"With Nestlé Waters bringing increased capabilities, we will be able to offer Sweet Leaf and Tradewinds beverages to more people across the U.S.," said Dan Costello, chief executive officer of the Sweet Leaf Tea Co., in a prepared statement. Sweet Leaf's Austin-based staff will continue managing the Sweet Leaf and Tradewinds brands for future growth.

Call it Hyundai Assurance 2.0. The automaker, which made a big splash with the Assurance program in 2009 and has just finished one of its best months ever, is bringing Assurance back for 2011. The new program covers vehicles for two to four years after purchase, providing a set trade-in price based on Auto Lease Guide numbers. The idea is that consumers will have the "assurance" that they'll get a minimum value set in stone when they are ready to trade the vehicle in.

There are six comic-book based movies coming up for spring and summer. But if the past is a prediction, Marvel Studios' "Thor" will do very well. In spite of a few flops, the company has done $100 million in box-office sales. Jeff Greenfield, COO of C3 Metrics, might be referring to Acura -- the automotive sponsor of "Thor" -- when he says, "If you're a car company and you plan to spend $20 million this quarter on a campaign [and] if you spend $5 million of that to integrate "Thor" into it so that part of the ad says, 'Be …

In coming years, U.S. multinational companies will bring manufacturing back to the U.S. because rising wages and a strong yuan make China no longer the cheap-labor capital. Boston Consulting Group predicts that U.S. reinvestment will accelerate, as the U.S. becomes one of the cheapest locations for manufacturing in the developed world. The firm has evidence that the trend has begun: Caterpillar, Inc. has moved manufacturing of construction equipment back to the U.S., as has NCR, and toy maker Wham-O. BCG says that's just a start.

The Chicago-based Internet coupon company Groupon is in a tough market in China, which it entered in March. The country's web coupon market is saturated with such ventures. Nonetheless, the company is hoping for a foothold in a country where more and more consumers are going online to buy merchandise and services. E-commerce in China grew 100% last year to $70 billion and is likely to grow 60% to 70% this year. The biggest e-commerce site in China is Taobao, but daily deal sites are new there, constituting only $300 million last year.

Stolichnaya is in its final four in a search for a global creative AOR. From a process that started in February, the company has narrowed its choices to McCann Erickson, Taxi, Berlin Cameron United and Ammirati. The winner of the estimated $15 million account succeeds Ogilvy & Mather, who is not defending. The agency's New York office has handled the account since 2008.

Frito-Lay got 1.5 million "likes" in the space of 24 hours from a Facebook promotion it ran last month, a Guinness World Record. So the company is thanking its fans by offering them a digital coupon for a free $4 bag of chips. It all began with a five-day live event in New York's Times Square involving a recreation of the company's flavor development kitchen.

Onion lovers, wipe those eyes and pay close attention. No hot dog is complete without onion relish, and it appears the best of the condiment is made by one Joe Cachia, a retired construction worker from Brooklyn, living in Key West, Fla. His "Original New York Joe's Onions" are one of the best new food products of 2010 (according to Supermarket Guru founder Phil Lempert). Even Whoopie Goldberg says so. She tasted it on "The View" and extolled the virtues of its Miami spice.

Ed Shirley is leaving as vice chairman of the global beauty business at Procter & Gamble Co. The company is shuffling executives globally. Shirley will retire from P&G in January following a six-month special assignment in which he'll continue to report to Chairman-CEO Bob McDonald.

Many travelers rely on Web photos and marketing descriptions to get an idea of where they should stay. They also go to third-party sites like TripAdvisor. But consumers say the photos and descriptions are airbrushed. While large hotel chains do a "pretty good job" of being truthful about their properties, according to the president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, some third-party sites offer flagrantly misleading art, and frequent travelers are complaining more frequently.