Erin Cabrey

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.

In this week’s Checkout, Hershey tests its new Oat Made plant-based chocolate bar in select markets; Gopuff launches an accelerator for underrepresented entrepreneurs; Equinom and Meatless Farm partner on products using a new yellow pea protein variety; and superfood powder brand Teatis secures seed funding.

Plant-based protein brand Meati is beefing up its marketing and communications team. In August, Patrick Jammet joined as VP of marketing and, last week, Christina Ra came aboard as VP, brand and communications.

For the second year, financial services firm Barclays held a virtual edition of its annual Global Consumer Staples Conference, inviting companies to share their business strategies and updates. During the event, which consisted of three days of presentations and Q&A sessions, executives addressed changing consumer behaviors post-pandemic and inflationary pressures, while also discussing their innovation plans to reshape their portfolios.

The latest development in the long legal battle between Beyond Meat and its former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms has seen the plant-based food company secure a small victory in a dispute over what it counts as its trade secrets.

Armed with $4.5 million in new funding and a CPG veteran at the helm, a new player in the fast-growing plant-based meat category is looking to shake up the burger and nugget-centric segment with a fresh format that it hopes will convert consumers from chicken to “CHKN.”