Tate & Lyle Receives a Top ESG Corporate Rating from ISS
CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2023 /CNW/ – Tate & Lyle, a world leader in ingredient solutions for healthier food and beverages, is pleased to announce that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has upgraded its Environmental, Social and Governance
DUBLIN, Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The “Global Mascarpone Cheese Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Distribution Channel, By Type, By Application (Food & Beverages, Food Service Industry, and Retail
AMSTERDAM, Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center has partnered with technology provider Leanpath in a new effort to reduce its food waste by 50 percent. The
Datassential Fuses Food and Beverage Expertise with AI Legacy to Eliminate Guesswork in Predicting Future Trends
CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ Datassential, the leading food and beverage intelligence platform connecting the dots between consumers and the food industry, seamlessly blends its two decades of historical data and AI expertise to offer unparalleled future flavor and ingredient predictions. Datassential first debuted its AI-powered trend forecast solution, Menucast, formerly Haiku, in 2018. Through continuous improvements and upgrades, Menucast can predict the future of flavor and ingredient trends with 98% accuracy. “Since we’ve been in the food trend prediction game significantly longer than anyone else, we’ve had time to optimize our algorithms for the utmost accuracy,” said Emily Tang, Datassential’s SVP of Product Management. While AI has gotten a lot of attention recently, the key to optimizing AI to predict the future of food trends requires extensive knowledge about the past, and frequent, regular input from subject matter experts to guide AI to attain the highest level of accuracy. Datassential is the only company that can connect the dots from pre-COVID to post-COVID, and allow clients to see with certainty, for example, if an ingredient is growing or merely reverting to pre-pandemic levels. And Menucast is constantly being evolved to ensure accurate predictions of ingredients and flavors in the future. “A lot of companies can tell me what’s going on with my brand now or in the past, but I have always looked for what’s going to happen in the future,” said Adam Friedman, Foodservice Sales Director for Mexilink Inc., the U.S. distributor and salesforce for Tajín USA. “That type of information is incredibly actionable. I had no idea the AI tool was that powerful.” Menucast is currently available to subscribers of Datassential’s Menu and Consumer package. To learn more, reach out here. About Datassential Datassential is the leading global food and beverage intelligence platform providing guidance on trends, competitive benchmarking, and sales intelligence. Through a suite of AI-powered solutions, an intuitive UI, and proprietary data, the food and beverage ecosystem relies on Datassential to more effectively develop, market, and sell their products. Founded in 2001, Datassential powers insights and sales intelligence for brands including Burger King, DoorDash, General Mills, Land O’ Lakes, Pepsi, Starbucks, Target, and more. Media ContactDatassential Media Teammedia@datassential.com Source Datassential
Smart Snacking Pioneer, Cibo Vita, Welcomes Citation Capital as Its First Outside Shareholder in Majority Stake Acquisition
TOTOWA, N.J., Oct. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Cibo Vita, an award-winning company at the forefront of the smart snacking movement, announced today that Citation Capital, LLC, a next-generation private equity firm specializing in founder and family-led businesses, will acquire a majority interest in its company. Citation will become Cibo Vita’s first outside shareholder. Cibo Vita’s co-founders Emre Imamoglu (CEO) and Ahmet Celik (President) will continue to hold a significant ownership interest. Cibo Vita Since 2009, Cibo Vita has created natural and functional snacks for supermarkets, big box chains, and warehouse clubs nationwide. The company is a leader in producing high-quality, innovative, value-added products. Cibo Vita is headquartered in Totowa, New Jersey, with three manufacturing facilities and employs over 900 individuals. Nature’s Garden is the company’s flagship brand and an industry leader in innovating the smart snacking category with its national presence, focusing on better-for-you snacking. Together, Cibo Vita and Citation will advance the company’s growth trajectory while delivering on the mission of providing smart snacking choices for every household. Citation will work shoulder-to-shoulder with Cibo Vita for continued growth and success. “Our vision in founding Cibo Vita was to bring healthier snacking options to all families, inspired by our Mediterranean roots,” said CEO, Emre Imamoglu. “Throughout our history, we have experienced phenomenal growth, attributed to our innovation capabilities, commitment to quality, and a drive to meet the needs of consumers increasingly seeking healthier functional snacking. We sought out a strategic partner that could help ensure that we stay on the forefront of innovation and who is aligned with our personal core values.” Ahmet Celik, President of Cibo Vita, asserts the importance of seeking a strategic affiliate that aligns with the company’s identity, “We found a differentiated partner in the Citation team, given their resolute focus on performance and deep understanding of the importance of values and culture in founder-led businesses.” “Emre and Ahmet started from an idea, believing that they could bring better snacking habits to North American consumers, and put everything they had into building Cibo Vita into a highly innovative, profitable business that provides value-added services and products to some of the most coveted customers in North America,” said Tiffany K. Hagge, Citation Founder and Managing Partner. “Cibo Vita exemplifies Citation’s investment philosophy in backing fundamentally strong, defensible businesses with exceptional cultures and shared values, helping them to become ‘best in class’ in their segment through strategic partnership, operational excellence, and a relentless focus on execution.” “With its reputation for continuous innovation, exceptional management, and great-tasting products, Cibo Vita is a leader in better-for-you foods. We are thrilled to join Emre, Ahmet, and their team on this journey to further unlock growth opportunities for Cibo Vita’s customers, employees, and suppliers for years to come,” added Lydie Hudson, Co-Founder and President of Citation. Nelson Mullins served as the Company’s legal advisor. Gibson Dunn acted as legal advisor to Citation. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and American Ag Credit will lead the committed financing to support the transaction. Closing of the transaction is expected later this year and is subject to customary regulatory and other conditions. Additional terms were not disclosed. About Cibo VitaCo-founded in 2009 by Emre Imamoglu and Ahmet Celik, Cibo Vita began by producing private-label healthy snack products which consisted of dried fruit and nut combinations for supermarkets nationwide. Nature’s Garden is the company’s flagship brand that launched in 2011, focusing on better-for-you snacking. Cibo Vita features over 1,000 SKUs with various combinations of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, trail mixes, coated nuts, and confectionary. Cibo Vita products are sold in supermarkets, big box stores, drug chains, specialty retailers, and convenience stores as well as warehouse clubs nationwide. The company has won many industry snack food awards including Sofi and Nexty Awards. Imamoglu was awarded with Ernst & Young’s NJ Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2022. Cibo Vita holds the following certifications: Keto, RSPO, UTZ, Kosher, Organic, Paleo, and Gluten-free. Cibo Vita employs over 900 employees in its headquarters and SQF Level II & USDA Organic certified facilities located in Totowa, NJ. For more information, please visit https://www.cibovita.com/. About CitationCitation is a next-generation private equity firm specializing in control investments in founder and family-owned businesses across the Services, Consumer, and Industrial sectors in North America. Founded in 2023, the Firm is built on shared values and a relentless focus on performance, generating value through a hands-on, differentiated approach. Citation is headquartered in Dallas, TX with an office opening in Greenwich, CT. For more information, please visit https://www.citation.capital. Source Citation Capital, LLC
Leading Food Consultancy, The Culinary Edge, Teams Up with McCain Foods USA to Launch Innovative Vegetable Appetizer Line, V’DGZ”
New Frozen Plant-Based Options Offer Deliciously Craveable Meat Replacers SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10, 2023 – The Culinary Edge (TCE), America’s leading food and beverage innovation consultancy, announced today its partnership with McCain Foods USA, a national supplier of frozen potato and snack food products, on the creation of a new vegetable appetizer line. In response to changing consumer preferences, particularly among health-conscious flexitarians, the two companies came together and introduced V’DGZ, a line of plant and vegetable shareables that bring a playful crispy take to menu favorites. Introducing V’DGZ: CAULI WNGZ, CORN RBZ and BRUSSLZ (pictured left to right) V’DGZ highlights “meat replacers” and “plant celebrators” including CAULI WNGZ – large, pickled cauliflower florets with a clear, crispy coating; CORN RBZ – crispy sweet corn on the cob curls in a light hickory-smoked batter and BRUSSLZ – lightly seasoned Brussels sprout halves with a crispy crust. These concepts underwent rigorous evaluation to ensure they would meet the demands of consumers, operators, and manufacturing standards. “Over the last several years, plant and vegetable-based appetizers have seen tremendous growth due to consumers’ evolving perceptions of health, environment, and animal welfare benefits. Our teams were able to leverage this demand for ‘meat replacers’ and create a variety of delicious vegetable-forward alternatives that diners and foodservice operators can enjoy,” said Graham Humphreys, CEO, of The Culinary Edge. “We’re proud to say that the V’DGZ line won the National Restaurant Show’s 2023 FABI award – highlighting how forward-thinking and creative these products are. After a lot of research, collaboration, and hard work, we can confidently say that you do not have to sacrifice flavor or fun when eating plant-based.” The Culinary Edge partners with the best and brightest food and beverage concepts from start to finish. Supporting early startups and established brands from quick-service chains to full-service restaurants, the consultancy group takes its culinary expertise and applies it to hospitality and entertainment brands as well as non-commercial food service operators. For more information about how to partner with TCE please reach out to business-inquiries@theculinaryedge.com. About The Culinary EdgeThe Culinary Edge (TCE) is a San Francisco-based food and beverage innovation consultancy, that fuses culinary excellence and human-centered design for a better future. At TCE you’ll find classically trained chefs working alongside designers, brand planners, operational experts, and food anthropologists. The company’s unique 360-degree process has led them to work with ambitious national brands including Starbucks, First Watch, Buffalo Wild Wings, and the launch of TCE’s own brand, Starbird. To learn more about The Culinary Edge and the team, visit www.theculinaryedge.com. Follow The Culinary Edge on Facebook for the latest news and trends. Contact:Kaitlin BoyleFish Consultingkboyle@fish-consulting.com Source The Culinary Edge