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

Beyond Meat’s Q1 financials, NACS and FARE aim to improve c-stores for allergy sufferers and more in this week’s Checkout.

We’re excited to sample the new, hot and trendy products created by the NOSH Live attendees next week. To get you excited too, we’re revealing the companies participating in this summer’s Sampling Experience + Expo. The tasty two-hour mini-event is on the first day of NOSH Live Summer 2019 Monday, June 10th, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Alexander Komarov is the co-founder of Extraordinary Foods, the maker of Pimp My Salad speciality toppings. The brand’s mission is to make healthy eating exciting and accessible, and to “pimp every salad in America.” Its products include dairy-free cashew and hemp parmesan, coconut bacon and sprouted seeds.

If there’s one place that online shopping has lagged grocery in the instant gratification department, it’s at point-of-purchase. But in a presentation at Sweets and Snacks in Chicago, experts from Mars Wrigley and Meijer unwrapped strategies for manufacturers and retailers to make confectionery seem even sweeter as part of a digital shopping journey.

For a natural remedy meant to ease anxiety, the CBD market has become a place of confusion — not calm. On Friday, the FDA held its first hearing on cannabis products, including CBD food and drink products.

After what proved to be a pivotal year in 2018, better-for-you protein snack brand Buff Bake is looking forward with a tighter focus. This month, the company launched a new keto bar line and earned a space in 7-Eleven’s emerging brands store refresh, both moves it hopes will serve to build off the product rebrand, reformulation and leadership changes made over the last year.

We’re ready to reveal the finalist food brands and expert industry judges that will take to the stage next week for the NOSH Live Summer 2019 Pitch Slam, presented by 301 Inc. The NOSH Live Pitch Slam is the business competition for up-and-coming packaged food brands to highlight their unique brands and products.

Is Kellogg waffling on its formerly Eggo-centric waffle strategy? The food giant is, at least, diversifying its breakfast table approach with new Off the Grid protein-infused waffles, rolling into major retailers this month.

In the face of a changing consumer landscape, food and beverage brands marketing “indulgent” products must grapple with new challenges where consumers are planning their indulgence occasions, governments are increasing regulations, and innovation crossovers are blurring the lines between not just categories but whole industries.

Nielsen predicts summer food staples, Mark Bittman partners with Peapod and more in this week’s Checkout.

How can the cannabis industry grow in a manner that supports equality of economic opportunity and social justice for individuals and communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs? At the Cannabis Forum next month we will explore potential answers to that vitally important question with the help of Rashaan Everett, the CEO of Good Tree Holdings LLC, and Willie Mack, Co-founder & President, Think BIG.

When it comes to snacks, consumers want meats, sweets and salt — preferably with a better-for-you label. In a presentation last week at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago, SPINS and UNFI reviewed trends driving natural and specialty candy and snacks, segments that comprise a 19% share of dollar volume and 42.8% share of dollar gains in the overall snacking industry.

Boulder, Colo.-based premium instant tea maker Cusa Tea has completed a $2.5 million Series A funding round led by Break Trail Ventures and S Cap, the company announced yesterday.

As NOSH Live nears, we still have a couple of exciting surprise speakers up our sleeves: an investor and driving force for innovation within a multi-billion dollar company and a respected industry CEO from the natural supplement space. Daniel Grubbs, Managing Director of PepsiCo Ventures Group and Robert Craven, the Former CEO of MegaFood and Garden of Life will be joining the NOSH Live two-day event, which takes place in just 11 days in New York City.