Mars Wrigley robotic kiosk to serve shoppers in store

February 19, 2021

Mars Wrigley and Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative, are teaming up with Savioke, a robotics provider, to introduce a robotic kiosk to deliver…

Innovation In A Crisis Ensures Survival

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed weak spots in some businesses' strategies and forced them to innovate far faster than they might have otherwise. The…

Hershey invests in plant-based startup to grow better-for-you category

February 18, 2021

The Hershey Co. is teaming up with ASR Group, a sweetener company, to co-lead an equity investment in Bonumose, Inc., a start-up company with innovations in…

Koios teams with Beauty Gourmet on canning facility

February 18, 2021

Koios Beverage Corp. is partnering with Beauty Gourmet LLC, a women's functional beverage company, to form Bevcreation LLC, which operates a commercial-scale…

Industry loses Mickey Truck Bodies’ Rocky Barham

February 18, 2021

Rocky Barham, a member of the Mickey Truck Bodies team since 1977, passed away last month after a long illness. He was 64, according to a press release.

PopShop Local to convert unused space into contactless shops for small businesses

February 18, 2021

PopCom, a provider of vending and kiosk solutions, has launched PopShop Local, a program that helps small businesses sell products in hotels, airports and…

Alkaline Water posts 20% Q3 2020 revenue gain, improves loss

February 17, 2021

The Alkaline Water Co. Inc., a producer of bottled alkaline drinking water, flavor-infused waters, and CBD infused products sold under the brand name…

One Rock Capital/Metropoulos to acquire Nestle Waters NA for $4.3B

February 17, 2021

One Rock Capital Partners, LLC, in partnership with Metropoulos & Co., have agreed to purchase Nestlé Waters North America North America, from Nestlé S.A.…

Grupo Bimbo invests in Rule Breaker Snacks

February 16, 2021

Bimbo Ventures, the venture capital arm of Grupo Bimbo with operations in 33 countries, has made a minority investment in Rule Breaker Snacks, according to a…

Nestle to test vegan Kit Kat

February 16, 2021

Vegan Kit Kat anyone?

Water-rights activists oppose Nestle sale of Poland Springs

February 15, 2021

Water-rights activists in Maine are opposing Nestle's potential sale of Poland Spring and other bottled water brands to private-equity firm One Rock Capital…

Why convenience also needs to be personal post-pandemic

by Steve Stollman — owner, www.theAutomat.com

We all love convenience and expect it now in many situations, but It is important to attempt to preserve those personal aspects that we treasure and have often…

UK farms enlist vending machines to offer dairy products

February 15, 2021

Several Gloucestershire, U.K. farmers are selling their products from vending machines, according to a gloucesterlive.co.uk report.

NAMA to combine annual and coffee shows August in New Orleans

February 12, 2021

The National Automatic Merchandising Association will combine its annual NAMA Show with its Coffee Tea & Water Show this year, Aug. 18-20 at the Ernest N.

American Licorice acquires Torie & Howard

February 12, 2021

American Licorice Co., which makes the Red Vines and Sour Punch brands, has acquired the Torie & Howard brand, maker of Torie & Howard Organic Hard…

Flowers Foods Q4 2020 sales and earnings soar

February 12, 2021

Flowers Foods Inc., which owns the Mrs. Freshley's brand, boosted its sales 11.5% from $917.8 million in Q4 2019 to $1.02 billion for the quarter ending Jan.

'Samurai' vending machines literally tell customers to prevent COVID

February 12, 2021

In Japan, where nearly every type of consumable product can be found in a vending machine, samurai-themed vending machines in Shiga Prefecture are playing a…

Hofmann Sausage introduces chicken sausage products

February 12, 2021

Hofmann Sausage Co., a Syracuse, New York-based manufacturer of sausages for the foodservice industry, has introduced chicken sausage in the following flavors…

Kellogg Q4 2020 sales rise but miss analyst projections

February 11, 2021

Kellogg's fourth quarter 2020 net sales rose 7.5% from $3.22 billion in 2019's fourth quarter to $3.46 billion for quarter ending Jan. 2, 2021, aided by an…

PepsiCo Q4 2020 revenue and earnings surge, beat analyst expectations

February 11, 2021

PepsiCo Inc.'s fourth quarter revenue rose 8.8% from $20.6 billion in last year's fourth quarter to $22.4 billion for the quarter ending Dec. 26, 2020.