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

The news this week was filled with brands, retailers and government agencies modernizing practices and offerings to better meet adapting consumer desires and future innovation. From a major frozen meal brand launching a line of veggie-forward food, to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new stance on the standard of identity for dairy alternative products, here are some of the top stories you need to know.

The secret is out: Chocolate company Little Secrets announced today that it has closed a round of capital from Sunrise Strategic. With this new funding, the Colorado-based brand has already begun to grow its team with the addition of former Nestlé confection veteran, Jeremy Vandervoet, as president and COO effective this week.

In the latest example of how meal kit companies are struggling to make the business model work, meal-kit brand Chef’d announced in an email on Monday to its over 400 employees that it is suspending operations. The company was reportedly in the process of raising a $100 million round of funding and had seen increased sales growth.

From a Brooklyn-based chocolate brand’s abstract and artful new packaging to a complete rebrand for the maker of a crispy cereal treat, here are some of the new looks the NOSH team saw from the floor.

Banza co-founder/CEO Brian Rudolph on why mentors and cold calling were key to his fast-growing brand. Measuring the impact of influencers and unconventional marketing strategy with MatchaBar co-founder/CEO Graham Fortgang. Meet the founders of Simply Soupreme, Jackie Greene & Taylor Rossi, who were victorious in BevNET Live’s New Beverage Showdown 15.

Anita Shepherd, founder of Brooklyn-based vegan yogurt brand Anita’s Coconut Yogurt, spoke with the NOSH team about her decision to go back to the basics after a year of growing pains.

Brands big and small, as well as investors, this week tried to find new ways to stand out from the competition and connect with a new demographic of consumers.

Over 23,000 CPG manufacturers, marketers and formulators will gather next week at McCormick Place in Chicago for IFT18, the annual show for the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

It’s a changing of the guard — or at least of the former beverage CEOs. Snack brand Beanfields announced today that Mark Rampolla has left his role as CEO of the company and former Califia executive Arnulfo Ventura has stepped into the role.

Four years after its start, Siete Foods is ready to expand beyond tortillas and become a platform of better-for-you, Mexican-American products. At the Summer Fancy Food Show, CEO and co-founder Miguel Garza sat down with Project NOSH to discuss how he knew the company was prime for a year of growth and innovation.

For the next phase of its growth, Moon Cheese is launching new products and expanding its retail footprint to not only grow its own business, but also to illustrate REV’s commercial viability for potential global licensing partners with new ingredients beyond cheese.

After over a decade and a half in business, 34 Degrees is exploring changes to packaging and branding in order to position itself in the sweet center of the snacking movement.

In this week’s episode we’re joined by two groundbreaking entrepreneurs and beverage innovators: Rhonda Kallman, the co-founder of Samuel Adams and Boston Harbor Distillery and Califia Farms co-founder and CEO Greg Steltenpohl.

At NOSH Live Summer 2018 audience members got a unique look into one of the most talked about acquisitions of 2017. Peter Rahal, RXBAR CEO and co-founder; Janica Lane, Piper Jaffray managing director; and Jared Rosenbaum, Kellogg’s senior director of corporate development and strategy, took the stage to discuss the $600 million deal.