News

Over the last year, direct-to-consumer frozen food subscription services/providers such as Daily Harvest and Raised Real have reinvigorated consumers’ excitement about frozen food options. However, the frozen aisle itself has remained somewhat untouched with legacy brands abound, save for new cauliflower-based innovations scattered throughout. Imperial Frozen Foods wants to change the dialogue — both about the category as a whole and about their offerings — through product innovation and acquisitions.

Bantam Bagels announced today that it has been acquired for $34 million by T. Marzetti Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lancaster Colony Corporation. Co-founder Elyse Oleksak told NOSH that the company’s rapid growth over the last five years left the brand at “an inflection point.”

Things are hatching in the CPG space as one rising plant-based startup finds itself with a new partner for distribution while another considers going public. Here’s the news you need to know from this week.

While plant-based milks are bringing in hundred of millions of dollars per year and plant-based meats such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are the darlings of the burger crowd, plant-based yogurt and cheese have yet to generate the same buzz. But the CEO of plant-based dairy brand Kite Hill — and its investors — are betting that’s about to change, and financed that bet with a $40 million round that will close at the end of the month.

From a dessert hummus company’s national expansion, to a low-sugar candy company’s seasonal play, here is your latest in distribution news.

Hema Reddy, founder of Crafty Counter, has created a product line focused on convenience, without sacrificing taste or nutrition. The company developed Wundernuggets, a line of frozen nuggets packed with various proteins and vegetables, that caters to flexitarian families, seniors, and people on-the-go.

CPG veteran Scott Lerner will take over as CEO of fermented food brand Farmhouse Culture starting Nov. 1, he told NOSH in an interview. Lerner told NOSH he was “really excited about working on a brand that was on-trend, perimeter-based and rooted in [the natural] channel.”

The interest in bone broth brand Kettle & Fire has reached a boil. The line of shelf stable broths and soups has received an additional $8 million, less than two months after announcing a previous $8 million round of funding in August.

BluePrint founders Zoë Sakoutis and Erica Huss discussed the brand’s origins, early wins and struggles, and how a voicemail left by former Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz factored into their decision to sell the company. They also spoke about their experience moving into the food space with Erzo, a brand of vitamin-infused biscuits, and explained how their new podcast has provided a way to address some unfinished business.

Once a rising business with major investors, “distributed kitchen” startup brand incubator Pilotworks abruptly ceased operations this weekend. As a result, hundreds of food and beverage businesses — which have been left without production and storage facilities or distribution to retail outlets — were left wondering today, “What Next?”