The Boston Beer Company-owned brand Truly Hard Seltzer has announced the release of Margarita Style Hard Seltzers, a new range of ready-to-drink cocktails. The margarita-inspired cocktails feature four flavours: classic lime, strawberry hibiscus, watermelon cucumber and mango chili. Each flavour is made with real ingredients, such as agave nectar, lime juice and sea salt. Truly Margarita Style Hard Seltzers contains 5.3% abv, 110 calories, 1g of sugar and is gluten-free. "With the Truly Margarita styles, we wanted to marry everything drinkers love about hard seltzer with the flavours of a classic margarita," said Casey O'Neill, director of product development at the Boston Beer Company.

TricorBraun has acquired Zuckerman Honickman (ZH) and Vessel Packaging in a move to strengthen its position in the beverage packaging market. Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Zuckerman Honickman supplies customers from across the beverage industry in the US and Canada with packaging. The acquisition strengthens TricorBraun’s offering and expertise in the beverage packaging category. As part of the deal, TricorBraun has also acquired ZH subsidiary Delta Industries, a distributor of reusable trigger sprayers and bottles. Meanwhile, Vessel is a value-added distributor of aluminium cans, based in British Columbia, Canada. Described by TricorBraun as a ‘one-stop shop’ for aluminium cans, Vessel offers “everything from mobile canning and design services, to printed cans, can ends and carriers, shrink sleeving, and other labelling services”. The company serves customers across Canada and the US from all major beverage end markets, and operates five locations in Canada. With the Vessel acquisition, TricorBraun expands its beverage offering, strengthens its position in aluminium cans, and grows its Canadian footprint. “Our acquisitions of Zuckerman Honickman, a name synonymous with best-in-class beverage packaging, and Vessel Packaging, a leading Canadian value-added distributor of aluminium cans, bolster our ability to serve beverage customers with expanded offerings and services across North America,” said Court Carruthers, president and CEO, TricorBraun. “We are incredibly excited to welcome the ZH and Vessel teams to the TricorBraun family and look forward to investing in their continued growth.” The companies will operate as separate, standalone businesses, known respectively as Zuckerman Honickman, a TricorBraun company, and Vessel Packaging, a TricorBraun company. All ZH and Vessel team members will remain with TricorBraun. The financial terms of the transactions have not been disclosed.

International Taste Solutions (I.T.S) has developed new flavour enhancers that “replicate the indulgent characteristics of traditional bakery products” in plant-based alternatives. The Vegan Boost range offers an all-in-one solution that can be used to accentuate buttery and creamy flavours in a range of dairy- and egg-free cake and patisserie products. The natural flavour solutions come in liquid and powder formats. Meanwhile, a higher strength range, Vegan Boost Extra, is available if more intense flavours are required. Vegan Boost can also help to mask off-notes from ingredients used to replace dairy and egg in plant-based bakery products. “Consumer demand for plant-based products is rising, but until now the bakery sector has been a little behind the curve,” said Carl Smith, head of innovations at I.T.S. “Our bakery customers know we are easy to work with and they asked us for help in enhancing the flavour of their vegan cakes and bakery ranges. “We set about creating a straightforward alternative to the options currently available from the larger flavour houses. Vegan Boost offers no-nonsense flavours, and it provides an easy-to-use solution that is proven to work.”

Gathered Foods has unveiled the latest addition to its Good Catch range: Plant-Based Salmon Burgers. The new fishless alternative to salmon – which Gathered Foods says is the most consumed fish in the US – contains 16g of plant protein per serving. The burgers are said to replicate the delicate texture and ‘mild-yet-rich’ flavour of salmon, with a hint of citrus to round out the flavour profile. The new offering is easy to prepare and “without the unwanted fishy smell once cooked”. “Culinary innovation is at the forefront of everything we create at Good Catch and this new salmon will be an absolute game-changer in the market that boasts incredible flavour and texture,” said Chad Sarno, co-founder and chief culinary officer at Gathered Foods. “We are excited to see consumer response to our Plant-Based Salmon Burgers, which provide a convenient meal solution without the harm.” The burgers are available online via the brand’s website. Gathered Foods also plans to roll out the new offering in retail. Last year, Gathered Foods added a new breaded line, featuring plant-based fish sticks, fillets and crab cakes, to its Good Catch portfolio.

Israeli cultivated dairy start-up Remilk has raised $120 million in Series B funding, as it looks to expand production of its animal-free protein. Remilk uses a yeast-based fermentation process to produce animal-free milk proteins that are said to be indistinguishable in taste and function from cow’s milk proteins. The company plans to use the new funds to scale production of its protein for commercial use by manufacturers in products such as cheese and ice cream. According to Remilk, its ‘dairy-identical’ proteins are free from lactose and cholesterol. The company also estimates that its process uses 1% of the land, 4% of the greenhouse gas emissions and 5% of the water required to produce comparable products through traditional dairy manufacturing processes. Led by Hanaco Ventures, the round also included investments from Precision Capital, Rage Capital, CPT Capital, Intercap, OurCrowd, Indorama Ventures and Tal Ventures, among others. The company plans to have products featuring Remilk in the marketplace later this year. “Not only are Remilk products cleaner and significantly more sustainable when compared to traditional dairy, but they are indistinguishable in taste, feel and texture,” said Pasha Romanovski, founding partner of Hanaco Ventures. He added: “We have a strong conviction in the founders' vision and are thrilled to support the talented team on their journey”. Aviv Wolff, CEO and co-founder at Remilk, said: “This funding propels us on our journey to transform the dairy category into one that delivers delicious, nutritious products without harm to people, planet or animals”. “Already, we are engaging with dozens of companies, including some of the world's most popular brands, to recreate the future of dairy together.” In 2020, Remilk announced that it had secured $11.3 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Fresh.fund.

FoodBev Media’s Lauren Ford rounds up this week’s food and beverage news, including Biden administration announces action plan for more competitive meat supply chain; JBS finalises acquisition of Rivalea in Australia; SIG to acquire Evergreen’s fresh carton business in Asia Pacific for $335m; and more. You’ll find all this and more in this week’s podcast – click here to subscribe.

Constellation Brands has entered into an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company in the US to launch alcoholic beverages under the Fresca brand. The partnership will bring the Fresca brand into the beverage alcohol sector with a new line of spirit-based, ready-to-drink cocktails. The new brand, named Fresca Mixed, is expected to launch this year, starting with the cocktails using real spirits. Mallika Monteiro, Constellation Brands' chief growth, strategy and digital officer, said: “One of the core tenets of our innovation strategy is a belief in the power of extending strong and trusted brands in thoughtful ways to bring to market unique products that resonate with consumers. This is an exciting agreement that allows us to continue expanding our premium portfolio in ways that deliver distinctive consumer value propositions that include things like more flavour, different alcohol bases and functional benefits". The products will be produced and marketed by Constellation Brands and distributed through the company's networks, leveraging its consumer knowledge, brand-expansion capabilities, beverage alcohol expertise and retail and trade relationships to secure national distribution.

Yorkshire-based Regal Food Products Group has acquired premium dessert manufacturer Just Desserts for an undisclosed sum. Regal Food Products Group is behind brands such as Regal Bakery, Regal Foods and Yorkshire Baking Company. Just Desserts specialises in baking, offering a range of more than 130 hand-crafted desserts and cakes. The company's dessert portfolio includes tarts, cheesecakes and gâteaux, and is distributed throughout the foodservice industry. The purchase of Just Desserts will complement and broaden Regal Food's offerings for the foodservice and retail channels. Younis Chaudhry, CEO of Regal Food Products Group, commented: “We immediately recognised a business that presented itself with opportunity, not just for us as a food group but also for our customers. New product development and innovation has always been at the forefront of our work and bringing Just Desserts and its team of craft bakers into the fold enables us to offer flexibility and the scope to develop the growing range of quality products that are on offer within the retail and wholesale sector. Further developments will also see the high-quality desserts available through e-commerce platforms.” Regal Food Products Group has confirmed that Just Desserts will continue to operate as an independent business, while benefitting from the resources and ongoing investment it can offer the company.

Waterlogic has expanded its operations in Colombia with the acquisition of Aquamaq. Founded in 2002, Aquamaq offers point-of-use (POU) water dispensers, purifiers and filters. The acquisition is said to add "substantial growth" to the Waterlogic business and expands the company's machine range to a diverse customer base in 131 cities across Colombia. "This integration will allow us to reach a significant number of new clients, delivering our innovative technology and 'total care service'," said Waterlogic's managing director for Latin America, Rodrigo Serres. "Colombia’s POU market has been rapidly embracing Waterlogic’s technology, delivering water of a high purity level and helping protect users against Covid-19." Last month, Waterlogic and Culligan International signed an agreement to create a combined water solutions and services company.

Canadian confectioner Regal Confections has acquired local ice lolly firm Kisko Products for an undisclosed sum. Founded in Jamaica in 1968, Kisko's owned brand portfolio includes Mr. Freeze, Kisko and Mrs. J's Natural, as well as licensed brands such as Welch's, Mott's and Crush. "We are excited to partner with Regal to uphold our values and foster growth for our brand partners and customers, relying on Regal's 60 years of experience representing prestigious brands, manufacturing capabilities through their Chocolat Jean-Talon division, and seasonal expertise," said Mark Josephs, president of Kisko. Regal's president and CEO, Hani Basile, added: "With Kisko, Regal will elevate its presence in the spring and summer season and strengthen its volumes and capabilities in the US". The deal was supported by Canadian private equity firm Clearspring Capital Partners and Regal's other shareholders and banking partners. Clearspring's principal, Milap Choksey, said: "There is a tremendous fit between Regal and Kisko, including shared values, similar business models, counter-seasonality, and complementary product offerings that bring joy to millions across North America. Kisko's penetration within the freeze pops industry is impressive and we look forward to providing capital and strategic support to expand the company's presence in existing and new markets."

Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry's has announced the launch of a new sundae ice cream range featuring whipped ice cream topping. The new range consists of four new flavour variations including a plant-based addition. 'Cookie Vermont-ster' includes sweet cream ice cream with chocolate chip cookies and chocolatey cookie swirls while 'Hazel-nuttin’ but Chocolate' contains chocolate hazelnut ice cream with brownie pieces and sea salt chocolatey swirls. 'Oh My! Banoffee Pie!' has a creamy banana ice cream base with additional chocolatey caramel cups and cookie swirls. Lastly, Non-'Dairy Berry Revolutionary' includes raspberry vegan ice cream with sandwich cookies and chocolatey cookie swirls. Priscille Moussy, flavour guru at Ben & Jerry’s, said: “You might think you know a sundae… But are you ready for a sundae the Ben & Jerry’s way?! Inspired by the American classic, we wanted to show dessert devotees you do not have to go out to go all out. Sundaes are ice cream plus so much more (we left out the kitchen sink, you’re welcome!). We think you’re going to need a bigger spoon to dig deep into these layers!”. Ben & Jerry’s sundae range will be available in retailers everywhere this January, with an RRP of £5.49 per tub.

Brazil's JBS has finalised its acquisition of Rivalea, an Australian pork production company, from Singapore-listed food company QAF. Rivalea is a market leader in hog breeding and processing in Australia, accounting for 26% of the hogs processed in the country. The company owns two pork processing facilities, located in Melbourne and Corowa. The acquisition was originally announced back in June last year for a proposed enterprise value of AUD 175 million ($135 million). With the purchase, JBS hopes to strengthen its position in Australia and become the leader in pork processing in the country. The deal adds a number of brands to JBS's portfolio and is expected to strengthen the company's export platform. “With the acquisition of Rivalea, JBS becomes a leader in pork processing in Australia. We will add important brands to our portfolio to create strong conditions to accelerate the growth of the value-added and branded businesses in the country, in addition to strengthening our export platform,” said Gilberto Tomazoni, JBS global CEO, in a statement released back in June.