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

In this week’s Checkout, Oats Overnight raises $2 million; plant-based seafood maker Ocean Hugger relaunches through a joint venture with Nove Foods; Instacart secures $265 million in funding; and nut butter maker Natural Way Food Group lands a $1 million investment.

To further build their customer base, frozen food brand Brazi Bites is looking to breakfast. The company, which produces frozen versions of the classic Brazilian cheese bread Pao de Queijo as well as empanadas will launch gluten-free breakfast sandwiches this Spring in Target.

Content presentations will include a case study discussion centering on the interaction of sales and operations teams at King Arthur Baking Company, which experience massive demand spikes for flour and other baking ingredients in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While coconut flour-based tortilla and chip maker The Real Coconut has primarily focused on its namesake ingredient since its launch in 2016, the brand is now poised to expand its horizons to create a platform of plant-based gluten and dairy free products. To do this, the brand brought on a new CEO, former General Mills executive Camille Gibson, who has spent much of 2020 charting growth plans set to be realized this year.

Prelude Growth Partners, a New York City-based fund, announced last week the close of their second fund at $250 million dollars. The majority of the fund’s limited partners also backed Prelude’s first $85 million fund in 2018, co-founder and partner Neda Daneshzadeh said.

Office Hours dug into the state of debt and financial planning for entrepreneurial food and beverage companies with our first episode of 2021. Featuring guests Jeremy Triefenbach, co-founder of Stage 1 Financial and Jessica Bates, Managing Director of Dwight Funding and a live studio audience, the show explored how CPG brands should look at the state of investment and loan availability amidst a variety of changes.

Having tackled confection, Jason Karp is setting his sights on the frozen aisle. Backed by a team of industry veterans, the co-founder of Hu Products, which sold to Mondelez in January, launched today frozen food brand Snow Days under his holding company, HumanCo.

The second half of February’s new product gallery includes new condiments, sauces and seasonings from brands like TRUFF, Acid League and Cured and Crisp. Check out the gallery for more of February’s notable releases, including kimchi from Cleveland Kitchen and Compartés’ Chrissy Teigen collaboration.

February’s new product launches included several better-for-you takes on indulgent snacks, from Lenny & Larry’s new low sugar, protein cookies to an allergy-friendly Rice Crispy Treats line from Blake’s Seed Based. Check out the gallery for some of February’s notable new releases, including the first snack offerings from Yolélé, a new superfood bar line from Your Super, and limited edition flavors from Ellenos and Laura’s Gourmet Granola.

AF Ventures has joined the SPAC club. Together with investment groups Scharf Brothers and Mistral Equity Partners, the CPG venture fund once known as Accel Foods has combined forces with two other firms to launch a publicly traded “blank check” company to target more consumer brands.

In this week’s Checkout, Beyond Meat announces strategic global partnerships with McDonald’s and Yum! Brands; Pan Pacific International Holdings acquires Gelson’s; Foxtrot raises $42 million to expand into new markets; and FASTER Act for sesame labeling is introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Nine months after joining snack brand CLIF Bar and Company, CEO Sally Grimes is starting to put her mark on the 30 year old brand. The company announced this week that it would lay off roughly 125 employees as part of a larger restructuring plan — news that comes as CLIF debuts two new items that bring the brand into new parts of the store.

Plant-based dairy alternative products maker Oatly submitted plans for an initial public offering (IPO) to U.S. regulators, the company confirmed this week.

In this episode NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Erin Cabrey interview executives and brand leaders from both emerging and established yogurt companies to discuss individual company strategy, and how changes within the category affect new product development and marketing.