Anticipating that some of their holdings may run into rough sledding as pandemic plays out, general partners at some buyout firms are seeking amendments that would allow them to take limited partners' proceeds from exits and "recycle" them into portfolio cos that need a capital boost, PE Hub reported. "Recycling capital seems to be the friendliest way to inject more capital into companies that need a bridge through the challenging time," wrote PE Hub editor Chris Witkowsky. "But most buyout GPs don't have the ability to recycle proceeds into existing investments (many buyout GPs do have the ability to recycle proceeds into new investments)." Still, such proposals are getting some pushback from investors who may be dealing with their own liquidity issues, and may worry that a company struggling under weight of pandemic may not be soundest investment in any case. "The negative comes back to cash flow. You want to recycle, but I wanted that to be my [money] to keep," family office LP who's considering such an amendment request told PE Hub, which covers broad array of private-equity players, not just those in food/bev. Still, there may be role for that option at time that raising external capital has gotten tougher.

We may have entered pandemic, but pkg giant Crown Holdings is enjoying robust period of growth in North America as lots of on-premise biz shifts to at-home consumption, with overall unit volume up 16% for Q1 and market that's expected to "remain sold out" through balance of year. Tho Crown ceo Tim Donahue predicts growth rate will slow a bit, he still expects N Amer bev market to be "extremely robust," with full-year can shipments up in range of 10%. Cans are experiencing a pronounced bump due to on-premise closures, and Tim noted an "explosion in carbonated and carbonated flavored water categories" during pandemic. Co also expects outsized growth in North America due to expansion at Toronto facility that went live in Jan, an additional line expected to start up at plant in Nichols, NY, in Jun and, further down the line, a new bev can facility anticipated to start up in late Q2 of 2021 in Bowling Green, Ky. For qtr, Crown reported flat revenues at $2.76 bil, hit by $40 mil in unfavorable currency translation. Net sales at Americas Beverage segment soared 10.5% to $871 mil. Like Coca-Cola, Crown has withdrawn its full-year guidance as it waits to learn more about how pandemic and associated economic downturn play out. So far, tho, it's playing to a lot of co's strengths, clearly.

We offered glimpse of CO2 squeeze a week ago (BBI, Apr 13). Since then, other media from Reuters to Forbes have weighed in with further details. Forbes piece Fri indicated that what was 20% decline in CO2 production at time early this month went industry players sent letter to vp Mike Pence requesting gov't intervention has now widened to 30% decline. "In the past 2 weeks suppliers have started breaking contracts and preparing for shortages as 5 more ethanol plants have either closed or significantly reduced output," Forbes writes. "Of the 45 US ethanol plants that sell carbon dioxide, 34 are closed, while other sources from ammonia plans and oil refineries are also declining due to the crisis." Compressed Gas Assn ceo Rich Gottwald is predicting that serious crisis will hit by May without gov't help, anticipating "more than 70% shortfall" . . . In time for Earth Day, Smile Coffee Werks is playing in K-Cup world now. After debuting with commercially compostable pods for Nespresso platform, it's added Keurig platform now, via trio of flavors, High Country (Colombian), Werkday (Guatemalan medium-roast) and Woke Up (dark roast blend). Pod, filter and lid all are 100% free of plastic, BPA and carbon-neutral, co claims. We'd profiled Smile and its quest for branded partners last fall (BBI, Nov 13) . . . Arizona Beverages and its affiliates convinced a federal magistrate in NY to recommend dismissal of proposed class action suit alleging they trick consumers into purchasing Green Tea with Ginseng & Honey that doesn't contain detectable amount of ginseng, Bloomberg Law reported.

Former Jones Soda and Avitae Caffeinated Water exec Dan Ashby has segued from vp sales job at Flow Water to svp role at its boxed-water rival Just Water. Earlier in career Ashby also had roles at cap-dispensed Activate enhanced water brand and Danone's Evian and Lu Biscuit brands. He's based in Southern Calif . . . Florida-based Halsa Foods, maker of plant-based yogurts that also operates as Nothing But Real, has recruited Mara Ebert as its NY-based sale dir. Mara brings sales experience honed at Applegate Farms, Icelandic Provisions, Dr Schar and Aunt Fannie's . . . Shelly Steele, who's daughter of cofounder Mark Steele, has joined Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co as coo. She brings 15 years' experience at financial cos like UBS, Ernst & Young and Charles Schwab to her new role of helping oversee production capacity, customer recruitment and day-to-day operations at grower and marketer of indigenous tea in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

FTC has approved PepsiCo purchase of Rockstar Energy, NY Post reported yesterday, paving way for soda giant to pursue deal that might bring Bang Energy or other energy brands into its orbit, too, as we'd reported back in Feb. Tho we haven't seen announcement yet from PEP or FTC, approval was expected, considering small and declining share of energy segment held by both cos, and with Rockstar distribution contract voided, PEP will now be free to augment energy portfolio with other brands, too. Foremost among them: VPX Sports' Bang Energy. No word on that from either party, tho raft of warning letters to Bang distributors a week ago seemed to be setting them up for termination, and we hear some within Pepsi system have been telling retail contacts for some time that deal is likely. With Bang Energy growth having hit a wall lately, valuation is expected to be tricky subject, and it's possible PEP would opt for distribution-only deal, as it had with Rockstar for years. We've also heard of scenario where PepsiCo buys Bang brand outright, leaving VPX to continue to independently operate its Redline and other brands. But that would leave brand in hands of Pepsi marketers who've proved innovation-challenged when it comes to energy segment.

Ingredients expo Supply Side East already had been pushed back from Apr 21-22 to Jun 23-24 as coronavirus pandemic spread. With outlook continuing to be clouded, organizer Informa Markets now has decided to pull it altogether, reconvening next year at Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, NJ, on Apr 13-14. A contributing factor to cancellation was that Expo Center is serving as temporary hospital for uncertain period of time. Recall it was similar issue with Javits Center in NY that contributed to cancellation of summer edition of Fancy Food Show.

General word has been that it's tough time to get new innovations out to distracted retailers. But some entries seem to be making headway. Latest example is Triple Shot entry of High Brew, year-old entry that got heavy push at NACS c-store show last fall as key c-store entry for RTD coffee brand, which rides KDP system to retail (BBI, Oct 4). So far this year, brand has entered 4,400 primarily convenience accts, including new chains like WaWa, Race Trac, Plaid Pantry and STMA, reports mktg dir Miles Aghajanian. Outside convenience, brand has trickled into some Walmart stores as well as some local HEBs near Austin hq. It's out in Black, Espresso and Vanilla Bean flavors boasting 220-230 mg of caffeine per 11-oz can.

Natural-channel sales specialists Melanie Knitzer and Becca Ray, who played key role in Honest Tea's growth for a decade starting in co's early days, have signed on as co-directors of retail sales at Rishi Tea & Botanicals, following a less than year-long stint at New Barn Organics, per LinkedIn update we spotted from Melanie. Prior to that, the duo had also worked as a team for sales stints at Q Drinks and Bhakti Chai following their long run at Honest Tea/Coca-Cola. We reached out to Melanie for more insight on new responsibilities but have not heard back yet. It's not clear why the pair left New Barn late last year.