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

Pandemic-driven changes in consumer shopping habits had a significant impact on the U.S. CPG industry’s growth in 2020, driving unprecedented sales and establishing a wave of new trends that could continue post-pandemic. In their ninth annual CPG study published this month, data firm IRI and Boston Consulting Group identified the top companies and categories that drove CPG growth in 2020, and forecasted the possible strategies for success beyond the pandemic.

Mindright wants consumers to “get in a good mood via superfoods” and now it’s got an even bigger megaphone to do so. The snack brand, which was co-founded by former Buff Bake CEO and investor Chris Bernard and athlete Rob Dyrdek (via his venture studio Dyrdek Machine), last week announced it had raised $1.8 million from a star studded slate of investors. It’s just one more step in the brand’s quest to help Americans find their happy place.

In this week’s Checkout, Alec’s Ice Cream raises $1 million; Women on Boards Project celebrates its one year anniversary; Target launches new private label brand Favorite Day; plant-based meal kit company Vegano raises $3.4 million ahead of planned U.S. launch; and Partnership for a Healthier America launches “Pass the Love w/ Waffles + Mochi” campaign focused on food equity.

Colorado-based brands Ka-Pop! Snacks and Bubba’s Fine Foods announced a merger agreement this week, forming holding company Awakened Foods which will include the two brands as well as a new co-packing division, Awakened Food Crafters.

Sol Cuisine is heading south of the border, even as it digs financial roots up North. The plant-based Canadian frozen food brand filed this week its letter of intent to go public in Canada with the proceeds from the event used to help the company further expand into the U.S. market.

Episode 32 of Elevator Talk features leaders from Sweet Amsterdam, Lady Bird Provisions, Patterbar, Kanda Chocolates and Singing Pastures. Watch founders and CEOs introduce their brands and provide a recap of recent news and updates. This week’s special co-host is Mike Fata, the Founder of Manitoba Harvest.

What’s in a name? For Kar’s Nuts, shifting its Kar’s, Second Nature Snacks and Sanders Chocolate brands to a new corporate platform is less about what the company is called and more indicative of a new path forward. Now operating together as Second Nature Brands, the Michigan-based company plans to embrace a more trend-focused innovation strategy and pursue investments and acquisitions.

Our special subscribers-only Retailer Speed Dating will return on Thursday, April 15. The 1:1 virtual pitch and networking event will take place from 3PM to 5PM ET, bringing together retailers and up-and-coming food and beverage brands.

Despite the past year’s global pandemic, its 15 or so years of investing in consumer brands allows VMG to say things are still business as usual. But the firm will have a lot more capital to keep it moving forward, with yesterday’s announcement that it has raised $850 million for its fifth fund, now known as the Growth Fund.

For even the most eco-conscious shoppers, the industrial food system’s many contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, from eroded farmland to landfills packed with plastic food packaging, can appear to be insurmountable problems. As Julia Collins, founder and CEO of climate-friendly food company Planet FWD and its first brand, Moonshot, looks to tackle these issues and create a more sustainable food system, she’s found a simple starting point that’s a bit more digestible: a box of crackers.

In this week’s Checkout, Oats Overnight raises $2 million; plant-based seafood maker Ocean Hugger relaunches through a joint venture with Nove Foods; Instacart secures $265 million in funding; and nut butter maker Natural Way Food Group lands a $1 million investment.

To further build their customer base, frozen food brand Brazi Bites is looking to breakfast. The company, which produces frozen versions of the classic Brazilian cheese bread Pao de Queijo as well as empanadas will launch gluten-free breakfast sandwiches this Spring in Target.

Content presentations will include a case study discussion centering on the interaction of sales and operations teams at King Arthur Baking Company, which experience massive demand spikes for flour and other baking ingredients in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While coconut flour-based tortilla and chip maker The Real Coconut has primarily focused on its namesake ingredient since its launch in 2016, the brand is now poised to expand its horizons to create a platform of plant-based gluten and dairy free products. To do this, the brand brought on a new CEO, former General Mills executive Camille Gibson, who has spent much of 2020 charting growth plans set to be realized this year.