Distribution

UNFI Next is a distributor run program designed to curate and incubate emerging brands. We chat with Aaron May who oversees the UNFI Next program to discuss what the criteria for entry is, ideal timing for launch in a brand’s life cycle, and how to make it work for brand growth. Come with your questions and ask them live!

Fresh granola bar maker Mooski is reaching new regions after inking deals with Foxtrot, Fresh Thyme Market and Central Market over the past two months. Check out the full roundup for distribution updates from Cometeer, Voyage Foods, Stumptown and That’s it.

In the current environment, an omnichannel strategy is merely table stakes and consumer demand for climate-related attributes is climbing. Against that backdrop, Anna Hammond, founder and CEO of Matriark Foods, has cooked up a sales and supply chain strategy to cultivate a larger impact than simply turning a profit.

This week in distribution news, Yumi brings its functional kids’ snacks to Whole Foods, Undercover Snacks expands its partnership with Costco and egglife grows its retailer network with a deal at Food Lion.

The rising costs of retail have pushed The Planting Hope Company to shift its growth strategy outside of the grocery store. Late last month the company announced plans to acquire QSR-cafe chain Argo Tea – marking a turning point in its new growth plan which centers on the managed food service channel.

GoNanas and egglife find nationwide distribution at Whole Foods while Just Date and Red’s make it onto Sprouts Farmers Market shelves. Tea Drops expands its at-home boba and latte kit partnership with Target adding 1,000 stores.

Appropriately named Actual Veggies has flipped a portion of its burgers over to frozen this month, landing in Whole Foods stores nationwide. That shift – from its original fridge case placement to the freezer aisle – also comes with an updated brand identity and a box format better suited for the frozen set.

Nearly every grocery category has seen a bit of better-for-you reinvention, but the croutons aisle is, largely, still about as stale as it gets. Kooshy wants to revive the salad-adjacent set with a lineup of non-GMO, sourdough-based crispy bread bites now available at all Whole Foods locations.

Ten days after receiving full USDA approval to produce and sell cell-cultured poultry, UPSIDE Foods served its first cell-grown chicken to five contest winners this past weekend at a private event in San Francisco.

Plant-based meat maker UNLIMEAT will soon be on the menu at Two Hands, a quick-service restaurant (QSR) that specializes in Korean-style corn dogs, as part of a new vegan option.