As the primary focus on most labels, it’s a given that a logo should be a memorable and recognizable symbol of a brand. However, the process of designing a logo is often a difficult path to navigate; every company wants its brand to stand out, but how does a logo most effectively align with what’s inside the bottle?

In a hotel across the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif., about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, Clayton Christopher had dinner with Eric Dopkins to discuss consulting. He didn’t expect to make a hire.

With a stated purpose of establishing “a consistent and enforceable standard for labeling of foods produced using genetic engineering," legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have introduced a new bill that would require mandatory labeling of genetically modified (GMO) foods and ingredients.

Sales of most carbonated soft drinks remain on a downward trend, while bottled water brands posted their worst month in the past year, according to new Nielsen data provided in a report by Wells Fargo Securities.

A new report from the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) states that in 2012, overall consumption of bottled water jumped by 6.2 percent to 9.67 billion gallons, while sales increased by 6.7 percent, totaling $11.8 billion. The statistics were compiled by beverage consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC).

New Leaf Brands, which earlier this year announced plans to expand business operations via strategic acquisitions, has purchased Beverage Network of Maryland, a distributor in the Mid-Atlantic market with 20 brands and over 200 SKUs in its portfolio. New Leaf acquired Beverage Network for $2.9 million in cash and stock, and will retain Morris Stodard as its president.

A new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Information Resources, Inc, (IRI) lists TalkingRain as the top performer among small companies ($100 million to $1 billion in retail sales) in 2012. The study, which analyzed 400 CPG manufacturers with annual revenues of at least $100 million, compared public and private CPG companies through dollar sales growth, volume sales growth and market share gains.