Erin Cabrey

We’re highlighting innovative meat snack brands — both animal and plant-based — during the Product Showcase portion of this month’s Category Close-Up, examining the trends, news and evolving product strategies that are currently shaping this evolving category. This video features CHOMPS, Stryve Foods, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, New Primal, Chudabeef and Pearson Ranch Jerky.

In a flip on the classic saying, ingredients maker SIMPLi is thinking locally and acting globally. The Baltimore-based company, backed by new funding, is aiming to sustainably and ethically streamline supply chains for grains, beans, oils and spices to ultimately benefit farmers, consumers and the environment.

In this week’s distribution roundup, single-serve pour over coffee brand Kuju, French-inspired snack and brioche maker Bakerly and plant-based food brand PLANTSTRONG hit shelves at Whole Foods Market, while plant-based condiment maker Only Plant Based makes its U.S. debut.

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) announced today that its Winter Fancy Food Show will be relocating from San Francisco to Las Vegas in 2022. The annual event, previously set to be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, will now be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on February 6-8.

Plant-based food and beverage brand Ripple Foods today announced it has secured $60 million in a Series E funding round which the company plans to use to accelerate its product innovation pipeline and expand into new categories and channels.

With the goal of being “part of the solution” to environmentally damaging supply chains in the food industry and beyond, macadamia-based food and beverage brand Milkadamia is set to debut a slate of new offerings at Natural Products Expo East in Philadelphia this week that expand its portfolio across several different categories, including plant-based ice cream, nut milks and skincare.

In this week’s Checkout: Immi raises $3.8 million and announces a reformulation; PepsiCo debuts its pep+ sustainability initiative; Misfits Market secures $225 million; and CULT Food Science invests in MeliBio.

With the creation of a new growth platform called Advanced Micronutrient Food as Medicine, investment fund KEEN Growth Capital is aiming to bridge the gap between “average feel-good supplements” and pharmaceutical grade medications, the company announced this week.

After reaching a joint agreement in 2019 between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate cell-based meat products, the agencies are now taking steps toward establishing actual labeling requirements.

Two years after the launch of its spoonable frozen smoothie cups, Sweet Nothings is trying something new for its second line. The brand introduced Superfood Nut Butter Bites last week, representing both an expansion into shelf-stable snacks and a push into ecommerce as it seeks to prove that it can be dynamic across categories and channels.