Food Industry News, Insights, and Education for the CPG Community

In the latest episode of Elevator Talk, we feature leaders from Schmutz, Nature’s Turn, Single & Fat and Sweety. Watch founders and CEOs introduce their brands and provide a recap of recent news and updates. This week’s special co-host is Rifle Hughes, a business partner with JPG Resources, who shared his thoughts, questions and feedback with the participants.

Prebiotic protein bar maker Rowdy has announced it will halt production of its flagship product this year, blaming rising input costs, coupled with the pandemic-induced economic climate, that made the product too costly to manufacture.

Plant-based seafood maker ISH Food Company has raised a more than $5 million seed round that will fuel its product innovation and “lay the groundwork for future partnerships,” according to a press release published Tuesday.

Wholly Veggie co-founders John Bonnell and David Gaucher spoke about how a comprehensive brand brief enabled them to better understand their products’ value to retailers and consumers and the impact of a striking design revamp. They also discussed their adherence to business fundamentals, a challenging environment for private capital and how the most commonly consumed ingredients factor into their innovation strategy.

With consumers spending more time at home since the beginning of the pandemic and the pain of inflation cutting into meal budgets, snacking has become an even more important part of consumers’ routines and one that increasingly serves as a meal replacement, according to Mondelez International’s latest State of Snacking report, released last week.

The fate of a putative consolidation accusing baby food maker Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. of violating consumer protection laws by including toxic amounts of heavy metals in its products is now in the hands of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) after a New York federal judge on Thursday ruled the court does not have jurisdiction over the case.

Powered by Real Food From the Ground Up continues to expand its salty snack business with the acquisition of tortilla chip brand Food Should Taste Good from General Mills.

Dumpling Daughter builds on its momentum in grocery retail. Pink Sauce enters exclusive partnership with Walmart and Goodles makes entrance into club channel.

In this week’s roundup: Albertsons launches emerging brand competition; Post Holdings sues LA-based rock band OK Go; Whole Foods aims to increase store expansions three-fold; Campbell’s consolidates snack offices and SPAM gets stylish.

As the bar category continues to gain momentum among consumers, many brands are making their first foray into the space. In this roundup, we spotlight news from around the category, including Dave’s Killer Bread rolling out its new organic snack bars nationwide, Bobo’s introducing its protein bars at Winter Fancy Food Show 2023 and Tattooed Chef expanding its portfolio with oat butter bars.

The Winter Fancy Food Show, which took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 15-17, was filled with aisles of new product innovations ranging from plant-based meat to regeneratively-grown tea. The show saw Bitchin’ Sauce expand its portfolio , Norseland launch two Cacio e Pepe Sauce Starters and Grown As* Foods unveils a 1lb jar of vegan cheese powder.

On this week’s show the team discusses the ‘Pie-pline’ of Hubigs from New Orleans, elsewhere, and the changing climate around keto-branded foods. Later, John Johnson, senior counsel at law firm Shook, Hardy and Bacon, to delves into a recent report on the FDA from the Reagan Udall Foundation.

The Winter Fancy Food Show saw a wave of chef-led brands improving pantry staples and commodity products. Elsewhere, honey brands gave updates on bee-friendly initiatives, plant-based dairy and eggs see growing relevance in U.S. market and functional food makers find new spaces on-shelf.

From plant-based sushi to salsa starter pouches to fish jerky crunch snacks, there was something for every consumer type at this week’s Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas. The show also saw Bobo’s making its first foray into the protein bar set, Savannah Bee Company and Runamok jumping on the hot honey trend and Wonder Monday launching a single-serve, better-for-you iteration of a classic dessert.