Investment

Israeli specialty food producer Eshbal Functional Food announced today that it has taken a majority stake in select assets of the U.S.-based, vegetable-forward brand Dare to Be Different Foods, expanding its North American footprint.

Publicly traded TRUBAR was acquired by an affiliate of privately held, Turkey-based snack company ETi Gida for $173 million in cash.

Once Upon A Farm is officially on the public markets. On Thursday, the baby and kid food brand announced it had raised nearly $198 million from selling about 11 million shares of common stock.

Project Potluck, a non-profit organization supporting People of Color in CPG, announced the four recipients of its inaugural grant program.

This week on the podcast, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior reporter Brad Avery dig into the public relations crisis surrounding brands linked to prominent investor and advisor Peter Attia following recent revelations of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The duo also discusses the acquisition of Japanese-style barbecue sauce brand Bachan’s, Hain Celestial’s decision to divest its snack brands, and big moves by mushroom beverage makers.

Better-for-you consumer products investment vehicle CAVU announced today it has closed its fifth fund at $325 million. The firm’s total assets under management is about $1.4 billion.

Japanese barbecue sauce supplier Bachan’s has been acquired for $400 million by publicly traded food manufacturer The Marzetti Company.

On the heels of its majority sale to L Catterton, Good Culture has locked in an additional $55 million from SEMCAP Food & Nutrition.

Private equity firm Encore Consumer Capital closed its oversubscribed Fund V with $350 million in commitments from limited partners.

A nearly endless stream of news – with a fair share being M&A-related – clearly marked the start of 2026 and the end of that slow, stagnating deal period that had been festering since sometime around 2022.