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

Colorado-based Empact Bar was created six months ago by two married former lawyers turned fitness video and healthy snack creators, Melonie and Zeke DeRose. The women-focused and mission-driven protein bar company wants to not only fuel women throughout their day with nutrient-dense food, but also to empower women.

Dean Foods, Tyson Inc., Snyder’s Lance Inc. and Natural Grocers all held quarterly earnings calls last week. Though the companies span categories, their leaders’ sentiments were surprisingly similar in the way they set up their roadmaps for 2017.

On June 11th through June 15th, BevNET Live (beverage), NOSH Live (packaged natural food), and Brewbound (beer) will pass the microphone to thought leaders and innovators from their respective industries. Speakers include founders and CEOs from CircleUp, Presence Marketing, Whole Foods, La Colombe, Halen Brands, Califia Farms, Founders Brewing, Bell’s Brewery, and more.

Natural products retailer Whole Foods Market held its 2017 second quarter earnings call on Thursday. We reached out to a longtime Whole Foods buyer and CPG advisor, Tim Sperry, to help sort through some of the news coming out of Austin as part of the BevNET Podcast.

This week natural products retailer Whole Foods Market held its 2017 second quarter earnings call. After weeks of speculation about a possible sale and pressure from activist investors, the market was eager to hear how the retailer would respond.

Over the past two weeks, food and other sensitive topics ranging from politics to body image have intersected in national headlines. This week’s Press Clips showcases how history, competition and political agendas are shaping the economic climate for both brands and retailers.

Award-winning author and MomTalk Radio host Maria Bailey knows just how much moms can impact a brand’s success or failure. In honor of Mother’s Day, we asked Bailey the differences between the demographics of moms, why food brands and retailers should pay attention to each group’s purchasing habits, and how industry players can better reach and resonate with them in the future.

The U.S. organic market is valued at $40 billion and even mainstream products like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing have embraced organic line extensions. But as consumer demand for organic products has increased, the industry has responded in turn with more products, more availability and lower prices.

Longtime bottling and sales executive Chuck Muth announced his retirement from Coke in 2016, but apparently he couldn’t retire from Seth Goldman, his former boss at Honest Tea. The visionary environmental entrepreneur and the execution-focused beverage guy are reuniting, this time around Beyond Meat, the plant-based protein brand where Goldman serves as executive chairman.

The San Francisco-based startup’s apparent turmoil has been splashed across headlines over the past year after both a run-in with the FDA about the product’s marketing and a buyback investigation by the SEC. But this week Hampton Creek is making headlines again amid reported funding struggles and layoffs.

Just as parenting is a capital and labor intensive endeavor, so too is raising a brand — especially one experiencing a growth spurt. Last week prenatal nutrition company Premama announced the official close of a $3.25 million Series B round in March of 2017. In total, the brand has raised $4.65 million over the last 18 months. The Series B round was led River Hollow Partners, while Series A lead investor Cherrystone Angel Group also took part.

After successfully launching both a hot sauce and a gourmet pasta sauce line, award-winning food entrepreneur Dave Hirschkop is launching Dave’s Naturals with a line of no-cook overnight oats.

The BevNET Podcast team sat down with Gigi Lee Chang, the managing director of cause-oriented food business accelerator FoodFutureCo. Chang, who also founded baby food brand Plum Organics. She explained FoodFutureCo’s work in advising and supporting early- and mid-stage food and beverage companies, particularly those that are providing unique products and solutions for the food system.

In this week’s earning calls, Terravia Inc., B&G Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, The Kellogg Company and Mondelez International talked Q1 sales and how they are employing new strategic initiatives to better work toward their 2017 goals.