Adrianne DeLuca

Flora Food Group, the spreads business spun off from Unilever in 2018, is potentially heading toward a sale.

As consumer interest continues to shift toward fresh, simple ingredients and spicy, globally-inspired flavors, two large CPG players – PepsiCo and Samyang Foods – have extended their respective leading brands to meet those demands.

We caught up with Laird to understand how it has gone from a business in need of a turnaround to a strategic superfood acquisition platform in just four years.

Deana Karim, the founder of direct-to-consumer low-sugar, low-carb and gluten-free baking brand Good Dee’s, has acquired and relaunched West Food Brands (WFB).

Smearcase has secured Chicago-based venture firm Listen as its first institutional investor as the three-year-old company works to scale and support its growing natural channel distribution footprint.

Granola, oatmeal and cereal producer Purely Elizabeth has reportedly tapped Houlihan Lokey to explore a potential sale that could value the company at over $600 million.

Treeline Cheese has ridden out the hype cycle of plant-based dairy and has finally nailed product market fit, according to founder and CEO Michael Schwarz.

High protein ice cream maker Frozen One announced it has raised a $2 million seed round led by Supernatural Ventures and The Angel Group with additional participation from Tonic Ventures and Lucinda Capital.

Vertically farmed berry producer Oishii is aiming to make its products more accessible with a range of new strawberry formats at significantly lower price points than its original $20 varietal.

Laird Superfood has acquired vertically integrated wellness product platform Terrasoul Superfoods for $48 million, continuing its strategy to grow through M&A.