Just like The Force in the infamous ‘Star Wars’ franchise, The Boston Beer Co. and Dogfish Head Brewery, two iconic independent craft breweries founded in 1984 and 1995, respectively, are joining forces to take their brands to the next level.

In the beverage industry, SKUs have been and will continue to be one of the major operating issues in the supply chain. Yet, one can ask, why are SKUs so important, why do they top the list of challenges and how are they handled and controlled in real time?

In the Maroon 5 song "Sugar," the band references a man's need for love from the woman he cares about. However, if the songwriters had been watching the sweetener trends, they might have been more inclined to mention a more in vogue sweetener.

In its 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey, New York-based CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services, noted that more than two-thirds of the 1,000 Americans surveyed consider sustainability when purchasing products.

In the beverage market, developers are turning to emerging processing methods to stand out from competitors. One of those recent trends has been the proliferation of cold-brew processing for ready-to-drink (RTD) tea and coffee.

Alternative fuels and green vehicles have taken many forms in the past dozen or so years, but unsurprisingly, the form that’s been dominating much of the public conversation has been electric — even though we are still many years away from any meaningful widespread deployment.

Approximately 63 percent of Americans drink coffee, according to the 2019 National Coffee Data Trends. Although coffee exports are decreasing globally, coffee as a distinctive, aromatic ingredient in food and beverages is expanding. Beyond flavor and aroma, attributes like coffee’s purported anti-inflammatory polyphenols are helping to drive product innovations across multiple categories, experts note.

Known as the place to pick up your meds along with those “few extra things,” drug stores are now exerting extra effort to compete with online retail giants, accommodate consumers’ growing health needs and demands, and leveraging technology to enhance their offerings.

As the demand for healthy, functional, performance-based beverages continue their upward trajectory, OWYN is literally “owning” its share of the marketplace through truth and transparency.

These days, consumers want customized product experiences and speed that also support a sustainable approach when it comes to the brands they purchase. Thus far, commerce has been keeping up, with goods hightailing it across the country at speeds and in volumes unimaginable in decades prior.

My first true foray into online purchasing was trying to find discounted textbooks for my college courses. Since those days, my consumer packaged goods purchases online have spanned many markets: food, beverages, home goods, movies, etc.

Oskar Blues Brewery announced rebranded packaging for its entire lineup of canned craft beers, marking the first changes to the look of the lineup in more than 15 years.

Numi Organic Tea introduced its new plant-based packaging that features a bright, bold, ingredients-focused look, along with two new products that feature the new product, the company says.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label released a limited-edition design to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Featuring the artwork of Shirley Gong.

To demonstrate the versatility of blood oranges in culinary and mixology applications, Sunkist hosted a two-day “Taste of the Grove” blood orange immersion in the heart of its lush citrus groves in Dinuba, Calif.

Pepsi premiered its 2020 international football campaign in celebration of its ongoing partnership with the UEFA Champions League. Featuring a never-before-seen collaboration of four of the world’s best footballers, the brand says it's guaranteed to excite football fans around the globe.

HEINEKEN USA has launched its latest James Bond TV commercial ahead of the April release of the James Bond film “No Time To Die.” Airing in more than 75 countries, the commercial demonstrates Craig will always be James Bond in the eyes of fans, the company says.

Partnering with Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place Part II,” Boulevard Brewing Co. released new packaging for its award-winning Tank 7 beer. the limited-edition four-pack of 16-ounce cans featuring imagery tied to the 2018 thriller, which is scheduled to hit theaters March 20 nationwide.

White Claw Hard Seltzer announced its Super Sponsorship of South by Southwest (SXSW).“We’re thrilled to bring White Claw to life at SXSW,” said Phil Rosse, president of White Claw Seltzer Works, in a statement.

To make the winter months less atrocious in cold-weather regions, Busch Beer created the Busch Snow Day campaign so, when the snow falls, so does the price of Busch.

On a warm summer day, there’s nothing like a cold beer and baseball. As a longtime Chicago White Sox fan, I was beyond excited to attend my first Chicago WhiteSox Fest.

Perfect Hydration, an ultra-purified alkaline water with electrolytes, signed professional skateboarders David Loy and Dan Mancina as brand partners. In these roles, Loy and Mancina will promote Perfect Hydration’s mission to bring better hydration to the masses through its premium ionized, electrolyzed, 9.5+ pH water.

During Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold was among the brands that unveiled a new TV commercial aimed at grabbing the attention of nearly 100 million fans who tuned in to watch the Big Game.

Wilkens-Anderson Co. offers its new Digital Enamel Rater III for fast, accurate quality inspection measurements of the enamel coating on the inside of food and beverage cans. The device displays an index of the metal exposure due to incomplete enamel coverage on a digital LED display.

When a customer needed to upgrade its existing bottling processing line to merge two lanes of craft beers or wine bottles into a single lane, Dorner’s Engineered Solutions Group (ESG) designed a custom solution with the ability to inject automation and ingenuity into the conveyor systems of small-scale breweries and wineries, it says.

Orion Packaging, a product brand of ProMach, recently introduced a new carriage for its stretch wrappers that will become the company’s new standard for improved stretch wrapping and minimum stretch film consumption.

EMSUR USA, a division of the Grupo Lantero, unveiled a new environmentally conscious innovation: the Compostable Barrier Bag. The flexible packaging solution maintains the freshness of food and was created to respond to customers’ demands.

Linx Printing Technologies Inc. announced it has added a new ink to its Linx range to meet increasing customer demands for retort applications.

Toyota Material Handling launched a new energy solutions platform: Toyota Industrial Energy Solutions. The program is designed to help the material handling industry meet the complex demands of evolving equipment, the environmental landscape and energy-management requirements.

Tubing manufacturer NewAge Industries Inc. has upgraded its Clearflo PVC tubing to a version free of phthalates. Developed in response to customers’ interest in fluid transfer products that do not contain leachable phthalates

Charles Ross & Son Co. offers a double planetary mixer and discharge system, model DPM/DS-4S, which is available in a “super sanitary” turnkey configuration that features a common stainless steel workbench for the mixer and a matching discharge system, the company says.

Siemens released its newest solution for intelligent weighing automation: the Siwarex WP351. Measuring 20 millimeters width by 65 millimeters height, the ultra-compact module is one of the smallest weighing electronics units available.

Charles Ross & Son Co. offers a double planetary mixer and discharge system, model DPM/DS-4S, which is available in a “super sanitary” turnkey configuration that features a common stainless steel workbench for the mixer and a matching discharge system, the company says.

Cole-Parmer unveiled its newest sampling pump: the Masterflex L/S. Designed with versatility and portability in mind, the Masterflex L/S portable sampling pump provides faster tubing changes and flow stability through the latest Easy-Load pump head, the company says.

A global leader in visual inspection systems, track and trace solutions and smart data management, Antares Vision developed a new Raised Stopper Inspection (RSI) machine to verify proper sealing of freeze-dried vials.