Apparently tired of just prodding its unresponsive soup business into a turnaround, Campbell Soup made a big diversification move Monday by agreeing to acquire Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion. Bolthouse began in 1915 as a big carrot farm run by William Bolthouse near Bakersfield, Calif., and has scored a number of successes over the last few years in the better-for-you food, beverage and snack space — not to mention trying to put baby carrots top of mind.

By purchasing the Bolthouse brand from a private equity firm, Madison Dearborn Partners, Campbell gains a premium beverage business to complement its growing portfolio of V8 beverages as well as a fresh-carrot business that Campbell believes could be a healthy-snacking opportunity.

In addition to its implications for Campbell, the move also represents a further homogenization of America's biggest consumer-packaged-goods conglomerates, making Campbell look a little more like Kraft, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola as they all diversify strategically into more better-for-you categories.Continue reading...

PepsiCo has fired another green shot over the bow in the ongoing cola wars with competitor Coca-Cola. The company is releasing five varieties of recyclable and compostable cups in the US, following up on its March announcement of the world's first plant-based bottle.

Coca-Cola, meanwhile, is promoting its PlantBottle eco-friendly packaging, while its recent introduction of recyclable display racks.Continue reading...

It's a well-known saying that when you're given lemons, make lemonade. A less well-known saying: when you're given a celebrity train wreck, make viral marketing.

That's the thinking of L.A. Beverage Group, in a million dollar offer for the recently disgraced and never hotter or more in demand Carlos Irwin Estevez, better known to America as "Charlie Sheen."

But Sheen's recordbreaking arrival on Twitter suggests the actor has other endorsement ideas in mind.Continue reading...

Watching Charlie Sheen join Twitter today — at the rate of 500 followers added per second, by one estimate — has been a fascinating demonstration of personal branding in the age of social media.

His first tweet included two made-up hashtags (#winning and #chooseyourvice), a twitpic showing two beverage brands to make a visual pun.

Girlfriend/porn star Bree Olson holds a Naked Juice while Sheen holds a childlike innocent drink (chocolate milk) from a family-run California dairy that's so teeny it doesn't appear to have a website: Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy, whose beverages are beloved by gourmands and earned Sheen praise from those in the know.

His first bio description, "Unemployed Winner," riffs on his "Winning" mantra about his self-described rockstar lifestyle and choices. The first batch of people that he's following includes Howard Stern and CNN's Piers Morgan, both of whom interviewed him this week; live-in "goddess" Olson; and actress Alyssa Milano.

As he prepares to respond on Twitter tonight to a 20/20 special on ABC, round one goes to ... @charliesheen.

Charlie Sheen attracts 500 new followers per second as he gets ready to bring the crazy to Twitter. Update: he tweeted! And uploaded a twitpic in his first tweet, no less. No word on how Naked Juice and Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy chocolate milk feel about being Sheen's "choose your vice" stand-ins.

In other celebranding news:

Bono swoops in to address Spider-Man on Broadway woes.

Bristol Palin is writing a book.

Christina Hendricks pitches Vivienne Westwood.

Emma Watson used as lure for Facebook "clickjacking" scam.Continue reading...