainability demands. Dairy Safe has been on the market for more than 30 years and joined DSM's cheese cultures portfolio of biopreservation solutions after it acquired CSK Food Enrichment in 2019. Christian Hemmer, business manager of cheese at DSM, said: “The expansion of our high-quality cultures comes at a time when the industry is actively seeking phage alternatives to build a robust rotation system that ensures consistency of supply and consistent quality and performance among all rotations. “Our cultures also help the dairy industry towards its sustainability goals by reducing waste through late blowing defects. The easy-to-use cultures – combined with DSM’s end-to-end expertise and “one-stop-shop” portfolio of solutions – mean our customers can produce delicious, high-quality cheese that meets diverse consumer preferences.”

DS Smith has agreed to divest its De Hoop paper mill in the Netherlands to De Jong Packaging for €50 million, as it continues to shift its focus on light-weight fibre-based packaging.  The current mill produces 370,000 tonnes of mainly heavier grades of recycled paper per year. The sale forms part of DS Smith’s strategy to have a ‘short paper’ position in Northern Europe, where it says there is a greater amount of external capacity available to the group. It marks a step forward in its plan to align its internal paper production with its priorities in light-weight fibre-based packaging solutions for FMCG and ecommerce customers. Under the terms of the deal, DS Smith will continue to purchase from and supply to the paper mill a certain amount of containerboard and fibre to support a smooth transition.   Upon completion of the transaction, De Hoop will be the sole internal paper mill for De Jong's packaging business, which serves the fresh produce and industrial markets. DS Smith says it will use the proceeds to partly offset investments made in its packaging capacity this year, including two new corrugated box plants in Italy and Poland and a significant expansion of its Arnstadt packaging facility in Germany. Miles Roberts, DS Smith CEO, said: "We are pleased to have reached this agreement for the De Hoop Paper mill. While this represents another step to further realign our network of paper mills with the needs of our FMCG and ecommerce led sustainable packaging strategy, we have also found a good home for De Hoop in De Jong Packaging.” The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of DS Smith's full-year 2021/22.

Canadian pizza business General Assembly Pizza has secured its first dedicated facility for the production of its frozen pizzas, in an effort to meet increased retail demand. Located in Vaughan, Ontario, the facility will produce GA Pizza’s par-baked, naturally leavened freezer-to-table pizzas. Prior to this, the company was manufacturing its frozen pizzas from its flagship restaurant. Shifting consumer packaged goods production to this new facility will enable GA Pizza to ramp up its restaurant operations and reopen its flagship location for dine-in and off-premise in the third quarter. GA Pizza has signed a seven-year lease with Pure Industrial, giving it possession of the 42,060 square-foot facility. The facility will undergo a full renovation and phased development of a production line, including an initial line that is expected to increase daily production capacity by 150% to 5,000 units per day by the end of Q3 2021. GA Pizza plans to ramp up to 10,00 units per day by year end. GA Pizza’s new facility is expected to be fully operational in 2022, with an expected production capacity of 50,000 units per day – representing a 2,400% increase from its current capacity. The Ontario site will house production, refrigerated storage, retail warehousing and wholesale distribution, as well as office space and an R&D hub called The Dough Lab.   According to GA Pizza, the production facility will expand its wholesale partnerships across Canada. The company anticipates that more than 50% of its future production will be allocated to retail and wholesale sales, compared to 20% year-to-date. “In our current model – producing our frozen pizzas from our flagship restaurant – capacity has been constrained with demand greatly outpacing supply, so the timing couldn’t be better,” said Ali Khan Lalani, CEO and founder of General Assembly Pizza. “The master production facility will allow GA Pizza to scale production significantly and meet our growing wholesale and consumer demand – not to mention the benefits of operating at scale and reactivating our restaurant and off-premise channels.” Earlier this year, GA Pizza raised around $10 million in a Series A financing round, with the aim to scale up its pizza subscription service across Canada.

Nestlé is introducing a new limited-edition salted caramel popcorn flavoured KitKat Chunky bar across the UK market. The new bar features the brand’s classic wafer with a layer of salted caramel popcorn filling, covered in KitKat’s trademark milk chocolate. Salted caramel popcorn is the latest addition to the KitKat Chunky line-up and follows innovative flavour launches such as peanut butter, hazelnut, coconut, salted caramel fudge and New York cheesecake. Callum Smith, assistant brand manager for KitKat said: “We think our newest Chunky is unlike anything else currently on the market, making it a fun and exciting proposition for shoppers to try. “It not only delivers on taste and texture, but with its retro red and white striped packaging, it looks great too. Whether it’s for a special afternoon treat, a trip to the cinema or simply to put a smile in your break, we believe this is one of our best KitKat Chunky flavours yet – and we hope consumers agree.” The limited-edition chocolate bar will be available to purchase in a range of UK retailers from 2 August for an RRP of 70p. Earlier this year,Nestlé introduced a vegan KitKat variant in the UK.

Premium ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brand Monaco Cocktails has launched a new flavour: Tequila Sun Crush, which combines agave tequila with a 'refreshing' orange taste.  Each 12oz can features two shots of tequila, 9% ABV and no gluten.   “Agave tequila is a top-growing spirit, and we are thrilled to introduce a new RTD variety that taps into this booming interest for pre-mixed, tequila-based cocktails,” said Don Deubler, CEO of Atomic Brands. “We are delivering an all new canned cocktail experience with the launch of Tequila Sun Crush that builds off the strong momentum we’ve seen for our first tequila-based RTD, Tequila Lime Crush. Now with Tequila Sun Crush, we are marrying premium agave tequila with refreshing, on-trend orange flavour to bring a new and exciting option to market this summer to meet this increasing consumer demand,” he added.  The new product joins Monaco Cocktails' existing lineup, which includes: Citrus Rush, Tequila Lime Crush, Blue Crush, Cranberry, Mango Peach, Black Raspberry, Tropic Rush and Purple Crush. Tequila Sun Crush is now available in convenience stores nationwide for $2.50-$2.99.

Coca-Cola Israel (The Central Bottling Company - CBC) and Israeli food-tech company BioMilk have signed a strategic investment term sheet, which will see CBC invest up to $2 million in the development of BioMilk's cultured milk products.  As part of the deal, BioMilk will transfer its products to Tara Dairy, which is owned by CBC, for a "pilot commercial production". Subject to final agreement, the investment will also enable BioMilk to create products that are sustainably sourced and have a low carbon footprint.   "We are pleased to enter into a strategic collaboration with a leading company in the food and beverage field with an emphasis on dairy products, which aims to lead to the integration of the technological solutions that BioMilk develops into Tara Dairy's products," said Tomer Aizen, CEO of BioMilk.  "Our company is a pioneer and leads a technological, nutritional and ecological revolution. BioMilk intends to develop products that will enable CBC through Tara Dairy to market revolutionary, tasty and functionally valuable products while preserving the environment. BioMilk is the first company in the field of cultured milk that receives a strategic investment from a leading dairy industry player." He continued: "This investment will allow BioMilk to step up technological developments and accelerate its reach towards the fridges and shelves of consumers, with a variety of dairy products based on 'real' milk produced in a lab from mammalian cells, with a clear differentiation over other alternative plant-based milk substitutes”. Yoram Sagy, President of CBC added: " The Central Bottling Company's innovation arm has been working in recent years to locate the world's most advanced technologies in the field of food development. In BioMilk we have identified a significant food technology player, from both business and sustainability perspectives."

Meal kit company HelloFresh has agreed to acquire Australian ready-to-eat meal manufacturer Youfoodz for AUD 125 million (approximately $93.3 million). The deal marks an important step in HelloFresh’s growth strategy and will strengthen its direct-to-consumer (D2C) ready-to-eat capabilities; as well as enhance its Australian brand portfolio and product offering. Youfoodz provides and distributes fresh ready meals, as well as snacks and drinks through both home delivery (D2C) and retail (B2B). Since its establishment in 2012, Youfoodz says it has delivered over 60 million ready-to-eat meals to its home delivery, retail and corporate customers. The company operates three production facilities in Brisbane, which it claims produce more than 400,000 ready-made meals, 80,000 snacks and 25,000 drinks per week. “We are impressed by Youfoodz’ strong product and manufacturing capabilities and are looking forward to jointly delight Australians with delicious, healthy and convenient meals,“ said Tom Rutledge, CEO of HelloFresh Australia and New Zealand. Upon completion of the transaction, Youfoodz will continue to operate under its own brand. HelloFresh says it will make the brand become increasingly available to its consumers through a subscription platform. According to HelloFresh, Australia has witnessed rapid growth in the ready-to-eat meal delivery service, and the Berlin company recently launched its value brand EveryPlate in the country. Dominik Richter, CEO of HelloFresh, added: “The popularity of ready-to-eat services in Australia in a well-established and growing sector offers us a good opportunity to further strengthen our position by offering further choice of meal solutions and price points to our customers.” The deal also comes after HelloFresh acquired Factor75, a prepared meal delivery service in the US. Youfoodz CEO, Lance Giles, added: “We are excited about the prospect of joining the HelloFresh group. This is a significant endorsement of our brand and the success we have enjoyed as a business in the ready-made meal sector. “Partnering with a global leader like HelloFresh will help us accelerate growth of our business and enhance our customer offering through new menu offerings, customer initiatives and enriched service levels.” The transaction – which is subject to customary conditions including shareholder and court approval – is expected to be finalised in October 2021.

Ball Corporation is planning to build new aluminium beverage packaging plants in the UK and Russia, in a move to significantly increase its manufacturing capacity. According to Ball, each of the planned facilities would produce billions of cans every year – across a range of formats and sizes – from 2023, and provide up to 200 skilled jobs. The news follows the announcement earlier this year of Ball's plans for a new €170 million aluminium can plant in the Czech Republic, which will help boost its output in the EMEA region. Ball has submitted a formal application to North Northamptonshire Council and expects to break ground on the newly announced UK facility later this year, following a period of public consultation on the plans. The plant – representing Ball's third beverage can manufacturing site in the UK – will be located at the Segro Park Kettering Gateway in Northamptonshire. The planned facility will supply cans for domestic customers in categories such as hard seltzer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails. Meanwhile, to serve the fast-growing Russian market, Ball is planning to build a plant in Ulyanovsk in the west of the country. The Ulynavosk plant will extend Ball's manufacturing footprint in Russia to four facilities and will supply customers in categories including beer and energy drinks. “With the demand for our infinitely recyclable aluminium packaging growing fast in an expanding number of categories, we are acting now to support our customers in the UK and Russia,” said Carey Causey, president, Ball beverage packaging EMEA. “The pandemic and changing consumption patterns mean that consumers are enjoying more of their favourite beverages at home and on the go and want to buy products in packages that they know will be recycled and can contribute to a truly circular economy.”

Vegan brand Follow Your Heart has launched dairy-free Greek Style Crumbles in the UK, available in Tesco stores nationwide from 12 July.  Created in the brand's Los Angeles solar-powered, zero-waste facility (known as Earth Island), the crumble format is aimed at plant-based and flexitarian consumers looking for a traditional feta alternative.  John O’Connor, new business development at Follow Your Heart said: “We are so excited to launch the first dairy-free Greek Crumbles in the UK and it’s a great testament to our strong innovation team in the US focusing on plant-based cheese. We are passionate about showing UK shoppers how delicious and easy plant-based eating can be." "In contrast to some other brands with long ingredients lists including unrecognisable components, Follow Your Heart focuses on keeping things clean and minimal to create inherently better-for-you products for shoppers,” he added.  Greek Style Crumbles features just ten ingredients, is coconut-oil based, allergen-free and non-GMO. It is also free of dairy, soy, casein, gluten, lactose and preservatives.  RRP £3.50 for 170g.

US better-for-you baking brand Miss Jones Baking Co has announced the launch of a new line of reduced-sugar baking mixes. Everyday Delicious mixes are made with 100% whole grains and Miss Jones’s SmartSugar – a blend of sugar, chicory root, tapioca and monkfruit that is said to reduce sugar by 50% without any artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. The new line features five variants: Monster Cookie Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Fudgy Brownie Mix, Blueberry Muffin & Bread Mix, and Banana Bread & Muffin Mix. “Since founding Miss Jones Baking Co, we have always strived to innovate and make delicious treats we know and love better for you without sacrificing taste,” said Sarah Jones, founder and CEO of Miss Jones Baking Co. “We all want to have our cake and eat it too (literally), but without the guilt. I've crafted each of our new mixes with more of what you want and less of what you don't so you can enjoy what you bake knowing it's tasty and nutritious to the last bite.” Everyday Delicious mixes are available to purchase via the brand’s website and on Amazon, as well as at Kroger and Whole Foods Market for $4.99.

Bel has announced the launch of its plant-based cheese alternative brand Nurishh to the UK market with three new products. The initial line includes a vegan alternative to Camembert, a mozzarella style block and a grated cheddar & mozzarella style blend – which are currently available in Asda stores and are being rolled out to other retailers nationwide. A full range of dairy-free grated cheeses, slices, blocks and spreads have also been developed for future launch. The Nurishh plant-based Camembert alternative witnessed a successful soft launch back in December in Sainsbury’s as part of the festive period. Bel Brands launched the Nurishh brand in the US earlier this year in six varieties including three slices and three shred formats. Chloe Feminier, plant-based commercial manager at Nurishh, said: “A versatile selection designed to cater to all occasions – with taste highlighted as a key barrier to buying vegan products, and insights showing consumers seeking inspiration for plant-based recipes – the new additions to the Nurishh range bolster the offering, with varied formats ensuring a delicious plant-based option for every occasion and recipe.” The three plant-based cheese options retail between £2.50 and £3.50.

Private equity firm KPS Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Tate & Lyle’s Primary Products business in the Americas for $1.3 billion. The deal will see the creation of two standalone businesses – Tate & Lyle and NewCo. Under the terms of the agreement, Tate & Lyle and KPS will each own 50% of the newly-formed company (NewCo), with KPS having board and operational control. The new company will comprise of Tate & Lyle’s Primary Products business in North America and Latin America and shareholdings in its two joint ventures - Almidones Mexicanos and DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio-Products. The deal values the standalone unit at $1.7 billion. The Primary Products business manufactures nutritive sweeteners, industrial starches, acidulants and other corn-derived products for a variety of applications including carbonated beverages, confectionery products, packaging products and animal feed. Founded in 1906 as A.E. Staley Manufacturing, the unit has approximately 1,700 employees across six manufacturing facilities in the US and Brazil. The sweetener division’s European operations are not included as part of NewCo and will remain with Tate & Lyle. Tate & Lyle first announced its intentions to sell the stake back in April, revealing that talks were underway with potential buyers. Following the split, Tate & Lyle plans to reposition itself as a food and beverage solutions business focused on faster growing speciality markets. “With the pandemic accelerating the trend towards healthier food, now is the right time to focus our business on capturing this growth,” said Nick Hampton, CEO of Tate & Lyle. He added: “Today’s announcement represents the next phase in the evolution of Tate & Lyle. Our one strong company will become two stronger businesses, both in a position to pursue new and exciting growth opportunities in their respective markets.” Meanwhile, NewCo will focus on becoming a leading manufacturer of plant-based products for the food and industrial markets. Michael Psaros, KPS co-founder and co-managing partner, said: "We will invest in research and development in close cooperation with customers to introduce new products and product categories, in order to capitalise on long-term trends such as the transition to a more plant-based diet by consumers worldwide." The deal marks KPS’ fifth investment in 2021 – including its acquisition of Crown Holdings’ EMEA food packaging unit– bringing its total investment activity this year to a combined value of over $6 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.