Old El Paso, the Tex-Mex brand owned by General Mills, has expanded its portfolio with its first broth varieties alongside two new canned soups. The new range includes Birria Style Beef Broth, Chicken Tinga Style Broth, Chipotle Steak Burrito Style Soup and Cheesy Beef Taco Style Soup. The 32 oz broths are designed to bring Tex-Mex-inspired flavours to a wider range of cooking occasions, including grains, ramen, pasta, soups, sauces and stews. Birria Style Beef Broth combines chilis, garlic and lime, while Chicken Tinga Style Broth features a smoky, savoury Tinga-style seasoning. Both products are gluten-free and made without artificial flavours. Ben Bienert, business unit director for Old El Paso at General Mills, said the new products were developed in response to demand for Tex-Mex flavours beyond traditional taco occasions. The brand has also added two ready-to-eat canned soups inspired by tacos and burritos. Chipotle Steak Burrito Style Soup combines beef, rice, tomatoes and corn, while Cheesy Beef Taco Style Soup features beef patty crumbles, tomatoes, corn, jalapeño peppers and black beans with cheddar and cream cheese. The soups can be prepared on the stovetop or in the microwave and contain between 12g and 16g of protein per can. Like the broths, they are gluten-free and contain no artificial flavours. The four products are now available at retailers across the US.

Emmi Caffé Latte has added a Vanilla variant to its ready-to-drink coffee portfolio, targeting consumers seeking more indulgent flavour options in the chilled coffee category. The 230ml Emmi Caffé Latte Vanilla combines 100% Arabica coffee with fresh Swiss milk and a vanilla flavour made using 100% natural ingredients. The new product launches exclusively in Iceland from 14 September 2026, with an RRP of £2.00, and will sit alongside the existing Emmi Caffé Latte range in the chilled beverages fixture. The launch comes as the ready-to-drink coffee market continues to broaden beyond traditional coffee profiles, with flavour-led products offering brands an opportunity to tap into demand for more varied and café-inspired experiences. Vanilla, one of the most established flavour profiles across food and beverage, provides Emmi with a familiar but more indulgent proposition while retaining the premium positioning associated with the Caffé Latte brand. Georgia Lightbody, senior brand manager at Emmi Caffé Latte, said: “Consumers are increasingly looking for variety and excitement within ready-to-drink coffee, but they still want the quality and great taste that they associate with the café experience." According to Emmi, Vanilla follows the introduction of its Zero and High Protein variants as part of an ongoing innovation strategy designed to respond to changing consumer preferences. The company said the new flavour also provides retailers with an opportunity to introduce additional choice to the chilled coffee fixture and attract shoppers seeking premium flavour experiences. Lightbody added: “Vanilla felt like a natural addition to the Emmi Caffé Latte range. It’s a flavour with enduring appeal that pairs beautifully with coffee, while giving consumers something a little more indulgent to enjoy as part of their everyday routine.” Emmi Caffé Latte Vanilla is available in a 230ml format and launches exclusively in Iceland, priced at £2.00 RRP.

UK functional juice shot brand Moju has added a new Elderberry blend to its Immunity range, available at Sainsbury’s now and launching into Waitrose on 11 November. The new berry-led blend combines black elderberries with fresh root Peruvian ginger and strawberry, delivering what the brand describes as a ‘fruitier shot with a gentle ginger kick’. It hits a two out of five on Moju’s ‘spice-o-meter,’ designed to provide a milder take on the brand’s signature ginger shot. Moju noted that elderberry is traditionally associated with the colder months, often used in syrups, supplements and cold weather remedies. From the same plant as the more familiar elderflower, it is the darker fruit with a bold flavour profile and is naturally high in vitamin C. The brand aims to give the ingredient a ‘fresh twist’ by bringing it into the chilled aisle in a convenient, everyday format. The new blend is available in a 420ml dosing bottle format, containing seven 60ml servings. Each serving also contains the NHS-recommended daily intake of vitamin D3 from seaweed for added immune support. The launch comes as NielsenIQ data shows the UK functional shots category has reached £105.3 million in value, delivering a 47% compound annual growth rate over the past three years. Alongside the new blend, Moju is launching a new 720ml ‘XL Doser’ version of its existing seven-shot format for its Ginger variant, packing 12 60ml servings into one bottle. The brand said the bigger bottle, priced at £7.99, is designed for established daily routines and households with multiple ginger shot drinkers. It responds to Worldpanel by Numerator data finding that Moju shoppers purchase 50% more volume per trip than the wider shots category. Rich Goldsmith, CEO and co-founder at Moju, said: “Elderberry felt like a natural next step for our Immunity range, taking an ingredient traditionally associated with sugary syrups and supplements and bringing it into a fresh, lower-sugar format”. “At the same time, the XL Dosing Bottle gives households who already love their daily Moju more shots in the fridge and even better value per serve. As people continue to think carefully about what they want to spend their money on, it’s about making that daily Moju ritual work a little harder for them too.”

DSM-Firmenich has opened a new office in Jakarta and expanded its Karawang manufacturing facility in Indonesia, strengthening its local food and beverage innovation and production capabilities. The investments are intended to enhance customer collaboration, increase manufacturing capacity and accelerate the development of solutions tailored to consumer needs in Indonesia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. The new Jakarta office brings together teams from DSM-Firmenich’s three business units – Taste, Texture & Health, Perfumery & Beauty and Health, Nutrition & Care – under one roof. The site has been certified by the Green Building Council of Indonesia and includes dedicated customer co-creation and innovation spaces. For its Taste, Texture & Health business, the new facility includes a baked goods application laboratory and a pilot plant for dairy ultra-high temperature (UHT) applications. The site also brings together expertise in local sweet goods, savoury applications and flavour creation, supporting the development and testing of products for the Indonesian market. The company said the new setup will enable closer collaboration with customers and help shorten the development process from consumer insight through to product prototyping and commercialisation. The Perfumery & Beauty business has also been expanded. Timothy Elisafan, VP of Taste, Asia Pacific at DSM Firmenich, said: “Indonesia has been an important part of our story for more than 35 years. It's one of Southeast Asia’s biggest markets, and our new facilities will help accelerate our growth.” Elisafan continued: “By expanding our innovation and manufacturing capabilities, we’re making it easier to co-create with customers, respond more quickly to rapidly changing consumer needs and bring new solutions to market faster.” Alongside the Jakarta office opening, DSM-Firmenich has completed an expansion of its Karawang manufacturing facility, increasing production capacity to support customer demand. The site has gained new drying technology for reaction and top-note products, which can process both high-fat and high-protein products. New culinary blending capabilities have also been introduced to improve production efficiency. Sustainability has been incorporated into the expansion, with the Karawang facility now powered by 100% green electricity. The company said electric heating is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 300 metric tonnes per year, while heat recovery technology is expected to cut energy consumption by approximately 16%. Both sites were officially inaugurated this week, with DSM-Firmenich CEO Dimitri de Vreeze; Taste, Texture & Health president Maurizio Clementi; Perfumery & Beauty president and COO Emmanuel Butstraen; and chief communications officer Ingvild Van Lysebetten attending, alongside Indonesian and Asia-Pacific leadership teams.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has begun its Phase 1 inquiry into McCormick & Co’s acquisition of Unilever’s food business. The competition watchdog announced it would be reviewing the merger in July, inviting interested parties to submit comments regarding any competition issues that could arise from the deal. Following this, the regulator has now announced it will progress with a Phase 1 investigation, commencing today (17 September 2026). Unilever and McCormick announced the merger agreement in March this year, a deal that values Unilever’s food business at over $44 billion. Once completed, the proposed deal would see Unilever separate its food division – which includes legacy brands such as Marmite and Horlicks – and merge it with US-headquartered McCormick. The deal forms part of Unilever’s strategy to streamline its portfolio and focus on high-growth product categories. Last month, Unilever confirmed it is seeking a buyer for its Colman’s mustard brand as it looks to address competition concerns surrounding the merger – McCormick already owns global leading mustard brand French’s. The CMA will announce its decision on whether the merger will be referred for a phase 2 investigation by 11 November.

Packaging specialists ALPLA and CCL Label have developed a stackable PET beverage can designed to offer drink manufacturers a scalable alternative to traditional aluminium cans. The 0.33-litre PET container combines the appearance of a metal can with the material properties of transparent PET. It can be integrated into existing PET filling lines and does not require an internal BPA-containing epoxy coating. The partners said the solution is designed to provide beverage manufacturers with greater packaging flexibility while supporting recyclability and supply chain efficiency. The PET can can be produced using recycled PET (rPET), allowing it to be incorporated into existing bottle-to-bottle recycling streams and potentially reduce associated CO2 emissions. Its full-body decoration is provided by CCL Label's detachable EcoFloat® shrink sleeve. Made from low-density polyolefin (PO), the sleeve is designed to separate from PET flakes during the recycling process. The sleeve provides a 360-degree decoration surface, including options for metallic and mirror-finish effects, while giving brands flexibility to create a high-impact appearance without adding coatings directly to the PET container. Because the sleeve is applied after filling, manufacturers can also maintain greater flexibility over packaging and design requirements. The container features a tethered, resealable cap, which the companies said can help prevent contaminants and insects from entering the package. This could also reduce cleaning requirements during recycling and support collection through household and deposit-return systems. ALPLA and CCL Label said the PET format could offer beverage producers an alternative at a time when packaging regulations and supply chain considerations are increasing pressure on material choices. The companies specifically highlighted EU restrictions on certain bisphenol-containing food packaging, noting that many such products, particularly disposable packaging, may no longer be placed on the market from July 2026. Daniel Lehner, global sales director, food & beverage at ALPLA, said: "A beverage can may just as well be made of plastic. Our PET can relies on the well-known material properties of transparent PET, which have proven themselves on the market, strengthen the supply chain and can highlight special products as a novelty." The use of PET also enables the container to be incorporated into existing PET filling infrastructure, potentially reducing the need for manufacturers to make significant changes to production lines. The companies said their combined manufacturing capabilities are intended to allow the PET can to be scaled quickly in response to demand, helping beverage manufacturers maintain product availability. "The PET can combines these features and enables our customers to have a seamless and long-term supply," Lehner added.

Califia Farms is broadening its US portfolio of dairy-free coffee creamers with two new coconut-based additions, launched at Whole Foods stores last week. The new additions are made with organic coconut milk and a formulation of simple, plant-based ingredients with no oils or gums. They are also USDA-certified organic. Vanilla Crème Coconut Coffee Creamer features what the brand describes as a ‘smooth, subtly sweet’ vanilla flavour, while Toasted Coconut features a ‘rich, nutty twist.’ Both can be enjoyed with hot coffee, iced coffee and matcha. These offerings mark Califia Farms’ continued expansion in flavoured coffee and café-inspired innovations, with the brand also recently debuting its Banana Crème Almond Milk Latte and Organic Banana Crème Almond Milk Coffee Creamer in the US market.

Nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation Sirio Europe has appointed Kasia Kortmann as general manager, as the business develops its long-term growth strategy for the European market. Kortmann brings more than 20 years of international commercial leadership experience to the role, including multi-country P&L management, commercial strategy and business transformation. Her appointment comes after strong growth for Sirio’s European business, with revenue reaching €93.8 million in 2025, up 24.95% year on year. According to Sirio, Europe was its fastest-growing region during the period. Kortmann will be responsible for defining Sirio Europe’s long-term vision and translating it into a regional growth strategy. A key area of focus will be expanding the company’s portfolio of ready-to-launch concepts and delivery formats for supplement brands. These include gummies, softgels and instant fizzy tablets, alongside other on-the-go formats designed around specific consumption occasions. Sirio said the expansion is intended to help brand partners respond to changing consumer expectations and competition within the supplement market. Kortmann will also focus on strengthening customer relationships and developing an organisation capable of implementing Sirio’s strategy across its individual European markets. Kortmann said: “Sirio Europe has built a strong position by combining its pharmaceutical heritage and global scale with deep specialist expertise, and my focus is on where we take that next. That means setting a clear long-term vision for the region, defining the strategy to deliver it and building an organisation that can execute consistently across every market we operate in.” Before joining Sirio, Kortmann was general manager for DACH, Benelux and the Nordics at Ontex. She also held the position of VP commercial transformation Europe, where she led a multi-year business simplification programme and operating model redesign. Earlier in her career, she spent several years at Procter & Gamble across local markets and EMEA headquarters. Her responsibilities included go-to-market strategies, market expansion, category management and pricing. Sirio said the combination of these roles has given Kortmann more than two decades of experience managing multi-market businesses and delivering commercial growth and transformation. Kortmann's strategy comes as European consumers increasingly engage with supplements as part of broader, long-term health and wellness routines. She identified longevity, active lifestyle nutrition, beauty from within, women's health and children's health as areas showing momentum within the European nutraceutical market. “The European nutraceutical market is entering an exciting phase,” she said. “There is real momentum in longevity, active lifestyle nutrition, beauty from within, and women’s and children’s health – categories that reflect how people now think about well-being across their lives, rather than only when something goes wrong.” Kortmann also highlighted the complexity of operating across Europe, where consumer preferences and regulatory requirements vary between markets. She described Europe as “twenty-plus” individual markets, each with its own habits and regulations, arguing that understanding those differences will be important as SIRIO develops products for brand partners. The company’s European strategy will therefore combine expansion of its formulation and delivery-format capabilities with a market-by-market approach to product development and commercialisation.

British dairy brand All Things is expanding its cottage cheese portfolio with the launch of All Things Smooth Cottage Cheese, targeting consumers seeking the nutritional credentials and versatility of cottage cheese without its traditional curd texture. The new product will roll out across Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Tesco from mid-September. It is handmade at a family farm using locally sourced milk from grass-fed cows. Blended to create a soft, smooth texture, the product has been developed for use across a range of applications, including dipping, snacking, spreading, cooking and baking. All Things said the launch addresses one of the category’s key barriers – the texture of conventional cottage cheese – while responding to growing demand for versatile, protein-rich foods. Cottage cheese has seen renewed interest in recent years, driven in part by social media recipes, high-protein eating trends and interest in simple foods. The ingredient is increasingly being used beyond traditional applications, including breakfast bowls, toast, dips, smoothies, pasta sauces, baked goods and high-protein desserts. All Things Smooth Cottage Cheese has been designed to build on these emerging usage occasions while appealing to consumers who may be interested in cottage cheese but have previously been put off by its curds. The company said consumer research identified the product’s smooth, creamy texture as one of its key strengths, alongside its protein content, versatility and perceived natural health credentials. The new product is positioned as an alternative to yoghurt for consumers seeking different ways to incorporate dairy into their diets, as well as a lighter option to traditional cream cheese. The brand entered the cottage cheese category in January 2026 and said it has since gained momentum in the chilled aisle. The new format expands its existing range while aiming to introduce cottage cheese to consumers who may not typically purchase the product. Toby Hopkinson, CEO and co-founder of All Things, said: “Cottage cheese has come back in a big way because it delivers what modern shoppers are looking for: protein, versatility and something that can work across the whole day. But we also know the traditional texture is still a barrier for some people. Smooth takes everything people value about cottage cheese and gives it a completely different feel, making it easier to spread, dip, fold into recipes or eat straight from the pot.” All Things Smooth Cottage Cheese will initially launch at Sainsbury’s and Ocado on 16 September in a 240g pack priced at £1.85. A 450g format priced at £2.95 will follow at Tesco in October.

Danone has inaugurated a new medical nutrition production line at its Steenvoorde site in northern France, as part of a €70 million investment designed to expand the facility’s capabilities in specialised nutrition. The investment positions Steenvoorde as a European hub combining medical nutrition, infant formula and speciality dairy ingredient production, with the site using advanced filtration technologies to manufacture ingredients for specialised nutrition applications. The new production line, which was announced in 2024, is Danone’s largest medical nutrition production line in France. It will have the capacity to produce nearly 20 million litres of oral nutritional supplements annually, including almost 150 Fortimel product references. Alongside finished specialised nutrition products, Steenvoorde has developed expertise in producing dairy ingredients through advanced filtration technologies. Danone said the site has a “unique industrial expertise” in producing ingredients used in specialised nutrition products, with many of these ingredients also manufactured at Steenvoorde. The combination of ingredient production and finished-product manufacturing gives the facility a broader role within Danone’s specialised nutrition network, linking dairy processing technologies with applications designed for specific nutritional requirements. The site brings together three strategic manufacturing activities: infant formula, medical nutrition and specialty dairy ingredients. Its capabilities are intended to support the development of specialised nutrition products across different stages of life. The expansion will also see Steenvoorde produce part of Danone’s Fortimel range of oral nutritional supplements. The range includes different formats, textures and recipes, including plant-based alternatives, to address varying nutritional needs and consumer preferences. Danone’s investment comes as the company seeks to expand its medical nutrition activities against a backdrop of population ageing and increasing chronic disease. According to the company, the number of people aged over 60 is expected to double by 2050, while disease-related malnutrition currently affects between 30% and 50% of hospitalised patients, citing WHO Europe. Danone said medical nutrition is a key pillar of its Renew Danone strategy, with the group aiming to strengthen production capabilities and scientific expertise as nutritional requirements evolve. Danone described the new medical nutrition line as the largest medical nutrition production line in France in terms of both production capacity and size. The €70 million project also included the installation of a biomass boiler, inaugurated in February 2026, which Danone said is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the Steenvoorde site. The investment is part of a wider programme of more than €600 million that Danone plans to invest across its French sites between 2021 and 2027. Steenvoorde is located in the Hauts-de-France region, an established dairy-producing area in France. Danone said the site works with more than 400 partner farms, while regional milk collection has increased sixfold over the past four years.

Red Bull is adding a seasonal flavour to its Editions portfolio with the launch of Red Bull Winter Edition Pistachio & Berries, combining a nutty pistachio flavour with a berry finish. The new energy drink will be available across all channels from 28 September, with the 473ml format launching in Tesco stores from 18 September. Red Bull said the new flavour taps into the growing popularity of pistachio, while bringing a seasonal proposition to the energy drinks category. The company said the combination is designed to offer consumers a sense of discovery and novelty during the winter period. Despite its nut-inspired flavour, the product does not contain nuts. The launch follows research commissioned by Red Bull indicating consumer interest in pistachio-flavoured energy drinks. According to a VYPR sample of 252 energy drink consumers conducted in April 2026, more than two-thirds of 22-44-year-olds surveyed said they would consider trying a pistachio-flavoured energy drink. The new Winter Edition forms part of Red Bull's wider Editions strategy, which has seen the brand introduce a succession of limited and seasonal flavours to encourage trial and bring new occasions to the category. Red Bull said stores now stock an average of nine Editions, while rate of sale has continued to increase with seasonal launches. The company also reported that 60% of energy drinkers are now aware of Red Bull Editions. Recent launches in the Editions range include Citrus Zest Summer Edition, for summer 2026, and last year's Winter Edition, Fuji Apple and Ginger. Red Bull Winter Edition Pistachio & Berries will launch in both full-sugar and sugar-free variants, with a selection of can size formats including 250ml, 335ml and 473ml.

A new initiative – The PaperFlex Consortium – has launched today, comprising six global consumer goods companies, aiming to accelerate the development of responsibly designed paper-based alternatives to flexible plastic packaging. The consortium has been established by global charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation and environmental consultancy (Re)Set. It includes Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Unilever as founding members, and is open for others to join. Flexible packaging, including sachets, wrappers and pouches, is the fastest-growing type of plastic packaging worldwide. Scaled solutions to recycle the material are not widely available currently, with small-format flexible plastic packaging identified as one of three key systemic barriers to tackling plastic waste in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business. Markets where flexible packaging is widely used, and where a lack of collection and recycling systems could increase their likelihood of ending up in the environment, will be the key focus of the new initiative. The consortium aims to develop alternatives for these markets that are recyclable as collection systems improve, and biodegradable if they do end up in the environment. Its members now plan to fund and conduct collaborative trials in the coming years, covering innovations in areas such as biodegradable coatings and other technologies that offer product protection, shelf life and consumer usability. They will also aim to improve how paper-based materials perform on manufacturing lines. Joint R&D efforts are expected to help scale promising innovations faster and at a lower cost, though each participating member will continue to adopt its own packaging strategy independently. The announcement builds on the findings of a report published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation earlier this year, endorsed by 48 businesses, NGOs, investors and academics. The report highlighted responsible paper-based alternatives as a promising part of a wider strategy to address flexible plastic waste in markets with greater waste management challenges, provided solutions meet six design criteria. These criteria include recyclability, biodegradability and responsible sourcing and production – critical in ensuring paper-based packaging does not create new problems in place of those it is aiming to solve. The consortium said its efforts will be pursued while continuing to ensure food safety, product quality, consumer protection and regulatory compliance, warning that change will not happen ‘overnight,’ but rather through interim steps intended to progress towards addressing the necessary criteria. Sander Defruyt, strategy lead for plastics at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said: “Responsible paper-based flexible packaging solutions don’t yet exist at the performance, scale and cost required. This consortium signals strong demand for them – and real ambition from six consumer goods companies to help scale them.” “We’re inviting other FMCG companies, innovators, suppliers and investors to get involved now – the faster we develop such solutions, the sooner they reach the markets that need them most.” Allison Lin, global VP of Healthy Planet and chief circulatory officer at Mars, commented: “The consortium challenges the traditional mindset of innovating on our own, demonstrating that partnership – structured with legal oversight, clear guardrails on permissible topics, and an independent third-party convenor – can accelerate the development of more sustainable packaging in ways that no single company could achieve alone.”