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Chicago-based food tech company Nature’s Fynd announced this week it has raised $45 million in funding and has added four new food industry veterans as the company gears up to bring its animal-free meat and dairy alternatives made from fungi protein to market next year.

Using his past experience building a brand catering to special diets, Fody Foods founder and CEO Steven Singer has set his sights on promoting gut health and making comfort foods accessible to consumers suffering with digestive distress. To reach this goal, the Montreal-based gut-friendly food brand has raised C$8.5 million (approximately $6.6 million USD), it announced today, to support expanded distribution and new marketing initiatives for its low FODMAP product line of sauces, dips and snacks.

Once Upon a Farm co-founders Jennifer Garner and John Foraker spoke about the evolution of the company’s strategy for winning over retail buyers, merchandising and communicating brand attributes over recent years and why they believe that “everything starts with the consumer.” They also discussed the company’s relationship with Save The Children and its response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a year that has seen massive upheaval in retail, technology and production systems, coupled with a renewed focus on societal issues, the brands that have found success in 2020 are those that were able to be nimble and creative, yet also stayed focused on the goal of creating and selling and increasing the amount of better food products. The finalists for NOSH’s “Best of 2020” Awards reflect the varied skills required to be a successful food company in 2020, including tenacity, creativity, care, vision, planning and execution.

As consumers look for more affordable and healthy meal options as well as convenient delivery methods, mission-driven food company Everytable aims to rival the convenience of shelf-stable packaged foods and drive-through burgers by making its fresh prepared meals accessible to both affluent and underserved communities.

In this week’s Checkout: Forbes names food innovators in Food & Drink 30 Under 30 List; Singapore approves the sale of Eat Just’s cell-based meat; and Nestle announces new sustainability commitments to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Last week plant-based brand Upton’s Naturals and the Plant Based Food Association (PBFA) continued their fight to halt a new Oklahoma labeling law for meat alternatives which went into effect in November.

In this episode of Market Share, host Carol Ortenberg, the editor of NOSH, will talk with Jodi Benson, Chief Innovation, Technology and Quality Officer for General Mills. They’ll discuss how Jodi marries product innovation with consumer trends to create a balance that both is approachable but yet also pushes the company forward.

KIND announced today an agreement to acquire soft-baked snack bar maker Nature’s Bakery. While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, sources told The New York Times that the deal valued Nature’s Bakery at $400 million. The acquisition comes just a few weeks after KIND itself was acquired by snack company Mars.

In yesterday’s Expert Analysis, we brought together a group of industry authorities to discuss the consumer behaviors, investment activity and retailer attitudes that are impacting the bar set. Now, we’re hearing from the brands.