ATLANTA — High school athletes who play on sports teams smoke tobacco products at a lower rate than non-athletes, but use smokeless tobacco at a higher rate, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in the latest issue of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Data from national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) show that while current use of combustible tobacco products (cigarettes and cigars) dropped dramatically from 2001 to 2013 among all high school students (31.5% to 19.5%), current use of smokeless tobacco remained unchanged among non-athletes (5.9%) and increased among athletes (10% to 11.1%).

The lower use of combustible tobacco products might result from athletes’ awareness of how smoking can hurt athletic performance, the report said. The higher use of smokeless tobacco suggests athletes may perceive these products as harmless, socially acceptable or perhaps even as a way to boost athletic performance, the CDC speculated.

The data show a relationship between the number of sports teams on which an athlete plays and his or her tobacco use. Athletes who play on multiple sports teams use smokeless tobacco more and combustible tobacco less. During 2013, prevalence of smokeless use was 5.9%, 10.2%, 11.5% and 12.5% among students participating in zero, one, two, or three or more sports teams, respectively. But combustible tobacco use was 21.3%, 19.6%, 17.1% and 15.8% among students participating in zero, one, two or three or more sports teams, respectively.

The tobacco industry has marketed smokeless products as an alternative to cigarettes in situations where smoking is prohibited, which might further promote their use among athletes, said the CDC.

Although Minor League Baseball prohibits use of smokeless products, Major League Baseball restricts but does not prohibit their use. San Francisco has adopted a policy, which becomes effective Jan. 1, 2016, that would prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco and all other tobacco products at all city professional and amateur athletic venues. On Sept. 2, 2015, Boston enacted a similar policy that goes into effect April 1, 2016.

Smokeless tobacco use among professional athletes is concerning, said the CDC, because youth may view them as role models. Tobacco-free policies that prohibit all tobacco use by players, coaches, referees and fans on school campuses and at all public recreational facilities—including stadiums, parks and school gymnasiums—might help make smokeless tobacco use less socially acceptable and reduce its use among student athletes, said the report.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Donald Trump’s announcement that he won’t eat Oreos again because Nabisco parent company Mondelez is moving some of its production to Mexico (some will remain in the United States) comes coincidentally as Hydrox cookies are set to relaunch in mid-Septemeber after a seven-year absence.

Upon hearing Trump’s vow to eschew the crème-filled chocolate cookie, Ellia Kassoff, the CEO of Leaf Brands, which makes the rival cookie brand, extended an invitation to Trump to visit the Hydrox plant in Vernon, Calif., outside Los Angeles.

The company didn’t say whether Trump has responded.

The Hydrox relaunch kicks off at the Vernon production facility. Kassoff vowed to keep Hydrox production in the United States.

“Hydrox will play an important role in creating solid American jobs,” he said. “We want consumers to know ‘the original sandwich cookie’ will always be made in the U.S. and Mr. Trump’s campaign focuses on growing American jobs, so we decided to invite him to our plant. We are in no way picking candidates or jumping into politics, but we want to showcase how a company can create a high-quality product at a good price, without moving operations out of the U.S.,” Kassoff pledged.

Sunshine Buscuits’ Hydrox became America’s first sandwich cookie in 1908, but was quick to find competition from Oreo four years later. Keebler acquired Sunshine in 1996 and eventually replaced the brand with the similar Droxies. Kellogg’s acquired Keebler in 2001 and discontinued Droxies in 2002. Kellogg now sells a similar cookie under the Famous Amos brand. In 2008, when Hydrox turned 100, Kellogg briefly resumed distribution, but only for a limited time.

In 2014, Leaf Brands acquired the Hydrox brand and set out to rebuild it in its original formula, using real sugar and high-quality cocoa.

Leaf has partnered with Amazon for the initial Hydrox rollout to quickly fulfill product, the company said.

“There are many consumers waiting for the cookies as soon as they come off the line, and what better company to fulfill the initial influx of orders than Amazon,” Kassoff said.

On social media, look for #hailhydrox and #hydroxcookiesareback

The original Leaf Brands started in the 1920s. Once the fourth-largest candy producer in North America, it brought candy classics such as Whoppers and Jolly Rancher to the marketplace. Family members restarted Leaf Brands after Hershey acquired the U.S. division in 1996. The Newport Beach, Calif., company’s products include Astro Pops, Farts Candy, tart n’ tinys and David’s Signature ‘Beyond Gourmet’ products.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Convenience-store retailer The Spinx Co. has rolled out a new initiative, the Business Management Program, which is open to students working toward a degree in business.

The retailer designed the program to provide students with invaluable experience and a clear career path opportunity, as well as comprehensive tuition reimbursement and weekly paychecks. Students can be employed full or part time at Spinx convenience stores while completing their coursework.

Students will develop skills in effective collaboration, critical thinking and decision-making, business and financial analysis, strategy development, economics and leadership.

“According to the National Retail Federation, the retail industry outpaces both the healthcare industry and manufacturing with over 28 million jobs in the U.S.,” said Tracie Lilly, chief human resource officer at Spinx. “The Spinx Business Management Program allows students to capitalize on that in-demand career path by gaining real-world experience while earning their degree.”

Participants in the Spinx Business Management Program are eligible for a higher starting wage and can take advantage of the Spinx Tuition Reimbursement Program, which helps offset the cost of schooling.

Based in Greenville, S.C., Spinx operates 80 convenience stores in South Carolina.

HOUSTON – Eskimo Hut, a chain of drive-thru convenience stores specializing in frozen daiquiris and margaritas to-go, said it has signed several multi-unit store development agreements that call for 27 new units.

The chain, which already has 27 units across Texas, plans to open the first of its new locations by October 2015 in Lubbock. Other areas to be developed include Arlington, Bryan/College Station, Copperas Cove, Fort Worth, Granbury, Killeen, San Antonio and San Marcos.

“We value all of our franchisees that are on the ground facing everyday challenges to make their businesses succeed,” said Scott Haehnel, the vice president of franchise and business development for Eskimo Hut.

“We make it our responsibility to reflect what life really means and what’s really important, and to always focus on what matters,” he said. “Everything reflects upon our principles and our culture, a culture of hospitality that can translate internationally. We focus on the people that make us successful, the reasons why people join our family and protect those values.”

Consumers can also look forward to seeing new store designs as Eskimo Hut begins work with Studio Red Architects, Houston, to create stores with a unique style and more functionality.

“We strive to create an exciting atmosphere for our guests and our employees by initiating a more inviting experience to both shop and work,” said Kevin Morgan, CEO and founder of Eskimo Hut.

Based in Houston, Eskimo Hut opened its first store in Amarillo, Texas, in 1996.

MINNEAPOLIS & PARSIPPANY, N.J. — General Mills Inc. has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Green Giant and Le Sueur frozen and canned vegetable businesses to B&G Foods Inc. for approximately $765 million in cash, subject to an inventory adjustment at closing.

General Mills will continue to operate the Green Giant business in Europe and select other export markets under license from B&G Foods.

The sale reinforces General Mills’ strategic priority to shape its portfolio for growth, focusing its resources on the brands, categories and geographic markets that have the greatest future growth opportunities.

The Green Giant and Le Sueur businesses included in the proposed transaction, comprised of the United States, Canada and select other markets, generated annual net sales of approximately $585 million in fiscal 2015.

“The acquisition marks our entry into the frozen food category, which we believe will open many future growth opportunities,” said Robert C. Cantwell, president and CEO of B&G Foods.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by the end of the calendar year. General Mills expects to use the net proceeds for share repurchases and debt reduction.

B&G Foods and its subsidiaries manufacture, sell and distribute a diversified portfolio of branded shelf-stable foods across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Based in Parsippany, N.J., its brands include Ac’cent, B&G, B&M, Baker’s Joy, Bear Creek Country Kitchens, Brer Rabbit, Canoleo, Cary’s, Cream of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Devonsheer, Don Pepino, Emeril’s, Grandma’s Molasses, JJ Flats, Joan of Arc, Las Palmas, MacDonald’s, Mama Mary’s, Maple Grove Farms, Molly McButter, Mrs. Dash, New York Flatbreads, New York Style, Old London, Original Tings, Ortega, Pirate’s Booty, Polaner, Red Devil, Regina, Rickland Orchards, Sa-són, Sclafani, Smart Puffs, Spring Tree, Sugar Twin, Trappey’s, TrueNorth, Underwood, Vermont Maid and Wright’s. B&G Foods also sells and distributes Static Guard, a household product brand.

Minneapolis-based General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. It had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of $18.7 billion, including the company’s $1.1 billion proportionate share of joint-venture net sales.

BELOIT, Wis. – The Broaster Co. recently hired Sharon Schwengler as its new national accounts manager. Schwengler brings more than 20 years of experience in the field of commercial foodservice to Broaster, previously working with such companies as Pepsico Foodservice, Libby Inc., Nemco Food Equipment and Standex International.

She will focus on multi-unit national account development, promoting the profitability of serving Broaster Chicken and the Broaster Express branded food program.

“We’re very excited we found someone with Sharon’s wealth of experience to join us as our new national accounts manager,” said Jay Cipra, president of Broaster. “She will play a vital role in maintaining and developing our accounts as we rapidly expand. Sharon’s caliber and industry knowledge make her a meaningful addition to the Broaster Co.”

For more than 60 years, Broaster has offered a license branded food program to strengthen operators’ businesses and build their profits. The program does not require development fees, royalty payments or franchise fees, and it provides all of the food, equipment national branding and marketing materials needed to help foodservice operators to be successful in offering Broaster Chicken and Broaster Express grab-and-go foods.

Beloit, Wis.-based Broaster is the leader in manufacturing pressure fryers, a profitable and branded food program, ready-to-cook foods and specialty foodservice. The company also offers its licensed brands, Genuine Broaster Chicken and Broaster Express food program worldwide to an extensive range of foodservice operations. It markets its products through a global network of authorized distributors.

ANDERSON, S.C. — The Spinx Co. and Piedmont Natural Gas have opened Anderson, S.C.’s first public compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling station. The station is Piedmont’s third public refueling facility in South Carolina and its first station located at an existing convenience store.

U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan (R) joined executives from Piedmont and Spinx to mark the occasion. The event featured refueling demonstrations with several types of vehicles that will use the station, including passenger and commercial fleet vehicles.

“Spinx has been the leader in providing innovative fueling options to our customers since 1972, and the CNG fuel option is an important new choice for fleet operators and individual motorists who appreciate the benefits of natural gas,” said Stewart Spinks, founder and chairman of The Spinx Co. “We are committed to continuing our leadership in this area, and so are especially proud of our new partnership with Piedmont Natural Gas.”

With the opening of the Anderson station, Piedmont now operates 10 public CNG refueling stations throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Piedmont Natural Gas, Charlotte, N.C., is an energy services company engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and power-generation utility customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Based in Greenville, S.C., Spinx operates 80 convenience stores in South Carolina.

Separately, VNG.Co LLC has expanded its CNG fueling network in Texas with a new Circle K in Houston. To mark the occasion, VNG will offer CNG by VNG for a limited-time promotional price of 99 cents per GGE (gasoline gallon equivalent) at this location.

“We are very excited to be working with Circle K, a leading national convenience and fuel retailer, in bringing CNG fueling to the mainstream and support the development of NGVs in Texas and throughout the nation,” said Robert Friedman, COO of VNG. “Our addition of this high-quality location to our Houston retail CNG fueling network demonstrates the future of CNG fueling and we invite fleets and consumers in the area to experience it today.”

VNG’s newest CNG fueling facility is part of a multi-city public access fueling station development program in major U.S. markets to provide a convenient, safe and familiar CNG fueling experience for drivers of light-duty vehicles such as pickups, vans and passenger cars.

VNG’s facilities offer fast fill times for quick in and out, as well as all of the amenities drivers seek when purchasing fuel, including convenience stores, fast food and clean restrooms.

Based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., VNG offers CNG by VNG nationwide to support and accelerate the widespread use of light-duty NGVs by national and regional fleets and eventually the mass-market consumer segment. VNG installs, maintains, monitors and operates its company-owned CNG fueling equipment, providing fleets with cost-effective, turnkey CNG by VNG fueling services located within existing retail gas stations.

Owned by Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., there are more than 3,300 Circle K convenience stores in the United States.

YORK, Pa. — Rutter’s has again earned the No. 3 rank on The Central Penn Business Journal’s 2015 list of Top 100 Private Companies in Central Pennsylvania.

The York, Pa-based convenience-store retailer has been ranked in the top 10 of the Top 100 list every year since 2005. Rutter’s earned 2015’s No. 1 spot on the list of Top 100 Private Companies in York County, Pa., according to the newspaper.

Rutter’s chief customer officer, Derek Gaskins, said the company’s robust foodservice program, as well as its commitment to technology are two reasons for the consistent growth. Gaskins pointed to recent enhancements to the Rutter’s Rewards program such as the introduction of the Rutter’s Rewards VIP Club, as well as the company’s two new corporate giving programs, Vote with Your Dollars and Rutter’s Rewards Schools as examples of using technology to benefit the customers.

“Customers who join our VIP Club can earn and redeem rewards without using a Rutter’s Rewards card, take advantage of Remember Me technology when ordering on our touchscreen food order kiosks, redeem fuel rewards at our pumps, and load exclusive VIP-only offers to their Rutter’s Rewards loyalty wallets. We developed these changes to make our customer interactions with us easier and more efficient,” said Gaskins.

“Vote with Your Dollars and Rutter’s Rewards Schools not only give area charities and school organizations a way to raise money, but also allow our customers to have a voice in the causes to which we lend financial support,” he said.

Under the third generation of family leadership, Rutter’s operates 60 convenience stores throughout central Pennsylvania.

LAREDO, Texas — Fomento Económico Mexicano SAB de CV (FEMSA), owner of the OXXO chain of convenience stores in Mexico, opened its second c-store in Texas, in downtown Laredo, on August 31.

FEMSA opened its first OXXO c-store in Eagle Pass, Texas, in May 2014, which at the time it called a “proof of concept” rather than a pilot.

Manuel Filizola, director of administration and finance for FEMSA, told El Norte that the second store is also a “concept store” to help the company better understand the U.S. market.

Juan Fonseca, FEMSA’s head of investor relations, said on an earnings call in May 2015 that the company opened that store “as part of the conversations with the regulators and the government. It’s not really a proper OXXO store, and … doesn’t sell alcohol.”

Monterrey, Mexico-based FEMSA, founded in 1890, is the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the world and an investor holding the second largest equity stake in brewer Heineken. OXXO operates approximately 12,400 c-stores in Mexico and Central America. It opened its first store, in Monterrey, in 1978.

FEMSA has said that it wants to invest approximately $850 million to open 900 convenience stores in Texas, but the move is contingent upon changes to alcoholic beverage laws in the state of Texas that prohibit retailers of alcohol from being owned by firms with ties to the liquor industry.

Both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are seeing re-invigorated retail activity. In February 2014, Mexico City-based brewer Grupo Modelo sold its 880-unit Extra convenience-store chain in Mexico to Comercializadora Círculo CCK SA de CV, an independent franchisor for Mexico to which Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has granted a license for the rights to the Circle K brand in Mexico.

In August 2015, Couche-Tard signed an agreement with Círculo K to rebrand more than 700 of its existing Extra c-stores to the Circle K brand by August 2017.

“If you look at Southern California, Arizona, parts of Texas, we’re along the border, so it’s a natural extension to our markets,” Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Couche-Tard said on the company’s earnings call this week. “And as the fuel market opens up in the coming years, as the government has committed to, we’ll continue to explore looking at Mexico more deeply.”

Meanwhile, the rebranding in Mexico was a precursor to Couche-Tad’s just-announced “brand harmonization” initiative for the 1,500-store Kangaroo Express chain it acquired from The Pantry. The company will convert those stores in the first half of 2016, and “we will be using the Circle K brand in the U.S. going forward as our convenience-store brand,” Hannasch said.

Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard has nearly 8,000 convenience stores throughout North America.

KINGSTON, N.J. — Allied Brand Services LLC, a leading specialty equipment finance company focused on the retail/wholesale petroleum and convenience-store industry, recently undertook an extensive rebranding effort and has officially changed its name to Allied Brand Capital LLC. It is now marketing under the new name.

“Our company and customers will benefit from this new corporate identity,” said Michael J. Cerminaro, president and CEO of Allied Brand Capital. “Allied Brand Services has been a leader in specialty equipment financing since it was spun out of VP Racing Fuels in early 2014.”

He continued, “We wanted a name that spoke to our customers and prospects regarding what we do—provide the capital that is the engine of growth in an industry underserved by traditional lenders.”

Allied Brand Capital works closely with major retail petroleum brands, equipment manufacturers, fuel marketers and jobbers and dealers.

It has created a new logo and marketing message, which will be part of Allied Brand Capital’s corporate identity.

“This name change better reflects the current and future direction of the company,” Cerminaro added. The new corporate identity signifies the company’s transformation into a fully independent entity focused on development of creative financing solutions for the entire retail/wholesale petroleum and convenience store industry.

“We’re excited about the name change and being more directly associated with Capital providers. It puts us in a better position to grow,” said Chuck Lemar, Allied Brand Capital executive vice president and head of loan origination. “We leverage what we know and whom we know to provide capital to an industry that appreciates the high level of customer service we provide.”

Cerminaro said, “We plan to reveal a more complete view of the Allied Brand Capital brand and an updated website this month, in connection with the legal change of our corporate name. … We will continue to focus our efforts on working with equipment manufacturers to deliver unique vendor financing programs and providing creative solutions to assist petroleum retailers with their EMV migration plans.”

Allied Brand Capital, based in Kingston, N.J., is a specialty equipment finance company focused upon the retail and wholesale petroleum industry. It also provide financing to the car wash equipment market and in support of fast-food franchises, including the financing of franchise fees and foodservice equipment. ABC has developed specific vendor financing solutions to assist petroleum retailers with their Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) migration plans.