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

The KRAVE jerky deal has had spawned significant discussion in the industry. But what’s the impact? Can one deal drive the tide up to lift all boats? Was price a function of fundamentals or Hershey doing a real estate play?

Salad dressing company Tessemae’s All Natural has a little more cabbage of its own to spend now that it has received a $5 million investment from Sagamore Ventures, LLC and War Horse, LLC a pair of private equity firms owned by the brothers who built athletic clothing brand Under Armour.

On Wednesday morning, a room of food and beverage entrepreneurs gathered at WGBH Studios for FBU Boston, a one-day crash course on the food and beverage industry put on by the staff of BevNET and Project NOSH.

For those unable to attend FBU Boston, we’ll be making a FREE high-definition video stream of the event available for all to watch. The livestream will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 30 and will continue throughout the day.

Today, Whole Foods Markets announced that the company will be instituting a global layoff. The net reduction is expected to be approximately 1,500 jobs, which represents 1.6 percent of its workforce.

What is the future of Indian food in America’s grocery stores? Project NOSH spoke with a pair entrepreneurs (Maya Kaimal and Shiraz Noor of The Chaat Company) at Natural Products Expo East to try to figure it out.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo East an inspiring amount of new products, trends and news emerged from the show floor. In particular, what stood out was the “next generation” wave of several product types, most prominently baby food, jerky and squeeze pouches.

FBU Boston is less than one week away and limited seats remain! It’s your chance to hear advice and guidance from the founders of brands like Yasso, Pirate’s Booty, Spindrift and Mediterra.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo East many of the most important, talked about and interesting products were classic favorites, such as brownies, mayo and pasta, reinvented for the health-conscious consumer.

General Mills’ Q1 2016 earnings call featured little talk of its legacy brands. Instead the company focused on its natural- and health-focused brands, and the call revealed much about its new product innovation pipeline, a revised focus for marketing and new attention to non-traditional grocery retailers.

Attendees at FBU Boston on September 30 will benefit from the opportunity of meeting many northeast regional FBU Industry Affiliates. These local incubators, shared kitchen spaces, and organized entrepreneurial communities will be presenting and networking at the conference.

NSF’s certification, which is part of its Consumer Values Verified Program, utilizes accepted practices from both the E.U. and Vermont’s GMO labeling requirements to create a more streamlined process.

Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs are actually highly solicitous of the large-scale shifts in the food system that can be enacted when strategic interests merge with conscious values; others are wary of greenwashing, incrementalism, and message blur.

Dollar store chains, including 99 Cents Only Stores, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, are changing their models and merchandising in order to capitalize on consumers’ desire for fresh, healthy foods that are also affordable.