Adrianne DeLuca

Plant-based food and beverage maker The Planting Hope Company announced yesterday that it has completed a $9 million IPO through the sale of 22.5 million shares (CAD $0.40 each) and will begin trading later this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “MYLK.”

Sustainability is no longer “just a Wall Street issue,” according to Innova Market Insights’ recent Top Ten Trends for 2022 report.

Nearly a year after it was passed into law, recycling-related legislation in California is poised to have a significant impact on bottle production in the country’s biggest economy.

Plant-based wellness brand Kencko has expanded its product portfolio to give consumers a fruit and vegetable-packed “dessert moment,” introducing a line of gumdrops available in four flavors: Berrylicious, Passionista, Gingerella and Bananarama.

Sustainability-focused food trends such as ultra-urban farming and regeneratively-grown grains were among the top picks in this year’s edition of Whole Foods’s Top 10 Food Trends list, released yesterday. For the first time, in conjunction with the announcement, the retailer is offering a 10-item sample box highlighting a product from each trend.

In this week’s distribution roundup: Undercover Snacks onboards with United Airlines, Stryve gains more ground in convenience and retail, AYO Foods expands presence nationwide and Jersey Tomato Co. sauces reach new shelves.

The FDA issued voluntary guidance today aimed at incrementally reducing sodium levels in processed foods. The guidance comes five years after the action was first proposed in draft legislation and urges the food industry to decrease the average sodium levels found in products by about 12% over the next two and a half years.

Private label products are “nipping at the heels” of name brands according to a new report from consumer market research firm the Hartman Group examining the key drivers behind consumers’ purchasing decisions. The report notes that although demand for private label brands typically increases during periods of economic downturn, current growth is also being driven by generational differences in why consumers make a purchase and how they interpret the meaning of a brand.

In this People Moves: Bob’s Red Mill moves Trey Winthrop into the role of CEO, Mindy Grossman steps down from WW International, Kodiak adds new CMO position for Cory Bayers, Maxine’s Heavenly expands team with two new hires and more.

Baby food manufacturers are under fire once again. A new staff report from the House Oversight Committee found additional infant and baby food products that contain high levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury and that product recalls following a February congressional report disclosing the category’s toxic levels of heavy metals were insufficient.