DuPont (DD) consolidated its 23 businesses into 14 in an effort to streamline its operations. The 14 businesses are Pioneer Hi-Bred, Crop Protection, Nutrition & Health, Electronics & Communications, Performance Coatings, Performance Polymers, Packaging & Industrial Polymers, Protection Technologies, Building Innovations, Safety Resources, Chemical Solutions, Fluoroproducts, Titanium Technologies and Applied BioSciences.   DuPont also redefined its reporting segments to provide greater transparency. The new segments would be Agriculture & Nutrition (Pioneer Hi-Bred, Crop Protection, Nutrition & Health), Electronics & Communications, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials (Performance Polymers and Packaging & Industrial Polymers), Safety & Protection (Protection Technologies, Building Innovations, Safety Resources), Performance Chemicals (Chemical Solutions, Fluoroproducts, Titanium Technologies) and Pharmaceuticals (Applied BioSciences).

As part of the consolidation, the chemical maker commented that it eliminated the five group vice president positions and their supporting business structures associated with the platforms that house its businesses. The group vice presidents have currently been reabsorbed

Reed’s, traded on NASDAQ, is in the natural foods business, specializing in brewed ginger beverages. Reed’s has also expanded into ginger candy and ice cream products. Clearly passionate about the herb’s benefits, Reeds goes on to explain (on their website) that “Ginger is traditionally used to improve digestion, cure motion and morning sickness and for general health. The latest research is showing ginger to be anti-cancer, to lower cholesterol, and in Europe it is used as an arthritis medicine.”

The stronger partnership announcement with Sprouts, a large health grocer in the Phoenix area with 26 locations, will cover the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions for Reeds, and positions Reed’s in more mainstream stores in the region. This news is on the tail of the announcement last week of Reed’s agreement with Ralph’s California-based supermarket chain.

Reed’s is currently trading around $2.16, near its 52-week low of $1.50. Its 52-week high, hit nearly