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

Call it insect evolution. Chapul and Exo, two of the leading brands of cricket-based foods, hope to get the industry chirping about their new looks. Both Chapul and Exo announced new branding earlier this summer, with similar aims: speak to an offbeat, fearless consumer

Led by Temasek Holdings, a Singapore state-investment firm, the round also included repeat investors such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and Horizons Ventures and new investor Open Philanthropy Project, from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.

A new study in Trends in Food Science & Technology suggests that while consumers want “natural,” the varying definitions could potentially confuse consumers regarding how new technologies play a role in the natural space.

ProYo has seen major distribution gains this summer. The protein-focused frozen yogurt and ice cream brand has more than doubled its store count since launching its pint-like formats in the spring.

Pete Speranza, a new business development principal for 301, sat down with Project NOSH Editor Carol Ortenberg and Senior Brand Specialist Jon Landis to talk about the nature of the group’s partnerships with its brands and how the venture-arm will evolve in years to come.

At this year’s Summer Fancy Foods Show, Project NOSH Editor Carol Ortenberg sat down with Frank Pellegrino Jr, principle of Rao’s Restaurant Group and son of Rao’s founder Frank Pellegrino, to discuss why his father started the specialty food company and what other restaurateurs who aspire to enter CPG can learn from the Rao’s model.

During Amazon’s earning call Thursday, SVP and CFO Brian Olsavsky said the e-commerce leader’s Q2 year-over-year earning differences were ”driven by investments.” Its biggest–and most costly– pending investment is Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market, who also shared quarterly earning results earlier this week.

This week private equity investment group VMG Partners announced the close of their fourth fund at $550 million, with another $150 million available in a flex-up vehicle. The capital, said VMG Managing Director Wayne Wu, will continue to be invested in emerging consumable branded goods in the lower middle market.

In a talk at NOSH Live in New York last month, Maura Mottolese, the CEO of Tate’s Bake Shop who joined the Long Island-based company in 2014, discussed how companies can best transform consumer awareness and momentum into rapid growth.

What if I told you there was a beautiful grocery store where, should you shop there day after day, you would likely reduce your and your family’s risk of obesity and diabetes. What if I told you it was a beautiful store, with high quality prepared meals, fresh produce, sweet potatoes, and poultry, and high quality shelf stable food. Would you shop there?

Newshounds are sniffing around the food industry for stories about everything from regulations, to mergers and acquisitions, to snortable chocolate. Here’s what is making headlines in food news.

Retail merchandising company Basemakers has merged with experiential marketing agency Phoodie, creating an integrated organization offering companies in-store visibility and sampling services together under one roof.

Just over a year after closing an initial round of funding with Monogram Capital, meat snack brand Country Archer announced today that it closed a second round with the private equity group.

Andrew Whitman, managing partner at 2X Consumer Products Growth Partners, talked about the process of what he called – and trademarked as – “Brand Platformation,” and the benefits and challenges that come with creating that kind of broad product suite.