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

This special edition of Taste Radio highlights actionable insights and advice from interviews with six founders, creators and leaders who joined us on the show during the first half of 2022. Our guests include Todd Carmichael, Co-Founder, La Colombe & Loftiwater; Zoe Feldman, GM of Consumer, Momofuku; Adam Bremen, Founder, Keto Krisp; Annie Ryu, Founder/CEO, Jack & Annie’s; Sandro Roco, Founder & CEO, Sanzo; and Kat Cole, President & COO, Athletic Greens.

On the heels of raising $25 million last October, plant-based and cultivated meat company New Age Meats has rebranded to New Age Eats, a move it says reflects its expanded focus as a CPG company rather than just a food tech company.

New York-based Chocolate Works opens its distribution network by acquiring ethically-sourced, Portland, Oregon chocolate maker Moonstruck for an undisclosed amount.

From Christmas in July-themed iced tea to sweet & spicy peanuts and fruit-based vinegars, this week’s new food innovations cover a wide range of categories. Check out this gallery for notable new items, including a line of premium cooking and pairing sauces that feature vine-ripened New Jersey tomatoes from Colicchio and new frozen pizza options from Healthy Choice.

Despite a $1.3 million in recent donations, cellular agriculture non-profit New Harvest is cutting back on staff as it reevaluates its fundraising strategy and how it finances research in cultured meat.

In this week’s Checkout: NotCo secures AI patents to develop emotion evoking plant-based flavors; Daily Harvest served with class action suit for alt-protein crumble illnesses; and Hormel invests in regenerative agriculture and renewable energy projects.

After a successful first year of operation, refugee-employment initiative UNSTUCK has announced a slew of new partnerships and co-branded SKUs to support its growing supplier network which is composed of companies committed to hiring refugees, helping them economically integrate into their new host community.

Upcycled ingredient supplier and food brand Renewal Mill has partnered with specialty kitchenware retailer Williams Sonoma to produce co-branded products under the retailer’s new Seed & Harvest brand. The partnership comes as the company has also gone nationwide with Whole Foods Market.

General Mills posted strong top line numbers in its latest quarterly earnings report, closing out a fiscal year that brought inflationary challenges and labor shortages as well as changes to the company’s category structure.

After debuting its flagship, sushi-grade plant-based tuna products earlier this year, alt-seafood maker Current Foods is set to accelerate distribution efforts and expand its product range after closing an $18 million seed funding round.

Plant-based dairy brand Eclipse Foods has raised $40 million, the company announced today, and has set its sights on expanding beyond the freezer case.

Mondelēz International announced that it will buy The Clif Bar Company for at least $2.9 billion last week. While the move marks a significant step in the company’s plan to reshape its portfolio, it also aligns the strategic with one of the oldest and largest brands in the crowded bar space. Once it closes, the eight leading nutrition bars brands in the U.S. will be owned by large CPG conglomerates.

Ibraheem Basir, the founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins, a brand of ready-to-eat meals and sides inspired by traditional Black and Latino recipes, spoke about how the brand’s initial focus has evolved, why keeping “a foot in the familiar” is a key tenet of its innovation strategy, the reason the company isn’t vocal about funding and how opportunities have improved while challenges remain for BIPOC food entrepreneurs.

After nearly two years in Whole Foods, better-for-you kids snacks brand Mavericks is hoping to re-introduce itself to consumers with a packaging refresh and the launch of one of its products in 1,250 Target stores.