According to the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), companies continue to make capital investments in packaging machinery. Shipments for packaging machinery in the United States increased 12 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, bringing shipment totals to $5.5 billion versus $4.9 billion the prior year, according to a PMMI report released in November.

The mission at Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, has always been to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time, and that extends beyond its retail stores and into consumer packaged goods (CPG) channels, enabling customers to enjoy Starbucks anywhere and in any format.

Natural Products Expo West hosted more than 2,000 exhibiting companies and in excess of 60,000 attendees March 8-11 in Anaheim, Calif. Among the exhibitors were about 540 new companies, according to the trade show.

As one of the top-selling flavored malt beverages (FMBs), Mike’s Hard Lemonade has found a niche with consumers. Yet, Seattle-based Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co. is not resting on its flagship brand and recently created new products to extend to new usage occasions, demographics and category niches.

Dill pickles, cookie dough, and peanut butter and jelly hardly sound like inspiration for adult beverages, but each of the aforementioned flavors were launched by vodka-makers within the last year. As these new product introductions show, one of the largest trends in the spirits category is unusual flavors, analysts say.

In contradiction to the inherent effervescence of its products, carbonated soft drink (CSD) manufacturers are finding the current U.S. market less than bubbly.

Consumer awareness about healthy food and beverage choices continues to grow and benefit the natural and organic beverage market.

Advancements in soluble fibers have given beverage developers a whole new set of tools for delivering products that help to fill the fiber gap. Although even the savviest of consumers might not know the difference between inulin and oligofructose, they are beginning to explore the growing number of fiber-rich options available outside of the bread and snack bar categories.

In a broad sense, You’ve probably heard fiber categorized as insoluble and soluble, but the classifications are even more complex. Fiber can be subcategorized in a number of ways including by viscosity, fermentability, physiological effect, source or chemical structure. Understanding fiber through these various lenses is the key to producing products that can speak to today’s consumers, experts note.