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

As grocery workers help feed Americans sheltering in place, at least 30 have died from COVID-19, with nearly 3,000 reporting missing work due to symptoms, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).

Plant-based dairy brand The Coconut Collaborative is pushing ahead to strengthen its position in the US market. Today the brand announced it had closed on a round of funding from PowerPlant Ventures, has brought on new US CEO Meiky Tollman, and that it is rebranding as The Collaborative.

The seventh round of food and beverage brands includes PathWater, The Snack Brigade, Ficks Beverage Co. and Mason Dixie Foods. We also have a special co-host this week, Patrick Schwarzenegger, an actor, investor, and entrepreneur, who will weighing in on the brands from an investor’s perspective and provide feedback.

Despite new challenges due to an uncertain business climate, things are looking sweet for low-sugar chocolate brand Lily’s Sweets. Driven by the success of its chocolate chips, which account for 30% of sales, the brand launched its first snack item — a low-sugar chocolate chip cookie — into stores last week.

BevNET managing editor Martin Caballero sat down with Greg Steltenpohl, co-founder and CEO of Califia Farms, on a video call to discuss his thoughts on how both investors and brands may be considering the current and post-COVID market landscape.

Snack brand Supernola debuted in retail in February and is now selling its organic granola clusters in 8,000 stores, including Walgreens, select Giant and Whole Foods locations and natural retailers.

Following a deluge of other food and beverage show cancellations and delays, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) announced today that its Summer Fancy Food Show will be cancelled. The trade show was slated to run June 28 through 30 in New York City.

As consumers stay inside, shopping habits are changing and delivery platforms are adapting to meet the increased demand. Here’s the latest COVID-19 news from around the industry this week.

As consumers meet with the stress and chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruption of daily life, finding ways to relax and unwind has taken on even higher importance. Many brands from both the THC and CBD sides of the ledger quickly found sales growth as consumers rushed to stockpile goods from nearly all CPG sectors, but cannabis suppliers and entrepreneurs are now wondering what their industry will look like once the crisis passes.

In order to maintain our team and continue to produce valuable coverage during the ongoing pandemic, we are rolling out a subscription model for our content, starting in late April. One subscription fee will entitle a subscriber to read both BevNET and NOSH.

Covid-19 has upended many traditional consumer shopping habits, including how holidays are celebrated. Brands that look to these events as major sales drivers, such as Kosher food company Kayco, are keeping a close eye on how the pandemic will impact their annual forecasts.

BevNET’s Martin Caballero sat down with Max Baumann, CEO and founder of Basemakers, for insight on how brands can best support retail partners during the crisis, how to manage crucial out-of-stock challenges, long-term implications on grocery merchandising and more.

We’re back for a 60 minute livestream today, April 8th. The fifth round of food and beverage brands includes DeeBee’s Organics, Whoa Dough, Riff Cold Brewed and ICONIC. Watch their founders and CEOs jump into the livestream and provide a brief recap of recent news and updates.

In the latest distribution news, IWON Organics enters four national retailers, Ithaca Hummus grows its store count and Daring Foods debuts at Sprouts.