M&A

Food-and-beverage focused firm KDSA Investment Partners has acquired Spokane, Wash.-based direct-store-delivery house Williams Distributors, a significant provider of ice cream and other frozen foods throughout the Northwest.

Conagra is selling off more brands, this time moving its Van de Kamp’s and Mrs. Paul’s frozen seafood brands to their co-manufacturer, High Liner Foods, in a $55 million cash deal. According to an announcement today, the deal only divests the intellectual property rights and inventory for the two brands, but does not include employees or manufacturing facilities.

Creator-backed candy company Joyride (formerly Project 7) has raised a $30 million round, per a Form D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday.

This week, the podcast team discusses the merger of two legacy cheesemakers and the exit of a major beverage alcohol distributor from a key spirits market. Next, the hosts dig into the debut of digitally-native supplement brand AG1 in physical retail and explore why the news of an energy drink startup’s new investor brings fresh opportunities for its growth goals.

There’s a new-ish manufacturer in town. After Flavor Reddy Foods grew its food manufacturing footprint via M&A in the past two years, the company is bringing the combined businesses together under one new entity, Trillium Foods.

Commerce agency Harvest Group is strengthening its position in the club channel with the acquisition of Next Step Club Solutions, a Costco-focused brokerage firm. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Fourth-generation cheesemaker Sartori announced its acquisition of organic cheese and butter producer Rumiano on Monday, bringing together two legacy, family-owned businesses.

Discover the fastest-rising food and beverage trends of Q2 2025—powered by real-time search and TikTok data that reveal what consumers are truly craving next.

This week, the podcast team discusses big moves by protein bar startup David, plus industry reactions to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission’s recent report on ultraprocessed foods, fermented foods maker Cleveland Kitchen’s recent capital raise, and a former slugger’s new spirits venture.

Peter Rahal’s new protein bar brand David has closed a $75 million Series A round and taken a step towards vertical integration with the acquisition of Epogee, one of its ingredient suppliers. The new tranche of funding was led by Greenoaks, with participation from Valor Equity Partners.