Industry growth and sales in 2014 has led the foodservice packaging industry to forecast even greater optimism for 2015 than last year, according to an annual survey conducted by the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI).

Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm, announced it has acquired Gehl Foods. Headquartered in Germantown, Wisconsin, Gehl Foods is a leading manufacturer of shelf-stable, dairy-based products including cheese sauces, puddings, yogurt and dairy-based nutritional beverages. The Company’s products are sold through both foodservice and retail channels.

As growth picked up moderately in the U.S. consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry in 2014, small- and medium-size companies continued clawing away market share from their larger competitors, a trend that has been at work for the last several years, according to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Information Resources, Inc. (IRI).

Prior to joining the Ethanol group in 2007, Willis’ broad-based ADM tenure included experience as commercial manager of three large oilseeds crush plants. He also managed origination and transportation assets within the company’s Agricultural Services business unit.

The transaction closed February 20, 2015; financial terms were not disclosed.

NutriFusion®, a provider of natural nutrition and phytonutrient products for food manufacturers, announced an agreement with Beyond Meat®, a leading developer of plant-based products that replicate the texture and taste of meat.

Mondelez International announced that Robin Hargrove, 49, will become Executive Vice President, Research, Development and Quality, effective April 1. In this role, he will report to Chief Growth Officer Mark Clouse and be responsible for all product and packaging development, research, nutrition, quality, food safety and scientific affairs activities worldwide.

H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create The Kraft Heinz Company, forming the third largest food and beverage company in North America with an unparalleled portfolio of iconic brands.

The Protein Engineering Market is segmented on the basis of product, technology, protein type, end user, and region. By product, the protein engineering market is categorized into instruments, reagents, and services and software. The instruments segment accounted for the largest share-41.4%-of the global protein engineering market in 2014.

Lemon-X's production facilities are located in Huntington Station, New York, which also serves as the corporate headquarters, and in Frostproof, Florida.