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

Michael Burgmaier and Nick McCoy have left Silverwood Partners, where they led the consumer products practice for the last six years, to open Whipstitch Capital, a boutique investment bank focusing on the consumer products industry.

Changing consumer values, new brand aesthetics, and overall disenchantment with many of the brands owned by those big food companies have been creating changes in the retailing world for several years now — but a series of surveys reviewed by Project NOSH indicates just how drastically those changes, many driven by the 50-million-plus millennial demographic, have manifested.

Dwight Richmond, the Global Grocery Purchasing Coordinator for Whole Foods for the past six years, is leaving the company.

New speakers and talks have been added to the lineup of Project NOSH L.A., the first conference aimed at providing actionable strategic advice on the growth needs of emerging Natural, Organic, Sustainable and Healthy food companies.

For those who were not able to attend in person, complete video coverage of FBU Boston is now available for viewing at on Project NOSH Education or BevNET’s Beverage School.

At the just-finished Natural Products Expo East show, Project NOSH stopped by Veggie Fries for a chat with founder David Peters about the overall changes taking place in the frozen foods section, as well as the way he hopes to attract a new generation of consumers with revamped versions of a much-beloved side dish.

While at Expo East 2015, we had to wonder, what’s the next kale chip? Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman takes a look at the newest chip to hit grocery aisles, Jica Chips.

After a recent investment of $2 million, Back to the Roots (which started by selling culinary mushroom growing kits, then transitioned to aquaponic kits that could grow herbs and greens) have decided to expand with herb growing kits, cereal and cereal toppings lines — all of which are designed to bring the formerly produce oriented brand into center aisles.

The just-released lineup for Project NOSH L.A. has been released and features speakers from companies including Health Warrior, Krave Jerky, Hail Merry, PopCorners, KeHE, Presence Marketing, Kroger, Thrive Market, VMG, ACG, Boulder Food Group, and more

Project NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg speaks with neat co-founder, Philip Lapp about how the product (a line of meat and egg replacements) got its start, how it differentiates itself, as well as the current state of meat replacements and how a recent Hampton Creek FDA warning letter and controversy are affecting the industry.

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.