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

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

A Washington, D.C. Circuit court panel sided with Albertsons on Tuesday refusing to impose an emergency pause on the grocery chain’s planned $4 billion shareholder dividend filed in the court a month and a half ago.

Alpha Foods, a maker of vegan meals and plant-based meat alternatives, has issued a voluntary recall of its Meatless Breakfast Sandwiches and frozen burritos after traces of milk were discovered in the products.

The team talks snack news and the state of online subscription businesses and later, key themes from a recent seminar hosted by Natural Products Consulting. Then, we hear from Andy Whitman, Managing Partner of Loft Growth Partners about what to keep in mind when pitching investors.

New label certifications, calls for transparency of environmental impact and innovative products targeting sustainability-minded and health-conscious consumers showed how shoppers prioritized CPG food in 2022.

Ice cream maker Ample Hills is temporarily closing in a last-ditch attempt to secure critical financing to continue operations, the company stated in a letter posted to its website on Monday.

Rainforest Distribution has opened a warehouse in South Easton, Massachusetts, expanding its services beyond its home base of New York into New England, according to information posted online.

Several job postings indicate that direct-to-consumer frozen meal company Daily Harvest will enter brick-and-mortar retail.

General Mills posted strong top line and bottom line numbers in its Q2 FY2023 earnings report, despite “ongoing volatility” in the operating environment.

Good Karma Foods has named Mike Murray as its new CEO as the plant-based dairy alternative producer prepares to close a new financing round led by Valor Siren Ventures (VSV) and Loft Growth Partners. Murray arrives at the Boulder, Colorado-based brand from protein solutions company Teton Waters Ranch where he had served as CEO since… Read more »

Their flagship products have a suggested retail price that is nearly double those of legacy and competing brands. And, yet, Serenity Kids is outpacing them all. In this episode, founders Serenity and Joe Carr spoke about why maintaining a premium price point is key to the brand’s value proposition, their thoughtful sourcing and operations strategies, how they developed a sophisticated understanding of the packaged food industry and their rigorous hiring process.

Cometeer, the Massachusetts-based maker of flash-frozen coffee pods, laid off a number of employees across departments last week in a move sources described as an attempt to cut costs. The innovation-focused startup, founded in 2015 by CEO Matt Roberts and CTO Douglas Hoon, had grown to over 100 employees this year, following a $35 million… Read more »