Today's roundup covers product launches, legal trouble, regulatory pressure, brand campaigns, and a major plant closure affecting hundreds of CPG workers.
David Protein has launched a ready-to-drink protein shake, extending Peter Rahal's brand from bars into the crowded liquid nutrition category. The gold-labeled shakes use ultra-filtered protein and deliver 30 grams per serving, positioning them at the performance end of the RTD spectrum. The move puts David in direct competition with established players like Fairlife Core Power and Premier Protein, two brands that dominate shelf space in grocery and convenience. For a brand built on premium bar formats, the line extension tests whether that positioning can hold in a category where price sensitivity is high and consumer trial is largely driven by retail placement.
Sapporo USA will close its California craft brewing facilities and lay off 220 workers as it completes its exit from Stone Brewing operations following the brand's sale earlier this year. The closures mark the end of a significant chapter in American craft brewing, with Stone having been one of the most recognized independent names in the segment for decades. For CPG and beverage manufacturing job-seekers, 220 positions coming onto the market from a single operation is a meaningful supply-side shift. Sapporo is transitioning production away from California entirely, suggesting the footprint reduction is structural rather than temporary.
PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz are under investigation by Texas authorities over ingredient claims made on avocado oil products sold under the Siete and Primal Kitchen brands, respectively. The probe follows a UC Davis study finding that many retail avocado oils may be adulterated with cheaper oils, raising questions about label accuracy across the better-for-you category. Both brands carry premium pricing tied directly to their ingredient claims, so regulatory scrutiny carries real commercial risk. The investigation also puts pressure on quality assurance and supply chain teams at large CPG companies that have acquired mission-driven brands and must now defend those brands' foundational claims.
Pure Leaf, PepsiCo's premium iced tea brand, has partnered with professional tennis player Amanda Anisimova for a campaign built around the idea that intentional rest improves performance. The campaign ties Anisimova's on-court story to the brand's longstanding positioning around quality and doing less but better. Athlete partnerships in the ready-to-drink tea segment have historically skewed toward energy and hydration brands, making this a differentiated move for a category that competes partly on lifestyle identity. The campaign gives Pure Leaf a cultural moment ahead of the fall retail reset, when shelf space decisions for the following year are being finalized.
General Mills has removed synthetic dyes from its Trix cereal and confirmed it remains on schedule to eliminate artificial colors from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027. The move reflects sustained regulatory and consumer pressure around food dyes, accelerated in part by federal attention to ingredient transparency in packaged foods. For CPG operators, the timeline General Mills is holding to is a useful benchmark: a full-portfolio reformulation of this scale, across a legacy brand family, managed within a roughly two-year window. Ingredient sourcing, manufacturing changeovers, and consumer communication are all implicated in an effort at this scope.
Sources: BevNet · Food Dive · Food Dive · BevNet · Food Dive
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