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

In the first of a three part series called “What’s My Valuation?,” guest author Stu Strumwasser, founder and managing director of Green Circle Capital.

At this year’s NOSH Live Winter on Nov. 30, attendees will get a glimpse into the future, in the form of two of the top speakers in the industry: retailing expert and author Phil Lempert and distribution and snack guru Michael Renkosiak.

Last week, the FDA issued a guidance to food manufacturers on the best practices for using third-party certification. The goal is to avoid claims of bias or accusations of a conflict of interest against the hired experts.

What if there was a technology that could not only offer consumers more choices in their consumption habits, but even quite possibly change the world? In bringing on an experienced team of industry experts as advisors and, in some cases, investors, technology company HeatGenie — which produces small heaters that can be used to warm food or beverage products — is betting that they’ve found just that.

The Salem, Mass.-based company announced last week that it acquired five-year-old Cocoa Santé, an all-natural line of organic hot cocoa mixes with a budding presence in grocery. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Snack food brand Vegan Rob’s is bringing one of the hottest beverage trends, kombucha, to the snack set with the launch of its newest product, Kombuchabar.

Build hot brands, grow relationships with buyers, and sell companies with Halen Brands’ Jason Cohen; dive into consumers’ relationship with sustainable seafood with Ken Plasse, CEO of Fishpeople; an elevator windup-and-pitch from sports drink brand KRā.

Out of the 600 bright millennial minds honored across all 20 segments of the 30 Under 30 List, 23 innovators were highlighted for their work in the food and beverage industry — either for a brand, in retail or within a related industry.

Zoe Leavitt, Retail Food & Technology Analyst at strategic data analytics firm CB Insights, discussed yesterday the evolving relationship between the big and emerging brands during a webinar titled “Startups Shaping the Future of Food.”

Private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners has acquired a minority stake in Nuun, a Seattle-based brand of hydration tablets and powders, for an undisclosed sum.

Companies are increasingly seeking placement on conventional grocery store shelves to connect with a wider group of consumers. From chickpea pasta to dehydrated cheese snacks, here is the latest in natural’s distribution news.

Good Spread is growing its “authenticity tracking system,” transitioning all of its lines to organic, and expanding its food service division. But even as the company continues to scale, innovate and increase its operational capabilities, its mission — and love of peanut butter — has stayed the same.

Extending the lessons from the first day of NOSH Live, Boot Camp will immerse attendees in the ways that products move through the market and will show them how to get it done, from pitching investors and stores to putting impactful products on shelf, hiring as they grow, and attacking online opportunities like Amazon.

Two years after the co-op behind Welch’s food created fruit-bite brand Nothing But the Fruit (NBTF), the snack label is releasing its second juicy innovation: vegan fruit jerky. The portfolio expansion is part of the co-op’s strategy to show consumers the viability of its harvests goes beyond grapes.