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

Bantam Bagels announced today that it has been acquired for $34 million by T. Marzetti Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lancaster Colony Corporation. Co-founder Elyse Oleksak told NOSH that the company’s rapid growth over the last five years left the brand at “an inflection point.”

Things are hatching in the CPG space as one rising plant-based startup finds itself with a new partner for distribution while another considers going public. Here’s the news you need to know from this week.

While plant-based milks are bringing in hundred of millions of dollars per year and plant-based meats such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are the darlings of the burger crowd, plant-based yogurt and cheese have yet to generate the same buzz. But the CEO of plant-based dairy brand Kite Hill — and its investors — are betting that’s about to change, and financed that bet with a $40 million round that will close at the end of the month.

We’re taking it one step further. At NOSH Live, speakers will explore growing and managing your brand while staying true to your mission, building a successful team of advisors, and learning what it takes to create a potential exit. These four new speakers are experts on these topics, and will join the NOSH Live Winter 2018 stage this Nov. 29 and 30 in Santa Monica, CA.

From a dessert hummus company’s national expansion, to a low-sugar candy company’s seasonal play, here is your latest in distribution news.

Hema Reddy, founder of Crafty Counter, has created a product line focused on convenience, without sacrificing taste or nutrition. The company developed Wundernuggets, a line of frozen nuggets packed with various proteins and vegetables, that caters to flexitarian families, seniors, and people on-the-go.

CPG veteran Scott Lerner will take over as CEO of fermented food brand Farmhouse Culture starting Nov. 1, he told NOSH in an interview. Lerner told NOSH he was “really excited about working on a brand that was on-trend, perimeter-based and rooted in [the natural] channel.”

The interest in bone broth brand Kettle & Fire has reached a boil. The line of shelf stable broths and soups has received an additional $8 million, less than two months after announcing a previous $8 million round of funding in August.

BluePrint founders Zoë Sakoutis and Erica Huss discussed the brand’s origins, early wins and struggles, and how a voicemail left by former Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz factored into their decision to sell the company. They also spoke about their experience moving into the food space with Erzo, a brand of vitamin-infused biscuits, and explained how their new podcast has provided a way to address some unfinished business.

Once a rising business with major investors, “distributed kitchen” startup brand incubator Pilotworks abruptly ceased operations this weekend. As a result, hundreds of food and beverage businesses — which have been left without production and storage facilities or distribution to retail outlets — were left wondering today, “What Next?”

While the air might be cooling down, the market for investments and acquisitions is red hot this week. From a restauranteur investing in a new food marketplace to meal solutions for crossfitters, there was plenty capital deployed this week. Here’s the news you need to know from the week.

Jon Sebastiani, the founder of Krave Jerky, pulls back the curtain on the business strategy behind his incubator and private equity fund Sonoma Brands. The hosts discuss beverage-related news, trends and innovation in the convenience store channel as viewed at the 2018 NACS show.

Less than a year after departing Whole Foods Market as its global director of local brands product innovation and development, Elly Truesdell has not one but two positions to add to her CV. In addition to serving as chief strategy officer to newly launched copacker Canopy Brands, as of this week Truesdale will act as a portfolio advisor to investment group Almanac Insights, which is run by David Barber.

Consumers are ready for fresh baby food offerings and it’s time to meet that need head on, believes Once Upon a Farm (OUAF) CEO John Foraker. To test this assertion, the chilled baby and child food brand is ready to “go big” thanks to a $20 million dollar investment announced yesterday. CAVU Venture Partners led the round, with S2G Ventures, Beechwood Capital and other earlier investors also taking part.