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

A new generation of coffee alternative brands are pitching themselves as the solution to coffee’s sustainability problems. Food tech operations say their processes and products use less land, less water and have a lower carbon footprint but still produces a cup that looks, smells and tastes like the real thing.

The Washington State Supreme Court has accelerated the review process of a temporary block on grocery chain Albertsons’ $4 billion shareholder dividend. The expedited review, moved up to January 17 from its original date in February, aims to resolve questions over the payment.

Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries announced it has taken a minority stake in functional food brand IQBAR leading the bar maker’s Series B funding round through its venture arm, Fast Forward 2032.

Boston-based air-popped water lily seed snack maker Bohana has been acquired by Ore City, Texas-based Boon Distribution, according to an email the brand sent to NOSH last week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This special edition of the podcast features highlights from interviews with six founders, creators and innovators who joined us on the show during the second half of 2022. Our guests include Alison Cayne, the founder and CEO of Haven’s Kitchen; Dan Lourenco and Ryan Hughes, the co-founders of Ghost; Anna-Lena Kamenetzky, the founder and CEO of Touch Capital; Ibraheem Basir, the founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins; Chitra Agrawal, the founder and CEO of Brooklyn Delhi; and Maxime Pouvreau, the founder of Petit Pot.

Since the onset of the pandemic, wellness and better-for-you attributes continue to play a prominent role in eating trends, and the snack set is no exception.

Despite the economic and inflationary environment, brands continued secure large checks and close a few notable acquisitions this year. While 2021 was all about post-pandemic recovery, 2022 saw companies strategizing for long term growth and positioning themselves to navigate the unforeseen bumps and blunders ahead.

As 2022 comes to a close, we reached out to entrepreneurs, thought leaders and industry experts for their takes on the 2003 economic outlook for CPG, as well as the major market trends they’ll be watching for in the new year.

Eastern Standard Provisions has completed a funding round with participation from Mondelēz International’s venture arm SnackFutures.

Nestlé-owned ready-made meal delivery platform Freshly appears to be shutting down its direct-to-consumer business, according to media reports and a LinkedIn post from the company’s co-founder.

Under the leadership of Adam Grogan, meat juggernaut Maple Leaf Farms is broadening how it looks at the alt-protein category by partnering with The Better Meat Co. and exploring new food-tech offerings.

With a new year on the horizon, the hosts shared their expectations for the food and beverage industry in 2023, including the most pertinent opportunities and challenges faced by growing brands. They also opined on the value of Twitter for entrepreneurs and executives and highlighted notable and new products. This episode also features the second edition of Special Ops with Andrew Guard, in which the operations expert offers guidance on timely issues affecting food and beverage companies.

Regardless of what it’s called – plant-based, alternative, animal-free, fake meat – 2022 saw plenty of money and movement in the category of non-animal-derived protein. Check out the timeline for highlights from the emerging and tumultuous industry.

Under the guidance of new CEO Marc Seguin and founder Gail Becker, veggie-based frozen food brand Caulipower is honing its messaging, innovation efforts and sales strategy in order to drive growth in 2023