5@5: A buyer for Stonyfield | Honest Co. settles 'natural' lawsuits

New Hampshire yogurt maker Stonyfield Organic sold to world's largest dairy cooperation

Stonyfield has found a buyer in Groupe Lactalis, a family-owned dairy company in west of France. The $875 million deal comes after French food company Danone said it would divest the yogurt maker to avoid competition concerns related to its acquisition of WhiteWave. Read more at MassLive...

Honest Co. settles 'all-natural' suits

Jessica Alba's personal care and household products company has agreed to pay $7.35 million to settle four separate class action lawsuits accusing it of falsely claiming that its products are "all natural," although Honest Co. denied any wrongdoing. Read more at Consumer Affairs...

Can Conscious Capitalism survive Amazon? Or the public capital markets?

A core tenet of the Conscious Capitalism movement, cofounded by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, is that businesses create value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Now that Whole Foods is part of Amazon—whose history suggests it doesn't necessarily seem to think that way—will the spirit of Conscious Capitalism survive at Whole Foods? One better business advocate suggests Mackey and Bezos should turn Whole Foods into a benefit corporation, to embed its principles in its legal DNA. Read more at Forbes...

Prairie Roots Food Co-op opens in Fargo with mix of natural, organic foods

The new 8,800-square-foot, member-owned store offers natural and organic foods, much of it locally produced, as well as a deli, salad bar, buffet and kombucha on tap. Read more at Inforum...

Naturally grown: Virginia food co-op expands

Minnesota's Natural Harvest Food Cooperative, founded in 1979, has seen sales grow upwards of 5 percent each year over the last decade. Instead of adding on, the co-op opted to build a new store, complete with a demo room for classes, a hot deli and salad bar. Read more at Business North...