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

After several attempts at repositioning over its 15 years on the market, snack brand LesserEvil has finally found a brand identity with “legs behind it.” Less than a year after rolling out its latest iteration focused on “snacking as a vessel for mindful moments,” the brand is now entering new categories, launching innovative popcorn flavors and making major distribution gains.

Ethical food company Vital Farms filed paperwork yesterday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering (IPO). The Austin-based company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol VITL.

In this week’s Checkout, the FDA plans to resume on-site inspections, Perfect Day raises $160 million, extending its Series C round to $300 million, and Uber launches grocery delivery.

The SFA and Mintel predict that due to increased financial constraints on consumers, conventional food sales may outpace specialty in 2020 for the first time in 15 years. Their annual State of the Specialty Food Industry report, reviewed sales data from the past three years, 35 category forecasts and a consumer trend survey to help explore the future of specialty food.

We’re excited to present episode one of SprintToSuccess, a video series focused on demystifying the branding process for entrepreneurs with an entrepreneur! In this first episode, we hit the ground running—you’ll meet our selected entrepreneur, Melissa Martinelli, who rose to the top from a pool of 106 applicants.

Today incubator and investment firm Sonoma Brands announced the acquisition of premium jerky brand Chef’s Cut. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BevNET and NOSH’s weekly live call-in show, Office Hours, returns Tuesday, July 14 at 3 p.m. ET. BevNET managing editor Martin Caballero will be joined by Alisa Williams, Partner at VMG, and Matt Thomas, founder and CEO of Brew Dr. Kombucha, for a discussion exploring the roles that CPG entrepreneurs and brand leaders can play in supporting a more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry.

Over the last few weeks, many major companies have joined the #StopHateForProfit initiative, a campaign urging companies to suspend advertising on Facebook throughout July in an effort to pressure the social media platform to address misinformation and hateful content on its sites.

The sixteenth round of Elevator Talk Livestream features leaders from Hella Cocktail Co., Doctor D’s, Chase Your Drink, Vibal Energy Tea and Mezcla. This week’s special co-host is Tom Spier, Founder & Managing Partner of Boulder Food Group.

As many consumers aim to reduce or eliminate red meat from their diets, seafood is becoming a popular choice for mealtime. But faced with a limited supply of fish, plant-based and cultivated meat makers are recognizing a wave of opportunity for alternative seafood innovations, according to The Good Food Institute.

On this week’s Office Hours show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg brings Darla Mears, the Chief Customer Officer at Kodiak Cakes, and Cheryl Christian, the EVP of Sales at Bobo’s, on the livestream to dive into sales strategy and take questions from viewers.

This special episode of Taste Radio features highlights from interviews with six entrepreneurs who joined us on Taste Radio during the first half of 2020. Our guests include Siete Family Foods co-founder and CEO Miguel Garza; Nick & Elyse Oleksak, the co-founders of Bantam Bagels; Miyoko’s founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner; Ben Van Leeuwen, the co-founder and CEO of Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream; Orgain founder and CEO Andrew Abraham; and Gail Becker, the founder and CEO of Caulipower.

Jason Karp wants to change what people eat, drink, clean with and put on their bodies. The venture capitalist and co-founder of snack brand Hu Kitchen is pulling back the curtain on his new venture, HumanCo, with last week’s announcement of Amplify executive Will Lisman as the company’s new COO and chief commercial officer.

Emily Kanter, co-owner and CEO of Boston-area natural products retailer Cambridge Naturals spoke about the history and evolution of the retailer and the factors that determine its unique product selection. She also discussed how she develops relationships with brand owners, evaluates emerging trends and why Cambridge Naturals was one of the first area stores to carry CBD-infused products.