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

In this week’s roundup: Little Spoon expands with new Biteables lines; American Spice Trade Association believes spices and herbs earned healthy status; Kraft Heinz puts price increases on hold and Project Potluck doubles in size.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is pressing aseptic food and beverage maker Lyons Magnus for more answers around the company’s response to health code violations that sparked a recall of around 35 million products last summer.

Nestlé announced on Thursday plans to further increase prices across several product lines after inflationary headwinds, including heightened ingredient costs, contributed to a decline in sales volumes for the fourth quarter.

This week the team talks cauliflower, its place on Chick-fil-a’s menu and the veggie’s larger role in branded and private label CPG. Later, we hear from Ted Wright, CEO of word of mouth marketing agency Fizz.

Vegan dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery has seen its namesake, founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner, formally depart the company, according to an announcement from the brand today.

Coming on the heels of a rebrand last month, Union City, California-based vegan cheese dip maker House Party announced it has landed its products in 51 Whole Foods Market locations across Northern California.

While hummus is an inherent part of the brand’s identity, Ithaca Hummus founder and CEO Chris Kirby doesn’t believe its first line extension – Fire Roasted Salsa – will be the source of too much consumer confusion.

Cell-cultivated protein companies appear to be locked in a race to build commercial-scale production plants, even as the industry awaits full regulatory approval from both the FDA and the USDA, reflecting the long and complex road towards widespread commercialization and price-parity with conventional meat and seafood.

Last week Turtle Island Foods, which makes Tofurky and Moocho, was acquired by a subsidiary of multibillion dollar company Morinaga Milk Industry Co. With a purchase price of over $50M, the deal came as CEO Jaime Athos said the company was “facing a lot of challenges.”

Jason Burke, founder and CEO of clean-ingredient meat snack and condiment brand The New Primal, discussed the demands of building a modern food brand, why he advises founders to embrace reliable business practices and a cautious retail strategy and how “the goalposts” have shifted when it comes to large CPG exits. He also stressed the importance of due diligence on potential investors and shared a moving story about his motivation to provide consumers with better food options.

Sports nutrition company Skratch Labs opened a new cafe in its hometown of Boulder, Colorado last month with the aim of extending its brand identity beyond the CPG industry.

TreeHouse Foods’ newly reshaped portfolio is focused on higher growth and higher margin private label snacking and beverage categories to “drive improved execution,” the company said during its Q4 2022 earnings call today.

BevNET and NOSH presents: Community Call, a recurring series of open meetings dedicated to pressing topics impacting food and beverage businesses. Topics on the docket include: learning the formula for a successful Expo West exhibit; how to successfully pitch media for coverage; and how to follow up post trade show to get business done.

Less than a year after it bought out its former investment partner, the company is rapidly scaling operations, introducing fresh innovation and entering new channels as it projects to grow sales 5x this year.