Sometimes a package needs a little tweak here and there to stay fresh; other times it requires a complete overhaul.

To promote innovative flavor development, Givaudan conducts ongoing TasteTreks to bring its flavorists to countries all around the world to experience exotic foods, be inspired by nature, and to discover new flavors, molecules and ingredients.

The decline in disposable personal income this year has led consumers to make budget cuts, and the on-premise industry is one area feeling the belt tightening.

Domestic beer continued its recovery in 2008, thanks in large part to a renewal of mainstream brands, as well as growth in the craft segment.

This year, The Pike Brewing Co., Seattle, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with the release of Entire, a stout aged in bourbon barrels. Specialty beers like Entire offer a classic example of what the family-owned brewery is all about: “We just want to develop a really high-quality brewery,” says Charles Finkel, president and founder of the brewery.

The 2009 International Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo, June 6-9, at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center brings together buyers and sellers from the food science and technology world.

The Keystone Center, a non-profit organization that creates consensus solutions to public health problems, has created the Smart Choices Program to help easily identify smart nutrition options.

Which came first, the brewer or the coffee? Clearly, coffee came first for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR), Waterbury, Vt., which has been roasting specialty coffees since 1981. But when the company added its Keurig division in 2006, which supplies Keurig Single-Cup Brewing Systems, the business plan became: If you sell the brewer, single-cup sales will come. And they have.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, Vt., through its Green Mountain Coffee division, plans to sell about 38 million pounds of coffee in the 2009. In a typical day, Green Mountain Coffee will fill 5,000 orders, and is prepared to handle large orders from restaurant chains, mass merchandisers and club stores as well as single bag orders from direct-mail customers.

As a mother of four, Sharelle Klaus, chief executive officer and founder of Dry Soda, Seattle, knows a thing or two about what tastes good when you’re not able to drink alcohol. After being frustrated with the “lack of options,” Klaus began looking into the beverage industry to create a drink that would pair well with dinner and satisfy her palate.