Supplier Spotlights: ACR, Advantage Solutions Inc., Circana & The Hershey Co.

ACR

Foodservice solutions company AmerCareRoyal launched a refreshed brand identity as ACR, officially incorporating the shortened acronym often used by customers, vendors and channel partners. 

Over the past several months, the company conducted a deep review of its brand archetype and learned that agility, collaboration and reliability represent the core brand values of the organization. The new name of ACR is intended to signify these key elements and strengthen the company's identity in the foodservice essentials marketplace.

The rebranding comes on the heels of several strategic acquisitions, and allows the company to embody the collective purpose, vision, values and culture of the newly integrated organization. 

While the businesses owned by AmerCareRoyal will now function under the ACR brand, their legal names remain unchanged, so operations and contractual commitments will not be impacted, according to the company.

To reflect the new branding, ACR updated its website, modernized its logo with a cleaner design, reinvigorated its color identity and refined its tagline: "Reliability. From source to solution." 

Advantage Solutions Inc.

Advantage Solutions entered into a strategic alliance with retail technology provider Swiftly. The agreement expands Advantage's omnichannel capabilities through the integration of Swiftly's solutions.

Through this collaboration, Advantage said brands can now execute comprehensive campaigns across the entire marketing funnel while gaining comprehensive analytics from closed-loop, first-party data to measure campaign success. 

By enabling personalized messaging via activations such as targeted promotions, rebates and ads both in-store and online, the partnership will enable brands and retailers to create a more connected and cohesive shopping experience across the path to purchase all through a single point of contact.

Under terms of the deal, Advantage will also make an equity investment in Swiftly, which is intended to help Advantage modernize and augment its technology to remain on the cutting edge of commerce and offer retailers and consumer packaged goods manufacturers data-driven solutions that can be quickly deployed and translated into action.

Circana

Circana launched Liquid AI, the next generation of its Liquid Data solution. When deployed against critical business issues, Circana's Liquid AI suite potentially reduces complex tasks from hours or days to minutes, enhancing operational efficiencies and making insights more readily accessible, the firm said.

"Clients have been leveraging Circana's machine learning and AI-empowered technology solutions for years," said Ash Patel, chief technology and transformation officer at Circana. "Liquid AI is the culmination of years of training, tuning and development, designed to help our clients leverage the power of AI to make optimal decisions."

Circana's artificial intelligence journey began five years ago with Emiri, a digital teammate that converses in natural language to improve both speed and ease of use. 

Chomps

Snack and jerky brand Chomps broadened its distribution and is now available in more than 1,600 convenience stores, including all Wawa Inc. locations, most Sheetz Inc. locations and FasMart/ShoreStop stores.

"No longer are consumers limited to only processed options when looking for a meat snack, even at convenience stores. They're reaching for grass-fed, low sugar, alternatives that are free from artificial ingredients or colors," Chomps said. "The category is transforming into a younger, health conscious and more gender-balanced consumer base and Chomps is paving the way."  

Over the past 52 weeks, has experienced more than 227% in dollar growth, along with a 5% increase in household penetration. Rather than start in the c-store channel, Chomps followed an expansion strategy that got it on the shelves at more than 20,000 retail locations before making its debut in the convenience market, the company said.

Flavorman

Beverage developer Flavorman opened a large-scale production facility in Louisville, Ky. The 28,000-square-foot expansion represents an $8.5 million investment to scale up Flavorman's "Beverage Campus" and facilitate the company's capacity for bulk flavor production.

The Scott Reed Production Building is named after the longtime Flavorman warehouse manager and designed to enhance the company's blending, compounding and quality control capabilities with cutting-edge technology and laboratories.

"The new facility represents an exciting leap forward for Flavorman and our clients," said Scott Weddle, CEO of Flavorman. "With this facility, we're not just expanding our physical footprint; we're expanding our ability to innovate and push the boundaries of what's possible in beverage creation."

Designed by Frankfort-based G. Scott & Associates (GSA) and contracted by Cardinal Industries, the center includes enhanced blending equipment, increased production space and laboratories designed to allow larger production runs. The new space will also expand Flavorman's bottling/canning capacity and processing and bulk storage operations. 

Gravitate

Energy logistics software creator Gravitate received a significant growth investment from Falfurrias Management Partners, an investment firm focused on growth-oriented, middle-market businesses. 

Gravitate's fuel management software offerings address the fuel value chain across the secondary fuel logistics market serving refiners, wholesalers, carriers and retailers.

As part of the transaction, Gravitate has been spun-out of its parent company, capSpire, which also received an investment from Falfurrias. 

The full Gravitate team will remain unchanged as a result of the split, with founder and CEO Mike Scharf and Chief Operating Officer Bernard Wehbe remaining key owners of the business. Kevin Hesselbirg, an industry first executive with Falfurrias, will serve as Gravitate's chairman.

Hall Estill, Philip Lee and Lopp Law Firm provided legal counsel to Gravitate, while McGuireWoods served as legal advisors to Falfurrias on the transaction.

The Hershey Co.

The Hershey Co. selected a newly created team, MiltonONE, from Publicis, as the agency of record for the company's U.S. candy, mint and gum, salty, and protein business units. 

The selection came after a completed comprehensive review of all media and allowed Hershey to centralize integrated media responsibilities. 

[Read more: The Hershey Co. Makes Progress Toward Global Sustainability Goals]

According to the food company, Publicis created a unique, custom solution, full of top talent across various offices to service Hershey brands. The team will be exclusive to Hershey.

"Publicis demonstrated leading expertise to accelerate key capabilities while unlocking value and growth for our brands at Hershey," said Vinny Rinaldi, head of U.S. media at Hershey. "Their strong focus on strategic planning, integrated investment, and data and technology enhancements will complement our internal integrated media capabilities as we propel Hershey into the future."

Hershey was advised by media and marketing advisory firm MediaLink throughout the review process, which did not include media for the company's international markets. 

PriceEasy

Fuel retailer Heas Energy reported a 15% increase in revenue following its partnership with c-store pricing and analytics platform PriceEasy.

According to the company, the collaboration not only saw an increase in revenue, but a 20% boost in gross profit growth, a rise in in-store traffic and some surprising insights about price sensitivity in different store locations.

"PriceEasy has transformed our pricing strategy," said Shiv Patel, Heas president. "We've learned that price sensitivity isn't just about demographics. Competitor availability plays a crucial role, and PriceEasy's data helps us navigate these complex market dynamics."

Among other things, PriceEasy's solution provides Heas and other clients with reliable competitor data and pricing trends, real-time volume impact analysis and insights into market-wide vs. localized pricing strategies.

Siffron Inc.

Retail display and loss prevention systems provider Siffron Inc., in partnership with The Riverside Co., launched an employee equity ownership program, naming all employees immediate owners of the organization.

The program is powered by Ownership Works, a nonprofit organization that works with companies and investors to allow all employees to build wealth at work. The program facilitates a shared ownership culture, aligning employees' interests with the company's long-term goals and objectives.

"Today is a pivotal day for Siffron. Together with our majority investor, Riverside and Ownership Works, we are committed to building a culture of ownership," said Fabrizio Valentini, CEO of Siffron. "This program aligns with our strong values of innovation, entrepreneurship, and a results-oriented focus and will directly reward employees for their contributions and engagement."

Marc Jourlait, chairman of the board of Siffron, added, "By providing ownership and participation in the value creation of the business, Siffron aims to engage and motivate employees, driving performance and collaboration across the organization."

Simbe Robotics Inc.

Simbe Robotics Inc. entered into a partnership with Plexus Corp. to bring its retail robotics-as-a-service to market quickly and at global scale. 

The partnership will assist Simbe's growing operations and customer base, which spans numerous countries, and enable the company to meet surging interest from prospective retail partners.

Plexus Corp. is an electronics manufacturing services company which designs and manufactures highly complex products. Plexus provides design and development, supply chain, new product introduction, manufacturing and sustaining services solutions to healthcare/life sciences, industrial, and aerospace and defense companies.

The extended collaboration follows a year of growth for Simbe, including the introduction of an intelligence platform for wholesalers, which was launched and deployed for BJ's Wholesale Club; the expansion of its partnership with SpartanNash; and the hiring of several key executives.