Skyy Vodka, a brand of San Francisco, Calif.-based Campari America, launched Skyy Barcraft, a line of cocktail-inspired vodkas in Watermelon Fresca, Margarita Lime and White Sangria varieties.

Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, announced that through its partnership with Oprah Winfrey, which began a year ago, sales of Teavana Oprah Chai have now raised more than $5 million for youth organizations in the United States and Canada.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA announced that, effective July 1, Ronald den Elzen, the current managing director of Heineken Portugal, will become chief executive officer, and current chief executive officer Dolf van den Brink will become chief executive officer of Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (CM)/Heineken Mexico.

Bacardi Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, expanded its portfolio of super-premium spirits with the acquisition of Louisville-based Angel’s Share Brands; its subsidiary, Louisville Distilling Co.; and its Angel’s Envy brand. This deal marks the company’s entry into the bourbon category of the North American whiskey sector.

As part of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Final Four events taking place this week in Indianapolis, The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, has planned a series of interactive experiences for fans of all ages.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA’s Heineken Light beer brand is so confident that it's the best-tasting light beer that it is offering a money back guarantee. To inspire consumers of legal drinking age to try the light beer, the brand once again is partnering with celebrity Neil Patrick Harris on a new commercial and digital video to bring the offer to life in a humorous way.

Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co.’s Inca Kola brand and its Clifton, N.J.-based bottler Continental Food and Beverage Inc. (CF&B) announced the launch of a charity promotion to raise funds for Easter Seals New York’s Veterans Count program. The program will bring together the resources of Inca Kola, Orange Country Choppers (OCC), Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) and AXS TV.

Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. and Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Group Inc. announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement to form The Kraft Heinz Co., which would make the new company the third-largest food and beverage company in North America and the fifth largest in the world, the companies report. 

Although it might not look it outside, if you are in the Midwest or Northeast, summer isn’t too far away. In anticipation of summer activities and the food and beverages that accompany many of them, beverage-makers have started rolling out new products to complement the season. And it looks as though the readers of Beverage Industry are excited for some new summer flavors.

In Rabobank's new report about the U.S. brandy market, the New York-based financial services company identifies a clear market gap in what logically should be the segment’s strongest price segment — premium brands. Between the value, low-growth end of the brandy spectrum and the fast-growing, super-premium Cognac end, there is a potential opportunity for spirits companies to tap into the growing appetite for premium spirits among sophisticated, affluent U.S. consumers, it suggests.