News Roundup: Texas Sets Plant-based Label Standard; Albertsons Consolidates Private Label Line

Texas Gov Signs New Plant-based Meat Labeling Law

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill this month that will require plant-based or fermented meat analog makers to clearly label products to distinguish them from conventional meat.The bill mandates that a product must include the terms “analogue,” “meatless,” “plant-based,” “made from plants” or with similar clarifying language in the same type size as surrounding text. The law goes into effect on Sept 1.

According to a 2020 survey cited by those in support of the bill, including Texas Farm Bureau and Texas Cattle Feeders, out of 1,200 Texans surveyed, one in five said they had been misled into purchasing a plant-based meat product due to the label, stating they thought it contained conventional meat.

In addition to plant-based and fermented products, the bill also takes aim at cell-cultured proteins and will instill the same labeling provisions to those products, once they are commercially available.

While the move does not ban producers from using the term “meat,” this law is one of the stricter state mandates on alt-meat labeling. Recently, a Louisiana court overturned an appeal regarding plant-based labeling, but essence, said procedures can’t be “intentionally misleading” when labeling products and did not specify further parameters on what constitutes intentional confusion.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are both working to update food labeling laws as novel food categories and ingredients continue to enter the market. The agencies are also working on joint federal guidance regarding plant-based and cell-cultured analog labeling.

Albertsons Consolidates Private Label Line Enhance Brand Recognition

Grocery giant Albertsons announced it will merge its Signature Farms, Signature Care and Signature Cafe lines under the one uniform identity: Signature Select. The labeling transition is already underway, according to a press release, and is expected to be completed by early next year.

“Signature Select is our flagship brand offering shoppers an incomparable assortment of quality products at an incredible value,” said Jennifer Saenz, EVP and chief merchandising officer at Albertsons, in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of our Signature family of brands and by bringing these sub-brands together under one name, we are building greater brand recognition, driving brand loyalty, and creating customers for life.”

The Signature brand family accounts for the largest assortment in Albertsons private label portfolio with over 8,000 products spanning packaged salads, ice cream, frozen pizza, coffee, paper goods, pasta, snacks, canned vegetables and fruit, and ground beef, pork and chicken. Albertsons has been working to renovate its private label brands in recent years including refreshing O Organics brand and Open Nature’s brand identities.

Kraft Launches First Frozen Mac & Cheese Bringing More Competition To The Freezer Aisle

For the first time in its over 85 years on the market, Kraft Mac & Cheese is available in the frozen section. The company recently released Mac & Cheese Deluxe Frozen in 12-ounce,

single-serving portions that are ready-to-eat in six minutes and are available in two flavors: Original Cheddar and Four Cheese. The brand released a series of three, fifteen-second ad spots that promote the products’ “deluxified” comfort attributes.

Kraft-Heinz CEO and chairman ​​Miguel Patricio teased the product at the beginning of May in the company’s Q1 earnings call saying that despite Kraft’s presence in the frozen aisle with other products, the company needed a Mac & Cheese product to increase its footprint throughout the store.

Innovation will also increase the product’s share in the category, Patricio said, seeing as Kraft Mac & Cheese Deluxe has a “higher revenue and profitability per unit, and also offers consumers a premium taste and gooeyness that provide a sense of comfort.”

Competitors in the frozen aisle have also leaned into the “comfort food” strategy with natural food brands like Boulder-based Evol Foods and Amy’s Kitchen innovating with gluten-free and plant-based versions of traditional comfort foods like pizza and mac and cheese. Chicago-based frozen food company 8 Myles recently rebranded to Myles Comfort Foods after landing $1 million in growth funding to expand its line of clean mac and cheese products in the freezer aisle.

Oath Pizza Investors Accuse CEO Of “Self Dealing”

The CEO of Massachusetts-based fast casual chain Oath Pizza, Andrew Kellogg, has been sued by investors and accused of self-dealing following the execution of a liquidation plan for the business. Kellogg, a former Chipotle executive, told investors the company was out of cash in November so shareholders approved a plan to pay back its creditors.

Investor James Apli claims in the complaint that Oath Pizza had numerous offers for a buyout, including one sum of over $1 million, but said Kellogg dissuaded bidders and instead plotted to sell the assets to himself via his newly created shell company Next Level. In January, Kellogg did just that, selling all assets to Next Level for $10,000 plus an unsecured note payable over time.

Per the deal, Next Level retained all liabilities and Kellogg remained CEO with a $400,000 annual salary.

Founded in 2015, Oath Pizza expanded to a total of 29 locations in recent years and activated ingredient partnerships with a range of CPG brands including Banza, which supplied pizza crusts, and Applegate Farms, which sold its organic meat products to the chain.