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

On its earnings call this week, Sprouts Farmers Market credited its Q1 sales growth as a “direct result” of its customer engagement efforts, which have helped grow both basket size and as well as increase trip count among its loyal shoppers.

Nestle-owned Blue Bottle Coffee is partnering with multi-Grammy award winner The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) and his record label, XO, to create a new line of premium Ethiopian coffees that honor the “Starboy” singer’s family roots.

Target announced its Takeoff Food and Beverage Accelerator program class of 2023. The mentorship program will help 10 emerging food and beverage brands successfully improve branding and marketing strategies.

Bakery brand Hero Bread announced today it has closed $15 million in funding to help the brand meet consumer demand and fuel future product innovation. The capital raise comes as the San Francisco-based brand shifts its focus to physical retail.

Vertically-integrated ingredient supplier, agriculture company and CPG producer Above Foods will go public via a reverse merger with blank check company Bite Acquisition Corp. The deal values Above at roughly $319 million

Despite significant gains in recent years, mass-market adoption of plant-based meat, seafood, eggs and dairy remains limited by taste and pricing-related challenges, according to the Good Food Institute’s (GFI) State of the Industry report.

Omsom is taking its unique branding approach to the quick-ready meal category with a 4-SKU line of Saucy Noodles, marking the brand’s first major line extension since the company hit the market in May 2020.

Community Call is a recurring series of open meetings dedicated to pressing topics impacting food and beverage businesses. This month, we welcome a range of guests covering topics such as current hiring trends, using social media to drive sales, how to scale your sales team, and avoiding deduction surprises.

D2C sales growth is leveling out from its explosive heights and the opportunities for startups in the space have tightened to the point that many are simply giving up.

Mondelēz reported strong top line growth on its Q1 earnings call yesterday. In the first quarter, executives noted, 2022 acquisition Clif Bar showed double-digit revenue growth.

The Kellogg Company reiterated preliminary details about the company’s future structure during its annual shareowner meeting today, held nearly a year after it first announced plans to divide up the business.

In this week’s notable new products roundup, Brightland announces the launch of its Pizza Oil, ONE Bar pays homage to a lunchbox favorite with its newest flavor and The Republic of Tea commemorates the premiere of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

In this week’s roundup: Hershey invests in social, environmental supply chain programs in the Ivory Coast; Burcon makes a bid for Merit Functional Foods; Citibank issues new ESG warnings for beef, soy producers; and layoffs reach Tyson and Utz.

The Hershey Company set a positive tone for 2023, raising its full year financial outlook after outperforming expectations in its Q1 earnings report today. According to the company, consolidated net sales were up just over 12% in Q1 to $2.9 billion (organic net sales grew 12.2%) while reported net income increased 10.9% to $587.2 million.