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

Recess Mood takes the New York-based brand into a different state of mind. While the flagship product offered a sense of “calm, cool and collected” through a combination of hemp extract and adaptogenic herbs, Mood is positioned as a caffeine and CBD-free “uplift” delivered via a proprietary blend of magnesium L-theorate.

In this week’s Checkout, Post Holdings acquires dry pasta brand Ronzoni; sugar-free gelato and chocolate bar maker Bon AppéSweet is named the winner of The Empower Project; synthetic honey maker MeliBio raises $850K; Anheuser-Busch breaks grounds on a $100 million EverGrain facility; and brands celebrate April Fools’ Day with creative product launches.

Despite sustainability being a fairly standard aspiration for progressive food and beverage brands, there are times when the implementation of environmentally friendly measures can still be an arduous process. With the launch of the working group Band of Brands, Quinn Snacks founder and CEO Kristy Lewis hopes she can ease some of this burden and help food and beverage companies have a bigger impact on the supply chain.

March saw several snack brands expand into new categories, from Hu’s grain-free cookies to LesserEvil’s toddler-friendly puffs. Check out the second part of March’s new product gallery for more of the month’s new releases, including frozen treats from KIND, Yasso and Halo Top and an upcycled baking mix collaboration from Renewal Mill and Burlap & Barrel.

Check out the gallery for some of March’s notable product launches, including new breakfast launches from Mason Dixie, Path of Life and The Pinole Project, fresh flavors from BTR Bar and Your Super and Omsom’s Disney collaboration.

After leaving its imprint in the pizza category, Caulipower is looking to grab cauliflower-curious consumers of another favorite food type: pasta. It’s the first salvo in what the company’s CEO said will be a year of innovation.

Plant-based start-up platform LiveKindly Collective announced yesterday the close of a $335 million funding round as the company looks to extend its brands’ reach to new geographies, while also growing its portfolio through new acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

Looking to straddle the confection and nutritional bar categories, bar brand Mid-Day Squares announced this week the closing of a $4 million funding round that will allow the outspoken Canadian company to expand further into the U.S. market. The four-year-old company expects to have $10 million in revenue for 2021, its co-founders said.

In this week’s investment-focused Checkout, nut butter and snack brand Abby’s Better lands $1 million and adds Kevin Love and Kate Bock as investors; cultivated meat company Meatable secures $47 million; and JUST Egg maker Eat Just raises $200 million.

For the 32 million Americans who suffer from food allergies, access to safe and affordable specialty care — including allergy-safe food — is a necessity. But that doesn’t mean that it’s available on an equal basis, particularly for minority or low-income consumers. A new report from the food allergy advocacy organization FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) has identified systemic racial and economic inequity — both in healthcare and with regard to a lack of access to allergy-friendly food — as the root obstacles to that specialized care. To help further its mission, FARE is identifying ways CPG food brands can advance equality initiatives in the food allergy community.

Having already made the jump from operational consulting to investing, the principals behind Siddhi Capital this week filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a proposed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

From pho to penne, this month during our Category Closeup: Product Showcase we’re exploring innovation and growth strategies for a group of rising noodle brands. Speaking with executives from brands producing shelf stable, fresh and frozen products, we’ll hear the views of the entrepreneurs who are currently shaping this broad set of categories.

During its fiscal third quarter earnings call today, General Mills reported a continued focus on its “Accelerate” strategy, a growth model that includes brand building, innovating, scaling and being a “force for good.” The company also discussed changes to its Yoplait operations and financial structure and offered a look at how pandemic-driven consumer habits have continued to impact sales across several categories and channels.

The virtual world is a busy one and so we’re in frantic preparation to rush out our next Supercharge event for April 20. This one-day event will provide a concise but impactful look at the key trends influencing marketing and branding strategies for food and beverage brands.