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INDIA – The Hain Celestial Group, a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India has announced the establishment of a strategic joint venture between Future Consumer Limited and its subsidiary Hain Tilda India Private Limited.
BANGLADESH – International Beverages Private Limited, a division of The Coca‑Cola Company, has inaugurated a new plant in Bangladesh as part of a planned $74 million investment in the country.
INDIA – Diageo was considering raising its majority stake in Indian whisky producer United Spirits, people familiar with the matter said, as the British maker of Johnnie Walker scotch strengthens its hold on the Asian country’s growing liquor market.
CHINA – Chinese pork imports are set to remain heavy for the years to come, thanks to the high cost of domestic production, and the fact that official hog herd figures may be significantly overstated, US officials said.
AUSTRALIA – The drop in Australian sorghum prices, which has already fostered ideas of a drop of at least 25% in sowings, may have further to go, Nidera said, warning that values were still too high to attract Chinese demand.
UK – Tesco and Yeo Valley have joined forces to create a delicious new yogurt variety to help tackle food waste and support food redistribution charity, FareShare.
INDIA – French nutrition and dairy major Danone India, which launched its global flagship infant formula brand Aptamil in India, believes 2017 will be critical year to accelerate its growth in the country.
SWITZERLAND – Nestle, the largest food company in the world, reportedly has its eye on expanding its empire with the acquisition of baby food maker Mead Johnson Nutrition.
INDIA – Uber is bringing its on-demand food delivery service, UberEATS, to India three years after it piloted in Los Angeles.
USA – Despite being the leader in the US pizza delivery business with a 28 percent share, Domino’s still sees “substantial” opportunity for growth, said Patrick Doyle, president and CEO of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company.
JAPAN – Two of Japan’s biggest conglomerates are planning huge expansion of their ‘beef bowl’ fast food chains across China in order to compensate for low growth in a saturated Japanese marketplace.
CHINA – China National Chemical Corp., or ChemChina, said Friday it has sought the U.S. antitrust regulator’s approval for its planned US$43 billion acquisition of Swiss crop protection and seed group Syngenta.
ITALY – Parmalat activist investor Amber Capital believes the price of a buyout offer by France’s Lactalis undervalues the Italian dairy group and won’t be tendering its three per cent stake.
SRI LANKA – International beverage company Coca-Cola has expressed their interest in setting up a production hub in Sri Lanka, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
INDIA – Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCBL), the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in India, is setting up two greenfield plants at Ahmedabad and Nellore with an investment of Rs1,000 crore ($146.82m), a top official said.
USA – Four months wasn’t long enough for some in the food industry to figure out how they want the FDA to define “healthy” for use on food labels, so the agency has extended the comment deadline on the topic for another three months.
USA – Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Crosswind Industries, Inc., a Kansas-based producer of dry-expanded, dual-texture, semi-dry and semi-moist treat products for pets.
GERMANY – Franklin Foods Holdings (Franklin), the World’s fastest growing cream cheese company, announced today of its acquisition by Hochland SE, a privately-held Bavaria, Germany-based cheese company.
USA – North Dakota’s state-owned flour mill is undergoing a more than $27 million expansion that will make it the largest wheat-grinding factory in the U.S., its chief executive said.
UK – In response to consumer demand for less packaging, Dutch fruit and veg supplier Nature & More and Swedish supermarket ICA have joined forces to run a trial to replace sticky labels on organic avocados and sweet potatoes with a laser mark.
SWITZERLAND – Swiss equipment solutions provider Bühler has formed a joint venture with a leading Dutch company that specializes in growing and processing of insects to boost the company’s capacity ‘to take the company to the next level.’
UAE – French gourmet burger chain Big Fernand is planning to significantly increase its footprint in the Middle East region after the opening of its first Dubai location in December.
USA – Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited, announced it plans to take steps to improve the productivity of its leading soybean processing footprint in the Eastern United States.
INDIA – OmniActive Health Technologies, which supplies ingredients to the healthcare and food industries, has acquired 85 per cent stake in Bengaluru-based fragrance and specialty chemicals maker Indfrag for an undisclosed amount.
