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

Once Upon a Farm co-founders Jennifer Garner and John Foraker spoke about the evolution of the company’s strategy for winning over retail buyers, merchandising and communicating brand attributes over recent years and why they believe that “everything starts with the consumer.” They also discussed the company’s relationship with Save The Children and its response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a year that has seen massive upheaval in retail, technology and production systems, coupled with a renewed focus on societal issues, the brands that have found success in 2020 are those that were able to be nimble and creative, yet also stayed focused on the goal of creating and selling and increasing the amount of better food products. The finalists for NOSH’s “Best of 2020” Awards reflect the varied skills required to be a successful food company in 2020, including tenacity, creativity, care, vision, planning and execution.

As consumers look for more affordable and healthy meal options as well as convenient delivery methods, mission-driven food company Everytable aims to rival the convenience of shelf-stable packaged foods and drive-through burgers by making its fresh prepared meals accessible to both affluent and underserved communities.

In this week’s Checkout: Forbes names food innovators in Food & Drink 30 Under 30 List; Singapore approves the sale of Eat Just’s cell-based meat; and Nestle announces new sustainability commitments to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Last week plant-based brand Upton’s Naturals and the Plant Based Food Association (PBFA) continued their fight to halt a new Oklahoma labeling law for meat alternatives which went into effect in November.

In this episode of Market Share, host Carol Ortenberg, the editor of NOSH, will talk with Jodi Benson, Chief Innovation, Technology and Quality Officer for General Mills. They’ll discuss how Jodi marries product innovation with consumer trends to create a balance that both is approachable but yet also pushes the company forward.

KIND announced today an agreement to acquire soft-baked snack bar maker Nature’s Bakery. While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, sources told The New York Times that the deal valued Nature’s Bakery at $400 million. The acquisition comes just a few weeks after KIND itself was acquired by snack company Mars.

In yesterday’s Expert Analysis, we brought together a group of industry authorities to discuss the consumer behaviors, investment activity and retailer attitudes that are impacting the bar set. Now, we’re hearing from the brands.

November’s new product launches offered consumers a variety of better-for-you sweet treats, from a new edible cookie dough variety from Hungryroot to GoodSam’s line of sustainably sourced sugar-free chocolate. Check out the gallery for November’s notable new releases, including Om Mushroom’s single-serve functional coffee blend and immunity-boosting snacks from Nature’s Garden.

In this edition of Category Close-Up, a video series available exclusively to BevNET and NOSH subscribers, we’ll take a deep dive into the trends and news that have shaped the bar category in 2020. In today’s Expert Analysis part of the series, you’ll hear from a group of authorities about the consumer behaviors, investment activity and retailer attitudes that are impacting the bar set.

Los Angeles-based keto-friendly protein bar brand Keto Krisp is gearing up for growth as it aims to bring keto products to the “underserved” supermarket channel. The company, which added Barnana co-founder Matt Clifford as CEO earlier this year, is rolling out an umbrella brand, CanDo, to connect with consumers through a message of empowerment with a focus on co-founder Adam Bremen’s personal journey with the keto diet.

According to a 2018 report by the Harvard Business Review, Asian Americans are the least likely racial group to be promoted to management and C-suite roles. This statistic was the impetus for the 2018 launch of Gold House, a nonprofit collective of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) leaders, a group that encompasses 50 ethnicities, which aims to forge professional and familial bonds among its members and use those relationships to promote economic success, societal representation and unity in the Asian community.

In the last edition of Category Close-Up: Product Showcase we spoke with executives from ice cream brands about their latest product launches and the category at large. In this special bonus segment, you’ll hear from a few more brands about the market dynamics that are currently shaping the ice cream industry and what their companies have been up to over the last several months.

Plant-based dressing and condiment maker Mother Raw announced today the closing of a $6.1 million funding round to fuel the Toronto-based brand’s U.S. distribution growth as well as new sales and marketing initiatives. The round was led by new investors Forage Capital Partners and Export Development Canada (EDC), with participation from existing investor Whitecap Venture Partners.