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

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which was signed into law last week, was designed to provide an option for employees to take paid leave due coronavirus-related illness, quarantine or loss of childcare. But, while they are supportive of the bill, some food and beverage company CEOs are also concerned about keeping their manufacturing facilities staffed. Some say they are scrambling for other ways to help families cope while still staffing their production lines.

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces businesses around the world to close for the foreseeable future, food and beverage brands have found many traditional routes to market in brick and mortar retail have suddenly shuttered. The global lockdown has made ecommerce (along with grocery and drug channels) more vital than ever in sustaining sales during an uncertain economic period.

On the manufacturing lines and in the office, the CPG industry is being forced to make adjustments. Over the past week, BevNET and NOSH edit staff reached out to brands and distributors across the food and beverage to hear about how they are grappling with the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic as it ripples across the country.

In the past few days, the FDA has released new information to answer coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns within the food industry, via official statements, a new FAQ page, and a stakeholder call addressing manufacturing, the food supply and worker safety.

While the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to rise worldwide, the food and beverage industry has been forced to swiftly adjust to the crisis. Just as consumers have changed their shopping habits by racing to grocery stores to stock up before indefinite periods of self-quarantine, many brands and entrepreneurs have fast begun tailoring their messaging to comment on the virus. Others are seizing the moment to promote products with immunity boosting properties, through social media posts, press releases and eblasts.

We’re back for another Elevator Talk Livestream today, March 19th. The second round of 30 food and beverage brands includes LIFEAID, Upton’s Naturals, Better Booch, Teatulia, True Made Foods and Caveman Coffee. Watch their founders and CEOs jump into the livestream and provide a brief recap of recent Expo West news and updates.

The meat snack set has seen plenty of new skin in the game over the past year as some consumers look to swap out chips and puffs with protein-heavy, low-carb alternatives like pork rinds. Now Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, the co-founders of Harmless Harvest, want to bring seafood into the set with the debut of Goodfish, a line of snackable flash-fried salmon skins.

One brand’s dream of becoming the next Ben & Jerry’s has ended — or at least will be on hold. Yesterday gourmet ice cream chain and producer Ample Hills filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Eastern District of New York.

Kimbal Musk, co-founder & chairman of The Kitchen Restaurant Group, Big Green and Square Roots, spoke how his urban farming venture, a food literacy project for children and a restaurant chain focused on accessible, healthy meals are contributing to his mission of ‘real food for everyone’ and the advancement of the food system.

Oakland, California-based plant-based meat company Impossible Foods today announced the close of an approximately $500 million Series F funding round, led by South Korea-based firm Mirae Asset Global Investments. To-date, the company has raised to nearly $1.3 billion, including $300 million closed last May.

An aid package that includes help for employees of small businesses is making its way through Congress as the coronavirus pandemic known as COVID-19 spreads across the U.S.

In an email to attendees late this afternoon, Natural Products Expo West producer New Hope announced it would cancel the natural products trade show in favor of focusing on its next large show, Expo East. New Hope has also launched an FAQ page to answer the most pressing questions it has received from the industry.

Mark Alexander, CEO of fast-growing skyr brand Icelandic Provisions, discussed lessons and takeaways from his nearly 30 year career at the Campbell Soup Company, the steepest part of the learning curve in leading an entrepreneurial brand, how Icelandic Provisions assesses trendy concepts and ingredients and how it navigates consumer demand for premium and affordable offerings.

With consumers stockpiling pantry items in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), research firm Nielsen is studying their shopping habits during this unique time — both globally and in the U.S. This week, Nielsen identified six key consumer behavior patterns that tie directly to coronavirus updates and appear across multiple markets.