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

NotCo, Grillo’s and Nudge recently announced new partnerships with well-known QSR chains and sports stadiums to boost marketing and brand awareness regarding their respective products. NotCo partnered with Shake Shack to create dairy-free iterations of two popular frozen treats while Grillo’s Pickles and Nudge collaborated with MLB sports teams to bring their products to the stadium.

Following nearly two years of on-and-off experimentation and various product iterations, the chilled oat filled bar brand recently launched at a group of about 40 independent Southern California retailers. The brand aims to clean up the granola bar category with a product made from oats, dried fruits, and nut butters, covered in chocolate and sweetened with agave.

In this distribution roundup: Dress It Up dressing expands nationwide with a range of new retail partners, Nguyen Coffee goes national with Whole Foods, Moon Cheese lands with Kroger, RightRice rolls out to Kroger, and more.

Zoe Feldman, the GM of consumer for acclaimed and influential restaurant group Momofuku, spoke about the vision for the company’s brand of restaurant-grade pantry essentials, the impact of founder David Chang’s media presence on awareness and product trial, why she can’t hit the brakes on growth, and the reason she only hires “Swiss Army knives.” She also discussed the brand’s role in the evolution of the ethnic aisle and why she is focused on the fundamentals of building a good business.

Icelandic low-sugar snack and breakfast products maker Good Good has closed a $20 million Series B round led by European capital group Strategic Investment Advisors (SÍA). The new funding, announced today, arrives as the company continues to double its revenue year-over-year and the financing will help the brand in “strengthening the Good Good shareholder group… Read more »

Format innovation and better-for-you-treats were the dominant themes among this collection of recently-launched new sweets. While Clio Snacks unveiled a campfire-inspired yogurt bar, Blondery teamed up with Bushwick Kitchen to launch limited-edition, salted, cinnamon, maple blondies. Check out this roundup for the latest offerings from brands including AWAKE Chocolate, Dewey’s Bakery and Honey Mama’s.

Bragg Live Food Products is probing another flank in its ongoing attack on apple cider vinegar fueled gummy supplements, which it considers a threat to the business health of the 110-year-old brand. A few weeks after an unsuccessful regulatory battle against leading ACV gummy brand Goli, Bragg, which largely sells liquid ACV and ACV-based drinks,… Read more »

This week’s notable new products saw brands expanding their plant-based protein offerings, launching prenatal and postnatal support smoothies and introducing revamped packaging for their products. Check out this gallery for new items from Gardein and Organic Valley and refreshed packaging from Motherlove and La Victoria.

In this week’s Checkout: Gopuff launches pizza brand The Mean Tomato through Kitchens platform, Evo Foods and Gingko Bioworks Team Up on Animal-free Egg, Ben & Jerry’s announce ‘Mootopia’ pilot project, FDA looks into improving infant formula supply, and Kraft Heinz works to develop paper-based ketchup bottle.

In 30 days the food industry will meet at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City for NOSH Live Summer 2022. The two-day event is where food entrepreneurs and industry experts discover what’s next and get business done.

Despite strong online and in-store numbers that helped push a 26% increase in year-over-year net sales to $9.6 million, Laird Superfood reported a net loss of over $14 million during Q1 2022, according to an earnings report released by the company on Friday.

Delivery service Instacart announced late yesterday that it has confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public. The announcement comes after the company slashed its valuation and other companies are postponing their own IPOs.

South American retailer Cencosud has acquired a majority stake in natural grocery chain The Fresh Market in a $676 million transaction as it looks to expand its business into the U.S.

Founded in 2014, the veteran-owned company has attracted attention from within and outside the beverage industry, thanks in large part by both the popularity of its pro-military merchandise and its expanding ready-to-drink product family. In February, Black Rifle went public via SPAC in an IPO valuing the company at around $1.7 billion. The company plans to reorganize as a public benefit corporation to reinforce its mission of serving veterans, law enforcement and first responders, including a commitment to hire 10,000 veterans.