The Checkout: B&G Reports Q1 Results, Acquires Manufacturer; Antithesis Foods Receives Grant To Scale “Mix-In” Business

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B&G Foods Reports Q1 Earnings, Acquires Grower’s Express Frozen Vegetable Manufacturing Ops

B&G Foods reported a 5.4% increase in sales to $532.4 million during Q1, with company president and CEO Casey Keller crediting pricing actions and increased demand for helping offset continued supply chain disruptions during an investor presentation yesterday.

“Inflation on key input costs was higher than expected primarily resulting from the war in Ukraine and continued supply disruptions, and had a significant impact on gross margins,” Keller said in a press release. “Recent pricing actions are expected to recover higher costs in the second half of 2022.”

Alongside its earning results, B&G also announced its acquisition of frozen vegetable manufacturing operations from Grower’s Express, including inventory, equipment and leased portions of two production facilities.

The acquisition will help increase the “variety and volume” of B&G’s Green Giant frozen vegetable products, which saw sales rise over 2% to $3.2 million last quarter. By bringing these additional manufacturing capabilities in house, Keller said the company will be better equipped to “reduce inefficiencies, reduce costs and reduce supply chain risk” for one of its core brands.

“We also believe that this acquisition will enhance our innovation efforts for the Green Giant brand and improve our speed to market for new innovation,” Keller said in a press release. “Growers Express has been an important partner of B&G Foods for a number of years and we thank them for their partnership.”

Antithesis Foods Receives Grant To Create Mix-In, Scale Legume-based Dough

Food tech company Antithesis Foods announced this week it has received $1 million in grant funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award to scale its legume-based dough innovation with the aim of creating ‘mix-in’ ingredients to be added to foods ranging from ice cream to protein bars.

This is the second grant Antithesis has received from NSF. The company previously received funds from the organization in 2019 after sunsetting its debut brand, Grabanzos, while it looked to launch its pita-style chip brand, Protos, earlier this year.

Now, with Protos on-shelf at select New York-area retailers, Antithesis is narrowing in on its next phase of growth: securing commercial partnerships to create an ingredient supply business.

“With this grant, the goal of the company is to take things that crunch and make them better for you,” said Jason Goodman, CEO and co-founder, in a statement to Rev: Ithaca Startup Works. “Anyone who has anything that crunches and would like to explore opportunities to make it better for you, we’re happy to do that. That’s the point of Phase II – find partners, work with them, and launch a product using food technology.”

Business and Event Platform HUNGRY Acquires NatureBox

Food technology platform HUNGRY, a Washington D.C.-based company providing food and events solutions to corporate offices, announced it acquired subscription-based snack box platform NatureBox. The deal adds a better-for-you snacking division to HUNGRY’s corporate services.

“NatureBox’s healthy snacks will be an outstanding complement to HUNGRY’s business-catering solutions, creating a game-changing combination of exceptional quality and service,” said Jeff Grass, HUNGRY co-founder and CEO, in a press release. “Companies right now are looking for one partner to handle all of their in-office food, snacking, and beverage needs, and now more than ever, HUNGRY is that complete partner for them.”

This is HUNGRY’s third acquisition, whose portfolio also includes LocalStove and Ripe Catering. Founded in 2017, the company has a presence in 11 cities including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Nashville and Philadelphia.

The platform has also garnered significant financial support, raising upwards of $60 million to-date with A-list investors like Jay-Z, Issa Rae, Kevin Hart and Usher; celebrity chefs Tom Colicchio and Ming Tsai and former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb.

Chubby Snacks Names Heidi D’Amelio SuperMom Advisor and Secures Investment From 444 Capital

Better-for-you PB&J maker Chubby Snacks announced it has brought on a new advisor: TikTok star Heidi D’Amelio, mother of TikTok stars Charli and Dixie. Chubby dubbed D’Amelio the brand’s “SuperMom,” in a LinkedIn post yesterday.

The PB&J snack brand said it had been looking for its own “professional SuperMom” for some time describing requirements for the gig as someone who is “the glue of the family. She raised us. She made our first PB&J. And she did it all while juggling a million other tasks.” Chubby says D’Amelio does just that and fully “embodies the SuperMom persona as the mother of Dixie and Charli.”

In addition to its new advisor, the brand also announced it has secured investment of an undisclosed sum from 444 Capital.