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

In a webinar last week, Sally Lyons Wyatt, EVP, Client Insights at IRI, Christine Boule, Principal, Client Insights at IRI and Alison Bodor, president and CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute, delved into the growing frozen food segment and identified ways brands can navigate the category to win in retail. IRI also dug into how brands can capitalize on growth in the plant-based meat space and what consumers are looking for in meat alternatives going forward in another webinar earlier this week led by Anne-Marie Roerink, president at 210 Analytics and Jonna Parker, Principal IRI Fresh.

Earlier today, The Specialty Food Association (SFA) cancelled the in-person trade show portion of the Fancy Food Show 2021. Meanwhile, New Hope, and its parent company Informa, announced new Covid-19 related protocols for Natural Products Expo East in response to feedback from attendees and to comply with new health department regulations.

Fresh off its IPO, meat snack company Stryve Foods is already making moves to enter new categories. While the company previously indicated it planned to first enter adjacent salty snack categories such as crackers and chips, it has instead turned its attention to the supplement set, launching new protein powders with a new line called Stryve Nutrition.

This year’s Forbes list of the top wealthiest self-made women featured four founders, leaders and executives behind some of CPG’s most notable brands. Released this week, the full list includes 100 of the top female entrepreneurs and executives, two-thirds of which either founded or cofounded their company and 26 who have served as CEOs.

This week we’re joined by Benjamin Chesler, the co-founder of Imperfect Foods, a pioneering online grocery service that specializes in selling produce and surplus food that would otherwise be discarded. Chesler discussed Imperfect’s roots and mission to reduce food waste on a massive scale and the process for incorporating branded items into its product selection.

With a slew of new product lines over the past few years, That’s It is working to prove that it’s more than just a fruit-based bar brand. As part of its goal to create a plant-based snacking platform across several categories, the brand this month debuted a new energy bar line called Keto Kick, which it hopes will further expand its reach to new consumers.

As part of our Supercharge virtual events series, BevNET and NOSH are going inside the hype to try to help brands understand the methodologies of scale and growth, particularly in the evolving omnichannel environment. On September 9th we’ll explore the costs of growth — both from a cash and staffing standpoint, as well as ways that brands can know they’re ready to begin investing in that growth.

In this week’s Checkout, Tyson Foods mandates vaccines for all U.S.-based employees; Kroger partners with Kitchen United; Danone and Brightseed expand their partnership and Modern Meat launches in the U.S.

In quarterly earnings calls this week, Post Holdings talks cereal sales and its plan to distribute a portion of its interest in BellRing Brands; Beyond Meat sees a sales bump as foodservice rebounds; and B&G Foods sees a decline in sales while the spices and seasonings segment grows.

In a recap of this week’s quarterly earnings calls, Kellogg’s net sales increase as on-the-go snacks rebound; Blue Apron reports customer loss and average revenue increases; and Kraft Heinz talks “manageable” inflations costs and innovation strategy.

Meat snack brand 4505 Meats has made the jump from salty snacks to meat sticks with the launch of Butcher’s Snacks. The company believes the new line can add incremental sales and increase its D2C business.

Plant-based cheese and butter maker Miyoko’s Creamery today announced the closing of a $52 million funding round which the company plans to use to grow distribution and launch new dairy-free cheese innovations.

CPG-focused investment group Sunrise Strategic announced late last week that it would bring aboard more food and beverage veterans, notably ex-ONE Brands CEO Peter Burns, to help the firm diversify its capabilities. The news comes as the firm also announced it has raised more capital from its financial partner, Trilantic North America.

July saw a range of notable collaborations and partnerships from brands such as Kraft and Van Leeuwen, and AYO Foods and Top Chef competitor Eric Adjepong. Food companies also introduced a variety of new functional offerings ranging from latte blends to adaptogenic trail mixes from Toodaloo. Check out the gallery for the latest new releases, brand debuts, and limited-edition items including a retro rebrand from Cheerios.