PepsiCo Inc., the Purchase-based beverage and snack food company, said it is introducing two new flavors its line of SoBe Lifewater products. The addition of Acai Fruit Punch and Mango Melon flavors join an existing lineup of SoBe flavors that include Fuji Apple Pear, Black and Blue Berry and Yumberry Pomegranate. PepsiCo said that it also plans an aggressive marketing campaign to promote SoBe’s naturally sweetened, zero-calorie product lineup.

Hydrive Energy LLC, a Rye-based company that sells energy drinks, is expanding its lineup to include a food product.

Hydrive Energy Chews, designed to deliver the benefits of the drinks in a non-liquid form, are available in two flavors, Orange Burst and Berry Burst, the company said.

Hydrive will sell the product in foil pouches containing 4 individually wrapped chews. The three-year-old company currently distributes its products through more than 15,000 stores in the United States.

“The idea of being able to conveniently get an energy boost at any time – on-the-go, biking, yoga or just sitting at your desk – was incredibly appealing to folks we talked to and is exactly what they want,” said Brian O’Byrne, chief executive officer of Hydrive. “They loved the idea that these chews taste great and provide nutrients in addition to energy.”

Bayer Diabetes Care in Tarrytown has started selling a new device that allows diabetics to monitor their blood sugar levels at home.

The new device, A1CNow Selfcheck, is available without a prescription and through online pharmacies with a suggested sale price of $29.99, according to Bayer. The device recently received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Bayer’s A1CNow Selfcheck provides patients with a new way to partner with their healthcare providers to better achieve good blood sugar control on both a daily basis and over the long-term,” said Sandra Peterson, president of Bayer Diabetes Care.

Zinio, a New York-based digital publisher, has formed a partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. of White Plains to provide electronic magazines to guests at some Starwood hotels. The “digital newsstands” will be offered to guests at Starwood’s Element and Aloft properties and participating Four Points by Sheraton hotels.

A joint venture between Purchase-based PepsiCo Inc. and Unilever said that it has introduced a new drink called Lipton Sparkling Green Tea. The companies said that the drink, a blend of fruit flavors, green tea and lightly sparkling water, will be sold across the country.

“Lipton Sparkling Green Tea brings together the great taste and the goodness of tea that are trademarks of Lipton Iced Tea, with the fun and sparkle of a soda,” Mary Barnard, vice president and general manager of the Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership, said in a written statement.

Users of iPhones and iPods will be able to locate nearby automated teller machines using the popular consumer devices from Apple Inc.

The new ATM Hunter application was developed by Purchase-based MasterCard Inc.

“MasterCard is focused on delivering innovative applications and services that help make life easier not only for MasterCard cardholders, but for all consumers,” Cheryl Guerin, senior vice president of global digital marketing for MasterCard, said in a written statement. Consumers “will no longer be detoured and slowed down looking for the nearest ATM and can instead spend time doing things they enjoy.”

The ATM Hunter feature allows consumers to customize their search to specific financial institutions and download directions. Users can also pinpoint wheelchair accessible, drive-through, or 24-hour access ATMs.

MasterCard ATM Hunter is available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

PepsiCo Inc. said that it has introduced a lighter bottle for its Aquafina brand of water that uses 50 percent less plastic as it makes its products friendlier for the environment.

The Purchase-based beverage and snack food giant added that the product, known as the Eco-Fina Bottle, will weigh 10.9 grams and conserve an estimated 75 million pounds of plastic annually. PepsiCo called it the lightest half-liter bottle on the market.

The company said that it also expects to save 20 million pounds of cardboard by 2010 by eliminating cardboard base pads from 24-packs of the water. PepsiCo will start shipping the new bottles to stores in April. Across the company, PepsiCo said that it has set goals to cut its use of water and energy by 20 percent and curb fuel consumption by 25 percent by 2015.

The lighter packaging for Aquafina comes at a time when the bottled water industry is battling a sales slump. Industry analysts have said that consumers have been drinking less bottled water because they are looking to cut costs in a slow economy. In addition to the economic pressures, the bottled water industry also has faced attacks from activists challenging the environmental impact of the product.

The Dannon Company Inc. of White Plains said that it is expanding its Activia brand of yogurt products with two new offerings. The new products, Activia Dairy Drinks and Activia Fiber, fit into the company’s stategy to expand further in the United States.

“The U.S. is still an emerging yogurt market, as Americans consume about 75 percent less yogurt per person than people in other countries, such as France and Spain,” said Marc Jove, senior vice president of marketing for Dannon.

PepsiCo Inc. said that it will incease its sales in the rapidly growing energy drink categry through a contract to distribute the Rockstar Energy Drink across Canada and most of the United States. Rockstar, sold in 11 flavors and formulated with herbal blends, is designed to give an energy boost for people leading active lifestyles, according to PepsiCo.

“Rockstar is a major milestone in our bid to become the undisputed category leader in energy drinks,” Hugh Johnston, president of Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, said in a written statement.

Rockstar will be distributed by leading Pepsi-Cola bottlers in their service territories, including Pepsi Bottling Group in Somers. Rockstar joins PepsiCo’s existing roster of energy drinks that are sold under the AMP, No Fear and Starbucks brands. Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd., a White Plains-based importer of wines from around the world, announced an agreement that will add leading Spanish brands to its product lineup.

Deutsch said that it has signed a partnership with Spanish drinks producer Diego Zamora to become the U.S. co-owner and exclusive importer of Diego Zamora’s portfolio of brands.

“We see a great opportunity to use our brand-building expertise to maximize the potential for Spanish wine sales in the U.S. market,” said Peter Deutsch, chief executive officer of Deutsch, “and Diego Zamora is the perfect partner for this venture because Zamora offers a portfolio of premium quality, excellent value wines.”

Deutsch said Spanish wines are an attractive opportunity since the 8.2 percent growth in sales dollar volumes in the category is regularly outperforming the total wine market.

After the deal, Deutsch will gain brands that target different price points, from the $9.99 contemporary Volteo up to the $69.99 Mirto.

Customers include upscale restaurants, fine wine shops and chain retailers.

“W.J. Deutsch’s strong relationship with their distributor partners throughout the country, coupled with their unprecedented brand-building ability, made them the perfect choice,” Emilio Restoy Cabrera, managing director of Diego Zamora, said in a written statement. “Together we are looking forward to building our brands to become the best-selling Spanish wines in the U.S.”

Sonitec Corp., an alarm and security company based in Mount Vernon, recently announced the rollout of SafetyLink, a new personal emergency response system. SafetyLink customers can access a 24-hour-a-day safety and security system by pressing a button. The customer also gains two-way voice contact with emergency medical technicians at a caller center in Reading, Penn.

Paying for college textbooks can be a financial burden for students who already are struggling with soaring costs for tuition, room and board.

Students typically spent $805 to $1,229 for books and supplies during the the 2007-08 academic year, according to the College Board.

As a student backlash grows against these costs, a Nyack-based company called Flat World Knowledge sees a business opportunity in offering students a budget-friendly alternative—- free textbooks over the Internet. Executives at the two-year-old privately held company said the concept of online books is making inroads at more campuses as professors and students see how they can positively impact the classroom experience.

“We expect 2009 to be a big year for us as we further our commitment to offering alternatives to the high-cost traditional textbook,” said Eric Frank, Flat World Knowledge co-founder and chief marketing officer.

Flat World Knowledge said that 30 U.S. universities and colleges have agreed to offer its online textbook products in trial programs this spring. Teachers of marketing, economics and other business coursres are among those offering the online textbooks that are written by leading academics and authors, the company said. The trial is an expansion from a 15-school test in the fall.

Flat World said that even though the online books are free, the company generates revenue by selling related options to students, including audio versions, digital study aids, study guides and mobile flash cards. After starting out with business course textbooks, Flat World plans to branch out to general education course books.

“Branching into general education courses will have a tremendous impact on community colleges in particular,” Frank said. “Not only are general education courses the bread and butter of community colleges, community college students are feeling the greatest pinch from the high cost of traditional textbooks.”

In October, Flat World said that it had raised $700,000 in new funding from investors that include media executives, educators, authors and technology entrepreneurs. That brought the total funding raised by the company to $1.4 million.

The partnership between The Reader’s Digest Association Inc. in Chappaqua and Rick Warren, one of the nation’s best known Christian ministers and writers, kicks off this week with its first product: a quarterly magazine called “Purpose Driven Connection.”

The 146-page magazine, a 52-page study guide and a DVD are available to consumers as part of an annual subscription membership of $29.99.

The magazine also goes on sale this week at newsstands, Christian bookstores and national retail outlets, including Wal-Mart, for around $10, according to Reader’s Digest. Articles in the first issue include Warren’s interview with President Barack Obama. Reader’s Digest originally announced the partnership with Warren in November.

PepsiCo Inc. and Starbucks Coffee Co. announced that their joint venture to sell Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee beverages is expanding with a new version that has a cinnamon dulce flavor. The companies said that new drinks will begin arriving at grocery and convenience channels in early February. The drink also is sold in coffee, mocha and vanilla flavors.

A White Plains-based company is launching an Internet site called www.globaleducationexplorer.com to help relocating families compare educational systems across the globe.

The site developer, School Choice International, said that the resource enables parents to quickly compare curriculum, assessments and customs between countries by typing home and destination countries, and their child’s birthdates. Also covered are traditions like what to wear to school, how birthdays are celebrated and what to get the teacher for holidays.

The pilot for Global Education Explorer will be launched Wednesday with a free trial corporate subscription for its first three locations—Australia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. School Choice International added that a full selection of countries will be available by year’s end.

Cablevision Systems Corp., the biggest cable company in Westchester and Rockland counties, said that it has launched an Internet channel targeted at the fast growing Hispanic market.

The channel, Optimum Latino, is available through the company’s Optimum Online consumer web portal, Optimum.net. The service features content geared toward the Hispanic community, including news, entertainment, sports and the Terra TV platform, which includes 15 channels of Spanish-language video content.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. today used Central Park as the venue to show off a new high-tech lounge for its Sheraton hotel chain.

The lounge, known as Link@Sheraton, is being introduced in the lobbies of Sheraton hotels around the country with such features as free Internet access, televisions, daily newspapers, and food and beverage offerings.

The 34,000-square foot exhibit in Central Park replicated the look and feel of the lounge on a larger scale with 50 computer stations and two 52-inch televisions with live cable broadcasts.

About 600 Starwood employees, including Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen, were at the event billed as Sheraton’s first-ever “Global Out of Office Day.”

The new lounges are part of Starwood’s campaign to revamp the Sheraton brand through $1.3 billion of renovations to existing hotels and $2 billion in new hotel openings.

Chestnut Ridge-based LeCroy Corp., a maker of devices that measure the strength of signals in computer chips, is introducing a system for testing USB 3.0 devices, systems and software. The Voyager system is designed to help developers bring USB 3.0 devices to market faster while ensuring compatibility with the enormous installed base of USB 2.0 products, the standard in most PCs and Macintosh computers and devices today. USB 3.0, also called “SuperSpeed USB,” promises to be 10 times faster with a 25-gigabyte high-definition movie downloading in just 70 seconds versus hours. Shipments of the Voyager system for testing USB 3.0 devices are scheduled to begin in September.

Fujifilm USA Inc., based in Valhalla, will introduce three new digital cameras next month. The FinePix S2000HD, with 10 megapixels, is Fuji’s first digital camera with HD compatibility. The camera takes still pictures in the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. It also features a 2.7-inch LCD. It is priced at $299.95. The FinePix F60fd is a 12-megapixel camera with a 3-inch LCD and offers image stabilization and face detection along with automatic red-eye removal. It also costs $299.95. The FinePix J150w is 10 megapixels with a 3-inch LCD and is 22.6 millimeters thick. It costs $199.95.

MasterCard Inc., the Purchase-based credit card giant, announced yesterday that Ohio-based Fifth Third Private Bank has launched World Elite MasterCard, a premium credit card for affluent clients. The card targets customers who have annual household incomes greater than $250,000 and who spend more than $40,000 annually on credit cards.