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

In this week’s checkout: the Biden-Harris Administration announces its Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Action Plan, Whole Foods launches the Resolutions Renovator competition and Conagra looks to Gen Z and Millennials for future innovations.

The ice cream category may already be crowded, but two New England-based ice cream innovators believe there’s still white space in retail for a value-oriented, plant-based offering. Sweet Tree Creamery, once a food-service only partnership between the FoMu brand of plant-based ice cream and co-packer, New England Ice Cream (NEIC), is now launching in stores.

While new plant-based alternatives continue to enter the market, food makers are expanding their reach beyond retail and driving product discovery through partnerships ranging from traditional fast food restaurants to fast casual dining locations.

As far as timing goes, early January feels like the perfect month to unveil a new look or makeover. Here are seven food brands looking to make a fresh start in 2022 with revamped branding, packaging and overall design.

At NOSH Live four executives — Nick Ajluni and Nick Guillen, co-founders of Truff; Sashee Chandran, founder and CEO of Tea Drops; and Matt Jung, CEO of Last Crumb — shared their perspectives on direct to consumer sales strategies.

Plant-based meat makers The Better Meat Co. and Meati Foods (formally Emergy Inc.) are set to face off in court, with the two companies suing each other last month in the U.S. District Court of Eastern California over allegations of stealing confidential trade secrets and “tortious interference.”

Through a variety of finished CPG products, foodservice and brand partnerships, and investments OmniFoods seeks to engage both existing plant-based consumers and those who still view vegetable-based meat replacements as “a novel idea.”

Colorado has long been a hotbed of innovation for better-for-you food and beverage brands. So when tragedy struck last week with the Marshall Fires destroying the homes of thousands in Boulder County, the CPG community responded.

Better Brand has a simple goal: to make classic bakery staples…better. The low-carb, high-protein brand hopes to expand into food service and launch into other categories in the coming year, and believes investment into its production and staffing can help make this a reality.

Building on its success with smoothies, bowls and bites, Daily Harvest is further expanding its offerings with the launch of Harvest Bakes, a new collection of bakeable meals made with vegetables, legumes and whole grains

In Taste Radio’s final episode of 2021, the hosts spoke about why entrepreneurs launching new and innovative concepts need to consider the addressable market for their brands and products going into 2022. They also discussed the news that a high-profile kombucha company has leapt into the growing pool of probiotic sodas, a fast-growing snack brand’s recent raise and a number of notable products that crossed their respective desks over the past week.

Food makers are celebrating the winter season with a wide variety of new products, ranging from limited edition peppermint-filled sweets to nostalgic, better-for-you innovations to a seasonal snack launch designed to help consumers forget about the winter chill. Check out the gallery below for the return of popular seasonal snacks, new brand debuts, celebrity collaborations and more.

From ongoing supply chain disruptions to economic instability, food makers continued to grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2021. However, the industry pressed onward embracing challenges and pivoting with new product lines, formats and strategies to keep their heads above water. Considering all of the upheaval of 2020, the theme of this past year is slightly more positive with plenty of new entries to the industry, investments in plant-based and strategic acquisitions.

In anticipation of Veganuary, food companies have been experimenting with a range of dairy alternative launches both sweet and savory. From collabs between Chance the Rapper and Ben & Jerry’s to partnerships between animal-free food tech company Perfect Day and General Mills, consumers have a range of new vegan products to choose from in the new year.