In the life of a Hispanic girl, turning 15 means more than candles on a cake — it marks the beginning of womanhood, and is the most meaningful event in the young girl’s life, second only to marriage. The celebration, known as a quinceanera, is similar in concept to a debutante’s “coming-out party,” with a Mass followed by a festive reception. To mark that special occasion, Pleasanton, Calif.-based Kern’s Beverages LLC has announced its Dulce Quinceanera Sweepstakes. Fifty first-prize winners will be randomly selected to receive $1,000, certificates for a year’s supply of Kern’s Beverages, and a CD collection from Sony BMG Music Entertainment, including new music from Chelo, Ulises and Quintero. One grand-prize winner will be randomly selected from the first- prize winners to receive an additional $15,000. To be eligible, the quinceanera celebrant must be a legal U.S. resident turning 15 in 2006 or 2007. For more contest information, visit www.kerns.com.

Granarolo has launched the new Sdrink bottle, a fruit juice and highly-pasteurized skimmed milk-based drink. The packaging design — dynamic and appealing, and attentive to guarantee the product nutritional and aromatic qualities while reducing environmental impact — was revised by PET Engineering, a leading Italian company in engineering PET containers. The new bottle, manufactured at Granarolo plants through a Blomax SIG blower, has a 500 milliliter capacity and a 26-gram weight. It uses a PET W/B/W (white/black/white) triple layer preform and, on the outside, a thermoshrinking sleever.

Elizabeth Guise of Hillsboro, Ore., took home $5,000 as the grand-prize winner in the 2006 Grand Finale Macaroni and Cheese Recipe Contest, created by Tillamook Cheese, Tillamook, Ore., and hosted by McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants. Guise’s Tillamook Crab & Macaroni Bake recipe was awarded the grand prize after competing with seven other regional winners from across the country, and was selected out of more than 1,000 total recipe entries. “This is a family recipe that has slowly evolved into what you see today,” Guise says. “This is my family’s vision — a combination of traditional macaroni and cheese with crab cakes.” First runner-up was Arizona finalist Jenny Flake for her Tillamook® Four Cheese Chicken Florentine Tortellini dish, and second runner up was Northern California finalist Laura Najar for her Mega-Cheesy Mac-N-Cheese with Crab recipe. Both runners up received 15 pounds of Tillamook cheese and dinner for two at McCormick & Schmick’s. All winners and finalists’ recipes are available at www.tillamookcheese.com.

Following an exhaustive search for a talented teen to be the face of the new Milk Rocks! marketing campaign, Canton, N.C.-based Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. announced in July that 16-year-old Britney Christian of Southern California has been chosen for the coveted role. Christian, a rising star in the pop/rock music world, released her debut album All or Nothing this month. Her face and image will grace milk cartons and posters distributed to schools throughout the United States. Milk Rocks! is a multifaceted campaign promoting the benefits of milk as a healthy alternative to sugar-based drinks. It stresses the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle, self-esteem, paperboard packaging, and incorporates positive life principles throughout the campaign. Milk Rocks! officially launched this month as school resumes throughout much of the country. The campaign is a new marketing initiative developed by Blue Ridge, one of the nation’s largest producers of school milk cartons. Game company Baffle Gab‘ and premier banjo and guitar manufacturer Epiphone‘ are sponsorship partners in the campaign. Milk Rocks! officially kicked off in July at the School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.milkrocks.com.

Salt Lake City-based TCBY is celebrating 25 years of serving “The Country’s Best Yogurt” with the launch of a delicious new line of hand-scooped frozen yogurt, available by the scoop or in convenient, pre-packed quarts. Made with either 96 percent fat-free or no-sugar-added frozen yogurt, TCBY’s new product line offers consumers a way to enjoy an indulgent treat that’s also a better-for-you alternative. The company’s new line of hand-scooped frozen yogurt also provides a healthy dose of calcium, as well as protein, vitamin D, and seven live, active cultures. Studies suggest that live, active cultures may provide benefits such as improved digestion and better absorption of nutrients. Studies also show that calcium may help promote weight loss and plays a role in strengthening bones. “TCBY’s been delighting and surprising consumers for 25 years with great tasting, indulgent frozen treats that are also ‘better for you,’” says David Hall, vice president of marketing for TCBY.  “With the launch of our delicious new line of hand-scooped frozen yogurt, we continue that proud tradition.” Consumers can choose from a range of hand-scooped frozen yogurt flavors, including Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough, Mint Chocolate Chunk, Chocolate Chocolate, Pralines & Cream, Strawberries & Cream, Butter Pecan and Cookies & Cream.