Martin Bauer Group announced the appointment of Ennio Ranaboldo as the new president of Martin Bauer Inc., the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary based in Secaucus, N.J.

Westchester, Ill.-based Ingredion Inc. introduced Ingredion for Emerging Businesses, a new U.S. initiative designed to help emerging food and beverage companies grow with customer-centric, innovative ingredient solutions, product development expertise, market insights and eCommerce. Accessible at emergefaster.com, the platform provides a wide range of applications with a selected portfolio of Ingredion’s clean-label, non-GMO and conventional ingredient solutions, the company says.

Flavor Producers Inc. (FPI), Valencia, Calif., announced that the company has been recapitalized through a strategic majority investment from St. Louis-based Ceba-Tech Specialty Solutions, a company formed in partnership between Chicago private equity firm GTCR and industry executive Charles A. Nicolais. FPI will remain independent and continue to serve its customers from its three facilities and research-and-development groups in Valencia, Calif.; Cincinnati; and Linden, N.J.

Kemin Industries, Des Moines, Iowa, partnered with Harris Poll to conduct a study aimed at better understanding consumer behavior and trends impacting the purchase of food and beverage products. The following are some findings from the study: 57 percent say price is most important when purchasing grocery items; 25 percent say it is the ingredient label that is most important; 31 percent say they always read the ingredient label, and 49 percent of those say health claims, or claims they equate with levels of sodium, sugar and fat content, are most important. The study also reported that shoppers were divided on preference between a shorter and longer ingredient label, but the top reason for label choice was ingredients on the statement/ingredient name rather than the length of the statement.

Teterboro, N.J.-based Symrise announced that the Symrise Global Culinary Team launched the Joy of Authentic Food Initiative, which helps food manufacturers create the unique food experiences their customers demand by capturing the best of science and nature, the company says. Noah Michaels, senior chef and culinary team leader, stated that the global Joy of Authentic Food program is a collaborative, multilevel working approach with peer-to-peer partnership at the heart of it. This is illustrated by the three-year journey taken by Symrise NA to elevate the Culinary Center to the high standards Symrise had set, he adds.