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

Also in this issue: A ‘Friendly Proposal’ to 7-Eleven; Flowers Foods’ Q2 Growth; SkinnyDipped Gets Salty; and What We’re Reading.

In this week’s new products roundup, Blue Zones Kitchen moves into the breakfast category, Ben & Jerry’s gears up for election season with a limited-edition flavor, and TiNDLE launches its plant-based stuffed chicken in the U.S.

According to a new report from market researcher SPINS, the continued acceleration of better-for-you products has expanded grains in American diets far beyond the familiar wheat and rice, with the once-niche sustainable grains sector now worth $41 million.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners were panicking at the thought of going under. For many, federal financial assistance programs felt like a lifeline. Now, they may be sinking the ship.

UPSIDE Foods has has teamed up with nonprofit, public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice to fight Florida’s ban on cell-cultured meat citing constitutional issues with the state’s approach to restricting interstate commerce.

On this episode of CPG Week, the podcast team talk about the return from bankruptcy of two retailers, Boisson and Foxtrot, and how this is being interpreted by supplier brands.

The BevNET team is hosting a SoCal food, beverage and beer industry meetup on Wednesday, September 25th from 5PM to 7PM PT. Join Naturally San Diego and our BevNET San Diego team, as well as the Producer & Editor of Taste Radio, Ray Latif, and Taste Radio co-hosts John Craven, Mike Schneider and Jacqui Brugliera.

Mars, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kellanova for $83.50 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of $35.9 billion.

Goodles is turning the box on its head once again and looking to shake out a notch more of nostalgia for a new consumer group.

Jane Miller and Justin Gold, two well-known CPG innovators who are now leading the revitalization of Rudi’s Rocky Mountain Bakery, will discuss their methods for finding the thread of growth within choppy waters.

Smoothie powder producer Kencko is taking its freeze-drying expertise to a new aisles. The New York-based company recently introduced a new line of Iced Lattes and more as it marks it first year in retail.

Also in this issue: this week’s new products including a giant Pop-Tart and Oreo cream cheese, details on Beyond Meat’s continued climb, news of Conagra’s latest protein acquisition, Above Food adds more ingredient muscle and more.

In this week’s new products roundup, Pop-Tarts unveils its biggest product yet, Chia Smash launches a line of poppable PB&J bites, and Fishwife releases its new-and-improved Smoked Rainbow Trout after two years of R&D.

Beyond Meat made progress in its mission to reach profitable growth in Q2 with gross margins and profits increasing despite a net revenue drop of -8.8% year-over-year.