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

PowerPlant Ventures has looked to coconuts, greens, pea protein and algae, and now the private equity group is betting on beans — and rehabilitation. The venture fund announced today it had acquired Beanfields, a line of rice and bean-based chips. The brand was acquired by a coalition of investors including Zico founder Mark Rampolla, media and CPG investor Bruce Friedman and PowerPlant Ventures, where Rampolla is a partner.

When Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton, the co-founders of high-end condiment company Sir Kensington’s, were introduced to Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilever North America, they went into the meeting with the mindset that their company was not for sale. Five months later, the seven-year-old company announced today that it had been purchased the CPG giant, which owns some of the largest brands in the world — including erstwhile competitor Hellman’s, as well as Ben & Jerry’s, Lipton and Breyer’s.

Now armed with cash and plans for growth, plant-based nutrition bar company D’s Naturals is taking the next step in its “no cow revolution” with the hiring of health and wellness veteran Chris Hickey as CEO.

With consumer desire for healthy and natural items firmly solidified, Hy-Vee announced it is ready to expand its HealthMarket to a wider array of its stores. The expansion is part of several corporate restructuring efforts at the company’s West Des Moines headquarters.

Amplify Snack Brands, the company behind SkinnyPop Popcorn, and snack giant Snyder’s-Lance began a legal battle over the word “skinny” last week. Amplify filed a federal trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Snyder’s over the company’s plans to start selling its newly acquired popcorn brand, Metcalfe’s Skinny, in the U.S.

While traditional dishes at the Passover Seder table may stay the same from generation to generation, food brands don’t have the luxury of remaining complacent. As consumer dietary trends shift and new brands come to market, stalwart brands must also adjust their Passover offerings to remain contemporary.

Specialty represents nearly 15 percent of all food sales at retail, and, for the first time, this sector’s sales in multi-unit grocery and mass merchants outpaced the growth of sales in natural and specialty chains, according to the Specialty Food Association’s annual State of the Industry report released Wednesday.

Natural brands are on the hunt to replace the mainstream confectionary in consumers’ Easter baskets this year. As the desire for cleaner, better-for-you products has become more mainstream and gained traditional retailer support, natural candy companies have hopped to capitalize on seasonal holidays.

Financing growth takes money. Here is a look at four companies — Love Grown, Kar’s Nuts, Custom Made Meals and Passport Food Group — that have all been acquired or launched strategic partnerships in the last month to further grow and scale their brands.

The San Francisco-based Full Harvest, founded by Christine Moseley, a former head of business development at Organic Avenue, has raised $2.35 million thus far, having brought in $350,000 from The Impact Engine, Astia and Wilson last May.

With its one-year exclusive with Whole Foods ending, enhanced chocolate brand Good Day Chocolate has closed a bridge round to finance expansion into a new set of retailers.

Retailers like Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market and 7-Eleven are redefining their strategies and expanding their store counts to see their profits bloom this spring.

Baby food brands like Pure Spoon, Once Upon A Farm and So Good are looking to push the category into a fresher, “chillier” direction. But the greatest uncertainty for refrigerated baby food is what exactly it will take for HPP purees to become “baby food 3.0” — and if retailers will be willing to invest the time and money to find out.

In the post-Expo West hustle, several industry leaders from brands and retailers alike have taken new positions with up-and-coming natural brands. Several of the additions come after recent rounds of funding, which have enable the companies to scale their hiring.