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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.

In this week’s Checkout, coconut flour-based tortilla and chip maker The Real Coconut rebrands to Sana Foods; low-sugar baby and toddler food brand Serenity Kids raises $7 million; and plant-based bacon maker Hooray Foods secures $2 million in a seed financing.

Today yogurt and dairy conglomerate Danone announced it had sold plant-based nutrition company Vega to private equity firm WM Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Here’s another marker that life is approaching a post-pandemic “new normal”: the reintroduction of free samples in grocery stores nationwide. To the relief of brands, who have long relied on sampling to win customers, many retailers announced plans this month to allow brands back in-store for product demonstrations.

Rind Snacks wants to make getting your daily serving of fruits more ap-peel-ing and now it has more powder to make this goal a reality. The snack brand announced this week the close of $6 million in funding, an investment that will help the fruit-focused brand as it makes moves to expand into salty snacks.

Can a Boston based cellular technology company solve the taste and texture challenges around plant-based proteins? Investors are betting more than $200 million on it. Boston-based food technology company Motif FoodWorks announced today it has closed a $226 million funding round, which the company will use to expand R&D capabilities as it looks to “solve key sensory and nutritional challenges” in plant-based meat and dairy products and commercialize its first ingredients next year.

NOSH’s Pitch Slam 10 will feature the founders of the hottest new food brands competing virtually for the title. The semifinalists have been chosen, as well as the expert judges, who will be providing feedback and ultimately choosing the winner. So let’s meet the players.