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

Earlier this month, State Senator Bob Wieckowski, a Democrat, introduced California SB 504, a bill that would require warning labels on all food containing synthetic dyes, including those sold in restaurants. It’s an issue that may cause food manufacturers to reconsider their use of synthetic colors not just in California, but nationwide.

Along with record levels of funding from both private and corporate entities, the rise of plant-based protein and new products and services that combine convenience and health were identified as two of the major disruptive trends reshaping the food and beverage space during strategic data analytics firm CB Insights’ “Dining on Disruption” webinar on Tuesday.

Now under new ownership, but back to the same old purpose: Snikiddy, an 11-year-old healthy snacking brand for kids, sported a new look, new products, and a new focus on organic that have all come to fruition under Utz Quality Foods.

How the refrigerated bar category Perfect Bar pioneered is growing, despite supply chain challenges and shrinking shelf space.

For the musicians, working with the San Francisco-based company is an opportunity to eat healthy on the road. For the food brands, it’s a way to market themselves and get endorsements from groups with a similar mission and larger audience reach. But for Founder Scott Manning, it’s more personal.

While the once-staid cottage cheese category has gotten more crowded over the past year, there’s still a large segment of consumers for whom it signifies diets, rice cakes, and carrots. Jesse Merrill, the founder of Good Culture organic cottage cheese, wants to change that perception and teach consumers that cottage cheese can be the answer to their high-protein prayers. And he isn’t done spreading the gospel, as he showcased the company’s newest product, a natural line of cottage cheese that aims to reach even more consumers, at this year’s Natural Products Expo West.

Greyston Bakery is advocating for inclusivity with both its newest product offering, grab-and-go cookies, and its longstanding hiring policy. The main motivation for the new line is the opportunity it offers to expand the company’s Open Hiring Model, which provides jobs to individuals with barriers to employment — no questions asked.

Applied Food Sciences (AFS) is going “back to the very beginning” — the beginning of food before genetic modification, that is. In January, the Austin, Texas-based ingredient supplier opened a research and development center at the University of Iowa’s BioVentures Center to use plant-based science to examine how the evolution of food shapes the current and future food supply.

CPG collective Halen Brands has acquired plant-protein centric brand Only What You Need (OWYN). The brand debuted at Natural Products Expo West as part of Halen’s newly launched, allergen-friendly brand platform, Safe Allergen Friendly Environment (S.A.F.E.).

Brands and consumers are sweet on the mission of protecting the world’s declining pollinator population, which has fallen dramatically in recent years. Over the past two weeks, numerous brands, like General Mills, Justin’s, and Burt’s Bees have shared the buzz and set up campaigns about this environmental issue.

Schneider is a seasoned executive whose work thrives at the collision of brand, experience and product. He has deep roots in branding, mobile, content and events. Prior to BevNET, Schneider led major rebranding efforts for technology and consumer companies Skyhook and GasBuddy, and he was the CMO of Apptopia.

The competition in the snack set will see some sibling rivalry with today’s announcement that Conagra Brands, producer of DAVID seeds and Slim Jim, has entered into an agreement to acquire Thanasi Foods, maker of BIGS seeds and Duke’s meat snacks

During a public meeting on March 9, the agency was urged to consider both nutrient content and food type when defining the term ‘healthy” on labels. The FDA will consider all comments and written submissions during this public comment period to decide how best to update its guidelines.

Using ingredient data from Label Insight, Nielsen’s Product Insider tool found that the curly green vegetable has expanded beyond more traditional savory categories such as pasta sauce, prepared foods and side dishes to yogurt, breakfast and even frozen sweets. Some brands debuting new items during last week’s Natural Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., are chasing this leafy pot of gold.