Agriculture & Food Production

Wilmington – September 30, 2026 -- DuPont has launched the Sugar Separation Advisor, a digital tool that helps sugar and sweetener manufacturers identify candidate DuPontTM AmberLiteTM chromatography resins for food and beverage ingredient production.

Tool draws on years of experimental laboratory data to speed resin selection

Built on decades of chromatography application expertise, the platform allows users to select a target sugar or sweetener for recovery or purification, add up to four additional sugars or impurities representing their feed stream, and generate a predicted chromatogram based on laboratory-generated separation data. The system then delivers a qualitative separation assessment and suggests AmberLiteTM resin candidates for further testing, rather than relying on a theoretical performance model.

Madrid – September 30, 2026 -- SUANNUTRA SA has relocated cultivation of lemon verbena, a key botanical input for its branded ingredients, from South America to farms in Valencia, Spain, aiming to secure a more resilient and traceable supply chain.

SUANNUTRA shifts lemon verbena sourcing from the Andes to Valencia farms

The plant, native to South America and traditionally used by Andean healers as a digestive aid and antispasmodic remedy, now anchors three of SUANNUTRA's branded ingredients: Metabolaid®, RelaxPLX®, and Elissara®. "Growing it locally with full control from planting to final product reinforces our commitment to responsible botanical sourcing," said Jaime Durán Sanz, Chief Business Officer for SUANNUTRA.

Saitama, Japan – – September 30, 2026 -- The Saitama Prefectural Government has released a new promotional video and brochure targeting international buyers to expand exports of SAYAMA-CHA, one of Japan's three finest green teas.

Saitama Targets Global Buyers Under "Saitama's Finest Produce" Tagline

The prefecture is positioning SAYAMA-CHA for lifestyle and beverage companies abroad, using official media assets to build brand recognition in export markets. The campaign includes a YouTube video and a downloadable PDF brochure aimed at global trade audiences.

Sayama Hills' Extreme Climate Swings Drive Tea Quality

Grown 30 kilometers from central Tokyo, tea in the Sayama Hills region is shaped by temperature swings from 35 degrees Celsius in summer to near minus 10 degrees Celsius in winter. This variation produces thicker tea leaves and higher umami concentration in fresh sprouts, according to the prefecture.

Broomfield, Colo. – September 29, 2026 -- Horizon Family Brands has promoted Scott Wallace to Chief Customer Officer, expanding his mandate to oversee customer strategy and retail partnerships across its organic dairy portfolio, which includes Horizon Organic, Maple Hill Creamery and Wallaby Organic yogurt.

Wallace moves from senior sales leadership to a company-wide customer strategy role

Wallace joined Horizon Family Brands in November 2023 as vice president of sales and was elevated to senior vice president in 2025. In his new CCO role, he will coordinate across sales, marketing, operations and brand teams to deepen customer engagement and identify shared growth opportunities across the company's retail and commercial networks.

Salem, Oregon – September 29, 2026 -- Reser's Fine Foods has completed two energy efficiency upgrades at its new Don Pancho West facility that are expected to cut overall electricity use by more than 20%, saving nearly 1.9 million kilowatt-hours annually and reducing facility emissions by 8%.

New CO2 refrigeration system replaces six units and cuts power use 41%

The 300,000-square-foot facility, which Don Pancho moved into in September 2025, now runs a centralized refrigeration system using carbon dioxide as its primary refrigerant, replacing six systems that relied on a higher-global-warming-potential refrigerant. The new system is expected to consume 41% less electricity than the modeled baseline while delivering 114% greater refrigeration capacity and more consistent temperature control, positioning Reser's as an early food-manufacturing adopter of CO2 refrigeration technology.

New York – – September 29, 2026 -- Big Idea Ventures and Mars Petcare have selected three startups for the third edition of the Next Generation Pet Food Program, drawing 83 applications from 33 countries to advance alternative proteins, fats and oils aimed at cutting the environmental footprint of pet food ingredients.

Program partners with AAK, Bühler, Givaudan and Ingredion select three ingredient startups

EcoBean, a Polish company that valorizes spent coffee grounds from industrial production into high-value ingredients for cosmetics, food and pet applications, joins the 2026 cohort. Loopworm, an Indian insect biotech firm, manufactures protein and fat ingredients from silkworms using proprietary technology. Space Ark Biomedical, based in Taiwan, upcycles okara and brewer's spent grain into functional protein ingredients through enzyme technology and precision fermentation.

Seoul – September 29, 2026 -- Daesang Corporation's Jongga brand generated approximately $48 million in kimchi exports in the first half of 2026, capturing 56% of Korea's total $86 million kimchi export volume for the period. The United States has overtaken Japan as Jongga's largest export market since 2023, cementing a shift in the company's global sales strategy toward North America.

Jongga's export revenue nearly tripled in eight years

Jongga's kimchi exports grew from approximately $32 million in 2017 to $90 million in 2025, according to company figures. The brand is now distributed in more than 90 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia, with U.S. distribution expanding beyond Korean grocery stores into mainstream retail channels across the western and central United States since 2019.

Tefen, Israel – September 29, 2026 -- StePacPPC has launched a patent-pending resealable pouch that extends the shelf life of moisture-sensitive cucumbers to 16 days by combining modified atmosphere, humidity control, and condensation management in a single package.

Xgo PAZ pouch solves a longstanding packaging trade-off for cucumbers

Traditional laminated stand-up pouches restrict water vapor transmission, trapping moisture that accelerates microbial decay in cucumbers. Packers have historically countered this by macro-perforating the film, but that sacrifices modified atmosphere protection, speeds dehydration, and still allows condensation to form. StePacPPC's Xgo pouch integrates three functions -- modified atmosphere, modified humidity, and condensation control -- into one film structure, according to CTO Gary Ward.

Pune – September 28, 2026 -- The global agrochemicals market was valued at $245.15 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $355.01 billion by 2034, growing at a 4.2% compound annual rate from 2026, according to a new report from Maximize Market Research.

Pest and disease pressure continues to drive nearly 40% of annual crop losses worldwide

Bayer noted in 2026 that plant diseases and pests can destroy up to 40% of global crops each year, while weeds alone can cut yields by close to 34%. This sustained pressure keeps demand elevated for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers and seed-treatment products across cereal, grain, fruit and vegetable production.

Grapevine, Texas – September 28, 2026 -- Kubota Tractor Corporation has named ten community nonprofits as winners of its 2026 Hometown Proud grant program, each receiving $25,000 in cash and $25,000 toward Kubota equipment purchases, totaling $500,000 in combined funding and machinery across the country.

Program draws more than 1,100 applications in its sixth year

Kubota's review process selected 10 winners from over 1,100 submissions, covering agricultural education, workforce development, food security, youth empowerment and environmental stewardship projects. Since the program launched, Kubota has distributed more than $2.9 million in total funding and equipment to hometown initiatives nationwide.