Top Feature

Six startup food brands in categories ranging from snacking to international were selected from a field of 12 to compete in Wednesday’s final round of NOSH’s Virtual Pitch Slam 10, presented by 301 Inc. The five judge-selected finalists are Beyond the Equator, COCINA 54, Honey Child Artisan Pops, Singing Pastures and Down to Cook and the sixth, audience-voted finalist is Daily Crunch Snacks.

Premium chocolate company Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker has returned to private ownership following its acquisition by The Hershey Company in 2005, the company announced last week. The company will refocus its business on baking chocolate under the leadership of new owner and CEO Paul Cherrie, a confection category veteran, with founder John Scharffenberger returning as advisor. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In this week’s Checkout, plant-based nutrition company Equinom raises $20 million; Cuisine Solutions recalls JUST Egg bites; LiveKindly launches two new brands aimed at Gen Z in China; and Motif Foodworks announces new meat alternative tech.

Leveraging supply chains, UNSTUCK is on a mission to support refugees. An extension of nonprofit The Tent Partnership for Refugees, the initiative has developed brand partnerships which it believes can create sustainable change, and it’s demonstrating this power through a new launch with yogurt brand Chobani.

Vega could be in for some retooling. Last week private equity fund WM Partners acquired the performance nutrition brand from previous owner Danone. The deal is part of the firm’s strategy to acquire synergistic brands and then “build operational excellence” in order to better position them for sale to a strategic buyer.

Frozen direct-to-consumer baby food maker Tiny Organics announced this week that it has closed an $11 million funding round. The brand, whose mission is to help parents introduce their babies to more flavors, will use the funding to expand its marketing efforts and grow its team as it works to capitalize on consumer interest in frozen products, which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Carolina-based vegan meat maker No Evils Foods earlier this month laid off a number of employees, including its full production staff, amid the shutdown of its manufacturing facility in favor of a switch to co-manufacturing. The company has cited financial challenges, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, as the catalyst for the layoffs and the production changes.

Kids food company Once Upon A Farm announced today it has acquired baby and toddler meal provider Raised Real, putting the company into the frozen food aisle for the first time. CEO John Foraker says other acquisitions may follow.

Mondelez’s incubator and investment arm SnackFutures has recently undergone a staffing change, with former PepsiCo investment executive Tapan Shah joining the group last month to head up investing for the snack-focused conglomerate.

Many food and beverage makers often look to adjacent categories for their first brand extension. However, caffeinated bar maker Verb is making a larger leap for its first foray beyond bars: EDM, which stands for Energizing Drink Mix (not electronic dance music). The new line promises consumers a jolt of energy from caffeine, not a bass drop.