Investment

After nearly a decade on the market, Brooklyn-based vegan yogurt brand Anita’s has closed its doors, stating it was unable to keep up with rising production costs and inflationary pressure in the wake of the pandemic.

A judge from Washington State has extended the temporary block on a $4 billion payout to Albertsons’ shareholders in an effort to halt the cash dividend until the grocery giant’s proposed merger with Kroger can be fully reviewed by federal regulators. Judge Ken Schubert of King County Superior Court last week extended the temporary restraining order (TRO), now effective until Nov. 17.

B&G Foods is “actively seeking” a buyer for snack brand Back to Nature, stating on this week’s third quarter earnings report that while the brand was performing well enough, the divestment is part of a larger initiative to refocus B&G’s core portfolio and reduce debt.

Dirty Hands, one of the CPG industry’s largest merchandising firms, laid off employees from across the company last week in a move to refocus its business on the natural channel.

Shelf-stable, direct-to-consumer meal brand Proper Good has closed a $3.5 million seed funding round to support its recent expansion into brick and mortar retail with a rollout to over 2,000 Walmart stores nationwide.

Low-sugar dessert spread TBH has announced co-founder Ba Minuzzi will step into the role of co-CEO alongside existing CEO Elana Guberman.

Albertsons is working to overturn a temporary restraining order (TRO) “as quickly as possible,” in order to unshackle its ability to divvy up $4 million in special cash dividend payments to shareholders, previously set to be paid on Monday, November 7.

Joe Oblas, has departed Stryve Foods, the meat snacks company he co-founded in 2017. According to Oblas and trademark filings, the company will be adding new products in the pet food category.

Tech-enabled finance platform Ampla Technologies announced this week it has acquired Upside Financing, a move it says will help the company open up a B2B buy-now, pay-later market. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Albertsons has rejected a request by several state attorneys general (AG) to hold off on a special dividend payment totaling nearly $4 billion to stakeholders, stating the dividend plans were developed prior to potential merger discussions with Kroger and payment cancellations could lead to financial and legal liabilities, as reported in Bloomberg.