Top Feature

The White House has approved the USDA’s long awaited federal rules to guide hemp production. A draft of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program guidelines was published today on USDA’s website, and once published in the Federal Register on Thursday, public comments will be open for 60 days.

Rachel Drori, the founder/CEO of popular direct-to-consumer food brand Daily Harvest, explained why customer service “is not just about meeting needs, but anticipating them,” why social media is “not just a one-way relationship” and how “data is just part of the story” in understanding consumer needs.

The past few weeks have seen multiple investments in the red hot CBD space from existing CPG investment firms, as well as deal news in other trending categories such as alternative protein and the frozen food aisle.

FDA advises on upcoming labeling changes, Hershey talks protein plays in its Q3 earnings call, Beyond Sausage hits Pizza Hut and more in this week’s Checkout.

To feed the rising demand for plant-based foods, tofu pioneer House Foods America Corporation is increasing its production by 50%.

For Italian food brand Rao’s, clean-label isn’t a new concept. After seeing success in sauce, the company is steering toward new categories, expanding its homestyle cooking with a new line of jarred soups and frozen entrees.

Christina Tosi, founder of the whimsical New York City-based bakery Milk Bar, attributes visiting the grocery store as a child as what “ignited her imagination” and encouraged her to pursue a career in food. So she’s going back. The award-winning pastry chef and Master Chef judge will try to inspire the next generation of chefs when she launches a line of brands based on Milk Bar into retail stores next year, helped by an investment from Sonoma Brands and the firm’s CEO and founder Jon Sebastiani.

Kroger simplifies labeling, plant-based brand Lightlife grows distribution and more in this week’s Checkout.

After investing close to $100 million over the past few years, the Reum brothers aren’t going to have to look for partners on an investment-by-investment bases anymore. Their investment firm, M13, has raised $175 million for a second fund, this time with capital committed from a pool of limited partners.

The founders of clean-label seafood company Safe Catch are betting on transparency, both in packaging and ingredient origin. The company has launched a new brand, Safe Harvest, offering a slate of soups made with clean ingredients and packed in reusable glass jars.