News

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?”

While the air might be cooling down, the market for investments and acquisitions is red hot this week. From a restauranteur investing in a new food marketplace to meal solutions for crossfitters, there was plenty capital deployed this week. Here’s the news you need to know from the week.

Jon Sebastiani, the founder of Krave Jerky, pulls back the curtain on the business strategy behind his incubator and private equity fund Sonoma Brands. The hosts discuss beverage-related news, trends and innovation in the convenience store channel as viewed at the 2018 NACS show.

Less than a year after departing Whole Foods Market as its global director of local brands product innovation and development, Elly Truesdell has not one but two positions to add to her CV. In addition to serving as chief strategy officer to newly launched copacker Canopy Brands, as of this week Truesdale will act as a portfolio advisor to investment group Almanac Insights, which is run by David Barber.

Consumers are ready for fresh baby food offerings and it’s time to meet that need head on, believes Once Upon a Farm (OUAF) CEO John Foraker. To test this assertion, the chilled baby and child food brand is ready to “go big” thanks to a $20 million dollar investment announced yesterday. CAVU Venture Partners led the round, with S2G Ventures, Beechwood Capital and other earlier investors also taking part.

Dawn Anderson, the founder and CEO of OHi Food Co., believes the taste, texture, and nutritional profile sets the brand apart from other refrigerated bars. The company’s line of plant-based bars combines whole ingredients such as pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, and almonds, with functional ingredients like maca, reishi mushrooms, and mesquite powders.

Jason Karp, CEO and founder of hedge fund Tourbillon Global Master Fund, announced earlier this week that he will be shutting down the multibillion dollar fund and returning roughly $1 billion dollars of capital to investors. His new focus, he told NOSH, will be focusing on health and wellness.

This week we’re joined by Paddy Spence, the visionary founder of market research firm SPINS and CEO of beverage platform Zevia. Hear about the origins of his remarkable career, how marrying personal insights and passion with quantitative data has been central to the success of Zevia, why brands should focus on continuous improvement and his perspective on work-life balance.

FBOMB has seen exponential growth as of late thanks to a rising interest in keto-friendly products and a majority stake investment made last year by Disruptive Enterprises.

From a food and beverage giant partnering with startups to learn more about innovation, to investors experiencing the highs and lows of working with brands, here is the natural food news you need to know this week.