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

Lots of money changed hands this month across the food industry. From convenient meal kits to a premium pasta sauce line with history, here’s what some of CPG’s biggest companies and players are betting on.

At first, few suppliers weren’t sure what to make of the deal, with numerous food and beverage companies reserving their comments. Now, after more than a week’s reflection, many have told NOSH they are excited about the potential sales opportunities the partnership could provide, expressing enthusiasm for how it will maintain or even enhance Whole Foods’ reputation as a launching pad for small brands.

As the retail landscape becomes more crowded, having the right distributor is key to a brand’s success– especially during a brand’s formative years. At NOSH Live Summer 2017 earlier this month, Jeremy Isenberg, President Chex Finer Foods, reflected on the history of distribution, as well as looked forward at what the future of distribution may hold.

Over 20,000 CPG manufacturers, marketers and formulators will gather next week (June 25-28) at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas for IFT17, the annual show for Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

In previously scheduled appearances, Sprouts CFO Brad Lukow presented at the Jefferies 2017 Global Consumer Conference Tuesday and Kroger CFO Michael Schlotman addressed investors at the Oppenheimer Annual Consumer Conference Wednesday. Schlotman addressed investors again during Thursday’s annual shareholders meeting. Though their talks didn’t focus on Amazon’s Friday announcement that the online retailer is acquiring Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, that didn’t keep the elephant out of the room.

June has been quite a month for Small Axe Peppers, the makers of Bronx Hot Sauce. Last week the mission-driven hot sauce brand won the second annual Project NOSH Pitch Slam, and now the company announced that it’s extending its community garden business model to a new borough: Queens.

Following the Friday announcement that e-commerce pioneer Amazon would be purchasing natural products retailer Whole Foods Market, there has been rampant discussion over what the merger means for the retailer and industry. In communications to team members, both through email and a “town hall meeting” at Whole Foods headquarters, some information has come to light.

Three days prior to the blockbuster announcement that Amazon would acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, Matt Jimenez, the senior category leader for Whole Foods’ global grocery team took the stage at BevNET Live Summer 2017 and discussed recent changes to the company’s grocery management structure and buying processes.

During Tuesday’s BevNET Live Expo in at Metropolitan West in New York City, suppliers and flavoring companies took over the conference floor to showcase their latest innovations. The NOSH team walked the floor to survey exhibitors on what they think are the top trends of the flavor world right now.

During the Cincinnati-based retailer’s Q1 earnings call on Thursday, before the Whole Foods sale was announced, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said earnings would be about nine percent lower than initially forecast due to new investments in pricing and service, as well as margin pressure. The retailer’s stock price plunged 19 percent on Thursday as a result of the struggles, then — similar to other retailers– fell another 13 percent Friday once the Whole Foods deal was done. The market slowly began rebounding late Monday morning.

A panel early on during last week’s BevNET Live in Manhattan discussed e-marketing and a lot of the time was spent on the Amazon effect: In terms of setting up direct-to-consumer marketplaces, creating “full basket” solutions with Amazon Fresh, and simply providing a place for customers to search by keywords for specific products, the e-commerce titan has begun to exert an outsized influence in the ways consumers shop.

In a deal that’s shaking the shopping experience for consumers, retailers, and food and beverage companies, Amazon’s scooping up of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion on Friday has hardened talk of large-scale disruption in the way consumers buy their groceries. The deal is the largest U.S. grocery transaction since a $17.4 billion takeover of Albertsons, according to Mergermarket. Here’s an in-depth look into the acquisition and its implications for the retailers and beyond.

Amazon was a prime subject for the first two speakers in an e-commerce discussion series at the just-concluded BevNET Live Summer 2017 event in New York this week.

Amazon announced Friday that it will acquire Whole Foods Market for $42 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including Whole Food’s net debt.