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

More than 100 retailers, associations and brands joined forces Wednesday to push back against President Donald Trump’s proposed Border Adjustment Tax (BAT). Americans for Affordable Products (AAP) has the backing among food and beverage giants like Walmart, Target, BJ’s Wholesale, QVC, Brea Bakery, the National Grocers Association, the American Beverage Licensees and the National Retail Federation.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the term “raw” as “not cooked,” “being in or nearly in the natural state,” “unprepared or imperfectly prepared for use,” “not protected,” and “marked by absence of refinements.” But its meaning becomes unclear when you look at it through the lens of the chocolate industry.

Call it a cooler convergence of the trendiest kind. Bone broth, cold soup, and HPP juices collided in the grab-and-go space today with the release of Bonafide Provisions’ “drinkable veggies” line, the first product to use bone broth as an ingredient in a cold, ready-to-drink beverage format.

After the holiday season winds down, consumers approach the new year filled with good intentions and New Year’s resolutions centered around healthy eating, personal growth, and financial goals around savings. This year, retailers including Aldi, Whole Foods Market and Earth Fare have approached January with their own resolutions around similar topics.

This year’s Winter Fancy Food Show in San Fransisco, Calif. saw crowds of CPG entrepreneurs, retailers, and distributors descend on the Moscone Center for three days of sampling, deal making and networking. The Project NOSH team walked the show floor and to find the newest products that embody the trends happening in the food industry.

Matcha has long found its way into Japanese sweets from macarons to mochi, cakes to cookies, and even chocolate bars, but during this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show (WFFS) in San Francisco, it was clear the traditional ceremonial tea powder has moved beyond the teacup and into the North American snack market, too.

This week specialty food purveyors across categories headed to San Fransisco for the Winter Fancy Foods Show. While there were many familiar faces on display, some brands were showing off new rebrands.

Jacqueline Claudia always dreamed of being a marine biologist so she could save the world “one fish at a time.” So now, when the all-grown-up co-founder and CEO of Love The Wild Seafood was presented with an opportunity to work with Aqua-Spark, the first investment fund focused exclusively on sustainable aquaculture, she headed straight for the bait.

Matthew Parry, COO of ABC North America LLC, told NOSH that feedback from The Good Crisp Company’s first nine months on shelves showed that U.S. consumers and retailers were not connecting with the brand’s original name, Mamee.

This past weekend The Good Food Awards and Mercantile took over the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California to highlight “food crafters” from around the country.

Over the past year, numerous big CPG firms have announced the formation of internal venture capital arms to work with and embrace entrepreneurial brands. And while Campbell Soup has launched such a division, Acre Venture Partners, the company’s other divisions haven’t lost the entrepreneurial spirit, either.

In early 2016 coconut and onion chip brand Dang Foods received a minority investment from investment and incubation group Sonoma Brands in order to help the company scale. Apparently, some of it went toward innovation, as well, as the brand is launching a new look and a new line: sticky-rice chips.

With the increasing demand for healthier, alternative snacks, brands made from fruit and vegetables have been growing in popularity. And not just with consumers, but with investors, as well — two growing companies have announced new financing rounds this week alone.

Keeping dairy in the barnyard rather than out among the crops, the proposed bill, the Dairy Pride Act, declares that dairy foods should be made from the secretions of hoofed animals only.