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

In its fourth quarter earnings presentation yesterday, Campbell’s Soup Company reported that its net sales increased 18% to $2.1 billion over the quarter as consumers continued to partake in “quick scratch cooking” while also stocking up on snacks.

In this week’s Checkout, Climax Foods raises a $7.5 million seed round to study plant-based alternatives, Giant Eagle debuts cashierless tech and Target adds 600 ‘premium’ products to Good and Gather.

In this complicated back-to-school environment, snack brands that relied on their allergy-friendly ‘school safe’ appeal are striving to now find a place in consumers’ homes, focusing less on the lunchbox and instead trying to capitalize on the uptick in cooking at home.

The second part of our monthly new products gallery takes a look at the new snacks, sides and meals that hit shelves in August. Brands turned to comfort foods and flavors last month, with cheesy snack and meal offerings from 8Myles, Feel Good Foods and Good Health and two new varieties of refried beans from A Dozen Cousins. Check out the gallery for more of the month’s notable releases, including the latest from RXBAR and LesserEvil.

Plant-based food and beverage maker Califia Farms announced yesterday that it has named CPG industry veteran Dave Ritterbush as CEO. Ritterbush said the brand will continue to look beyond beverage as the platform expands.

The first half of the August New Product Gallery highlights new breakfast and baking products along with sweet treats that hit shelves this month. Check out the gallery to learn more about this month’s new products, including Smart Sweets’ new sour offering, a plant butter line from Upfield and breakfast offerings from Sambazon and Vital Farms.

While keto and low-sugar products may dominate the food industry discussion right now, Chef Christina Tosi wants to answer the question of ‘what happened to dessert?’ The award-winning chef and bakery owner announced today the launch of a new line of Truffle Crumb Cakes in Whole Foods Markets nationwide.

PeaTos yesterday announced the close of a $7 million funding round, which included a $3 million convertible note from 2019. The round was led by financial services firm Jackson Springs Management Partners and venture capital firm Connetic Ventures, with participation from returning investors Apu Mody and Carlos Barroso, along with an undisclosed private hedge fund and former NBA basketball player Tracy McGrady.

As it prepares to enter its next phase of growth, snack brand Spudsy announced last month the close of a $2 million round of funding. It’s necessary capital, founder and CEO Ashley Boeckle said, to get the brand to profitability and support increased distribution.

Stacy Madison, founder of Stacy’s Pita Chips, shared essential lessons learned from building her company, including those that she’s applying to her latest venture, BeBold, a refrigerated energy bar brand. She explained why having a “nothing to lose” attitude was key during her early days as an entrepreneur and the altruistic reason that she decided to get back into the packaged food industry.

Kirsty Lewis officially has two tweens on her hands — both her son and the snack company named after him, Quinn turn ten this week. With one decade in business under its belt, the company announced today the close of $3 million in funding, in part to help further launch its newest releases, grain-free and gluten-free pretzels.

The state of strategic venture units during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic will be explored during Office Hours on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. ET when our guests will be the John Haugen, Heidi Dillon Otto, and Daniel Grubbs, the leaders, respectively, of 301 INC (General Mills), Distill Ventures North America and PepsiCo Ventures Group. Office Hours viewers are encouraged to submit questions before and during the show, and will be invited to join the discussion live.

This week in the checkout, plant-based brand Lightlife pens an open letter to Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods urging them to use cleaner ingredients, Meanwhile, KIND commits to using only “bee-friendly almonds” and plant-based cheese and butter brand Miyoko’s comes out ahead in its labeling lawsuit against the state of California.

Breezy Griffith, co-founder and CEO of fast-growing coated nut brand Skinny Dipped, spoke about why persistence was critical in landing the brand’s first retail accounts, how guts and guile got the products into the office pantries of Google and Microsoft.