The first quarter of 2012 saw American consumers’ confidence in their personal finances beginning to return, according to Chicago-based SymphonyIRI Group’s most recent MarketPulse survey.

SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, named Dr Pepper Ten, Kraft’s Mio beverage mixes, Sparkling Ice from TalkingRain Beverage Co., Starbucks K-cups and TruMoo from Dean Foods among the 2011 Food & Beverage “Rising Stars” in its 2011 New Product Pacesetters report, which is an analysis of exceptional first-year CPG sales success for newly launched products.

The American Distilling Institute (ADI), Hayward, Calif., held its ninth annual Craft Distilling Conference from April 1-4 at the Huber Winery and Starlight Distillery, Starlight, Ind. Bill Owens, founder and president of ADI, reported that this year’s event was almost 30 percent larger than last year’s conference. This year’s event featured a focus on whiskey and rum with hands-on distilling classes, distillery tours, a vendor expo and a program of educational seminars.

Beverage companies expand their reach through new agreements with wholesale partners.

PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., will introduce new varieties to its low-calorie Tropicana Trop50 brand next month, including a Red Orange variety and a line of juice-and-tea combinations.

Green Mountain Coffee ranked as the coffee brand of the year above Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts and Millstone in Harris Interactive’s 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study.

Beam Inc., Deerfield, Ill., announced a definitive agreement with White Rock Distilleries, Lewiston, Maine, to acquire Pinnacle Vodka, Calico Jack rum and other related assets for $605 million in cash. Pinnacle Vodka’s 2012 volumes are expected to exceed 3 million 9-liter cases and will significantly enhance Beam’s presence in the growing vodka category, the company said.

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, reported its solid first quarter 2012 results with strong volume and revenue growth as well as volume and value share gains across every non-alcohol ready-to-drink beverage category in which it competes, the company said. All geographic operating groups delivered volume growth in the quarter, with global volume increasing 5 percent, North American volume rising 2 percent and international volume growing 6 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., announced a multi-year partnership with Family Dollar Stores Inc., Matthews, N.C., to sell PepsiCo’s beverages in 7,100 stores across 45 states. The multi-year partnership will provide Family Dollar shoppers with access to a variety of products from PepsiCo’s North American beverage portfolio, including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Aquafina and Lipton teas.

Accounting for more than 52 million people in the United States, Latinos are expected to represent the majority of the population growth during the next five years and have become prominent influences in all aspects of American life, according to New York City-based Nielsen’s “The State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative” report. Nielsen projects that the buying power of Latinos, which in 2010 ranked at $1 trillion, will increase 50 percent to $1.5 trillion by 2015.