Alexandria, Va.-based National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) announced the return of the Share Your Story Contest for beer distribution employees who have never attended the NBWA Annual Convention & Trade Show. The contest is intended to highlight some of the 130,000 men and women who make up the beer distribution industry, including truck drivers, inventory specialists, graphic artists, sales representatives, warehouse workers and receptionists, the association says.

VideoMining Corp., State College, Pa., announced the results of two national studies that found shoppers are spending less time in supermarkets and more time in convenience stores.

Los Angeles, Calif.-based CORE Hydration announced its lineup of Hollywood investors continue to grow. Becky G, Diplo, Juicy J, Max Martin and Katy Perry have joined the company as brand investors, it says.

Wine and gourmet producers from Spain to showcase products creating an alliance between Europe and the Americas.

Constellation Brands Inc., Chicago, announced that internationally-renowned soccer players Clint Dempsey and Miguel Layún will serve as brand ambassadors for Modelo Especial, a pilsner-style lager brewed for 90 years in Mexico. The brand, which recently became the second most imported beer in the United States, has partnered with Dempsey and Layún as part of its summer marketing campaign, which began this month and centers around the sport of soccer.

Sixty-six wine professionals from around the world judged the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and later visited award-winning Finger Lakes wineries and attended a lunch at Waterloo Container in Waterloo, N.Y. The lunch-and-learn event featured three of the top beverage packaging manufacturers in the U.S. introducing new packaging innovations. These are innovations that can be expected on the shelves next to wines – or maybe holding wines – in the very near future.

King Juice Company, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisc., proud producer of Calypso-flavored Lemonades, Limeades and Teamonades, has announced a partnership with Lemons of Love (LOL), Des Plaines, Ill., a charity organization that delivers Chemo Care Packages to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. LOL was founded by Jill Swanson, a cancer survivor who underwent chemotherapy treatment in 2014. Lemons of Love’s care bags are hand made by volunteer stitchers and contain special products that were essential in Swanson’s healing during her own cancer treatments, the company says.

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, unveiled the world’s first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant materials at the World Expo - Milan. PlantBottle packaging pushes the boundaries on sustainable innovation by using groundbreaking technology to create a fully recyclable plastic bottle made from renewable plant materials, the company says. 

Three of the top five fastest-growing spirits brands are vodkas, but whiskey is the category with the most momentum, according to the 2015 SpiritsTAB Report from Chicago-based Technomic Inc.

Heineken Light, a brand of Heineken USA, New York, N.Y., announced that this summer, the brand’s Best Tasting Light 360 degree program will inspire LDA+ shoppers to set a new standard for their summer gatherings by choosing Heineken Light as their go-to light beer, the company says. National TV, digital and web activations, social support and retail and on-premise activation will help shift the light beer conversation back where it belongs – taste – to drive trial and incremental sales of superior tasting, higher margin Heineken Light, it says.