News Briefs

Heineken USA, White Plains, N.Y., was recently named one of the 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America by the Society for Human Resource Management. The list, which included 25 small and 25 medium-sized companies, was released at the annual meeting of the 12,000 member professional association. Results were based on randomly distributed employee opinion surveys measuring aspects of workplace culture.
Pictured: Sue Meisinger, president and chief executive officer of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM); Amy Nenner, vice president of human resources at Heineken USA; Amy Warycha, manager of corporate human resources at Heineken USA; and David Hutchins, SHRM board chairman.
Nestlé SA and The Coca-Cola Co. have created a 50/50 joint venture in Indonesia called Waters Partners Bottling. The companies have acquired a 60 percent share of Indonesian bottled water company PT AdeS Alfindo Putrasetia Tbk (AAPS), the second-largest bottled water company in the country. AAPS produces AdeS, Vica and Desca brands, and owns seven plants in Indonesia.
Charmer-Sunbelt Group has been awarded long-term exclusive distribution rights for Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine North America’s full portfolio of spirits and wine brands in Maryland, Florida and Washington, D.C.
Natural medicine guru Dr. Andrew Weil has established a licensing program for healthy food and beverages; personal care products; healthy home, kitchen and garden products; and healthy pet products. Nancy Bailey & Associates will handle licensing for food and beverage products, and all after-tax proceeds from the products will go to the Weil Foundation to “sustain the vision of integrative medicine through research, education and innovative projects that promote optimum health,” according to Nancy Bailey & Associates.
Euphoria Water Co., Miami, Fla., has added new distributors in California and Nevada, which has the potential to add more than 20,000 accounts to the company’s network. New distribution partners include Matagrano Inc., San Francisco; Mesa Distributing, Sacramento; Mesa Beverage, Santa Rosa, Calif.; Mussetter Distributing, Auburn, Calif.; and Luce & Sons, Reno, Nev. The company also has named Brett Catanzaro to lead its western regional office.
Euphoria Water has exclusive co-branding rights with major national charities including March of Dimes, City of Hope, Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The company donates 20 percent of its profits to charity.
The “Got Milk” advertising campaign will go on without teen stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in light of Mary-Kate’s recent hospitalization for a reported eating disorder. Hugh Williams, director of the Milk Processor Education Program told the Associated Press the twins’ milk mustache magazine ads were retracted due to “sensitivity to their current situation.”
The Pepsi Bottling Group, Somers, N.Y., has agreed to acquire the Auburn, Maine, bottling operations of Seltzer and Rydholm Inc. The purchase includes a production, distribution and sales facility in Auburn and distribution centers in Portland and Augusta, Maine. Seltzer and Rydholm serves 11 counties in southern and central Maine.
The National Soft Drink Association has changed its name to the American Beverage Association to better reflect the wide range of beverages produced by its members. "Our industry has changed dramatically in the offerings, in the variety and the choice that we provide to consumers," says Jim Finkelstein, executive vice president of the association. "We opened the organization up some time ago to a broader membership and this name change is just reflective of that."