Nestlé U.S. invests in regenerative agriculture practices in DiGiorno wheat supply chain
Nestlé U.S. is investing to help bring regenerative agriculture practices to wheat farms within its DiGiorno pizza brand supply chain.
The company is helping wheat farmers employ regenerative agriculture practices in their fields through a combination of financial support and technical resources and assistance. These practices include planting cover crops, eliminating or reducing tillage, and reducing the use of pesticides, which can help improve soil health and soil fertility, protect water resources and enhance biodiversity.
This initiative will bring regenerative agriculture practices to over 40,000 hectares of farmland – the size of more than 53,000 football fields and nearly double the amount of land needed to grow the wheat used in its DiGiorno pizzas. Through partnerships with ADM and Ardent Mills – two primary wheat flour suppliers for DiGiorno – Nestlé’s investment will benefit wheat farms across Kansas, North Dakota, Indiana and Missouri. The work will help the company accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture in its supply chains.
“At Nestlé our aim is to help leave the world better than we found it, and as the world’s largest food and beverage company, we have a tremendous opportunity to help create a regenerative, healthy food system while also working with the local farming communities that employ it,” said Steve Presley, CEO, Nestlé Zone North America.
“To do this we need to find solutions that create shared value throughout the ecosystem – value for us, value for farmers, value for consumers, and value for the planet. This investment in wheat producers is just one example of how we are bringing this commitment to life across our supply chain.”
Today, nearly two-thirds of Nestlé’s global greenhouse gas emissions come from sourcing ingredients, which is rooted in agriculture. As part of its detailed roadmap to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the company aims to source 20% of its key ingredients through regenerative agricultural methods by 2025, and 50% of its key ingredients by 2030.
The Coca-Cola Company and bottling partners create sustainability-focused venture capital fund
The Coca-Cola Company and eight bottling partners from around the world have announced the closing of a new, $137.7 million venture capital fund focusing on sustainability investments.
Greycroft, a seed-to-growth venture capital firm, will manage the Greycroft Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund. The fund is the first of its kind for Greycroft, which invests in enterprise and consumer solutions across life cycles and industries.
The Coca-Cola system’s carbon footprint is a major priority for the fund, so it will focus on five key areas with the most potential impact to start: packaging, heating and cooling, facility decarbonization, distribution, and supply chain.
“This fund offers an opportunity to pioneer innovative solutions and help scale them quickly within the Coca-Cola system and across the industry,” said John Murphy, president and Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. “We expect to benefit from getting access to emerging technology and science for sustainability and carbon reduction.”
The fund will seek to invest in companies at the point of commercialization. For Greycroft, partnering with the Coca-Cola system presents an attractive opportunity to help scale innovations alongside some of the top bottling operations in the world.
“The market for sustainable supply chain and manufacturing technology has continued to grow as consumer brands rise to meet the demands of environmentally conscious customers,” said Dana Settle, Greycroft co-founder and managing partner. “Greycroft has an ‘invest anywhere’ approach that we believe allows us to identify promising startups with climate tech solutions ready to scale.”
The fund’s $137.7 million in capital comes primarily from $15 million of committed capital from each of the following companies: The Coca-Cola Company, Arca Continental, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. UNITED, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola HBC, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, and Swire Coca-Cola.
Together, these bottlers represent nearly half of Coca-Cola system volume around the world.
The system has a long history of investment in sustainability-focused projects that continue to make a difference in issues of global importance. For example:
- In Latin America, The Coca-Cola Company and Arca Continental have invested in leading recycled PET processing company PetStar; Coca-Cola FEMSA has invested in IMER and a high-tech PET recycling plant, PLANETA.
- In the Philippines, Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines and Indorama Ventures invested in PETValue, the largest PET recycling plant in the country.
- In Indonesia, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Dynapack invested in the Amandina PET recycled content production facility; in Australia, as part of a cross-industry partnership with Cleanaway, Asahi Beverages and Pact Group, CCEP has invested in PET plastic recycling and production facilities.
- In Europe, The Coca-Cola Company provided Ioniqa with a loan to help develop technology to transform mixed-color, partly contaminated PET waste into clear, food-grade PET.
- CCEP, through CCEP Ventures, has invested in recycling start-up CuRe Technology, which uses polyester rejuvenation to target plastics that cannot be recycled by mechanical recycling methods and prevents them from being incinerated, downcycled or sent to landfill.
- Coca-Cola HBC has invested in in-house rPET production in Italy, Poland and Romania, while implementing a transition to 100% rPET portfolios in Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Similar transitions in Romania and the Island of Ireland are planned for later this year.
- Several system bottlers have issued green bonds, including Arca Continental, Coca-Cola FEMSA and Coca-Cola HBC.
- Swire Coca-Cola has invested in establishing the first food-grade ready plastic recycling facility in Hong Kong.
Uncorking the potential of wine labeling
Running alongside the hotly anticipated upcoming edition of Labelexpo Europe 2023, where the label and package printing industry can meet, buy, network and learn, are three in-depth specialist master classes covering flexible packaging, sustainable labels and packaging, and wine labeling technology.
Label printers interested in moving into the competitive and highly lucrative wine sector, as well as suppliers, brand owners and designers, can find out everything they need to know to become successful; from choosing the right specialist inks and coatings, papers, substrates and machinery, to understanding current/incoming EU regulations, the various wine label embellishment techniques and, ultimately, designing the perfect wine label.
Organised by the Label Academy, the popular global training program for the label and package printing industry, this five-hour hour master class will open on Thursday 14 September with an introduction to wine labeling given by Stefano Pistoni, senior manager, business development, wine, spirits & beverage, EMEIA region, UPM Raflatac. He will highlight label design trends in the global wine market and consumer trends.
This session is followed by Dr Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, general secretary, CEEV (European Committee of Wine Companies) who will give an overview of the new EU wine label regulations, including CAP reform and using QR codes to inform wine labeling.
Susana Fajardo, product manager, wine, spirit & craft beer, for substrate experts Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives, will present the next session, covering the various wine label paper types.
Mark Walkling, product manager, ECP Packaging & Narrow Web Labels, Europe, Sun Chemical, will then cover specialist inks and coatings such as tactile and soft touch.
Andy Thomas-Emans, Labelexpo Global Series’ strategic director, will give an overview of wine label printing technology, including intermittent and offset label printing, digital printing and flexo/hybrid printing.
This leads into the next session, which examines wine label finishing and embellishment technologies, and given by Uffe Nielsen, CEO, GM. Stéphane Royère, head of business area, packaging and print, Kurz, will then delve further into embellishment techniques. This includes metallic decoration solutions, hot stamping and digital foiling.
Opinions sought on proposed additional investigatory powers for UK’s National Food Crime Unit
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a new consultation seeking opinion from the public, public health professionals and food sector partners on proposed additional investigatory powers for the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU).
This consultation asks for views on NFCU’s access to limited further additional powers that would allow food crime officers to be lawfully on premises and assist with searches, following an arrest by the police.
This follows on from last year’s consultation on enhanced investigatory powers for the NFCU. Responses were broadly supportive.
The FSA is seeking to secure further appropriate legal powers for the NFCU which are said to be critical if they are to investigate food crime effectively, with autonomy and independence, and to reduce the dependency of support on partners such as local authorities and the police.
FSA’s Acting Head of the NFCU, Andrew Quinn said: “We’ve launched this consultation as we want to protect consumers and businesses from food fraud more effectively. This additional power of search and entry would be a vital tool to make sure that investigations can be progressed more directly, while also freeing up local police services so their vital resources can be diverted to other priorities.
“At the same time any use of these powers of entry and search will be restrained, focusing on effective regulation to prevent and detect food crime, and subject to robust controls and external scrutiny. We remain committed to using any enhanced powers in a proportionate way that keeps the public safe, with strengthened safeguards and oversight arrangements to guard against their abuse. We encourage everyone who wants to have their say to respond so that they can inform our work in the future.”
The NFCU currently relies on a partnership agreement with the National Police Chiefs’ Council that provides support as an interim measure. If the NFCU are granted section 18 powers of search and entry, while a police presence is still likely to be needed in case arrests are required, this would be much smaller. Additional powers are considered to be a more sustainable long-term solution and would strengthen the NFCU’s ability to tackle food fraud and protect the consumer.
The NFCU is the law enforcement unit of the FSA and it tackles serious, organised, or complex cases of crime in relation to food. Its role is to detect, investigate and disrupt serious fraud and related criminality within food supply chains, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Stakeholders in England and Wales are invited to respond to the four-week consultation. Separate legislation governing investigatory powers applies in Northern Ireland. The FSA intends to hold a consultation for Northern Ireland in due course.
This consultation does not apply to Scotland, where Food Standards Scotland’s dedicated Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit is responsible for delivering the food crime response.
Have your say by 6 August.
Arla Foods explores fibre-based caps for milk cartons
Dairy cooperative Arla Foods is teaming up with Blue Ocean Closures in a formal partnership to create a fibre-based cap for its milk cartons. This could be a first in the dairy industry and would reduce Arla’s plastic consumption by more than 500 tonnes annually if implemented.
The cardboard milk carton is a well-known classic in several countries and while the packaging has undergone several transformations over the years and is now a near-optimal choice in terms of food safety and sustainability, the time has come to completely rethink a small yet significant part; the cap.
Making up for around 23 per cent of the plastic used in Arla’s cartons, the farmer-owned dairy cooperative has set its sights on the caps as part of its sustainable packaging strategy to eliminate use of fossil-based virgin plastic in its packaging by 2030.
“Improving our packaging, including reducing our use of plastic, is imperative to us and we know that consumers are also very invested in this area. This project to explore what could very well be the first fibre-based cap on milk cartons is very exciting and shows that we at Arla are constantly looking to improve and lead the transformation of sustainable packaging,” says chief commercial officer at Arla Foods, Peter Giørtz-Carlsen.
The cap has a body made of sustainably sourced FSC fibre material combined with a thin barrier coating. Using advanced, proprietary vacuum press forming, this allows for a cap that is biobased, ocean biodegradable and recyclable as paper.
Lars Sandberg, CEO at Blue Ocean Closures, states: “We are delighted to work with Arla, acting as a frontrunner to create a real difference in packaging sustainability. With increased fibre content, the solution will increase recyclability, starting in Scandinavia and paving the way for global change.”
Part owner of Blue Ocean Closures, ALPLA Group is involved in the technical development and Christian Zmölnig, director corporate research, development and innovation, says: “As part of ALPLA’s important strategic development in the circular economy, we see great potential in this collaboration between Arla and Blue Ocean Closures.”
With funding from Arla Foods, the plan is now to develop a fully functional prototype and complete the testing phase by start of next year.
ADM acquires Prairie Pulse
ADM, a leader in agricultural origination and processing and supply chain management, has acquired Prairie Pulse, owners of a pulse crop cleaning, milling and packaging facility in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada.
“Everything at ADM starts with the farmer,” said ADM commercial manager Aaron Brown. “Their success is our success, and we’re excited to strengthen our relationships with Canadian pulse growers through the acquisition of Prairie Pulse.
“We’ll be reaching out to producers about ADM’s unique array of tools and resources to help them manage and grow their businesses – including our access to global markets, our work to create value for sustainable farming practices, and our technology partnerships.”
“This addition also expands our capabilities to meet the needs of our downstream customers, who are increasingly looking at pulses as protein sources for both human and animal nutrition products,” Brown added.
“The enduring global trends of sustainability and food security are powering growth in alternative proteins, and ADM is continuing to invest to ensure we’re at the forefront of meeting those needs.
“We look forward to working with farmers and the great team at Prairie Pulse to expand employment opportunities in Vanscoy and enhance our capability to supply the growing demand for pulse products.”
Prairie Pulse’s operations in Vanscoy – which include origination, 12,000 MT of bulk storage, cleaning, milling, sorting, sizing and bagging – will double ADM’s pulse footprint in the region. The pulse dehulling and splitting facility transforms lentils, chickpeas and peas into shelf- and food-ready products for domestic and international consumption.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Prairie Pulse, our staff, and customers,” said Prairie Pulse president and CEO Allan Wagner.
“ADM is a global leader in agribusiness, transportation and processing, as well as the fast-growing alternative protein sector that our products serve. I’m excited, honored and proud to join the ADM team, whose guidance, strength and leadership will be a tremendous boost to our efforts to maintain, expand and grow our business.”
ADM’s current services and operations in Saskatchewan include pulse origination and cleaning in North Battleford, canola crushing in Lloydminster, oilseed sourcing in Watson, and fertilizer sales and distribution in Lajord and Yorkton.
Treasury Wine Estates to close Victoria winery
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has announced changes to its Karadoc commercial winery in Victoria, Australia, meaning the site will close by mid-2024. TWE’s wine brands will continue to be made locally, however.
The company says a number of factors led to the decision including a global decline in commercial wine consumption, rising costs and under-utilised capacity at the site. “Making the decision to close a site is something we take very seriously and is a last resort after we’ve looked at all other possible options. We’re committed to assisting our team members to find future employment and continuing to support the local winemaking industry,” TWE chief supply officer Kerrin Petty said. The Karadoc winery has been in operation since 1973 and currently makes wine for TWE brands including 19 Crimes, Lindeman’s, Wolf Blass, and Yellowglen. These brands will continue to be made with long-standing local TWE winemaking partners Zilzie Wines and Qualia, and at TWE’s Barossa winery in South Australia. The company also plans to divest its commercial vineyards in Lake Cullulleraine (north-west Victoria) and Yankabilly (south-west New South Wales). “We continually review our global vineyard assets to ensure they’re in the best possible places to grow our premium and luxury portfolio,” said Petty. “A number of factors contribute to our shifting vineyard footprint including changing consumer trends and wine preferences as well environmental changes such as higher temperatures and reduced access to water. “This has meant divesting some of our vineyard assets but also looking at opportunities to expand our footprint in new locations for future growth. “Last year we acquired Beenak Vineyard in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, as well as Château Lanessan in Bordeaux, France and we hope to share further updates in this space soon,” he said.Emmi divests the Gläserne Molkerei
The Emmi Group is divesting the Gläserne Molkerei, a northeast German-based company specialising in the production of regional organic dairy products, to Mutares with headquarters in Munich.
The transaction is consistent with the Group’s ongoing portfolio transformation and focus on profitable strategic markets and niches such as ready-to-drink coffee, speciality cheeses, premium chilled desserts and plant-based dairy alternatives. The Gläserne Molkerei generated sales of around EUR 100 million with over 120 employees in 2022.
“The new ownership structure creates sustainable future prospects for the Gläserne Molkerei with its high-quality range of organic dairy products and enables Emmi to continue to implement its strategy of focus,” said Ricarda Demarmels, CEO of the Emmi Group.
After a thorough review of various options and intensive discussions with a range of interested parties, Emmi has decided to divest the Gläserne Molkerei to Mutares, a company specialising in turnaround situations. Mutares has a track record of putting companies back on the road to success, both operationally and strategically, thus creating attractive prospects for employees, trading partners, consumers and suppliers alike.
Completion of the sale is subject to approval by the responsible competition authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Mars acquires Kevin’s Natural Foods
Mars has signed an agreement to acquire Kevin’s Natural Foods, a high-growth, nutritious meal company, to join its brands in the Mars Food & Nutrition segment.
Kevin’s makes chef-inspired sous-vide meals, sides, and sauces. Using whole foods and simple ingredients, it meets the needs of today’s busy consumers by helping them eat healthier food within minutes, without sacrificing on bold world flavors.
Kevin’s has enjoyed double-digit growth since it was founded in 2019 and is now available across 17,000+ retail locations, from grocery stores and supermarkets, through to digital commerce. Kevin’s Natural Foods will operate as a standalone business within Mars Food & Nutrition, reporting to its president, Shaid Shah.
Kevin’s Natural Foods will play a key role in Mars Food & Nutrition’s ongoing journey to enable delicious, healthier eating to be part of consumers’ daily lives. Kevin’s products will complement Mars Food & Nutrition’s core portfolio and recent product innovations.
Shaid Shah, global president, Mars Food & Nutrition, said: “We are excited to welcome Kevin’s Natural Foods to the Mars Food & Nutrition family of businesses. We have been hugely inspired by Kevin’s, a business whose mission fits squarely with our purpose: Better Food Today. A Better World Tomorrow.
“Kevin’s products are of a very high quality, nutritious, and convenient, without compromising on flavor, and are enjoyed by an engaged and loyal customer base across North America.
“The Kevin’s Natural Foods team has delivered impressive growth since it was founded four years ago, and we look forward to drawing on our experience of nurturing and scaling founder-led brands to help bring their products to even more people.”
Co-founded by Dan Costa, Kelsie Costa-Olson, and Kevin McCray, Kevin’s Natural Foods was born out of Kevin’s desire to be healthier himself, as well as to help other people eat well. Founded in 2019, the company is headquartered in Modesto, California, and has approximately 180 employees, with products currently sold in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Mexico.
Kevin McCray, president and co-founder of Kevin’s Natural Foods, said: “Mars Food & Nutrition shares our vision and passion for the role food plays in people’s lives. We founded Kevin’s with the mission to empower even the busiest people to eat nutritious, great tasting meals in minutes.
“Joining the Mars Food & Nutrition portfolio of brands will allow us to accelerate the development of more product innovations and support our mission of bringing Kevin’s to more consumers across markets.”
“As a standalone business within Mars Food & Nutrition, we’ll be able to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and authenticity of our brand while getting the support and capabilities to continue our long-term growth journey. It’s a tremendous milestone for Kevin’s Natural Foods and our team, and we’re excited for what’s ahead,” Dan Costa, CEO and co-founder of Kevin’s, added.
This acquisition includes an exit of Kevin’s minority partners, TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P., an international investment management firm, and NewRoad Capital Partners.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and expected to close in the third quarter of 2023. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
olam food ingredients turns cocoa shells into power to fuel factory
Two circular biomass boilers have entered operation at olam food ingredients’ (ofi’s) cocoa processing factories in the Netherlands and Germany, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The boilers use cocoa shells, a by-product of the production process, as fuel to generate steam, which in turn powers the crafting of cocoa ingredients from ofi’s premium brand, deZaan, at its factories in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands, and in Mannheim, Germany – where it believes it will be the first cocoa shell boiler of its kind in the country.
The boiler at Koog aan de Zaan was partly funded by a subsidy from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and took over four years from concept to completion. It will reduce natural gas usage and CO2 emissions at the facility by 50%. In 2022 alone, ofi used 8,000 tons of residual cocoa shells to generate green energy equivalent to using 3.4 million cubic meters of natural gas, helping cut absolute CO2 emissions at the facility by 23%. This is the equivalent of warming over 3,000 Dutch houses per year.
The second boiler at ofi’s factory in Mannheim has been developed through a joint venture with energy company MVV. It has the potential to provide up to 90% of the steam needed to power the facility, saving approximately 8,000 tons of CO2 annually. The new roll-out adds to the circular biomass shell boilers used in ofi cocoa factories in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, and Singapore.