Headlines

This past weekend The Good Food Awards and Mercantile took over the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California to highlight “food crafters” from around the country.

Over the past year, numerous big CPG firms have announced the formation of internal venture capital arms to work with and embrace entrepreneurial brands. And while Campbell Soup has launched such a division, Acre Venture Partners, the company’s other divisions haven’t lost the entrepreneurial spirit, either.

In early 2016 coconut and onion chip brand Dang Foods received a minority investment from investment and incubation group Sonoma Brands in order to help the company scale. Apparently, some of it went toward innovation, as well, as the brand is launching a new look and a new line: sticky-rice chips.

With the increasing demand for healthier, alternative snacks, brands made from fruit and vegetables have been growing in popularity. And not just with consumers, but with investors, as well — two growing companies have announced new financing rounds this week alone.

Keeping dairy in the barnyard rather than out among the crops, the proposed bill, the Dairy Pride Act, declares that dairy foods should be made from the secretions of hoofed animals only.

Primal Kitchen Restaurant’s first franchise in Los Angeles is expected to open this April.

Last week saw a pair of changes in Whole Foods global leadership team, as well as a spate of new hires in supplier companies and food brands alike.

Initially, it seemed like a perfect romance: the venture-backed producer of a protein-heavy flour made from renewable microscopic plants and an up-and-coming “meal disruptor” food and beverage brand meeting to create what could potentially be a monumentally hip “step toward sustainable food production.” But the breakup is real: the past month has found food and beverage producer/replacer Soylent and ingredient supplier TerraVia, engaged in finger-pointing over product problems that plagued Soylent and some of its consumers late last year.

More than 150 public and private companies took the stage during ICR’s investment conference this week — and among its presenters were some of the food industry’s most influential directors.

After five investments that have ranged from jerky to grass-fed dairy to pancake mixes, Sunrise Strategic is taking a bite of the youth-facing snack set with a minority investment in new brand Pure Growth Organic.