Plant-based rice alternative RightRice is giving back as it continues to grow. Keith Belling, the CEO of the three month old company, announced this week that he has donated 1% of the company’s equity to non-profit No Kid Hungry. At the same time, the brand also announced it has expanded into Kroger.

Meal kit company Purple Carrot announced today that it will be acquired by Oisix, Japan’s largest meal kit and organic food delivery service. The deal includes an upfront payment of $12.8 million. Purple Carrot CEO Andy Levitt told NOSH that he has been working towards an exit since 2016 and is proud of the impact the company has had on helping consumers eat more plant-based meals.

Meat snack brand Chef’s Cut announced yesterday the launch of a new line of beef biltong — a thinly sliced, cured beef snack from South Africa — which new CEO Bart Adlam hopes will give the brand a versatile and on-trend option for young consumers. The new line will also sport refresh packaging for the brand and comes as the company has added a spate of new executives.

The American palate has evolved in the last 40 years, and so has the Amin family business — Deep Foods. The company is now catering to a new generation of shoppers by repositioning its Tandoor Chef brand in an effort to tell a larger, authentic story.

Although many credit Steve’s Ice Cream for kicking off the super-premium ice cream movement back in the 1970s, the brand has struggled to capitalize on its first-mover status in the years since. But now the brand has Dean Foods, who acquired the brand in 2017, behind it as the dairy giant attempts to enter the artisanal ice cream space.

The battle to see who will be the category leader in plant-based “meat” continues. Less than two weeks after Beyond Meat launched a successful initial public offering (IPO), beef-substitute Impossible Foods announced today the close of a $300M round of funding.

Maine is already known for its lobsters, but Ocean Approved wants the state to be known for another ocean crop: kelp. Led by new CEO Briana Warner, the company is launching a line of products under the Atlantic Sea Farms brand to bring awareness to this briny delicacy and has new investors and supply chain strategy to support this growth.

Yesterday plant-based meat brand Beyond Meat faced the heat and emerged sizzling. The popular protein play began trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol BYND and served up the year’s best IPO debut. However, the question remains, what does the company have to do next in order run alongside fellow protein players and move beyond its current market position?

The consumer craze with cauliflower shows no sign of slowing down. Today, frozen food and snack brand Cali’flour announced the close of a round of capital led by Sunrise Strategic and a leadership transition in an effort to more heavily move the business into retail.

After a first course, investment firm ACG has found that it wants another bite of Clio Snacks. Earlier this month the group reinvested in the chilled yogurt bar brand. The investment will help the brand complete a new plant as well as launch new product lines.