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

Campbell Soup Company offloaded its nut and trail mix brand Emerald Nuts to Minneapolis-based, private label manufacturer Flagstone Foods on Tuesday for an undisclosed amount as the legacy soup company prioritizes its more successful snacking labels.

Fly By Jing founder Jing Gao is entering the retail space with Suá Kitchen and Superette, a grab-and-go market of Sichuan-inspired prepared foods and retail goods.

Backed with over $50 million in investment, former CEO of the Roundy’s and Mariano’s chains Bob Mariano has embarked on his latest venture in the Chicago area, Dom’s Kitchen and Market. The retailer hopes to have 15 stores by the end of next year building on an omnichannel, experiential type of food shopping grounded in prepared foods, heavier product curation and app-based connectivity.

In this week’s notable new products roundup, Van Leeuwen pays homage to artist Keith Haring in crafting a limited edition ice cream flavor, Pompeian expands its portfolio of olive oils and Olli launches what it claims to be the first preservative-free salami in North America.

In this week’s roundup: Stoneyfield expands plant to make 46M yogurt pouches per year; Taco Bell tries to liberate Taco Tuesday; Target faces backlash as Pride Month approaches and SNAC International releases annual State of The Industry Report

This week, Carol speaks with Jorge Gaviria, CEO and founder of Masienda, and its creative director Daniel Klein about how the company’s focus on video and storytelling has fueled new growth in customer acquisition and retail placements — and led to several James Beard award nominations this year.

Israeli food tech ingredient business Incredo LTD, formerly DouxMatok, announced it has closed a $30 million funding round this week which it will use to expand its research, development and commercialization strategy, as well as accelerate commercial partnerships.

KeHE Distributors has entered into an agreement to acquire DPI Specialty Foods, a West Coast food and beverage distributor, the company announced on Wednesday. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Century-old Flowers Foods is no stranger to reinvention but now the bakery conglomerate sees a future strategy in snacking. Portfolio brand Dave’s Killer Bread (DKB) expanded beyond its namesake category for the first time with the launch of a 3-SKU lineup of Organic Snack Bars.

In the latest episode of Elevator Talk, we feature leaders from Little Sesame, Churn Foods, Something Sweet Dough, Struesli and Sea Monsters. Watch founders and CEOs introduce their brands and provide a recap of recent news and updates. This week’s special co-host is Tom Spier, the founder and managing partner of food and beverage investment firm BFG Partners, who shared his thoughts, questions and feedback with the participants.

The aisles of the Sweets & Snacks Expo 2023 were packed with a wide array of new innovations from both new and existing brands. With 16,000 expected attendees, 2023 marked the last year the show will be held in Chicago, instead rotating between Indianapolis and Las Vegas moving forward.

While doubling down on its efforts to become a snacking powerhouse, The Hershey Company is embedding responsible and sustainable practices into its business transformation, as outlined in its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report released on Tuesday.

Fresh from raising seven-figures for its line of frozen clean-ingredient mac and cheese, 8 Myles has rebranded to Myles Comfort Foods and relaunched its flagship product with a new look and new SKUs.

Wicked Kitchen has acquired plant-based “raw” seafood provider Current Foods, a transaction that deepens the company’s food service offerings and grows its portfolio of plant-based products following its 2022 acquisition of Good Catch. Exact terms of the non-cash deal were not disclosed.