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

When Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss launched their latest venture, Earth & Star, last year with a line of mushroom lattes, the intent was always to build the brand into a “mushroom platform.” Over a year later, the vision is taking shape.

Matthew Parry, founder and CEO of canister-packaged snack brand The Good Crisp, spoke about how he has carefully navigated comparisons to Pringles, how the company’s channel and merchandising strategies have evolved to reach more mainstream consumers, and how he’s balancing rapid growth with a conservative approach to hiring.

Having tackled meatballs, sustainable seafood and functional beverages, Michael Chernow is turning his sights to fitness with the launch of health and wellness CPG brand Kreatures of Habit last month. The company’s first product is a line of functional oatmeal that can also replace consumers’ daily supplement regimens, called The PrOATagnonist.

Two years after the launch of its spoonable frozen smoothie cups, Sweet Nothings is trying something new for its second line. The brand introduced Superfood Nut Butter Bites last week, representing both an expansion into shelf-stable snacks and a push into ecommerce as it seeks to prove that it can be dynamic across categories and channels.

In this week’s Checkout, Hershey tests its new Oat Made plant-based chocolate bar in select markets; Gopuff launches an accelerator for underrepresented entrepreneurs; Equinom and Meatless Farm partner on products using a new yellow pea protein variety; and superfood powder brand Teatis secures seed funding.

Members of the natural products industry have had a sense of deja vu the last few weeks as the fate of the annual trade show Natural Products Expo East has been a hot discussion topic. Last year, show organizer New Hope shifted its shows to a virtual format, but this year the company is moving forward, having spent recent weeks attempting to address attendee safety concerns and generate enthusiasm for a return to in-person events.

Plant-based protein brand Meati is beefing up its marketing and communications team. In August, Patrick Jammet joined as VP of marketing and, last week, Christina Ra came aboard as VP, brand and communications.

For the second year, financial services firm Barclays held a virtual edition of its annual Global Consumer Staples Conference, inviting companies to share their business strategies and updates. During the event, which consisted of three days of presentations and Q&A sessions, executives addressed changing consumer behaviors post-pandemic and inflationary pressures, while also discussing their innovation plans to reshape their portfolios.

Nevada-based pretzel brand Stellar Snacks has launched its latest offering — Vegan Butter Braids — into Southeast retailers, the company announced this month. Meanwhile, functional food brand Four Sigmatic has entered Target locations and Hungry Planet has landed on Sprouts shelves.

Condiment, sauce and oil producer Chosen Foods announced yesterday that Butterfly Equity had acquired the majority of the company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The latest development in the long legal battle between Beyond Meat and its former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms has seen the plant-based food company secure a small victory in a dispute over what it counts as its trade secrets.

Armed with $4.5 million in new funding and a CPG veteran at the helm, a new player in the fast-growing plant-based meat category is looking to shake up the burger and nugget-centric segment with a fresh format that it hopes will convert consumers from chicken to “CHKN.”

Chobani is breaking free of the cold case: the company has quietly launched a line of enhanced peanut butter in partnership with nonprofit Edesia, a former Chobani incubator participant. The butters, which debuted last year in limited release, now sport refreshed packaging designed to stand out on store shelves.

Since its launch almost a decade ago, ReGrained has struggled to find a solution that can make a dent in the billions of pounds of spent grain left over from the beer brewing process. For years, that has meant attempting to reduce this food waste, both through its own CPG product lines and as an ingredient supplier. But after seeing mixed results from its bifurcated business model, ReGrained is pivoting away from “resource intensive” CPG products in favor of focusing on ingredients.