Erin Cabrey

During its fiscal third quarter earnings call today, General Mills reported a continued focus on its “Accelerate” strategy, a growth model that includes brand building, innovating, scaling and being a “force for good.” The company also discussed changes to its Yoplait operations and financial structure and offered a look at how pandemic-driven consumer habits have continued to impact sales across several categories and channels.

After selling its Austin, Texas manufacturing facility last November, veggie noodle and rice brand Cece’s Veggie Co. is making another major change. Cece’s founder Mason Arnold announced this month that he has stepped down as CEO of the company, with president Wade Groetsch taking over to lead the company in its next stage of growth as it seeks expanded distribution and new innovation.

In this week’s Checkout, Asian and Hispanic e-grocer Weee! raises $315 million; Meatless Farm opens a new Canadian plant and launches ingredient subsidiary Lovingly Made Ingredients; Once Upon a Farm ages up with a brand refresh; and Fridge No More closes a $15.4 million funding round.

Pandemic-driven changes in consumer shopping habits had a significant impact on the U.S. CPG industry’s growth in 2020, driving unprecedented sales and establishing a wave of new trends that could continue post-pandemic. In their ninth annual CPG study published this month, data firm IRI and Boston Consulting Group identified the top companies and categories that drove CPG growth in 2020, and forecasted the possible strategies for success beyond the pandemic.

In this week’s Checkout, Alec’s Ice Cream raises $1 million; Women on Boards Project celebrates its one year anniversary; Target launches new private label brand Favorite Day; plant-based meal kit company Vegano raises $3.4 million ahead of planned U.S. launch; and Partnership for a Healthier America launches “Pass the Love w/ Waffles + Mochi” campaign focused on food equity.

Colorado-based brands Ka-Pop! Snacks and Bubba’s Fine Foods announced a merger agreement this week, forming holding company Awakened Foods which will include the two brands as well as a new co-packing division, Awakened Food Crafters.

What’s in a name? For Kar’s Nuts, shifting its Kar’s, Second Nature Snacks and Sanders Chocolate brands to a new corporate platform is less about what the company is called and more indicative of a new path forward. Now operating together as Second Nature Brands, the Michigan-based company plans to embrace a more trend-focused innovation strategy and pursue investments and acquisitions.

For even the most eco-conscious shoppers, the industrial food system’s many contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, from eroded farmland to landfills packed with plastic food packaging, can appear to be insurmountable problems. As Julia Collins, founder and CEO of climate-friendly food company Planet FWD and its first brand, Moonshot, looks to tackle these issues and create a more sustainable food system, she’s found a simple starting point that’s a bit more digestible: a box of crackers.

In this week’s Checkout, Oats Overnight raises $2 million; plant-based seafood maker Ocean Hugger relaunches through a joint venture with Nove Foods; Instacart secures $265 million in funding; and nut butter maker Natural Way Food Group lands a $1 million investment.

While coconut flour-based tortilla and chip maker The Real Coconut has primarily focused on its namesake ingredient since its launch in 2016, the brand is now poised to expand its horizons to create a platform of plant-based gluten and dairy free products. To do this, the brand brought on a new CEO, former General Mills executive Camille Gibson, who has spent much of 2020 charting growth plans set to be realized this year.