Carol Ortenberg

Call it insect evolution. Chapul and Exo, two of the leading brands of cricket-based foods, hope to get the industry chirping about their new looks. Both Chapul and Exo announced new branding earlier this summer, with similar aims: speak to an offbeat, fearless consumer

At this year’s Summer Fancy Foods Show, Project NOSH Editor Carol Ortenberg sat down with Frank Pellegrino Jr, principle of Rao’s Restaurant Group and son of Rao’s founder Frank Pellegrino, to discuss why his father started the specialty food company and what other restaurateurs who aspire to enter CPG can learn from the Rao’s model.

This week private equity investment group VMG Partners announced the close of their fourth fund at $550 million, with another $150 million available in a flex-up vehicle. The capital, said VMG Managing Director Wayne Wu, will continue to be invested in emerging consumable branded goods in the lower middle market.

Just over a year after closing an initial round of funding with Monogram Capital, meat snack brand Country Archer announced today that it closed a second round with the private equity group.

Today, San Diego-based Chosen Foods, the maker of paleo-friendly sauces and oils, revealed it had been acquired by Mexico-based Sesajal S.A de C.V. The deal officially closed in January 2017, but the two companies have held off on publicly disclosing the news until becoming fully integrated.

In our conversation, Norton discusses the company’s “inside-out” approach to marketing, how a strong company culture can bring tangible business results, and how a shared sense of responsibility to consumers has strengthened the company’s new relationship with Unilever.

The story of how Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge came to become a gourmet food producer duo is something out of a specialty food fairy tale. Their journey began just under 10 years when they purchased a farm and small herd of goats. But with savvy marketing skills, the two have seen consistent growth across their Beekman 1802 line.

Award winning author Michael Ruhlman spoke about his new book, Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America, while at NOSH Live Summer 2017 in N.Y.C. last month. In his on-stage discussion, which explored the changing landscape of retail stores, Ruhlman addressed how the importance of retailers responding to consumer needs creates new dynamics in the retail/consumer relationship.

Investment platform CircleUp has new offerings designed to service specific institutional clients and entrepreneurs who want more privacy around their capital raise. The new offering has gradually rolled out over the past year.

One of the highlights from last month’s Summer Fancy Food was the sheer variety of options. Watch the video below to learn what the Project NOSH team chose as their staff picks and why.