Sales of functional beverages are rebounding and have a bright future despite the pandemic shutting down for most of 2020 in-person impulse purchases and food service sales which previously drove the category’s fast growth, according to market research...
Plant-based foods manufacturer Nabati Foods (part of the Eat Beyond Holdings portfolio) has closed over $7.7m in an oversubscribed funding round with plans to pursue a public listing on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE).
With a new puffs line in several points of distribution, a line of baking mixes in the works, and plans to convert oat milk byproduct into finished product applications later this year, ReGrained is building a case for the mainstream viability for upcycled...
Oishii, a vertical farm growing Japanese omakase strawberries with 2-3x the sweetness of conventional US-grown strawberries, has closed $50m in Series A funding led by SPARX Group to scale its business for mass market consumption.
Known for its strong track record of helping emerging brands, like KIND, Bare Snacks and Spindrift, become household names, private equity firm VMG Partners is on the lookout once again for new investment opportunities after securing $850m for its Growth...
With today’s launch of a line of ready-to-eat frozen Smoothie Bowls, KIND Healthy Snacks promises to shake-up the fast-growing $3.7b frozen breakfast category while also diversifying its portfolio beyond the on-the-go bars with which it made its name...
Even as consumers seek ingredients that promise to boost their immunity, reduce their stress and support their well-being, sales of functional foods and beverages were held back in 2020 compared to organic due to shifting shopping preferences away from...
Danone's Board of Directors has confirmed a proposal from current chairman and CEO, Emmanuel Faber, to separate the functions of chairman and CEO in the near future, and has begun looking for a new CEO.
As the ongoing pandemic accelerates consumer interest in the role of nutrition in wellness and underscores the supply chain’s fragility, the investors at Manna Tree Partners are looking for at least three growth stage companies that are revolutionizing...
A sharp increase in the Consumer Brands Association’s membership in 2020 underscores how the trade group’s “pro-consumer, pro-growth agenda” is helping it regain the trust and support of the CPG industry, including some companies that left the organization...
Using funding from its recent $87m Series D capital raise, indoor agriculture company Gotham Greens has expanded operations to Northern California – its first West Coast greenhouse location – opening a 10-acre facility, which will bring its total annual...
In Australia, the practice of introducing peanuts into an infant’s diet early on (before 12 months of age) has increased more than 3x in 2019 compared to 2007-2011 data, according to research led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI)...
2020 was a breakout year for 'agrifoodtech' companies as the sector attracted over $26.1bn worldwide in investment, a 34.5% increase from 2019, according to global venture capital firm AgFunder's 2021 investment report.
After languishing for years, frozen food is emerging as a powerful growth driver for retailers and CPG brands in part because its long shelf life and convenience fit well with pandemic living, but also because companies like ConAgra have proactively reimagined...
On a crusade to make buckwheat "cool" -- which has taken strong digital marketing efforts to educate the consumer in a demo-less landscape -- founder of sprouted buckwheat brand Lil Bucks, Emily Griffith, has made the leap from shared kitchens...
Pacific Northwest hydroponic vertical farming startup Forward Greens is deploying what CEO and founder Ken Kaneko believes is an easy to replicate, scalable, and financially sustainable business model for the booming indoor vertical farming industry....
Less than a year after taking the helm at Clif Bar & Co., new CEO Sally Grimes is spearheading the company’s first transformation in 30 years with an ambitious goal to double its business to $2 billion and double its positive impact on the world....
Food allergy advocacy group, FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), has launched an action plan to broaden treatment, care, and education about food allergies, addressing systemic inequities when it comes to accessing these resources.
Upcycled foods and beverages made from ingredients traditionally not consumed by people are gaining popularity with consumers seeking more sustainable diets – creating a fast-growing market opportunity estimated to be worth more than $46 billion, which...
Walmart generated a record $152.1bn in sales, an increase of $10.4bn or +7.3%, in Q4 (13 weeks ended Jan. 29, 2021). Looking towards FY22, the retailer said it will be investing heavily in its “next generation business model” to fuel further growth.
Founders of Harmless Harvest, Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, are aiming to take the success and consumer demand they built for sustainable and ethically-produced coconut water, and apply it to the salty snacks category with a brand of upcycled, crispy...
The co-founders of the fast-growing banana-based Hakuna Banana and oat-milk based Totes Oats nice-cream brands are bringing their better-for-you pints and bars under the new umbrella brand Must Love to better communicate the company’s core values, leverage...
Rule Breaker Snacks, an allergy-friendly snack brand featuring chickpeas as its star ingredient, has secured a minority investment from Bimbo Ventures, the venture capital arm of global baking company Grupo Bimbo.
While the nut butter category has evolved dramatically in recent years - with JIF and Skippy now competing with everything from almond and cashew butters to sunflower seed, mushroom, and chickpea butters - the jams and jellies category doesn’t look wildly...
Kraft Heinz has ended 2020 on a high note reporting a 6.2% increase in organic net sales and a 27% lift in household penetration in Q4, driven by significant gains in Ketchup, Lunchables, and Ore-Ida.
Hain Celestial is in the market for acquisitions to “bulk up in the categories that we prioritize,” even as it continues to shed underperforming brands and those with less mainstream consumer appeal, CEO Mark Schiller told analysts this week.
Mondelēz SnackFutures – the company's innovation and venture hub – has launched CoLab, a "startup engagement" program, targeting snack brands in the wellness space as the global snacking giant digs deeper into the startup community.
Investors appear skeptical of Unilever’s ambitious five-prong plan to drive sales growth of 3-5% in the coming years after it saw only a 1.9% increase in sales in 2020 and a 5.8% decline in underlying profits in a year when many CPG companies saw significantly...
Cerebelly has received The Clean Label Project Purity Award -- which independently test products for over 400 contaminants including heavy metals, chemicals, plastics, pesticides, and other toxins -- for its full line of shelf-stable pureed baby food...
Even though the coronavirus vaccine is slowly, albeit a bit unsteadily, rolling out, a recently published survey of dietitians predicts Americans in 2021 will continue to seek protection from COVID-19 and its rapidly spreading variants from food and beverages...
Stressed by COVID-19 and its financial and emotional ripple effects, consumers have turned to functional food as a stress-reducing and health-boosting tool to get through the pandemic, recent consumer insights from market research firm Brightfield Group...
Despite spirulina's “superfood” status, its popularity has been dampened by its dark green color, reputation for tasting like the sea and sometimes overwhelming bioavailability, but the co-founders of SNACK Brand Inc. hope to introduce to modern...
New York City-based vertical farming company, Bowery Farming, has appointed former Google Internet of Things (IoT) VP and general manager, Injong Rhee, as its new chief technology officer (CTO) responsible for accelerating the integration of proprietary...
Moku, an emerging mushroom jerky brand, is laying down the foundation to build a highly-scalable, clean label meat alternative platform under a strategic partnership with Siddhi Capital, say co-founders Matt Feldman and Melissa Facchina.
A new business model developed by Milwaukee-based startup Agricycle that combines a vertically-integrated supply chain with a portfolio of upcycled brands is proving that with a little imagination and basic resources small growers can have an outsized...
Post Holdings – which has just taken a minority stake in plant-based meat startup Hungry Planet - has led a $12.5m Series B round at legume-fueled snack brand PeaTos, which offers a higher protein, higher fiber slant on mainstream extruded snack brands...
Nutritional Growth Solutions, Ltd. (NGS), parent company of Healthy Height kids protein shake mixes, has acquired nutritional shake brand KidzShake and has announced plans to enter the US medical market.
In a challenging environment for all of the food industry, Mondelēz International posted net revenue growth of 5.6% and increased gross profit by $113m for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2020.
SimplyProtein – a snacking brand acquired from The Simply Good Foods Company by Toronto-based Wellness Natural last September – is generating double digit growth in the US market and has the potential to grow from a $20m to a $100m brand within five years,...
Despite parents' best efforts and new products coming to the market promising critical nutrients from vegetables, the fact remains that the vast majority of children are simply not eating enough vegetables. This reality is the primary motivating...
A limited-supply Palate Training Kits released today from Icelandic skyr brand siggi’s takes an innovative approach to sugar reduction, which has gained prominence among consumers during the pandemic, but which continues to be stymied by taste and convenience...
Millie Gram -- the latest brand innovation to come out of Mondelēz SnackFutures -- combines nut butters with powdered mushroom blends (cordyceps, shiitake, maitake, reishi, and lion's mane) and is currently testing its market appeal with consumers...
As the pandemic expands consumers’ definition of wellness to include not just physical fitness but also emotional welfare, they increasingly are seeking snacks that balance both – opening the door for products that are nostalgic and indulgent as well...
JUST Egg, in partnership with sous vide foods manufacturer and distributor Cuisine Solutions, has expanded its plant-based egg portfolio with the launch of frozen sous vide egg bites rolling out to select grocery stores in March.
After appearing on ABC's Shark Tank last week, Quevos – an emerging brand making egg white-based chips – received an investment from Equilibra Partners Management, the family office of KIND Snacks founder, Daniel Lubetzky, to fuel its next phase...
The School Nutrition Association wants to permanently extend the US Department of Agriculture’s decision late last fall to offer all public-school students free breakfast and lunch through the end of the 2020-21 academic year “as an integral part of the...
