Carol Ortenberg

Mexican-American family-owned food brand Siete Family Foods announced today the close of a $90 million minority investment from Stripes Group in order to help fulfill the company’s growth plan, co-founder and CEO Miguel Garza told NOSH. The brand hopes the news of the investment will inspire other firms to invest in other minority-owned and female-owned brands.

At NOSH Live, Siete co-founder and CEO Miguel Garza sat down with NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg to discuss how the family-owned business developed its own set of values, while at the same time it maintained focus and forged a new path: “living in the hyphen” as a Mexican-American brand.

In recent people moves, private equity firm VMG announced this week that Angad Hira has transitioned from his previous role of vice president to that of CFO and snack brand KIND announced that president and COO John Leahy will retire from the company.

The shift from bars to bites and bark in the confectionary space is becoming more frequent, and now another classic candy maker is joining the fray. This month 35-year-old Lake Champlain Chocolates announced it would be launching Snack Bites — a line of chocolate disks available in resealable pouches.

Walk any aisle at the grocery store and three trends are inescapable: protein, plant-based and snackability. Although these are staple callouts in the natural set, they’ve yet to enjoy broad adoption by specialty food providers — until now. At this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show, NOSH spotted several specialty food providers embracing these product attributes in a quest to tweak their classic specialty lines to better meet today’s consumer needs.

Plant-based superfood mix brand Your Super announced today the close of a $5 million series A round of funding. Led by PowerPlant Ventures, the round also included Doehler Ventures and several angel investors. The company differentiates itself in the crowded supplement category by both focusing on ingredient sourcing and direct-to-consumer sales.

Oregon Ice Cream has been around for a long time, so maybe it was time to make some changes. The company announced this month a rebrand, a new pint line and the consolidation of its entire branded portfolio under its bestselling Alden’s line.

It’s time for Lily’s Sweets to blossom. So hopes the team of top industry investors and executives backing and working with the no- or low-sugar added line of chocolate. This week the confectionary brand announced the launch of new snacking products as well as a rebrand — both of which follow an investment last year by VMG and the addition of CPG veteran Jane Miller as CEO.

After two years on American shelves, snack brand The Good Crisp Company is planning to increase its stateside presence. The brand of chips, formally known as the ABC North America LLC, announced today that it has closed a round of funding by CircleUp Growth Partners, the fund managed by technology company CircleUp. The company plans to adjust its operating structure to delve further into the American market.

In this video, shot at the Winter Fancy Food Show 2019 in San Francisco earlier this month, Farmhouse Culture CEO Scott Lerner shared the company’s 2019 growth strategies with NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg.