Ingredion Inc., Westchester, Ill., has entered into a stock-purchase agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of White Marsh, Md.-based TIC Gums Inc. TIC Gums’ expertise with gum-based texturizers complements Ingredion’s expertise in starch technology, the company says. The acquisition will expand Ingredion’s higher-value specialty portfolio and customer base, it adds. The acquisition, which has been approved by Ingredion’s Board of Directors and the stockholders of TIC Gums, is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions. Ingredion expects to fund the $400 million cash transaction with available cash and short-term credit, it says. In other news, Ingredion entered into an agreement with Bedford, Mass.-based SweeGen Inc., a developer and manufacturer of stevia-based sweeteners, to be its exclusive global distributor in all markets except China, where it will be a non-exclusive distributor.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Parker Products Inc. announced that it is breaking ground on a new 90,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth. The company will move all of its operations to the new facility, which is anticipated to open in early 2018, it says. The new facility will triple the company’s total production capacity and will serve as the hub of its kill-step validation and food safety initiatives, it adds.

Glen Rock, N.J.-based Women in Flavor and Fragrance Commerce Inc. announced the 2017 Board of Directors for three of its chapters: Chicago, Cincinnati and New Jersey.

B&D Nutritional Ingredients, Vista, Calif., announced that Candice Soprano-Jordan is the company’s new East Coast regional sales manager. In the new position, Soprano-Jordan will be responsible for driving the company’s East Coast sales strategies and managing key customer accounts, the company says.

The Everstone Group, a private equity and real estate investment firm headquartered in Singapore, has invested $35 million in Mumbai-based OmniActive Health Technologies Ltd. to further accelerate its growth in the nutraceuticals space. The Everstone investment, which gives it a minority stake, will help OmniActive in diversifying and expanding its offerings, the company says. OmniActive will use the transaction proceeds from the deal in its inorganic growth strategy and to execute the acquisition opportunities it has identified, it adds.

Skokie, Ill.-based Sethness Products Co. announced appointments of three executive positions within the company. Tom Schufreider has been promoted to president, Brian Sethness has been promoted to executive vice president of sales and marketing, and Henry Sethness will assume the role of chairman of the executive committee, it says.

Benicia, Calif.-based Flavor Insights, a provider of next-generation flavor innovation and product development, announced the formal launch of the company and its flavor production. The company, founded by the team that developed Muscle Milk, produces all major forms of flavors, including powder, liquid and spray dry. Flavor Insights will work with its customers to define and develop product ideas, and to formulate organic, natural and natural-and-artificial flavors that produce healthier and superior-tasting products, it says.

The Oneida Group, Lancaster, Ohio, announced the appointment of Joan M. Lewis to the company’s Board of Directors. Lewis spent nearly three decades with Procter & Gamble, most recently serving as senior vice president of consumer and market knowledge, media transformation and brand building reinvention, the company says.

Northbrook, Ill.-based Bell Flavors & Fragrances released selections for its 2017 Spark trends for flavors and fragrances in the U.S. market. This year’s flavor trends are about going deeper into regional and localized food, coupled with interesting world flavors, the company says.