News

In this week’s Checkout, Ahold Delhaize and Centerbridge partners acquire FreshDirect; Farmstead raises $7.9 million to fuel its East Coast expansion; and Unilever announces its “Future Foods” initiative to support plant-based eating and reduce its environmental impact.

NOSH Live Winter 2020 will feature Retailer Speed Dating on Wednesday, December 16. For this round, brands have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with top retailers. Speed Dating provides a virtual platform for brands to receive feedback and create partnerships to do business.

Elite Sweets hit the sweet spot with its keto-friendly protein donuts, winning NOSH Pitch Slam 9 as the judges saw a strong opportunity for the brand in its better-for-you take on a popular indulgent snack.

Wicked Foods is hopping across the pond, and it’s picked up some talent along the way. The plant-based food brand, currently sold in United Kingdom Tesco stores under the brand Wicked Kitchen, will also add Unovis operating partner and former 301 Inc business development principal Pete Speranza as CEO.

Fruit jerky brand Watermelon Road has been sold and will now operate under new ownership, founder Jamie Melzer announced last week. The brand, winner of NOSH Pitch Slam 4, will now be helmed by new owner and CEO Cortney Rhodes, with Melzer remaining on as a consultant but stepping away from day-to-day operations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Six food brands were selected from a field of 12 for Thursday’s final round of NOSH’s Pitch Slam 9 presented by 301 Inc. Of the semifinalists, Everipe, Smooth Pops, Elite Sweets, AMG Snacks, AYO Foods and Kindroot will move on to Thursday’s final round, with AMG Snacks selected as the audience favorite.

Roughly three years after it invested in the upstart brand, snack company Mars Incorporated announced today that it had acquired KIND Snacks. Mars previously placed a minority investment in KIND, a deal which gave Mars the rights to “lead the growth of the business” outside of the US and Canada.

Following the May hiring of Sally Grimes as CEO, snack brand Clif Bar announced today the appointment of Rizal Hamdallah as the company’s first chief innovation officer. Hamdallah joins the company after serving as global chief innovation officer at Ocean Spray Cranberries, where he led R&D and the company’s incubation program, The Lighthouse.

In this week’s Checkout, Beyond Meat reports Q3 earnings and addresses confusion around a possible McDonald’s partnership, food industry groups pen a letter to the White House asking for COVID-19 vaccine priority and JADA Brands scores a deal on Shark Tank.

Earlier this year in April, ice cream brand Three Twins announced it would be closing its doors with its assets sold to pay down creditors. Now the company’s former Wisconsin factory has a new owner, High Road Craft Brands. The deal comes as High Road gears up for an ambitious distribution play, aiming at an eventual roll-up of other ice cream companies.