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On the manufacturing lines and in the office, the CPG industry is being forced to make adjustments. Over the past week, BevNET and NOSH edit staff reached out to brands and distributors across the food and beverage to hear about how they are grappling with the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic as it ripples across the country.

In the past few days, the FDA has released new information to answer coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns within the food industry, via official statements, a new FAQ page, and a stakeholder call addressing manufacturing, the food supply and worker safety.

While the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to rise worldwide, the food and beverage industry has been forced to swiftly adjust to the crisis. Just as consumers have changed their shopping habits by racing to grocery stores to stock up before indefinite periods of self-quarantine, many brands and entrepreneurs have fast begun tailoring their messaging to comment on the virus. Others are seizing the moment to promote products with immunity boosting properties, through social media posts, press releases and eblasts.

The meat snack set has seen plenty of new skin in the game over the past year as some consumers look to swap out chips and puffs with protein-heavy, low-carb alternatives like pork rinds. Now Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, the co-founders of Harmless Harvest, want to bring seafood into the set with the debut of Goodfish, a line of snackable flash-fried salmon skins.

One brand’s dream of becoming the next Ben & Jerry’s has ended — or at least will be on hold. Yesterday gourmet ice cream chain and producer Ample Hills filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Eastern District of New York.

Oakland, California-based plant-based meat company Impossible Foods today announced the close of an approximately $500 million Series F funding round, led by South Korea-based firm Mirae Asset Global Investments. To-date, the company has raised to nearly $1.3 billion, including $300 million closed last May.

An aid package that includes help for employees of small businesses is making its way through Congress as the coronavirus pandemic known as COVID-19 spreads across the U.S.

In an email to attendees late this afternoon, Natural Products Expo West producer New Hope announced it would cancel the natural products trade show in favor of focusing on its next large show, Expo East. New Hope has also launched an FAQ page to answer the most pressing questions it has received from the industry.

With consumers stockpiling pantry items in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), research firm Nielsen is studying their shopping habits during this unique time — both globally and in the U.S. This week, Nielsen identified six key consumer behavior patterns that tie directly to coronavirus updates and appear across multiple markets.

If you aren’t answering consumers’ call for plant-based options, you’re going to miss out. That’s the reason Gathered Foods CEO Chris Kerr says seafood distributor and producer Bumble Bee Foods is partnering with his brand in a new joint venture.