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

The size of the specialty food market, the top-selling categories and a shift in consumer habits and preferences were just a few of the topics touched on in The State of Specialty Food Industry report published by The Specialty Food Association (SFA) along with research firms Mintel and SPINS/IRI this month.

Last week Mondelēz International announced that it had acquired a majority ownership stake in the refrigerated snack brand. The deal’s two sides had big stakes: for Mondelēz, it’s one more step in a larger reinvention strategy. For Perfect Snacks, the co-founders told NOSH, there’s an attempt to consolidate its first mover advantage while providing the opportunity to ride out uncertainty around future growth and the ultimate trajectory of fresh snacking.

Brands are making the case for consumers to toss the takeout menus, offering a variety of easy frozen, refrigerated and shelf-stable meal options. While some brands put their twist on classics such as pasta, chili and tacos, others got more innovative with products like Swiss hand-held potatoes and cauliflower-based tater tot alternatives.

Sometimes you hit a moment where a launch aligns with changes in the public consciousness. But then the task comes to extend that moment. That’s what happened for Caulipower CEO and founder Gail Becker, who established her vegetable-forward frozen food brand in 2017.

FDA updates ‘Added Sugars’ requirement, Thrive removes CBD and hemp and more in this week’s Checkout.

After selling millions of cauliflower pizzas, vegetable-focused food brand Vegolutionary Foods (and its subsidiary Caulipower) is ready to enter a new freezer door. The company announced today the launch of Caulipower’s new frozen cauliflower-crusted chicken tenders to join its lines of cauliflower based frozen pizzas and tortillas. In part to help support this launch, the company closed a round of funding late last year.

Lisa Sohanpal is the founder and CEO of Nom Noms World Food, a company crafting world-inspired cuisine for on-the-go millennials. The brand’s heat-and-eat meals and wraps are designed for time-poor consumers that want convenient options and enjoy global flavors.

Global snack company Mondelēz International announced today an agreement to acquire a majority interest in refrigerated snacking platform Perfect Snacks. In 2018 Perfect Snacks generated roughly $70 million in net revenue.

In a presentation at last week’s NOSH Live Summer 2019, Walter Robb, Former Whole Foods Market co-CEO and founder of investment firm Stonewall Robb, shared his vision for where the retail and food industry is heading — and how brands can stay ahead.

Consumers are about to have an easier way to satisfy their cravings. Baking mix maker Foodstirs is executing a comprehensive brand makeover that includes new packaging, logo, tagline and formulation, as well as the launch of a new ready-to-eat line of baked treats.

In a wide-ranging interview, Siggi’s founder Siggi Hilmarsson chronicled his journey from selling his Icelandic-style yogurt on the streets of Manhattan through to the creation and eventual acquisition of the brand in 2018. This episode is presented by Flavorman, the beverage architects.

The FDA’s first hearing on cannabis products provided few concrete answers on exactly how and when it will regulate the emerging marketplace of CBD products. In the following days, NOSH spoke with a handful of industry experts to assess their reactions.

Though the business opportunity is budding — legally, semi-legally and illegally — creating a cannabis brand in an unclear regulatory landscape can be an overwhelming task. During BevNET and NOSH’s second Cannabis Forum for Food & Beverage, held June 14 in New York City, thought leaders and entrepreneurs from across the emerging industry gathered to clear up some of the noise around a handful of the biggest current questions and challenges in the space, from brand building and tax codes to product design and testing.

At NOSH Live last week, entrepreneurs hailing from a variety of companies and backgrounds gathered to network and learn from successful industry leaders. As part of the event’s slate of speakers, O T.J. McIntyre, currently CEO of Bobo’s Oat Bars, shared lessons from a career spent working with high growth companies.