Takis on Takis & The Almighty Mylkubator: CPG News, Week of May 24-28
Contents
Unioncrate's curated weekly round-up of CPG & supply chain news. This week's news features acquisitions of Sambazon and Kodiak Cakes, spicy chicken-flavored Pringles, lots of Takis, and a line of vegan chocolate via a well-known soap brand.
investments-acquisitions
Investments & Acquisitions
Açai-based brand Sambazon has received $45M in capital from PE growth fund Nextworld Evergreen LP. Food Business News
Kodiak Cakes, a breakfast brand with a high-protein focus, has been purchased by PE firm L Catterton for an undisclosed sum. Food Dive
Vertical farming company Bowery has raised $300M in funds, bringing its total valuation to $2.3B. Food Dive
The 12 winners of KeHE’s Trend Finder Event are Walker Brothers, MāKā superfood, NuRange Coffee, Kanda Chocolates, Ree Ree Dee’s Dough, Vegobears, Saratoga Garlic, Steve’s Family Foods, Cloud & Joy, Little Green Cyclo, Gwell, and Eat to Live. The brands will be added to the distributor’s assortment of brands. Progressive Grocer
Spanish dairy producer Pascual is launching a global plant-based milk incubator (“Mylkubator”). FoodBev
15 brands will participate in Kroger’s Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator, with five winners receiving shelf space across the retailer’s locations. Supply Chain Dive
Whole Foods is adding 40 new store locations in California, Florida, New York, and New Jersey. Specialty Food Association
Planters is refurbishing its Mr. Peanut mascot ahead of its sale to Hormel. Food Dive
products-partnerships
New Products & Partnerships
Takis has four new products coming our way: Takis Waves, Takis Watz, Takis Pop, and Takis Stix. Food Dive
Soap company Dr. Bronners is launching a line of vegan chocolate bars. VegNews
Icelandic Provisions has launched a line of oat milk-based skyr. FoodBev
Ferrara and Utz have linked up to launch a line of sweet and salty variety snack packs. Food Dive
Kelp butter, anyone? Akua has created the world’s first kelp-based vegan butter. Green Queen
Unilever is teaming up with Enough, a European food tech company that produces mushroom-based protein, for its upcoming lines of plant-based products. Food Dive
Krave is back and better than ever, with a revamped site, 100% grass-fed beef, and a new line of zero-sugar jerky. Food Dive
Greenleaf Foods has introduced vegan chicken into its Lightlife product line. Food Bev
Better Brand, who just raised $1.2M this past February, is launching a low-carb bagel as its first product. Food Dive
Kellogg and Wendy’s have partnered up to create spicy chicken sandwich-flavored Pringles. FoodBev
DEME is a new, sustainably sourced drinking chocolate made with adaptogenic mushrooms. NOSH
Köe Kombucha has two new flavors in its arsenal: watermelon and tropical (citrus, pineapple, guava). FoodBev
CVS plans to roll out 150 new products in its private label line. Supermarket News
New ingredient just dropped (in the US, that is): Danone and food tech company Terviva are partnering up to innovate with ingredients taken from the pongamia tree. Food Dive
Zhou Nutrition has launched five new gummy supplement SKUs at Target. Drug Store News
Bayer plans to reformulate its Roundup formula for US consumers. The Wall Street Journal
One Bar is launching a new strawberry shortcake flavor. Stack3d
SweeTarts has relaunched a chewy version of the candy. Drug Store News
Cargill’s EpiCor postbiotic has been assigned GRAS status by the FDA. Food Dive
Violife has launched a line of vegan snack cheese in the UK. VegNews
Essentia Water has added a multipack option to its product lineup. Drug Store News
Next up for Oatly? Plant-based cheese, probably. Bloomberg
supply-chain
Supply Chain News
The CEO of Stew Leonard’s stated that shoppers are in a frenzy to get back to shopping in-store, and it’s putting pressure on their supply chain. FOX Business
Trader Joe’s excels in omnichannel operations. Find out why, according to the former president of Giant Eagle. Winsight Grocery Business
Warehouse picking is, more often than not, a supply chain nuisance. Meet the four startups changing the picking game with automation. Supply Chain Dive
With unpredictable demand and a tight hiring market, warehouses are turning to robotics and other logistics automation to steady their part of the supply chain. The Wall Street Journal
Instacart announced on Tuesday that they plan to expand past North America. Grocery Dive
Instacart (again) has added a “Priority Delivery” option in certain US and Canadian markets. TechCrunch
Denmark-based cheese producer Arla Foods is expanding its home site and ramping up production in order to meet demand from Japan. FoodBev
Water supplies on farms in the West and Midwest US are dwindling. Food Institute
13 out of 25 of Gartner’s top supply chains of 2021 were CPG brands. Consumer Goods Technology
good-reads
Good Reads
Whole Foods has released its first-ever predictions for plant-based food trends. Progressive Grocer
Oregon-based Tillamook is rapidly expanding past the Rockies and into the East Coast market. Modern Retail
FMI has released the 2021 edition of its annual report covering grocery shopper trends. FMI
This past year was a big one for online snack sales—and they’re slated to double by 2025. Grocery Dive
A new Senate bill has lifted restrictions on hemp and CBD products. Marijuana Moment
According to CGT, “The Future of Business Means Ditching 'Data Driven' and Being Data Empowered.” Consumer Goods Technology
General Mills is shuffling its leadership in an effort to restructure. Food Dive
The 25 winners of Expo West’s virtual NEXTY Awards have been announced. New Hope Network
Ever wondered how Eat Just will spend its funding? Wonder no longer. AgFunder News
About Unioncrate
Unioncrate is an AI-powered Integrated Business Planning (IBP) platform that delivers demand forecasts with unmatched accuracy, collaborative visibility, and actionable intelligence—enabling CPG brands to plan and execute agile supply chain strategies at the click of a button.
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