Headlines

Ample Foods has closed a $2 million round of seed funding led by San Francisco-based venture capital group Slow Ventures.

Hood River Juice Company, owner of Ryan’s brand apple juices and ciders, says a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month was “completely unexpected” and that it has taken action to correct past violations.

Monster Energy reported a rise in net sales in the first quarter of 2018, but a significant drop in gross profits has left investors pessimistic about year-end margins for the energy drink company.

Ugly Drinks, an United Kingdom-based sparkling water brand, is launching in the U.S. on May 14 via a direct-to-consumer ecommerce platform and at independent retailers in the New York metro area.

The New York-based flavor and fragrance giant announced on Monday its plans to acquire Israeli flavors and natural ingredients firm Frutarom for $7.1 billion -- its biggest purchase to date. The deal would boost IFF to a second-place spot in the global natural flavors market, seeing as 75 percent of Frutarom’s sales are in natural.

Non-prescription sleep aid Dream Water has been acquired by Vancouver, Canada-based cannabis company Harvest One for approximately $26.7 million (C$34.5 million).

Nestlé S.A. has acquired the global rights to sell packaged retail products from coffee giant Starbucks Corporation for $7.15 billion plus additional royalties.

The USDA published a proposed rule to establish standards for the disclosure of bioengineered foods on packages in places where consumers can easily find them. However, the long-awaited proposal leaves industry leaders with just as many questions as it does answers.

As the sparkling water and protein drink categories both continue to expand, David Jenkins, a former Olympic sprinter and founder of protein products brand NEXT Nutrition, is looking to marry the two with his latest venture.

Irvine, Calif.-based True Drinks Holdings, Inc., the maker of the children’s flavored water beverage AquaBall has lost its president and CFO and reduced its staff to two full-time employees as it explores a potential sale of its remaining assets, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Massachusetts-based botanical essence water brand Blossom Water has unveiled new packaging and a reformulation reducing the amount of sugar from 11 g to 5 g per bottle, removing erythritol and agave, and adding probiotics.