Go Organic! for Earth Day, a joint project of the Organic Trade Association and MusicMatters, took second place in PROMO magazine's PRO Awards ceremony in the Best Retail/Co-Marketing Campaign category, surpassing other national campaigns including Wal-Mart, DreamWorks, the U.S. Postal Service and eBay.

Augustine, Fla.-based Tree of Life announced the completion and launch of phase one of the company's interactive broker portal, the third in a series of information-sharing technology tools that also includes a retailer portal and a supplier portal. The new broker portal allows partners to access the company's catalog and newsletter.

Boulder, Colo.-based functional beverage company mix1 announced the completion of a $6 million equity financing round from a diverse group of existing and new investors. The company said the capital will allow accelerated expansion and strengthen mix1's presence in the functional foods category.

Raw material and ingredient manufacturer Embria Health Sciences, based in Ankeny, Iowa, announced the opening of its $10 million manufacturing facility and corporate headquarters.

Hamilton, Ohio-based ingredient company A.M. Todd announced the acquisition of a 50,000-square-foot building on 5.5 acres in Butler County Township, north of downtown Cincinnati. The company plans to renovate the building and move in by July 2008.

Mandeville, La.-based Vitality Juice, Java and Smoothie Bar, as part of its environmental awareness campaign Mission Green, has begun charging customers five cents for each plastic grocery bag. Proceeds from bag sales, which are designed to encourage use of reusable bags, will go to environmental organization Green Light New Orleans.

Los Angeles-based snack food company Corazonas Foods announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Brandeis University to use its technology to create several new heart-healthy categories of snacks. The technology allows high levels of plant sterols to be incorporated into foods while retaining the products' flavor.

Tualatin, Ore.-based Pacific Natural Foods received a seal of approval from the American Culinary Federation, the nation's largest organization of professional cooks, for its Organic Concentrated Chicken Broth and Organic Concentrated Vegetable Broth, both made especially for the foodservice industry. Pacific also received the Mahonia Food Industry Award for Hunger Relief from Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski. The award recognizes the company's commitment to alleviating hunger.

The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s announced it has funded a grant to Purdue University for the founding of the International Omega-3 Learning and Education Consortium for Health and Medicine. Directed by Dr. Bruce Watkins, the consortium will reach out to educators, health care professionals, consumers and the media with information about omega-3 fatty acids and their health effects.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based snack company Mama Mellaces's Old World Treats received organic certification in October from Quality Assurance International.

Natural Foods Merchandiser volume XXVIII/number 12/p. 52