For the past 17 years, Gold Coast Ingredients, Commerce, Calif., has owned Gold Coast Flavor & Fragrance Shenzhen (GCFFSZ), a subsidiary in Shenzhen, China. GCFFSZ has manufactured and sold flavors exclusively to the Chinese market. As of May 2021, Gold Coast Ingredients made the decision to sell GCFFSZ to members of its senior management team who have been with Gold Coast since GCFFSZ’s inception, making GCFFSZ a 100% Chinese-owned company.

Rehovot, Israel-based Better Juice Ltd. announced it has raised $8 million in seed-round investment. This new influx of support was led by iAngels, Israel, and includes investors Maverick Ventures, Israel; Food Tech Lab TFTL, Spain; The Kitchen Hub, Israel, as part of the Strauss Group and IIA; NEOME, Israel; Schestowitz Group, Israel; and Semillero, Puerto Rico. The start-up says its enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules. Reducing up to 80% of all sugars, Better Juice says its non-GMO technology is designed to target orange juice’s specific sugar composition to naturally create a low-calorie, reduced-sugar product with a delicate sweetness. The investment also will be used to build the company’s first full-scale manufacturing plant.