News Briefs

Garrett Brands LLC., known for brands like Garrett Popcorn Shops and Frango Chocolate, has teamed with ToolsGroup to leverage its a suite of AI-based supply chain planning functions to help to increase growth while maintaining product freshness and customer satisfaction.

The technology will impact demand forecasting and planning, replenishment, and inventory optimization, using a built-in probabilistic forecast to understand inventory demands based on market uncertainty. Garrett Brands is expected to leverage ToolsGroup’s native AI and automation to help navigate perishability amid network expansion and the complexity of multiple channels.

The technology is also designed to help streamline operations and boost efficiency while expanding digitalization efforts to fuel organizational growth. 

Garrett Popcorn has been a renowned Chicago staple for over 70 years, with retail shops in eight countries, and Frango Chocolate has been in business for over 100 years. 

Monster Beverage intends to expand its portfolio with the acquisition of the Bang Energy business. 

Owned by the Florida-based Vital Pharmaceuticals, Bang Energy products includes energy drink brands and keto-friendly products under the Bang Energy, Meltdown, Quash, Vooz and Redline labels. The company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2022. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Monster will acquire substantially all of Bang Energy’s assets, including a beverage production facility in Phoenix. Financial details were not shared. 

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Monster Beverage grew its first-quarter sales 11.9% to $1.7 billion, it reported in its most recent earnings statement. 

The global energy drinks market size was valued at $86.35 billion in 2021 by Grand View Research, which pegged it to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% from 2022 to 2030. Though the category was already on the rise before the pandemic, it received a shot in the arm thanks to an increase in consumer concern for health and convenience, as well as improved product quality and diversity. 

SymphonyAI has acquired analytics, data, and decision science firm 1010data. 

SymphonyAI, a provider of digital transformation services for retailers and consumer goods companies, expects the acquisition to pay off through 1010data’s product portfolio, market presence, and brand recognition. 1010data users, meanwhile, will gain access to SymphonyAI’s analytics and AI solutions.  

“This strategic acquisition accelerates and strengthens SymphonyAI’s mission to become the leading enterprise AI SaaS company delivering value to the most critical and resilient industries. 1010data’s customers will benefit from additional depth and velocity of technology innovation as the organizations unite,” said SymphonyAI CEO Sanjay Dhawan, in a statement. “We welcome 1010data customers and are excited about the 1010data team becoming members of SymphonyAI with the opportunity to excel, building on 1010data’s proven strengths and leveraging SymphonyAI’s predictive and generative AI technology.” 

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Interim 1010data CEO Nomi Bergman will step down from her role as part of the acquisition.

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E. & J. Gallo Winery (Gallo) has acquired canned wine and spritzer manufacturer Bev after holding exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the brand for the last two years. 

Bev, a California-based woman-led beverage brand that promotes empowerment and inclusivity, got its start in 2017.  

"I founded Bev out of a passion for changing not only the drinks in our hands, but the culture surrounding drinking," said Alix Peabody, Bev CEO, in a statement. "For us, breaking the glass is about empowering communities and inspiring people to celebrate themselves and own their fun. When I met [Gallo CMO] Stephanie Gallo, it became immediately clear that Gallo's values and commitment to women and diversity in the industry is exemplary of the exact change we aim to create. We could not be more excited for this partnership and can't wait to expand the reach of our products and our community."

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"At Gallo, we are on a mission to serve joy as we win new friends for wine, which means ensuring consumers have access to products that make them feel welcome,” said Gallo. “As an industry, we are adapting and evolving to remain relevant to the next generation of alcohol beverage consumers. I see the Bev portfolio as a welcome addition to Gallo's product family that will allow us to continue to offer our consumers beverage options to celebrate any occasion."

Terms of the dead weren’t disclosed. Peabody will continue to be involved in the vision, expansion and development of the brand, according to a press release. 

Kimberly-Clark is bolstering its e-commerce presence on Amazon, elevating content syndication efforts to ensure all of its online listings showcase high-quality product data, images, and video. 

The company, which manufactures brands like Huggies, DryNites, Kleenex, and Cottonelle,  is working with Productsup to create custom web content and have it seamlessly integrate to its Amazon.com listings. 

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According to Sophie van Logtestijn, customer business manager, e-commerce at Kimberly-Clark, businesses all have their own online content needs, and having a strong foundation to build on is imperative. 

"Our goal is to continuously improve our online shelf presentation,” she said in a statement, adding that the technology being implemented offers a fully automated content platform and the necessary support to make it happen.

Consistency can be the biggest challenge, according to Koen Looijmans, EVP of retail at Productsup — particularly ensuring that online web visitors are presented with accurate product content in the appropriate language. 

"Since working with Kimberly-Clark, we've been able to ensure that all of its product content is always optimized and published correctly, enabling the company to reach more consumers around the world and provide them with a positive experience,” he added.

Fashion and textile producer TBInternational is accelerating the digital transformation of its supply chain planning systems.

TBInternational will partner with supply chain software solution provider o9 to spearhead the effort, which the company says will enable more data-driven demand planning within a centralized, enterprise-wide platform. This platform will also optimize decision-making on stock building and the buy-plan creation within a single system. 

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The fashion group and textile producer is based in Germany but has locations in the U.S. and Australia. Globally, more than 15,000 retailers and 100 online e-commerce channels sell the company’s brands and products, which include clothing and accessories. The company has built its business model around fast turnaround times and using limited resources, making effective, foolproof supply chain planning all the more important. 

“Our greatest competitive advantage is the depth of our value creation,” said Johannes Rudenko, managing director logistics and IT at TBInternational, adding that the partnership would hopefully enable the company to continue offering a variety of different styles while providing better data-driven visibility into supply chain operations.