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Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co. signed a definitive agreement with Great Lakes Coca-Cola Distribution LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reyes Holdings LLC, Rosemont, Ill. This agreement follows a letter of intent announced in February with Reyes Holdings LLC for the granting of territories in the greater Chicago area. The Coca-Cola Co. anticipates closing the transaction in 2015, but financial terms were not disclosed.

OneHope Wine, Los Angeles, announced the launch of its Clayton Kershaw Signature Series varietal. This wine program was created to give influencers a platform to be used for a positive purpose, the company says.

Castle Brands Inc., New York, reported a net sales increase of 14.8 percent to $13.4 million for the second quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, compared with the prior-year period. This can be attributed to continued strong growth of Jefferson's bourbons and Irish whiskey, which led to a 36.8 percent increase in whiskey revenues from the comparable prior-year period, the company says. In addition, Gosling's Stormy Ginger Beer case sales increased 72 percent to approximately 192,000 cases from approximately 112,000 cases in the prior-year period, it adds.

Demand for organic products is booming, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), Brattleboro, Vt. In 2013, organic product sales jumped 12 percent compared with 2012 to $35.1 billion, setting a new record, it reports.

Torrance, Calif.-based Farmer Bros. Co. announced a definitive agreement to acquire from Tampa, Fla.-based Rae' Launo Corp. (RLC) assets relating to RLC's direct-store delivery (DSD) business that primarily serves convenience stores in the Southeast and its in-room distributor channel that primarily serves the hospitality industry.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA’s Newcastle beer brand is kicking off a brand-new series of “collaboration edition” beers made with some of Europe’s finest and oldest breweries. To brew the first offering in the series, the brand turned to its Edinburgh, Scotland-based sister brewery Caledonian to develop an ale that brings world-class traditional British brewing to casual beer drinkers around the world, Newcastle explains.

Susan K. Neely, president and chief executive officer of the American Beverage Association (ABA), Washington, D.C., was recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of this year’s 25 “Women Who Mean Business.” Neely is profiled in the Nov. 14 edition of the Washington Business Journal.

Next year, PMMI, the Reston, Va.-based owner of the Pack Expo tradeshows will bring the latest packaging and processing solutions to the East Coast with the debut of its newest Pack Expo event: Pack Expo East. The new show will take place Feb. 16-18, 2015, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

The 29th annual Natural Products Expo East tradeshow brought together more new exhibitors and new products than ever before.

More than 20,000 attendees from 60-plus countries were in attendance at this year’s National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show, which took place Oct. 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas.