Erin Cabrey

Vegan pork rind brand Snacklins has named Kevin Blesy CEO. Blesy was previously head of strategy at Washington, D.C.-based pizza chain &pizza. On his transition to CPG, Blesy told NOSH that regardless of format, “food is the ultimate unifier.”

In the latest distribution news, Whole Foods adds both sweet and spicy new products with the addition of Zia Hatch Chile nationwide and additional lines of vegan cakes and muffins from Abe’s.

Like its three co-founders, direct-to-consumer energy snack company Verb is graduating to its next stage of life. Last year, two of its three co-founders graduated college and moved Verb’s headquarters to Boston from the Yale University campus, where they first created it. Today, the company announced it had raised $3.5 million from investors.

In the latest distribution news, Publix gears up for back-to-school with the addition of Kidfresh, while Walmart adds new condiments, crisps and ice cream brands.

Two plant-based startups, Emergy Foods, producing a proprietary ingredient for meat alternatives, and subscription smoothie mix Kencko, both announced recent fund raises last week. While Emergy Foods looks to expand production capacity at its new Boulder, Colorado headquarters, Kencko will focus on improving its sustainable packaging and expanding its flavor portfolio.

For a better-for-you food brand to have a chance to keep up with on-the-go families, it needs to move with them. Leaning in to the growing “grab-and-go” mindset, FlapJacked, known for its protein baking mixes and mug muffins, has launched cookie bars, its first ready-to-eat product.

As part of its announced strategy to expand its geographic reach and customer base, foodservice distribution company Performance Food Group (PFG) today announced its agreement to acquire distributor Reinhart Foodservice from Reyes Holdings.

For Robb Duncan and Violeta Edelman, co-founders and co-CEOs of Washington D.C.-based gelato brand Dolcezza, making gelato has always been a labor of love, and the labor is growing.

The size of the specialty food market, the top-selling categories and a shift in consumer habits and preferences were just a few of the topics touched on in The State of Specialty Food Industry report published by The Specialty Food Association (SFA) along with research firms Mintel and SPINS/IRI this month.

The importance of effective leadership and strong communication within a team and with consumers were strong themes carried throughout day two of NOSH Live Summer 2019 in New York City.