A Vegan Filet & A Berry Good Funding Round: CPG News, Week of Mar 8-12

Investments & Acquisitions

VMG Partners has raised $850M for its new fund, VMG Growth Fund V, directed at early funding stages for portfolio companies. VMG’s total assets managed are now $2.6B. Food Dive

Planted, a Swiss startup with a focus on plant-based meat alternatives, has raised $18.5M. The Spoon‍

Alec’s Ice Cream, an organic ice cream brand based in California, has raised $1.4M in a seed round. Food Business News

Japanese VC Future Food Fund has partnered with ReGrained to commercialize its upcycled ingredients. Food Business News

Conagra is reportedly in talks to sell hotdog brand Hebrew National to beef processor JBS at an estimated $700M price tag. Food Dive

Danone and Ingredion have made new commitments to adopt sustainable water and agriculture practices. Food Dive

Oishii, a vertical strawberry farming startup, has raised $50M in its Series A. Food Dive

NotCo has received a patent for its new AI, which will be directed at finding plant-based recipes for animal product substitutes. Green Queen

New Products & Partnerships

Kellogg’s Pringles has released a new flavor, Moa Burger, inspired by the Halo video game franchise. FoodBev

Kellogg’s has released thin and crispy versions of its Town House and Club crackers. FoodBev

Ka-Pop! Snacks and Bubba’s Fine Foods have merged to create new brand Awakened Foods. Food Business News

Ocean Spray has launched Wave, a line of caffeinated seltzers that will be sold exclusively at Walmart. FoodBev

Ocean Spray has also launched a line of functional dried fruit blends with fiber, probiotic, and immunity adds. FoodBev

KIND will launch a line of better-for-you frozen breakfast smoothie bowls. Food Dive

Target has launched in-store brand Favorite Day, which has a focus on snacks and sweets. Grocery Dive

Unilever will remove messaging surrounding the concept of “normal” from all of its beauty products. The Progressive Grocer

Slovenian startup Juicy Marbles has unveiled… wait for it… a vegan filet mignon. VegNews

Kraft Heinz and Hershey have teamed up to create spoonable, refrigerated dessert versions of classic candies. Food Business News

Kroger plans to bring produce from vertical farming initiative 80 Acres Farms to more of its stores. Supermarket News

$BYND is at it again, jumping on March 9th after it was announced Beyond Meat would expand its offerings in Walmart stores. BNN Bloomberg

Ferrero is launching a line of Easter-themed sweets from a number of its brands, including Kinder, Butterfinger, Nutella, and Tic Tac. Drug Store News

Clara Foods has invented the first plant-based pepsin, a protein used to manufacture everything from cheese to chewing gum. Food Dive

Supply Chain News

Mondelez has pledged to reduce its use of virgin plastic in rigid packaging by 25% by the year 2025. Food Dive

UNFI had record-setting sales of $6.9B in the second fiscal quarter of 2021, powered by DTC and ecommerce. Supermarket News

Cargill plans to invest $475M into the optimization of its American soy processing facilities, including faster unloading and increased capacity. Food Dive

Walmart is converting one of its stores in North Dallas into an online-only location. Dallas News

Oatly has chosen Peterborough, UK, as the site for its new factory, slated to open in 2023. The factory will produce 300 million liters of oat milk annually, and will be 100% powered by renewable energy. Green Queen

Supply Chain Digital has released its list of the top 100 women in supply chain. Supply Chain Digital

Good Reads

Learn about what it takes to sell ice cream DTC in the digital space. Thingtesting

Two new studies by CE Delft found that by 2030, cell-based meat could reach price parity with animal-based meat. Food Dive

According to key stakeholders, “cell-cultured” is the best term to refer to seafood made in bioreactors. Food Navigator

Learn all about the New Rules of Wholesale in Modern Retail’s newest brief. Modern Retail

Walmart brands have had to get creative when it comes to distributing free samples. CNBC

Walmart in Canada has been trialing ghost kitchens for its customers. Supermarket News