A Series B for Simulate & Vegan Raw Tuna: CPG News, Weeks of Jun 7 & 14
Contents
Unioncrate's curated biweekly round-up of CPG & supply chain news. This week's news features a big-time acquisition for Hormel, a new mycoprotein fermentation plant for The Better Meat Co., and "raw tuna" ready to launch from Finless Foods.
investments-acquisitions
Investments & Acquisitions
Hormel has purchased Planters from Kraft Heinz for $3.35B. Food Dive
Simulate’s $50M Series B was led by Reddit co-founder and investor Alexis Ohanian. Forbes
All Market Inc., Vita Coco’s parent company, is planning to IPO at a valuation of $2B+. Food Dive
PepsiCo is investing $200M in expanding its Texas manufacturing facility to add manufacturing lines for its snack lines. Food Dive
Plant-based food tech company Motif FoodWorks has raised $226M in its Series B. Food Dive
RIND has raised $6M in its most recent funding round and aims to target the salty snack aisle. NOSH
Danone has sold plant-based protein company Vega to WM Partners for an undisclosed amount. NOSH
In other Danone news, the company is targeting younger consumers with a new “blended” line. Food Navigator
The USDA is investing $4B to strengthen the American agricultural supply chain via the Build Back Better Initiative. Food Dive
JBS USA is investing $130M to bolster its beef capacity and production as demand for red meat rises. Food Dive
Online marketplace Faire closed a funding round of $260M. BevNet
Kraft Heinz has acquired condiment producer Assan Foods, a deal valued at $100M. Consumer Goods Technology
The Better Meat Co. unveiled a 13,000-foot mycoprotein fermentation plant that’s been in the works for three years. Food Dive
Change Foods, an animal-free dairy company, has closed a $2.1M seed round. Food Navigator
Unilever has acquired skincare brand Paula’s Choice for an undisclosed amount. Consumer Goods Technology
After a merger with SPAC Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp, online retailer Boxed will become a publicly traded company. NOSH
LIVEKINDLY Collective has acquired seaweed burger maker The Dutch Weed Burger. The Spoon
Instacart has pledged to invest $1M in Black-owned CPG brands. Winsight Grocery Business
A former Coca-Cola executive, Celina Li, has been hired as head of Ocean Spray’s international expansion efforts. Food Navigator
Costco is opening five new stores across the US, as well as one in Japan and one in Australia. Business Insider
Whole Foods’ newest location in Tampa, opening July 7, will shelve 800+ local products. Progressive Grocer
products-partnerships
New Products & Partnerships
Chobani is expanding its product portfolio to include no-sugar yogurts. Food Dive
KeHE and Sprouts are partnering in an initiative to diversify their offerings for early-stage CPG brands. The Shelby Report
Hostess has released a line of dessert-inspired wafer snacks. FoodBev
Bob Evans Farms has launched a line of ready-to-eat, egg-based breakfast products. Food Dive
Cell-based seafood startup Finless Foods is launching plant-based “raw” tuna as its first product. Food Navigator
Wave Soda has gained nationwide distribution with Kroger. BevNet
Patrick Ta Beauty has launched a new palette and four new liners. Drug Store News
Gelter, Inc. has introduced a vegan collagen called PrimaColl, allegedly the first of its kind on the market. Food Dive
Barry Callebaut launched a chocolate blend, Evocao, made with cacao-fruit-only WholeFruit. Food Dive
Hong Kong brand Green Monday is expanding its OmniFoods range to include different varieties of plant-based seafood alternatives. Green Queen
Agua Bonita is the winner of BevNet’s annual New Beverage Showdown. BevNet
supply-chain
Supply Chain News
Unilever is participating in the Pulpex consortium alongside Diageo, PepsiCo, and GSK Consumer Healthcare to introduce paper-based detergent containers into their supply chain. Consumer Goods Technology
Frito-Lay has gained a competitive edge during the pandemic era thanks to its private fleet and OTR driver team. Transport Dive
Worker shortages, especially in the meat processing sector, is prompting employers like Tyson to offer better benefits and flexible hours. Food Dive
General Mills is to cut 1,400 jobs worldwide as it expects to incur $160M in restructuring costs. Food Dive
Ayo Foods has launched a line of sauces. Drug Store News
The International Maritime Organization plans to rate freight ships’ “carbon-intensity” but hasn’t yet set a process to do so. The Wall Street Journal
AB InBev has developed a lighter longneck bottle for RTD drink production. Consumer Goods Technology
Supplier chargers are on the rise. The Labor Department said Tuesday that the producer-price index rose 0.8% MOM in May, compared to a 0.6% MOM increase in April. The Wall Street Journal
FedEx Freight is dropping 1,400 customers in an effort to protect its service levels. Freight Waves
UNFI’s quarterly sales have increased 6.7% compared to numbers from 2019 (excluding the pandemic). Supermarket News
good-reads
Good Reads
Godiva is shifting to a new sales strategy with an emphasis on wholesale. Modern Retail
Asutra CEO Stephanie Morimoto is teaming up with Venus Williams to create a new wellness brand. Modern Retail
Albertsons once tried to buy Whole Foods. Read more about how that situation went down here. Boise Dev
After an initial foray into brick-and-mortar shops, Chloe’s pivoted to retail… and they did it well. Taste Radio
You already know data can be leveraged to improve forecast accuracy (maybe on a platform that rhymes with, oh, I don’t know, Unionschmate), but did you know it can be leveraged to improve food safety? Food Dive
At a press conference, Cristiano Ronaldo moves two Coke bottles out of the way to grab a water bottle. Coca-Cola’s shares dropped $5B. USA Today
We all used food to cope in 2020—unsurprisingly, specialty food sales hit a record high of $170.4B. Food Dive
Credit Suisse projects the plant-based food sector to grow 100x by 2050. Financial Review
According to Modern Retail, Asia is a key market for Impossible Foods’ success as they consider an IPO. Modern Retail
We already knew this after weeks of hearing about inflation and high supply chain costs, but according to The Wall Street Journal, food is getting expensive no matter what category it’s in. The Wall Street Journal
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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