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At the Winter Fancy Food Show, two Colorado-based food brands known for their indulgent taste profiles debuted functional food plays designed to attract more discerning health-aware consumers.

Ethical Brands, parent company of plant-based pasta brand Explore Cuisine, is introducing Swedish pea protein milk brand Sproud to the U.S. this week at the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.

The plant-based movement has resulted in the evolution of categories from burgers to baking mixes. Now chip brand Beanfields wants to ride the wave further afield into the snack set by launching a line of plant-based pork rind analogs called Cracklins.

Office food “concierge” Oh My Green this week announced it had acquired Byte Foods; Euromonitor International released its “Top 10 Global Consumer Trends 2020” report and more in this week’s Checkout.

If it is passed and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as is widely expected to happen within weeks, California Assembly Bill 228 will declare that foods, beverages and cosmetics made with industrial hemp should not be considered as adulterated. Until that occurs, however, brands and retailers in Southern California still face an uncertain existence from day to day.

In a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019, Abe Minkara, Founding Partner/CIO of investment firm Legacy Knight Multi Family Office (and former managing director at Mark Cuban Companies), explained how entrepreneurs should prepare to leverage investors.

Gathered Foods, the makers of Good Catch vegan seafood, announced yesterday that the alternative protein play had raised a series B round of $32.3 million, $10M of which was closed last year as a convertible note. The capital will be used to bring a new production facility online, which, in turn, will allow for international expansion of the Good Catch brand, food service opportunities and the opening of co-packing and R&D facilities for other food brands.

You can’t find a hotter buzzword than “plant-based” as a signifier for innovation in the meat and dairy categories — or in center store, as the following product launches indicate. Read on for three new traditional products that have been plantified.

The USDA Agricultural Research Service has found that almonds, cashews, pistachios and walnuts all contain less calories than originally thought, according to a series of studies that began in 2012. This opens the door for brands with nut-based products to update their products’ nutrition panels — and potentially even position themselves differently to reach consumers who may be concerned with calories.

Gail Becker, founder & CEO of Caulipower, discussed the swift rise of her vegetable-forward frozen food brand, including why she left a successful career behind to start the company, the value of taking risks, how she identified and partnered with early-stage investors and why humility is critical for success.