Beth Kaiserman

Frozen plant-based chicken brand Daring Foods this week announced the close of an $8 million round of funding led by venture capital firm Maveron, with participation from GoodFriends, Stray Dog Capital and Palm Tree Crew Investments. Stitch Fix CFO Mike Smith and Sweet Earth president Brian Swette, who previously sold his plant-based company to Nestle, also took part in the round as private investors.

In this week’s Checkout, GFI studies plant-based retail trends, Kraft Heinz sells its natural cheese business and aims to focus its portfolio, and Beyond Meat rolls out meatballs while Impossible Foods grows further into retail.

Raaka is looking for the right ingredients to reach its next stage. The company, known for single-origin, Fair Trade chocolate bars, this week released a line of baking chocolate, cacao powder and nibs. Looking ahead, the company is hiring a new CEO to lead the charge of growing the brand’s retail footprint.

Citing ongoing growth in the natural CPG market, asset-based lending company Gerber Finance this week announced it would launch a dedicated natural food and beverage products division.

Financial services firm Barclays’ annual Global Consumer Staples Conference was held online from Wednesday to Friday last week, giving big CPG producers a chance to provide business updates and insights. During the event, company executives discussed plans to evolve their respective portfolios and channel strategies in the coming months while reflecting on recent hurdles experienced during the pandemic.

Soozy’s is looking to grow the grain-free category. This summer the brand launched frozen bread and bagels as well as shelf-stable cookies into Whole Food Market stores nationally, expanding its retail footprint to 2,000 stores.

In this week’s Checkout, Kroger reports Q2 results, OSHA fines Smithfield for COVID-19-related issues and hemp advocacy and natural product associations support new CBD supplement bill.

In its fourth quarter earnings presentation yesterday, Campbell’s Soup Company reported that its net sales increased 18% to $2.1 billion over the quarter as consumers continued to partake in “quick scratch cooking” while also stocking up on snacks.

In this week’s Checkout, Climax Foods raises a $7.5 million seed round to study plant-based alternatives, Giant Eagle debuts cashierless tech and Target adds 600 ‘premium’ products to Good and Gather.

In this complicated back-to-school environment, snack brands that relied on their allergy-friendly ‘school safe’ appeal are striving to now find a place in consumers’ homes, focusing less on the lunchbox and instead trying to capitalize on the uptick in cooking at home.