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

Candy brand Project 7 will launch a new Skittles-like product line in Whole Foods Market locations nationwide — the first time the brand has been sold in the natural channel.

From Kroger announcing a strategic alliance with UK grocery e-commerce player Ocado to Amazon Go expanding to new cities, the world of retail saw many changes this week. Here’s what it means for the shopping landscape.

Hey guess what? We’ve added a couple more key decision makers to the NOSH Live Lineup: Matthew McCarthy, who runs the food portfolio for Unilever North America, and Ashley Borden, 7-Eleven’s center store product director. The pair join the roster of top entrepreneurs, investors, retailers and experts who will gather at NOSH Live for two days of learning, networking, sampling and socializing.

From changes within an upcycled ingredient company to sweet additions for a rising candy company, here is the latest hiring news within natural food.

Today Hu Products, a producer of paleo-friendly, vegan, organic chocolate, announced the close of a round of funding led by Sonoma Brands, the venture fund helmed by CPG veteran Jon Sebastiani.

From “kitchen to exit,” this week’s episode features interviews with two founders who have personified the entrepreneurial dream: Clayton Christopher, the co-founder of Sweet Leaf Tea, Deep Eddy Vodka and private equity firm CAVU, and John McDonald, the founder of iconic craft beer company Boulevard Brewing.

Samantha Brands announced last week that it has launched its first product, fruit-based snack line Wildmade, as a sister brand to fruit and veggie snack line Veggie-Go’s.

This week the natural products industry saw new owners, new looks and new products from some of the hottest brands on shelves.

The Vermont-based company launched with the mission of making Greek yogurt approachable to consumers that don’t like its traditional taste or texture. Now, the brand is bringing that same mission to a new variety: Skyr.

The new investment, announced on Tuesday, brings total funding for Ample to $4 million.

Today chocolate brand Little Secrets announced that it will launch a line of chocolate wafer cookies — think an all natural Kit Kat — and roll out both of its product lines nationwide in retailer Whole Foods Market in June.

Organic and natural products company Hain Celestial Group saw its stock hit a five-year low yesterday after the company announced it had disappointing U.S. sales this quarter.

The New York-based flavor and fragrance giant announced on Monday its plans to acquire Israeli flavors and natural ingredients firm Frutarom for $7.1 billion — its biggest purchase to date. The deal would boost IFF to a second-place spot in the global natural flavors market, seeing as 75 percent of Frutarom’s sales are in natural.

Foodstirs co-founders Sarah Michelle Gellar, Galit Laibow and Greg Fleishman bake up “an indulgent experience that’s worth it”; why Vice Cream is betting on “a backlash to the backlash”; rising up times with Weller, a brand of hemp-infused coconut bites