The Checkout: Hemp Sees Victories on Election Day; USDA Expands SNAP Online Purchasing

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Election Day Sees Support for Hemp Advocates, Legislation

The hemp and cannabis industries celebrated several victories on Election Day, as several members of Congress who have expressed support for hemp legalization found success at the polls on Tuesday.

As noted by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a supporter of the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized industrial hemp, won his reelection campaign. Though two Georgia run-off Senate elections in January will determine whether McConnell will retain his position as majority leader, the group recognized that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has also been a champion of hemp legalization, particularly through his support of the Hemp Farming Act in 2018.

The group cited other notable victories in elections across the country, including the reelection of Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who penned a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration last month opposing the agency’s attempt to criminalize the hemp extraction process. Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), the lead sponsors of the The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020, which worked to ensure the legal marketing of CBD as a dietary supplement, also won their bids for reelection.

The hemp industry did face a significant blow, the group noted, when House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) lost his reelection campaign after 30 years in the House.

“The hemp industry owes Rep. Peterson a huge debt of gratitude for his important work on the 2018 Farm Bill, introducing legislation to protect hemp-derived CBD, and most recently, helping secure an extension for states to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill,” the group said in a statement. “We look forward to working with his replacement as Chair of the House Agriculture Committee.”

The result of reelection campaign for Rep Jen Metzger (D-NY), who co-authored the legislation that led to New York’s CBD regulations released last week, has yet to be called as of this story’s publication.

In addition to hemp victories in Congress, residents of New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota voted to legalize recreational cannabis on Tuesday, while South Dakota and Mississippi residents voted to legalize medical cannabis.

USDA Expands SNAP Access to Online Shopping to More Retailers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) this week announced it is expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot to include additional independent retailers, and is working to allow participants of the SNAP for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to also begin use their benefits for online grocery ordering. The Online Purchasing Pilot program, launched last year in New York, allows SNAP participants to pay for their groceries online with EBT cards, and has since expanded to 47 states, including Washington, D.C, currently reaching one million households.

The SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot program is in the approval and testing process with around a dozen retailers across 10 states, including H-E-B in Texas, Supermercados El Guero in Illinois and Safeway in Washington. Currently, Walmart and Amazon are the only SNAP authorized online retailers across all states, with other retailers such as ShopRite authorized regionally in the Northeast. To allow WIC participants to shop for groceries online, the FNS has awarded Omaha, Nebraska’s Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition $2.5 million to create a model for online ordering with WIC.

“Online ordering is – and will continue to be – an important tool for increasing food access in communities across America,” said Brandon Lipps, Deputy Under Secretary of USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, in a press release. “USDA is working quickly to provide more SNAP participants with the opportunity to shop for food in the same way many Americans do – online. And now we have set our sights on bringing similar innovation to WIC, continuing our commitment to best serve those who rely on our programs.”

Last month, Instacart announced a pilot program in partnership with Aldi to begin accepting SNAP EBT on its app in Georgia, with plans to expand to California, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

The National Grocers Association president and CEO Greg Ferrara praised the expansion of the SNAP Online Purchasing Program in a statement, noting it is “critical” for SNAP payments to be processed online as consumer demand for online shopping has expanded amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were pleased to see such a sizable representation of independent grocers on this list given the essential role these retailers have in their communities and the longstanding public private partnership that has helped to strengthen the SNAP food delivery system,” Ferrara said. NGA looks forward to working together with our federal partners to bring more independent grocers onboard so that they can help to meet the needs of their communities.”

B&G Reports Q3 Earnings, Previews 2021 Innovation

On its third quarter earnings call yesterday, B&G Foods’ announced increased net sales across much of its portfolio, which it attributed to a surge in demand for its products amid the pandemic, and also previewed new innovations rolling out in 2021.

B&G Foods’ Q3 net sales increased $89.5 million (22%) year-over-year to $495.8 million. The company reported that 80% of its brands, across frozen and canned vegetables, condiments and baking products saw net sales growth this quarter: Green Giant’s net sales increased $37.9 million (31.5%), its spices and seasonings business increased $24.3 million (29.5)% and syrup brand Maple Grove Farms’ net sales were up $3.2 million (18.2%). Clabber Girl’s net sales were also up 23.2%.

The company announced this quarter the acquisition of oil and shortening brand Crisco from The J.M. Smucker Co. for $550 million, the second largest acquisition in B&G’s history, which is set to close in the fourth quarter. B&G said the acquisition will complement its other baking brands such as Clabber Girl and that it expects the Crisco brand to continue to experience increased demand amidst a surge in at-home cooking during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Going forward, B&G president and CEO Ken Romanzi said the company has three priorities: “Drive organic, improve margins and make accretive acquisitions.” As consumers continue working from home into next year, the company expects its portfolio of brands to increase its household penetration as they “cater very well to the work from home crowd,” he said.

To attract new consumers, Romanzi said B&G has invested in marketing with an emphasis on ecommerce, partnering with companies such as Delish and AllRecipes and launching an online interactive kitchen featuring recipes using its portfolio of brands. The company’s ecommerce sales grew 140% this year, now comprising 7% of overall sales, led by Green Giant. The company will also launch a national television campaign this fall showcasing new Green Giant innovations.

Rather then launch new products, during the past eight months the company instead choose to remain focused on establishing a strong supply chain for its best selling products during the pandemic, Romanzi said, and the delay in rolling out these new items “had a hidden benefit” of building an “even more robust” innovation pipeline. Recently launched innovations include pasta, rice and bread alternatives from Green Giant including Cauliflower Gnocchi, Cauliflower Breadsticks and vegetable-based fries and rings, with cauliflower pastas (ravioli, fettuccine and mac and cheese) to come in 2021. The company also recently launched Ortega Cauliflower & Corn Taco Shells and Tortillas along with three flavors of taco sauces in squeeze bottles.

Benestar Brands Announces Acquisition of Pretzilla

Highlander Partners-owned snack holding company Benestar Brands this week announced its acquisition of Miller Baking Company, owner of soft pretzel snack maker Pretzilla. Pretzilla joins Benestar’s portfolio of brands including Mac’s, Cazo de Oro, Turkey Creek, PÖRQ and Chicas Chips. Terms of the deal were not disclosed

Miller Baking Company launched the Pretzilla brand in 2010 and offers a variety of soft pretzel burger buns, mini buns, sausage buns and bites, which are manufactured at its two Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based facilities and distributed to over 10,000 retailers nationwide.

In a press release, Carl E. Lee, Jr., CEO of Benestar Brands, called Pretzilla a “uniquely positioned brand” that has “hardly scratched the surface of its market opportunity.”

“With Benestar’s retail relationships and penchant for product innovation, we think there is an incredible opportunity to take Pretzilla to the next level,” he said. “We are thrilled to welcome Pretzilla to the Benestar family and look forward to continued growth, through both driving new snack innovations and accelerating existing products.”

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Benestar operates six production facilities in North America, with plans to open a seventh in Kings Mountain, North Carolina next year.