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

Elite Sweets hit the sweet spot with its keto-friendly protein donuts, winning NOSH Pitch Slam 9 as the judges saw a strong opportunity for the brand in its better-for-you take on a popular indulgent snack.

Wicked Foods is hopping across the pond, and it’s picked up some talent along the way. The plant-based food brand, currently sold in United Kingdom Tesco stores under the brand Wicked Kitchen, will also add Unovis operating partner and former 301 Inc business development principal Pete Speranza as CEO.

Fruit jerky brand Watermelon Road has been sold and will now operate under new ownership, founder Jamie Melzer announced last week. The brand, winner of NOSH Pitch Slam 4, will now be helmed by new owner and CEO Cortney Rhodes, with Melzer remaining on as a consultant but stepping away from day-to-day operations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Six food brands were selected from a field of 12 for Thursday’s final round of NOSH’s Pitch Slam 9 presented by 301 Inc. Of the semifinalists, Everipe, Smooth Pops, Elite Sweets, AMG Snacks, AYO Foods and Kindroot will move on to Thursday’s final round, with AMG Snacks selected as the audience favorite.

Roughly three years after it invested in the upstart brand, snack company Mars Incorporated announced today that it had acquired KIND Snacks. Mars previously placed a minority investment in KIND, a deal which gave Mars the rights to “lead the growth of the business” outside of the US and Canada.

Following the May hiring of Sally Grimes as CEO, snack brand Clif Bar announced today the appointment of Rizal Hamdallah as the company’s first chief innovation officer. Hamdallah joins the company after serving as global chief innovation officer at Ocean Spray Cranberries, where he led R&D and the company’s incubation program, The Lighthouse.

In this week’s Checkout, Beyond Meat reports Q3 earnings and addresses confusion around a possible McDonald’s partnership, food industry groups pen a letter to the White House asking for COVID-19 vaccine priority and JADA Brands scores a deal on Shark Tank.

Earlier this year in April, ice cream brand Three Twins announced it would be closing its doors with its assets sold to pay down creditors. Now the company’s former Wisconsin factory has a new owner, High Road Craft Brands. The deal comes as High Road gears up for an ambitious distribution play, aiming at an eventual roll-up of other ice cream companies.

Veggie noodle and rice maker Cece’s Veggie Co. has sold its Austin, Texas manufacturing plant to Fresh Texas, a produce and plant-based meal solution provider, as the brand shifts its manufacturing strategy to regional production amid a push to diversify its product portfolio.

Just a month after Israeli food technology company ZeroEgg made its U.S. debut, the company announced it has closed a $5 million round of funding to help accelerate its growth.

NOSH Live Winter 2020 will feature Designer Speed Dating on Tuesday, December 15. For this round, brands have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with CPG designers. Speed Dating provides a virtual platform for brands to receive feedback on their packaging and create partnerships to do business.

According to a 2019 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the food system is responsible for about 21% to 37% of total greenhouse gas emissions — resulting from all parts of the production process from agriculture and land use to packaging, storage and transportation. Betting on consumers’ increased desire for transparency in the items they buy, some brands and marketplaces are working to help educate shoppers about the carbon impact of their purchases, providing clarity to a previously opaque part of the industry.

Next week NOSH’s Pitch Slam 9 will feature the founders of the hottest new food brands competing virtually for the title. The semifinalists have been chosen, as well as the expert judges, who will be providing feedback and ultimately choosing the winner. So let’s meet the players.

Latin American company NotCo, which earlier this fall raised $85 million, announced last week it was launching a new non-dairy milk in Whole Foods nationwide — part of the company’s strategy to enter the US market. NotCo also hopes to launch cheese and other meat replacements next year as well.