News

Meal kit company Purple Carrot announced today that it will be acquired by Oisix, Japan’s largest meal kit and organic food delivery service. The deal includes an upfront payment of $12.8 million. Purple Carrot CEO Andy Levitt told NOSH that he has been working towards an exit since 2016 and is proud of the impact the company has had on helping consumers eat more plant-based meals.

Meat snack brand Chef’s Cut announced yesterday the launch of a new line of beef biltong — a thinly sliced, cured beef snack from South Africa — which new CEO Bart Adlam hopes will give the brand a versatile and on-trend option for young consumers. The new line will also sport refresh packaging for the brand and comes as the company has added a spate of new executives.

KIND Snacks is freezing out its nutrition bar competitors with its latest innovation. Last week, the brand announced the launch of KIND Frozen Creamy Almond Bars, the brand’s first entry into the frozen category, available exclusively at Wal-Mart.

B&G acquires Clabber Girl, Nuun’s #WeStandByHer initiative, Angie’s Boomchickapop co-founders invest in KYLA Kombucha and more in this week’s Checkout.

Welcome to Sauce in the City – a new column on NOSH exploring the day-to-day business of starting and scaling a new food business.

The American palate has evolved in the last 40 years, and so has the Amin family business — Deep Foods. The company is now catering to a new generation of shoppers by repositioning its Tandoor Chef brand in an effort to tell a larger, authentic story.

Alison Cayne is the founder of Haven’s Kitchen, a company focused on crafting healthy sauces to help home cooks make meals easier and faster. The brand’s offerings are refrigerated, vegan and gluten-free, and differ from shelf-stable products that contain additives and preservatives.

Although many credit Steve’s Ice Cream for kicking off the super-premium ice cream movement back in the 1970s, the brand has struggled to capitalize on its first-mover status in the years since. But now the brand has Dean Foods, who acquired the brand in 2017, behind it as the dairy giant attempts to enter the artisanal ice cream space.

Last month, United Natural Foods, Incorporated (UNFI) announced it will cease to carry topical CBD products, a potential deal killer for companies charged with driving large quantities of the hot button ingredient across state lines.

The battle to see who will be the category leader in plant-based “meat” continues. Less than two weeks after Beyond Meat launched a successful initial public offering (IPO), beef-substitute Impossible Foods announced today the close of a $300M round of funding.