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

Look what the tide brought in: seaweed broth. While the past year has seen grocery aisles awash in a wave of chicken, beef and vegetable broths, Robert Mock, co-founder of Ocean’s Halo Seaweed Snacks, sees an opening to launch a new line of seaweed-based broths.

Last week Tim Brown stepped down as the CEO of Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), and today was named president and chief operating officer of Greek yogurt giant Chobani. He starts in his new position at the privately-owned company on March 20, reporting directly to Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya.

Cereal and garden kit brand Back to the Roots (B2TR) will have a new look heading to shelves soon, part of a refreshed brand identity that the company’s founders say will span the company’s portfolio. Along with the rebrand, the brand announced the launch of two new ready-to-grow pepper kits as well as a snack line of sunflower seed butter “bites.”

Paleo Passions has been working to evolve the way consumers think about and eat food since it first launched its good-for-you frozen popsicle line about three years ago. Now, the caveman-inspired company is adding to the reach of its brand via an upcoming deal with Walmart and a new product line positioned outside of the freezer aisle.

To help bring a fresh baked taste from the bakery section to center store, BOBO’s, a producer of oat bars, announced today the closing an $8 million round of capital. Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR) lead the round with additional funding provided by investment firm Range Light LLC.

Will Holsworth has a vision, and it goes far beyond the Skeeter. Holsworth, a veteran executive at both big companies (PepsiCo) and smaller enterprises (Muscle Milk and Sambazon), had been approached to run Skeeter Snacks, but he saw a broader play — to codify allergen-free snacks under a single brand that would be safe for consumption while also providing a good-looking, modern brand that wouldn’t embarrass a parent or stigmatize the at-risk consumer.

Last year at Expo West, Sir Kensington’s launched its mayo-substitute Fabanaise, one of the first products to use aquafaba as an egg replacement. Now the company is at it again, expanding the plant-based eggless mayo’s portfolio to include a Fabanaise made with 100 percent avocado oil.

Over the last week, B&G Foods Inc., The Hershey Company, Pinnacle Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market and the Hormel Food Corporation each had quarterly earnings calls for analysts and investors. Here’s what the companies had to say about growth, road bumps and road maps for 2017.

Some of the food industry’s most influential leaders are switching up their rosters. Here are the latest players to slide into new roles.

Today 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners (2x Partners) and General Mills’ new business and venture arm 301 INC announced an investment in D’s Naturals, creators of the “No Cow” plant-based protein bars and Fluffbutter, a protein-infused nut butter.

With millennial consumers taking root in cities, retailers have realized it’s time to adapt and create store formats that appeal to this unique generation. In the Boston metro area, Ahold Delhaize has been quietly testing their own urban format: bfresh market.

CytoSport is expanding its protein offerings this month with Evolve, a new complete line of protein powders, bars and ready-to-drink, shelf-stable shakes. The entire vegan-friendly platform, which contains no gluten, soy, or dairy ingredients, is made with non-GMO pea protein.

Over the past two years, frozen dessert brand Pro-Yo has seen sales of its line of high protein, probiotic enhanced “smoothie tubes” grow rapidly into roughly 1,600 stores nationwide. But founder and President Nathan Carey knew the brand could go farther with a new line.

Consumers may be increasingly demanding cleaner labels and better-for-you food options, but a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report is suggesting that those same shoppers may not be putting their mouth where their money is.