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

The latest episode of Elevator Talk features leaders from E3 Energy Cubes, The Flavorsmith, Terranean, Sphere Snacks and Masala Gossip. Watch founders and CEOs introduce their brands and provide a recap of recent news and updates. Our special co-host is Elisa Croft, the co-founder of First Friday CPG, who shared her thoughts, questions and feedback with the participants.

Across the packaged food industry, operators are scrambling to reshore supply chains amid sweeping tariffs. New York-based Burlap & Barrel sources spices directly from smallholder farmers in several dozen nations, paying multiples over commodity prices for Vietnamese cinnamon, Zanzibar black peppercorns and Hungarian paprika.

Ultraprocessed foods are an invention enabled by modern technology, and amid the growing pushback against them, The Paleo Diet has seen an opportunity to revive its prehistoric approach to packaged food.

AI-driven food company Starday Foods has raised a $11 million Series A funding round to expand the distribution footprint of its four brands and optimize its new retailer partnerships platform.

Is the sleepy pasta sauce segment really reeling in star power? That’s the tone behind Monte’s Fine Foods’ latest capital raise after it pulled in $2 million from the consumer venture studio known as Night.

Rosebud Ice Cream founder (and cream executive officer) spoke with Nosh about his new soft-serve pouch innovation and why it will open the door to compete in the saturated ice cream category.

In this week’s notable new products roundup, cheese maker Sartori enters the snacking category, Fancypants unveils two limited-edition spring flavors, and Hero Bread expands its Crafted Collection.

In this reviews roundup, we take a bite of a Hero Labs’ low-carb bagel, Bon Bee Honey energy bars, a super simple spin on plant-based frozen desserts, and adult-geared pouched snacks promoting gut health.

Against a backdrop of lagged shipments and “discrete” supply chain constraints, Conagra Brands posted net sales and gross profit declines during Q3, according to its quarterly earnings report released today.

Hershey is acquiring organic popcorn and healthy snack brand LesserEvil for reportedly $750 million, adding to the Pennsylvania food maker’s growing portfolio of salty snacks.

Top 2 subcategories are seeing positive unit sales vs. negative sales the prior year.

In this episode, the CPG Week team discusses industry and regulatory efforts to define and restrict ultraprocessed foods in the U.S. food supply. Spoiler alert: There’s a lot of gray area.

The Small Business Administration has effectively ended the Hardship Accommodation Plan (HAP) for COVID-19 related Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) as of March 19.

As consumers question seed oils, they’re not just talking about what to cut out—they’re also looking for better alternatives.