Brad Avery

Founded in 2021, House of Kajaana makes three varieties of frozen Indian meals: Cauliflower Tikka Masala with pea and basmati rice, Roasted Butternut Saag with bright tomato basmati rice, and Coconut Malabar Curry with pumpkin seed basmati rice.

The Jackfruit Company, which sells products under both that name and the Jack & Annie’s brand, has raised $5 million in a Series B extension, adding to the $23 million it previously raised in the funding round, co-founder and CEO Annie Ryu announced this week.

Earlier last week, The J.M. Smucker Company filed a lawsuit against crustless sandwich producer Chubby Snacks, accusing the startup of false advertising, trademark violations and disparagement in “years of advertising designed to tarnish the name and reputation” of Smucker’s competing Uncrustables brand.

Danone SA is making a move to acquire leading kefir manufacturer Lifeway Foods, offering $283 million, or $25 per share, for the publicly traded company, according to a Schedule 13D form filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

As he prepares to hand over control of his protein snacks brand to a new licensee, IWON Organics founder and CEO Mark Samuel is taking on a new full time role at food and beverage growth equity firm Siddhi Capital. Samuel announced the move to Siddhi on LinkedIn this week, where he will work to support the growth of the firm’s portfolio brands.

Oats Overnight announced today it has raised $35 million in a Series B funding round intended to help the high-protein oats brand continue to expand its manufacturing capabilities and grow its footprint in retail stores.

Growth equity investment firm Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG) announced today it has closed on a new, $160 million fund, the company’s fifth. The new fund brings ACG’s lifetime financing to over $1 billion in aggregate capital commitments, the firm said.

Recent trendlines suggest that today’s consumers aren’t as much interested in living long, as much as they are in living well.

Since its founding in 2015, the CPG sales agency, specializing in retail execution for emerging brands, has grown to over 100 clients.

As online marketing and ecommerce have radically changed the playbook for brands, CPG strategy firm PLTFRM is aiming to provide a new “operating system” for modern startups, and now it’s expanding its retail and marketing services to new channels and new industries.