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Call it co-incubation. A Post Holdings product incubator is betting on crackers made with environmentally friendly oats as a core ingredient — and it’s brought in another big strategic, Anheuser-Busch, to chip in. Airly crackers debuted this month as the first brand out of the Bright Future Foods operation launched last year, and it’s already looking ahead to new climate-friendly innovations through a new R&D partnership with A-B’s EverGrain.

Yesterday CPG conglomerate Unilever announced it would acquire Onnit, a producer of food, beverage and supplement products designed for fitness-focused consumers. Onnit relies heavily on content marketing to draw in new consumers, investing marketing dollars in what Unilever says is a “destination website.”

Plant-based meat company SIMULATE announced it had expanded distribution of its plant-based chicken nugget brand NUGGS to select Walmart, Sam’s Club and Target locations, marking the brand’s first move into larger, national retailers.

Breakout Boston-based pickle brand Grillo’s Pickles has been sold to bakery company King’s Hawaiian in a deal that closed earlier this year.

The confection aisle is a tough nut to crack but SkinnyDipped believes it has the perfect recipe with its emphasis on clean ingredient decks, indulgence and lower-sugar formulations. Last week, the company announced that it would add to its flagship line of coated nuts, launching a new line of nut butter cups and chocolate bars.

In this week’s Checkout, Misfits Market raises $200 million to support growth into new categories and expansion to the West Coast; Nestlé reports strong growth on its first quarter earnings call; and the food and beverage industry celebrates Earth Day.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s global investment and innovation group ZX Ventures yesterday announced an R&D partnership with animal-free protein maker Clara Foods. The hope is that by utilizing A-B’s fermentation expertise the two can work together to establish new technologies producing Clara’s proteins at large scale, a strategy A-B hopes to also implement at other fermentation-focused companies.

In this episode of Category Closeup, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Erin Cabrey will interview executives and brand leaders from emerging confection companies to discuss company strategy, and how changes within the category affect new product development and marketing.

Foodtech company Perfect Day, which produces a whey protein isolate from non-animal sources for use in dairy alternative food and beverage products, announced this week the formation of its Sustainability & Health Advisory Council, intended to consult the company on environmental concerns and health and wellness issues.

Covering all manner of treats, selling confections might seem like a sweet gig — but getting space on shelf or capturing a consumer’s eye can be tricky in this candy wonderland — especially against large incumbents with the resources to fund innovation and marketing plans. In this month’s Category Closeup: Expert Analysis, we’ll hear from a group of industry leaders and explore both the market dynamics facing confection brands as well as the opportunities within the category.