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

Belgian Boys announced today that they closed a round of funding led by Equilibra, the family office of KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky, which is aimed at helping the seven-year old food brand to expand its distribution, with a particular focus on fresh breakfast items.

Acknowledging that “they were the wrong products,” Miyoko’s CEO Miyoko Schinner announced this week that the artisanal plant-based dairy brand has halted production of its cheddar and pepper jack slices, shreds and blocks, explaining that the line’s insubstantial nutritional value compromised the brand’s values and mission to create real nutrient-dense, vegan cheese.

BetterBrand founder/CEO Aimee Yang spoke about how she analyzed the opportunity to create a better-for-you bagel, why raising her first $1 million was both remarkable and lamentable, the fortuitous way she met several investors, what she wanted to convey in branding and package design and why she embraces a “software mindset” when it comes to iteration.

Frozen food and snack brand Sweet Nothings is changing up its branding in order to better clarify its value proposition as it plans for distribution expansion. In tandem with the new look, the company will launch a kids line of squeezable smoothies.

Since making its retail debut last March, climate-friendly snack brand Moonshot has increased its footprint to over 1,000 doors following a nationwide expansion with Sprouts Farmers Market, announced last week. In addition to expanding distribution, the brand is looking to accelerate the growth of its platform throughout the year.

This week’s new food launches focused on function and saw brands adding benefits while maintaining a focus on flavor. Here’s the latest allergy-friendly, plant-based, and adaptogenic products to launch this week including new flavors from Lil Bucks and Parktake and functional innovation from ZEGO and Clevr Blends.

In this week’s Checkout: The Specialty Food Association Trendspotter Panel names nine trends from Winter Fancy Food Show; Brands look to celebrity Youtube series’ for increased consumers engagement; KIND launches new nutrition-forward campaign against packaged foods, including its own snacks; and Kroger activates Loop partnership at 25 Fred Meyer’s stores.

Canadian independent grocer Organic Garage has rebranded its parent company as ORAGIN Foods, stating that the change will clarify the goal of the publicly-traded business for shareholders as it works to build out an independent, M&A-driven CPG platform alongside the expansion of its retail division in Ontario.

ThinkThin founder Lizanne Falsetto is going from protein bars to animal-free dairy protein, announcing today the launch of betterland foods, a new company developing products made with Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy proteins.

Packaging that draws consumers to a product on-shelf doesn’t always pop on screen. In today’s world of omni-channel shopping habits, where shoppers are discovering new brands in-store and online, food companies have been challenged to shift to new strategies, rethink old tactics and help their product find a new sweet spot for success.

Dairy brand Good Culture has taken another step towards its goal of becoming a cultured foods platform, announcing today the closing of a $64 million funding round that will support retail and product expansion this year.

Canadian quick-service restaurant chain Odd Burger is expanding its reach in the foodservice industry with the introduction of Preposterous Foods, a line of fast-food style plant-based proteins and dairy-free sauces.

The Kraft Heinz Company and TheNotCompany, Inc. today announced a new joint venture in order to develop and launch a new line of plant-based products. While Kraft Heinz will bring its brand portfolio and ability to bring products to market quickly, NotCo will utilize its artificial intelligence (AI) platform to help guide product decisions and development.

In this People Moves: Alt-dairy company Kite Hill names Blair Cornish as SVP of Sales, Chris Lansing steps down as Nature’s Bakery CEO, Future Meat appoints Nicole Johnson-Hoffman as CEO; Planet Based Foods names new CFO and VP of Sales; and more.