Monica Watrous

Takis is dropping artificial colors from its entire U.S. product lineup by the end of the year, marking the latest reformulation effort from a major snack brand as the industry shifts toward cleaner ingredient labels.

McCormick & Company executives underscored progress on the pending acquisition of Unilever Foods and outlined integration plans during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on June 25.

Crispy Green is expanding its operations and relocating its headquarters as the freeze-dried fruit snack maker looks to support continued growth across retail, ecommerce, foodservice and vending.

The Hershey Company named Heather Hoytink as president of its U.S. business. She brings to the role more than two decades of experience in sales, operations and commercial leadership in consumer packaged goods.

The better-for-you cookie brand has closed $2.86 million of a planned $3 million Series A round led by Blueberry Capital, with participation from Listen Ventures, Rocana Ventures, Village Super Markets and Paperboy Ventures.

Gleezy, a premium hot dog brand with roots in the golf world, has raised $2 million in seed funding as it looks to build on rapid retail and foodservice growth.

The Washington, D.C.-based frozen Asian foods brand is launching Chicken Lo Mein and Beef Lo Mein exclusively at Whole Foods locations nationwide, marking its entry into the noodle category and bringing its total assortment at the natural grocer to a dozen items.

After tripling sales over the past year and securing a $24 million growth equity investment from VMG Partners, collagen protein bar brand Stars + Honey is making its brick-and-mortar debut with a nationwide rollout at Target.

Kroger posted modest first-quarter sales growth and reaffirmed its full-year outlook, but CEO Greg Foran used his first earnings call since taking the helm earlier this year to signal that improving store execution and controlling costs remain top priorities.

Nosh spoke with company leaders about what prompted the move, how they’ll measure success and why they believe protein bars are increasingly becoming just another grocery staple.