New dairy products hitting shelves in July included Sid's Farm's cow and buffalo curd cups, Muller's Kefir Smoothie and Kerrygold's spicy Irish cheddar, a Trader Joe's exclusive. Dairy Reporter's monthly roundup also includes the item that generated the most talk of the month, the limited-edition Kraft Macaroni & Cheese ice cream produced in partnership with Van Leeuwen.

Seeking to win over consumers skeptical of plant-based dairy products, Danone is planning to launch platforms using new technologies to improve taste and texture later this year, according to Shane Grant, Danone's CEO of North America. Meanwhile, the company's second-quarter net sales surpassed analyst expectations by increasing 6.6% compared to the same period in 2019, marking a return to profitability.

ALDI customers rated its top store-branded items they can't live without, including Clancy's Kettle Chips, Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen Take and Bake Deli Pizza and Appleton Farms Premium Sliced Bacon. Several of the items that won in the various categories were winners from past years.

Starbucks' purchasing strategy means it won't have to raise menu prices despite a surge in commodity coffee prices related to bad weather in the growing regions of Brazil, CEO Kevin Johnson said. "It gives us a significant advantage relative to our competitors who, if they don't buy this far in advance, will certainly not have that cost structure that we put in place," Johnson said.

Pizza Factory has signed 11 franchise agreements this year, including its first restaurants in Georgia and Texas. In addition, the company saw its best year-to-date sales from January through May and credited some of the boost to its loyalty app and its easy mobile ordering.

Unilever's plans to spin off its Tazo and T2 tea brands, Instacart's entry into grocery microfulfillment and Walmart's 100% tuition assistance for employees caught SmartBrief readers' attention this week. Campbell's Soup's redesigned labels and its sale of 100 nonfungible tokens to support Feeding America led this week's Top 10 list.

Swiss-based feed-additive company Agolin and chocolate-maker Barry Callebaut worked with Gold Standard, an organization developing carbon-reduction projects, to develop a methodology that dairy producers can implement to minimize carbon emissions. The methodology stems from two pilot programs, conducted in the US and the Netherlands, that found considerable reductions in emissions, and the companies are planning to work with their partners to implement the processes.

I'm a journalist by day and mom to two milk-guzzling children by night. I edit two marketing briefs and several food and beverage briefs for SmartBrief, mainly focusing on food retail, dairy and the confectionery industry.

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