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The SFA and Mintel predict that due to increased financial constraints on consumers, conventional food sales may outpace specialty in 2020 for the first time in 15 years. Their annual State of the Specialty Food Industry report, reviewed sales data from the past three years, 35 category forecasts and a consumer trend survey to help explore the future of specialty food.

Today incubator and investment firm Sonoma Brands announced the acquisition of premium jerky brand Chef’s Cut. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BevNET and NOSH’s weekly live call-in show, Office Hours, returns Tuesday, July 14 at 3 p.m. ET. BevNET managing editor Martin Caballero will be joined by Alisa Williams, Partner at VMG, and Matt Thomas, founder and CEO of Brew Dr. Kombucha, for a discussion exploring the roles that CPG entrepreneurs and brand leaders can play in supporting a more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry.

Over the last few weeks, many major companies have joined the #StopHateForProfit initiative, a campaign urging companies to suspend advertising on Facebook throughout July in an effort to pressure the social media platform to address misinformation and hateful content on its sites.

The sixteenth round of Elevator Talk Livestream features leaders from Hella Cocktail Co., Doctor D’s, Chase Your Drink, Vibal Energy Tea and Mezcla. This week’s special co-host is Tom Spier, Founder & Managing Partner of Boulder Food Group.

As many consumers aim to reduce or eliminate red meat from their diets, seafood is becoming a popular choice for mealtime. But faced with a limited supply of fish, plant-based and cultivated meat makers are recognizing a wave of opportunity for alternative seafood innovations, according to The Good Food Institute.

On this week’s Office Hours show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg brings Darla Mears, the Chief Customer Officer at Kodiak Cakes, and Cheryl Christian, the EVP of Sales at Bobo’s, on the livestream to dive into sales strategy and take questions from viewers.

Jason Karp wants to change what people eat, drink, clean with and put on their bodies. The venture capitalist and co-founder of snack brand Hu Kitchen is pulling back the curtain on his new venture, HumanCo, with last week’s announcement of Amplify executive Will Lisman as the company’s new COO and chief commercial officer.

Food brands should expect to see “structurally higher” growth heading into 2021, according to two recent webinars hosted by banking firm RBC Capital Markets, in which analyst Nik Modi explained how societal, economic and educational factors have already impacted consumer behavior.

In this week’s Checkout, UNFI and NCG expanded their 21-year partnership, Giant Food relaunched its online platform and a report from consumer insights firm Kelton found high anxiety around in-store shopping.