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

It’s been two months since celebrity-backed baking mix brand Foodstirs announced that CPG veteran Greg Fleishman would be joining the team as COO and stepping back from a full time role at Purely Righteous Brands, the management consultancy and marketing firm he co-founded with longtime friend Andrew Aussie in 2013. But even with Fleishman working as the COO at Foodstirs, he will still be involved in client projects, he and Aussie told NOSH during a recent interview.

It’s like playing Russian Roulette. With food. At least, that’s the opinion of one scientist.

FOODMatch is raising the bar on its Mediterranean diet offerings. FoodMatch, which produces, imports, and distributes a variety of Mediterranean products, including olives, antipasti, and other ingredients, is stretching further into the realm of the so-called “Mediterranean Diet” via a partnership announced with Austin, Texas-based Wella Bar.

Just five months after a shakeup that led to the appointment of a temporary CEO, Hail Merry has filled the job full time. The vegan, dessert-centric, snack brand Hail Merry announced the hire of CPG veteran Andy Malloy as CEO today.

After a year spent in development and design, Los Angeles-based Cabo Chips is launching a line of fresh tortillas and a rebrand of its line of chips. It’s a move that the brand hopes will help it capitalize on the rising popularity of Hispanic foods with American consumers.

The chickpea brownie company that launched at Expo East in 2015 is changing its name to Rule Breaker Snacks on January 1, according to founder Nancy Kalish.

When longtime friends Gwen Burlingame and Katy Flannery launched their lactose-free ice cream, Minus the Moo, at Boston’s South End Open Market in 2015, the duo never expected that in less than two years they’d both be working full time to expand their passion project.

In May of this year, Think Jerky founder Ricky Hirsch headed to his first large trade show, the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago. His jerky line, then less than a year old, was just in the formative stages of it’s growth. Seven months later, Hirsch told NOSH, the Chicago, IL based brand has closed over a million dollars in sales for the year.

Mintel isn’t just predicting upcoming trends in healthy food for 2017; it’s also inferring trends in how consumers want those items presented to them in the new year.

This week natural products distributor UNFI held its 2017 first quarter earnings call. The past year has seen the company acquire two smaller natural and specialty products distributors (Haddon House and Gourmet Guru) as well as two produce distributors (Nor-Cal and Global Organic). From the earnings call, it seems more acquisitions are in the cards.

At a time when a federal district court in California has been nicknamed “The Food Court” because of the number of consumer actions it has addressed, it’s become apparent that building a brand is about more than just growing sales, it’s about protecting those sales in the face of potential legal action.

The season of giving for consumers can turn into a season of growth to most food brands. Especially if they’ve got Oprah’s blessing.

From a private label Kombucha to its own meat and cheese snacks, Kroger is reacting to changing consumer tastes by doubling down on both private label and branded products with a healthier halo.

In this issue of NOSH Voices, Zachary DeAngelo, an entrepreneur, investor and advisor to CPG brands, looks at the potential impacts of Whole Foods’ transition to centralized buying.