Diageo Supplier to Idle 2 Kentucky Whiskey Distilleries
MGP Ingredients, a key supplier to Diageo and other spirit makers, will idle its Limestone Branch and Lux Row Kentucky distilleries starting May 1, with the pause expected to last at least a year. The shutdown will affect 33 employees, though warehousing, bottling and barrel programs will continue. The move reflects a broader structural oversupply in the American whiskey market, where production fell 28% year‑over‑year in the first eight months of 2025. MGP’s own branded bourbon sales remained flat, partially offsetting a 52% drop in its distilling‑solution business.
Tyson to Close Hillshire Brands Plant in Georgia
Tyson Foods announced the closure of its Hillshire Brands plant in Rome, Georgia, effective May 31, affecting 168 employees. The facility, acquired in the 2014 $8.5 billion Hillshire deal, had been producing Nature Valley granola bars for General Mills under a single‑customer...
Tetra Pak Launching $22M Facility to Support Food, Beverage Innovation
Swedish packaging giant Tetra Pak has broken ground on a $22 million innovation facility at its Denton, Texas campus, adjacent to its U.S./Canada headquarters. The new 12,000‑sq‑ft product development center and 3,000‑sq‑ft customer innovation space will double the site’s R&D capacity and...
Hershey’s CEO Stays ‘Hungry’ for Growth as Snack Giant Outpaces Rivals
Hershey reported 2025 sales of $11.7 billion, up 4.4 % as it outpaces rivals like Conagra and Kraft Heinz. CEO Kirk Tanner emphasizes the "next‑generation of snacking," blending legacy brands such as Hershey’s and Reese’s with newer better‑for‑you products like SkinnyPop and...
The New Flavor Pipeline: How Social Media Is Rewriting the Rules of Food and Beverage Innovation
Social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have collapsed the traditional multi‑year flavor development cycle into a matter of weeks, turning a single viral video into a market‑wide demand surge. The Dubai Chocolate Bar’s rapid ascent from regional novelty...
How AI Is Changing Food Supply Chains
Food manufacturers are turning to AI to overcome pandemic‑induced supply chain volatility, especially for perishable goods. CookUnity, a chef‑to‑consumer meal subscription service, now uses AI to lift its sales‑forecast accuracy from roughly 55% to 80‑90%, enabling precise, temperature‑controlled deliveries. The...
How Kraft Heinz’s NFL Deal Could Help the Marketer Get Back on Track
Kraft Heinz has signed a five‑year deal to become the NFL’s first global condiment partner, integrating brands like Heinz, Kraft and Velveeta into game‑day experiences. The partnership, launching with a Draft Week activation in Pittsburgh, is designed to boost the...
Food Industry Moves Toward Transparency with Smarter Barcodes
SmartLabel, the QR‑code based product‑labeling platform, now covers over 106,000 SKUs from more than 1,000 brands, delivering 22 million consumer interactions a year with an average 90‑second page view. The initiative follows GS1’s Sunrise 2027 project, which aims to add 2‑D barcodes...
Constellation Brands Buys Hopwtr, Expands Nonalcoholic Portfolio
Constellation Brands has completed the acquisition of Hopwtr, the hop‑flavored non‑alcoholic sparkling water brand it had partially owned since 2021. The deal gives Constellation full ownership and keeps Hopwtr’s production and distribution unchanged, while integrating its team. Hopwtr, launched in...
How Mondelēz Is Adding More ‘Razzle-Dazzle’ to Easter and Beyond
Mondelēz International reports that its seasonal candy segment, which accounts for 20% of its overall confectionery portfolio, drove all category growth in 2025. The company has turned brands like Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish and Oreo into holiday staples by introducing new shapes,...
How Impedance Sensors Are Changing the Rules of Visibility
Impedance sensors are revolutionizing clean‑in‑place (CIP) monitoring by delivering real‑time, three‑parameter fingerprints of rinse water. Unlike turbidity or conductivity alone, they capture conductivity, capacitance and temperature to pinpoint residual soils. This precision lets brewers halt rinses the instant equipment is...
Unilever in Talks to Sell Food Business to McCormick
Unilever confirmed it is in advanced talks to sell its global food business to McCormick & Co., a move that would shift the maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise toward its faster‑growing personal‑care division. Bloomberg values the food unit at roughly $33 billion,...
After Funding Collapse, What’s Next for Food Startups?
After a wave of over‑funded plant‑based meat and indoor‑farming startups collapsed, legacy food giants such as PepsiCo and Cargill are reshaping their venture‑capital strategy. Executives say the market was flooded with money, funding ideas regardless of viability. With capital now...
General Mills Revives Taco Shell Maker La Tiara
General Mills is reviving La Tiara, the Kansas City‑origin taco‑shell brand it bought for $10 million, and will sell the products nationwide for the first time through Walmart starting in April. The company is reopening the Gladstone, Missouri plant, creating more than...
Kraft Heinz Leans Into Fiber, Protein Craze with New Mac and Cheese
Kraft Heinz unveiled PowerMac, a new mac and cheese enriched with 17 grams of protein and six grams of fiber, effectively doubling the protein and sextupling the fiber of the classic product. The proprietary noodles were developed over a year and...
Preventing the Next Grain Dust Disaster: Lessons From Didion Milling
The May 31, 2017 explosions at Didion Milling’s corn‑processing plant killed five workers, injured fourteen, and razed the facility, underscoring the lethal potential of combustible dust in grain operations. Grain processors operate in Class II, Division 1 (CIID1) environments where explosive dust concentrations are...
Babybel Parent Spending $200M to Expand Cheese Production Amid Protein Boom
Bel Group is allocating $200 million to double its Babybel cheese plant in Brookings, South Dakota, boosting annual capacity to 20,000 tons and creating 150 jobs. The expansion, the largest U.S. investment in the company’s history, is timed to meet projected demand...
George Clooney Regroups with Casamigos Founders on New Nonalcoholic Beer
Hollywood actor George Clooney reunites with Casamigos co‑founders Mike Meldman and Rande Gerber to launch Crazy Mountain, a non‑alcoholic beer. The 65‑calorie lager and lime variants will debut in select markets in 2026, using a brewing process that never removes...
Nestlé USA Enters At-Home Condiments Space with New Sauce Brand
Nestlé USA is launching Minor’s Kitchen, a chef‑inspired sauce line, marking the company’s first consumer culinary brand in the United States. The four‑flavor assortment—Lemon Garlic Aioli, Creamy Korean BBQ, Spicy Chili Truffle, and American Smokehouse—targets the fast‑growing at‑home condiment market,...
Hi-Chew Owner to Buy My/Mochi Ice Cream
Morinaga & Co., the Japanese maker of Hi‑Chew, announced an agreement to acquire My/Mochi, the United States' largest mochi‑ice‑cream brand, for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives Morinaga a full‑scale foothold in the fast‑growing U.S. frozen‑dessert market, leveraging My/Mochi’s $80 million...
Mondelēz CEO Says M&A Is Harder as Acquisition Targets Become ‘Too Expensive’
Food companies are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions to revive growth, pushing target valuations higher and making deals more expensive, Mondelēz International’s CEO warned. Mondelēz, which has completed about a dozen deals in the past decade, says reasonable pricing...
B&G Foods Sells Green Giant Frozen Line
B&G Foods has sold its Green Giant U.S. frozen vegetable line to Seneca Foods for an undisclosed sum, including the Yuma, Arizona manufacturing facility. The transaction follows B&G's earlier sale of the Green Giant canned business, reuniting frozen and shelf‑stable...
Hormel to Sell Off Thanksgiving Turkey Assets
Hormel Foods is divesting its whole‑bird turkey business to Life‑Science Innovations, with the transaction slated to close at the end of Hormel’s second quarter. The deal transfers a Minnesota production facility, feed mill, transportation assets and farmer‑supply contracts, while Hormel...
Craft Brewer Tilray Inks Licensing Agreement for Carlsberg Beer in the US
Tilray Brands, a leading U.S. craft brewer, signed a five‑year licensing agreement with Carlsberg Group to produce, market, and sell Carlsberg’s core beer portfolio in the United States starting in 2027, with an automatic renewal clause. The deal covers Carlsberg,...
Kraft Heinz Replaces North American President with Kellanova Exec
Kraft Heinz announced that former Kellanova leader Nicolas Amaya will replace Pedro Navio as president of its North American business, effective Feb. 22. The move follows CEO Steve Cahillane’s decision to pause a planned corporate break‑up and signals a renewed focus...
PepsiCo’s CMO on How Its Super Bowl Strategy Informs 2026 Growth Plans
PepsiCo used its Super Bowl 60 advertising slate to spotlight three growth engines—Pepsi Zero Sugar, Lay’s and the newly‑acquired prebiotic soda Poppi—while also delivering off‑screen experiences like a Doritos food truck and Tostitos cantina. The campaign helped Zero Sugar post over...
Familiar Faces: Why Food and Beverage Companies Are Bringing Back Former CEOs
Amid a volatile market, three major food and beverage firms—Boston Beer, Simply Good Foods, and Hormel—have reinstated former CEOs Jim Koch, Joe Scalzo, and Jeffrey Ettinger. The boards cite the leaders’ prior growth records as a source of stability while...
Wonder Bread Maker Taking ‘Comprehensive Review’ of Business Amid Slump
Flowers Foods, the maker of Wonder Bread, announced a multiyear comprehensive review of its operations as traditional loaf sales lag behind the broader category. The company projects 2026 net sales of $5.2‑$5.3 billion, essentially flat or down up to 1.8% year‑over‑year....
Constellation Brands Taps Former Suntory Exec as CEO
Constellation Brands announced that board member Nicholas Fink will assume the role of president and chief executive officer on April 13, 2026, succeeding Bill Newlands. Fink brings a decade of experience at Fortune Brands Innovation and nine years at Suntory,...
