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

PepsiCo is facing pressure from an activist investor to make a broad series of strategic changes, including restructuring its beverage division to welcome franchise bottlers back into the fold.

After nearly a decade together, the $45 billion megamerger that conjoined Kraft’s grocery business with Heinz’s sauce and spread platform will be unwinded as the global food company siphons off the businesses to introduce more focus and reduce complexity.

Minnesota-based Lebanese garlic dip brand Toom has patiently worked to keep a low profile as it tinkered with its marketing and formulation, but is now expanding its retail presence.

Is skyr the next gym bag essential? Can mushrooms take the top spot in salty snacks? And where’s my Coors Banquet x Wrangler hat?

In this week’s notable new products roundup, Oat Haus offers an allergen-free take on the Dubai Chocolate trend, a trio of classic candy brands tap into the freeze-dried phenomenon, and Rudi’s unveils gluten-free versions of its frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

In just under two months, Post Holdings has acquired and offloaded 8th Avenue Food and Provisions dry pasta business, which includes the Ronzoni brand.

Mamala Organics debuted this past week with a 2-SKU line of pouched Support Snacks made with whole foods and a focus on providing essential nutrients for women during the postpartum period.

What’s driving growth in the $148.6 billion U.S. snacking industry? Conagra Brands partnered with market researcher Circana to put together its inaugural “Future of Snacking 2025” report. The maker of Slim Jim and Angie’s Boomchickapop highlighted five trends that are shaping snacking behaviors.

In this episode of CPG Week, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior reporter Lukas Southard discuss Keurig Dr Pepper’s post-acquisition plans for the JDE Peet’s business, new funding for yogurt maker Painterland Sisters and alt-protein producer The Better Meat Company, and the decision behind Spindrift’s exit from the beverage alcohol category.

In what is likely its latest effort to compete with Amazon, Walmart this week introduced new tools and seller incentives for Walmart Marketplace, its ecommerce platform that connects third-party sellers to its customer base.

In this reviews roundup, we nosh on New Primal’s Rotisserie Chicken Seasoned meat sticks, AL’s Real Goods Chewy Cookies and NOVOS Longevity Nutrition Bars.

Brands exhibiting at Newtopia Now, held Aug. 21 to 22 in Denver, are embracing gut health across various product claims from “low-FODMAP” to “high-fiber” to “heartburn-friendly,” and in a broad range of product applications. “Gut-healthy” chili crisp, anyone?

Agriculture outfit Fruitist is working to build what it believes could be the next big thing in fresh snacking with a focus on one single input: Jumbo blueberries.

It seems that mushrooms are in everything these days, from coffee to chocolate bars. But after years of innovation and expansion, are consumers any closer to truly embracing functional shrooms as their snack of choice?