Headlines

Cannabis firms Tilray, Inc. and Aphria, Inc. announced Monday the completion of their previously agreed upon merger, creating what they say will be “the world’s largest global cannabis company.”

This week, we’re joined by Chris Fanucchi and Samantha Citro Alexander, the co-founders of Bitewell, a new startup platform that aims to make healthy purchasing decisions easier via curated options for grocery and restaurant delivery

This month’s Office Hours assembled leaders from three leading incubation programs to get strategic advice for brands on overcoming the kinds of obstacles they face as they grow, and ways that they can pivot safely when they’re met with unexpected challenges.

In addition to sweet treats, April’s new product launches offered consumers plenty of savory options from new plant-based meat alternatives from Sweet Earth to BBQ innovations from Pit Boss Grills and Haven’s Kitchen. View the gallery for the most notable new releases including dairy free cheese alternatives from Boursin and Grounded Foods Co. and spicy snacks from Blue Diamond and Country Archer Provisions.

In April, brands rolled out plenty of sweet and indulgent innovations, from oat milk-based treats from Chloe’s and My/Mochi to low-sugar snacks from DouxMatok and The Cookie Department. Check out the gallery for April’s notable product launches, including new bars from CORE and Obvi and dairy-free baking mixes from Bushwick Kitchen and Blue Diamond.

Last month during our Category Close-Up: Product Showcase we explored innovation and growth strategies for a group of rising noodle brands. In this special bonus segment, you’ll hear from three more brands.

In this week’s Checkout, Mondelēz talks M&A strategy and Hu acquisition during Q1 earnings call; President Biden signs FASTER Act into law, making sesame the 9th major food allergen; and Kraft Heinz and Hershey discuss post-pandemic shopping behaviors.

Late last week Boston-based pickle brand Grillo’s revealed it had been sold to family-owned bakery business King’s Hawaiian earlier this year. While pickles and bread are often sandwiched together, the brand will largely be speeding ahead on its own, according to Grillo’s executives.

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jim Risch (R-ID) last week reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would ban plant-based dairy alternative products from using dairy-related terms on their labels. Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Mike Simpson (R-ID) also introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Call it co-incubation. A Post Holdings product incubator is betting on crackers made with environmentally friendly oats as a core ingredient — and it’s brought in another big strategic, Anheuser-Busch, to chip in. Airly crackers debuted this month as the first brand out of the Bright Future Foods operation launched last year, and it’s already looking ahead to new climate-friendly innovations through a new R&D partnership with A-B’s EverGrain.