Hershey is rolling out the Reese's Crunchy Peanut Bar this month. The bar will join the permanent Reese's lineup and feature a peanut-filled peanut butter creme center and milk chocolate coating.

Nestle CEO Mark Schneider explains why investing in sustainability initiatives and advocating for regenerative agriculture and other practices is good for business. "Digital these days means that there's total transparency about your supply chain, so people do understand what you're doing for the planet and they reward the companies that are leading this trend," said Schneider.

Barry Callebaut's half-year sales volume for the Americas increased 4.1% and net profit returned to positive territory, prompting a continuation of its annual volume growth projection of 5% to 7%. The return to profitability is a result of the company's "Smart Growth" strategy, said outgoing CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

Blue Diamond Growers is rolling out gluten-free baking mixes and single-serve, microwavable dessert cups made with almond flour. The Tasty Little Cup line offers four flavors, and the baking set includes a cookie mix, brownie mix and two cake mix flavors.

Many leading brands are extending Earth Day initiatives beyond one-day messaging and embarking on their own sustainable moves. Stonyfield Organic has committed to converting some of the world's most famous parks into organic grounds by 2025, while CVS is halting the sale of plastic straws and Silk is helping consumers learn to take action via free climate counseling sessions with an expert.

SmartBrief food and beverage readers were interested in news of PepsiCo's Positive Agriculture sustainability initiative and a Reese's-themed makeup collection this week. Stories covering Kellogg's Pride Month cereal and Tetra Pak's new cheese production solutions also gathered reader interest.

The CandyPAC is the confectionery industry's political action committee (PAC) managed by NCA and funded by personal money that individuals contribute. It supports Congressional leaders who understand the issues, needs and concerns of the confectionery industry. Learn more.

With only two months until the beginning of the 2021 Sweets & Snacks Expo, excitement is building for the event, which takes place June 22-25 in Indianapolis. See what people are saying about the show.

Roundel, Target's retail media group, is rolling out a new integrated ad platform to make it easier for advertisers and brands to reach the retailer's growing base of digital customers directly through its Target Product Ad campaigns. The self-serve platform will be introduced in May to take advantage of Target's booming digital demand, which saw a sales increase of $10 billion in 2020.

General Mills is sourcing 100% of its top 10 key ingredients sustainably, according to its 2021 Global Responsibility Report. The report also finds General Mills has expanded its regenerative agriculture pilots to include 70,000 acres and is now the US' largest producer of organic and natural packaged food.

SmartBrief publishes original articles about food and beverage news and trends on our SmartBrief Originals page. Submitting guest posts is a great way to share your perspective and strengthen your credibility. If you're interested in seeing your work published on SmartBrief.com and possibly in this newsletter, send us your story ideas. All posts must be original, not already published or self-promotional, and focused on thought leadership, trends, etc.