Innovation

The alt-dairy industry has staked a claim among nearly a third of American consumers and within that new wave of plant-based milks, a handful of brands are hoping to disrupt conventional thinking around how such products are packaged and sold.

Over recent years, influencer-fronted brands like Chamberlain Coffee and Top of The Mornin’ Coffee, among others, have made inroads with younger coffee drinkers that may find the space intimidating or unwelcoming. New entrants continue to emerge: In November, sports podcast Pardon My Take host and Barstool Sports star Dan “Big Cat” Katz launched Stella Blue Coffee, named after his rescue dog. Three months later, TikTok star Chris Olsen introduced Flight Fuel.

PepsiCo’s first ever Greenhouse Accelerator: Juntos Crecemos Edition is intended to help drive growth for startup Hispanic-owned food and beverage businesses. This is the first time that the program has focused specifically on a social equity cause.

Greek biscuit maker Olyra Foods closed a $4 million Series A funding round in late February to help the brand grow its marketing team and continue to expand its retail presence in the breakfast category.

In this week’s roundup: A new report finds consumer perceptions of MSG are shifting, Nestle and Cargill invest $15 million into regenerative ag projects, Mila partners with Simu Liu, Faiir Initiative publishes warning for livestock producers and Last Crumb goes gluten-free.

In this week’s new products roundup, TRUFF teams up with Nintendo to celebrate the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie, Enlightened introduces a line of Greek yogurt bars and Bonne Maman challenges Nutella with its take on the classic chocolate spread.

While scale may be a near-term limitation to the success of alt-proteins, marketing to mainstream consumers remains the category’s most significant roadblock to achieving the its stated missions.

GOOD Meat Inc. has received the go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin producing its cell-cultivated chicken product stateside.

As more Americans continue to work from home and look to cut extraneous expenses — say, a stop at the juice bar on the way to the gym — lockdown-era habits have entrenched themselves into consumer routines. In turn, many frozen fruit producers have embraced smoothie kits, with some innovative brands managing to outpace the category and maintain strong growth despite the headwinds facing the CPG industry today.

After bringing in $31 million in financing over the past year, Chinese food brand Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ) is preparing for its retail debut, beginning with a new name: MiLa.