CPG Week Podcast

This week, the podcast tackles a series of M&A deals from Goodles’ recent acquisition by Barilla, a renewed partnership between Keurig Dr Pepper and Chobani, Nestlé’s divestments and Peter Rahal’s big news week.

In this episode: This week the BevNET and Nosh team discusses Poppi acquisition rumors, the investment landscape, and consumer adoption of functional mushrooms. Show Highlights: 0:30 – Monica starts the episode challenging Jeff and Brad to a hypothetical pistachio cracking competition that devolves into a semantical discussion about “nut meat.” 3:25 – Brad highlights prebiotic soda brand Poppi’s big week, which included a highly-watched Super Bowl ad and a Bloomberg article speculating about a Coca-Cola takeover. 7:00 – Why haven’t any of the biggest soft drink companies created their own version of Olipop or Poppi? Jeff draws comparisons to Coke’s short-lived, stevia-sweetened cola, and points out why large players are wary of snapping up small brands today. 9:00 – Monica notes probiotic soda brand Culture Pop’s recent $21 million funding and points to other beverage brands raising capital recently. Jeff shares what investors are looking for in potential targets. 11:15 – The team considers whether consumers understand functional mushrooms and shares examples of brands entering the space. Brad asks whether psychedelic imagery on packaging confuses shoppers. 15:05 – Jeff poses the question that should be on every product developer’s mind: What’s the next big health grail consumers are seeking, a la the antioxidant? “Is it prebiotic, psychedelic or adaptogenic?” About the CPG Week CPG Week is the podcast that explores the latest happenings in the consumer packaged goods industry. Join our seasoned reporting team as they dish out the week’s stories in quick, easy-to-digest episodes. Catch up on the top headlines of the week, dive into exclusive insights with the BevNET and Nosh teams, and set yourself up to make more informed business decisions. Tune in to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the dynamic world of packaged food and beverage. New episodes are released every week. Send us comments and suggestions anytime to [email protected]. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman and reporter Adrianne DeLuca discuss the state of online subscription businesses as well as some recent snack deals. The team is then joined by another NOSH editorial team member, Shauna Golden, to help highlight key themes from a recent seminar hosted by Natural Products Consulting. Later, we hear from Andy Whitman, Managing Partner of Loft Growth Partners about the current investment landscape and what to keep in mind when pitching investors for your next raise. Show Highlights: 01:34: The NOSH team discusses Blue Apron’s cash flow and funding issues, the state of Nestle’s Freshly business and why recent reports indicate the pandemic-induced subscription service boom may be declining. Carol and Jeff also discuss some recent notable deals in the snack space. 09:28 The discussion then turns to a recent seminar the team attended that took developing a sales strategy and financing your CPG business to a granular level. Shauna Golden joins to share some of her learnings from the three-day conference. 23:03: Andy runs through the current state of investing and why businesses should always be focussed on the fundamentals and balance growth with profitability rather than “growth at all costs.” 33:36: Later, Andy breaks down the five things any brand should keep in mind when pitching investors, including what you don’t need to tell them and how to approach the conversation from their perspective. “Most businesses don’t go out of business because they’re terrible ideas, they go out of business because they run out of cash… If you understand what your cash needs are, you can understand what you need to finance and that keeps you out of the penalty box.” -Andy Whitman