Chuck Casano, founder of Pitaya Foods and HiTouch Distribution, spoke about navigating the food industry on two fronts, how a social mission guided his foray into entrepreneurship, the failure that propelled his decision to launch HiTouch, the elements of successful brand relationships and being on the front lines of food distribution during the pandemic.

BevNET and NOSH Virtually Live will feature an intense set of main stage conversations and presentations covering issues that deal with both crisis-oriented leadership for growing brands and the tools and techniques to adapt within changing times — and it will end up with an exclusive interview with world-famous “Citizen Chef” Tom Colicchio. The event is available to subscribers of BevNET and NOSH and takes place on June 23 and 24 starting at 8 a.m., with main stage conversations beginning at 11:00 a.m. EST.

Although some consumers have turned to larger conventional food brands during the COVID-19 pandemic, many still shop with wellness in mind, creating even more opportunity ahead for natural brands. According to a report co-authored by data firms IRI and SPINS, natural product sales are not only higher than last year, but in some cases are even outperforming their conventional counterparts.

This week’s Office Hours explores the interplay between operations, innovation, and finance during highly disruptive times with Melissa Facchina and David McCormick, two of the leaders of Siddhi Capital and Siddhi Ops.

Citing the “continued impact of the COVID-19 crisis on events and travel,” New Hope this afternoon cancelled Natural Products Expo East 2020, which was to be held September 23-26 in Philadelphia. The decision marks the second pandemic-related cancellation for New Hope this year, having pulled the plug on Natural Products Expo West 2020 in March.

We’ve set up Virtually Live so that there are a lot of tough choices to make about the kind of trail you want to follow through the content. So we wanted to offer up some thoughts around ways that you could maybe structure your journey through this two-day, 30-plus session event.

After several decades spent globetrotting in pursuit of tea, the Harney Brothers decided to build their next business a little bit closer to home. The N.Y. facility that’s home to Harney & Sons, the second-generation family tea business in which Paul and Mike Harney have spent a combined 30-plus years, is now also the headquarters for The Hemp Division, a standalone vertically integrated grower and manufacturer.

In the latest distribution news, Know Brainer’s Max Mallows land in Walmart and CVS, Whole Foods adds offerings from Yolélé and Fancypants Baking Co.’s new keto cookies hit shelves at multiple retailers.

Office Hours returns Tuesday, June 16 at 3 p.m. ET. Jeff Klineman, BevNET’s Editor-in-Chief, will bring Melissa Facchina and David McCormick, two of the leaders of Siddhi Capital and Siddhi Ops on the livestream to discuss money and operations and take questions from viewers.

In this week’s Checkout, UFCW urged Congress to protect grocery and food production workers; as demand remains high, Instacart raised $225 million; and FMI studied grocery shopping trends before, during and beyond the pandemic.

Alex French, co-founder & CEO of Bizzy Coffee, spoke about how online research sparked the launch of Bizzy, how the company sourced data from retail partners and customers via its packaging, learnings from the failure of the brand’s coffee shots, why buyer presentations are as important as the product itself and valuable tips about how to stand out on Amazon.

Appetizer brand Savorly won the NOSH Virtually Live Summer 2020 Pitch Slam, with judges seeing promise in the frozen products for parties, snacks, sides and more. The two-part competition, presented by 301 Inc., first began Tuesday with 12 contestants who each presented a two-minute virtual pitch before judges cut the list down to six.

Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) announced yesterday that it had acquired the majority of collagen-focused function food and supplement brand Vital Proteins. Part of the motivation to explore a sale the company said, was to support further expansion into new channels and geographies — particularly Asia and Europe.

A year after raising money from VC firm Sunrise Strategic, Cali’flour foods has changed up its senior staff and acquired its copacker. The moves, Sunrise founder Steve Hughes said, are in response to both the COVID-19 pandemic and to better prepare the brand for expansion.