The latest food and beverage industry news and trend analysis

Whitbread PLC has announced the closure of its remaining Beefeater and Brewers Fayre locations, cutting 3,800 jobs to focus on hotel room expansion and a streamlined food and beverage model.

Restaurant365 has strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointments of Steve Demchuk as Chief Product Officer and Mark Grilli as Chief Marketing Officer to accelerate the growth of its AI-powered back-office platform.

Jarlsberg has launched a global marketing campaign featuring actor and producer Adrian Grenier to celebrate the brand’s 70-year heritage and drive consumer engagement through the #JarlsbergMelt challenge.

Pure Leaf launches its first sparkling iced tea line featuring L-theanine and caffeine to capture the growing market for functional beverages focused on cognitive performance and digital wellness, the brand's first functional iced tea line with Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles

Music icon Jon Bon Jovi has joined GORGIE as a strategic investor to support the brand's national expansion and year-over-year retail growth in the functional beverage sector.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has expanded its leadership team with the appointments of Rafik Farouk and Jackie Lobdell to oversee business development and franchise sales as the brand nears the 600-restaurant milestone.

QuantiPath has appointed Roger Schaller, a molecular diagnostics veteran with experience at Cepheid and Bio-Rad, to its Board of Directors to accelerate the commercialisation of its GenoPATHX food safety platform.

PLEZi Nutrition, a Public Benefit Company co-founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama, has relaunched "PLEZi Hydration" in collaboration with Stephen and Ayesha Curry. Positioned as an "elite performance" alternative to legacy sports drinks, the product utilises real fruit juice to deliver twice the electrolytes and seven times the potassium of category leaders without the use of added sugars or artificial colours.