Our Home’s better-for-you snack platform is still in its renovation phase as late yesterday the company announced Pop Secret as its latest addition.

The 40-year-old popcorn brand joined Our Home’s growing portfolio from Campbell Soup Company for an undisclosed sum.  

 "Acquiring Pop Secret marks Our Home's expansion into the microwave popcorn category, strengthening our status as a premier independent snacking platform," said Aaron Greenwald, founder and CEO of Our Home, in a press release. "The brand's significant MULO consumption and widespread household recognition, combined with our extensive manufacturing capabilities, create a unique platform for growth and innovation in the market." 

According to Campbell’s, Pop Secret generated net sales of $120 million in fiscal 2024. However, Circana data from July shows both of the brand’s primary product types are notching declines. The transaction is expected to dilute Campbell’s FY25 earnings per share by approximately $0.04, according to a release, due to the timing of the transaction and cost actions. 

"This marks another step in our journey to strategically focus our Snacks portfolio. The sale of Pop Secret will drive greater focus and accelerated growth across our Snacks division and portfolio of leading brands,” said Chris Foley, EVP and president of Campbell’s Snacks. 

Our Home said it sees the deal as an opportunity which “significantly enhances” its broader portfolio, highlighting the brand will reinforce its “commitment to providing innovative and better-for-you products,” the release states. 

Considering its recent acquisition streak, that may very well be the case. However, all of the company’s acquisitions in the past two years have contributed to its better-for-you position. Notably, the addition of Pop Secret brings the portfolio closer to the conventional snacking space with products made with palm oil and natural flavors.

Nosh Insiders can access data on the newly acquired brand’s recent sales performance and read how Our Home’s other recent acquisitions stack up.

Why develop catchy branding when you can own the URL of the one-word food names like Caramels.com, Chocolate.com or Pretzels.com? That seems to be the approach of G.O.A.T. Foods, a Florida-based DTC company that launched nearly four years ago and has been quietly building a portfolio of website domains for snacks and sweets that provide good returns simply on search engine traffic.

💰 G.O.A.T. Foods current five ecommerce site slate has received support by a recent $10 million investment from Lago Innovation Fund.

📈 The company operates its own fulfillment center in Delray Beach, Florida where it has leveraged unique technology to keep up with its 250% YoY growth while also adding new brands.

🛒 Along with plans to launch another five websites – Cupcakes.com, Cookies.com, Truffles.com, Cashews.com and Bagels.com – G.O.A.T. Foods is eyeing a move into traditional retail channels.

Nosh Insiders can learn more about G.O.A.T Foods growing ecommerce empire in the full story.

Jesse & Ben’s was almost Ben & Jesse’s. That was until the duo realized the name would likely face pushback from another frozen brand pushing category boundaries: Ben & Jerry’s.

🍟 The Washington, D.C.-based frozen food company launched in June, and now its 3-SKU line of frozen french fries sits on-shelf just a few doors down from its almost-homophone with varieties including Classic Sea Salt, Rosemary Garlic and Tallow & Sea Salt.

🌎 Jesse & Ben’s House Cut french fries aim to challenge category incumbents by leading with a deep connection to the people behind the brand and utilizing better-for-the-planet and -people ingredients.

🗣️ What they said: “We realize the one main thing that we do differently is that we’re actually a company that’s run by people – a small business with founders that care about driving this mission forward every single day. In the potato industry, that’s just not the case anymore.” - Jesse Konig, co-founder and CEO

Nosh Insiders can read the full story to learn how the restaurant-based brand is aiming to take on ‘Big Potato.’

Contract and private label manufacturer Mount Franklin Foods announced today it has acquired stuffed marshmallow and snack producer Stuffed Puffs for an undisclosed sum.

🍬 Texas-based Mount Franklin Foods produces confectionary, candy, mint and nut products as well as jellies, fruit snacks and snack mixes under the Azar Nut, Sunrise Confections and Hospitality Mints brands. The company also manufactures foodservice products. 

🏭 Stuffed Puffs is known for its proprietary marshmallow-filling technology and grew from Factory LLC’s platform; the brand has also benefited from celebrity investors including artist Marshmello and his manager Moe Shalizi, according to a press release. 

🔉 What they said: "With a shared vision for the future of Stuffed Puffs, our strategic alignment with Mount Franklin Foods, together with its scale and resources, will be a major unlock for us to accelerate our growth trajectory and innovation pipeline." - Michael Tierney, founder and CEO of Stuffed Puffs. 

The Better Meat Company has secured a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP) to scale up the production of its mycoprotein ingredient Rhiza.

🔥 The Sacramento, Calif.,-based company was one of seven grant recipients. The remaining businesses encompass “five defense material priority areas” including fuel, fitness, fabrication, and firepower.

🟢 Earlier this year The Better Meat Co received a “No Questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, granting the proprietary protein ingredient Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status. 

🥚 Ethically-raised egg and dairy producer Vital Farms has hired Danone North America veteran Reena Van Hoven as its first ever chief people officer, effective Sept. 16. In the newly created role, Van Hoven will oversee the company’ business partnerships, organization and people development and total rewards. 

🌱 Elizabeth Whitlow has stepped down as executive director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) after six years in the role, according to a LinkedIn announcement. Moving forward, she will serve as an ROA board member and strategic advisor. 

📚 Miyoko Schinner, founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, is starting a new position this week as a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. This semester, Schinner will be co-instructing in the Plant Futures Challenge Lab and “leading students to envision the possibility of a new, compassionate food system for the future.”

Grammy award-winning songstress Dua Lipa is reportedly gearing up to launch her own range of ice cream. The “Levitating” singer recently applied for a license in the U.K. to protect her own name for marketing a collection of frozen desserts, as reported by The Mirror. 

🍨 The application – which is still awaiting approval from the government’s Intellectual Property Office – covers the sale of non-dairy ice cream, ice cream cones, dairy ice cream, ice cream cakes and ice cream drinks, as well as milkshakes and yogurts. 

📰 This wouldn’t be Dua Lipa’s first venture outside of the entertainment world; in 2021, the “One Kiss” singer founded weekly lifestyle newsletter Service95. 

Taylor Foxman, the founder and CEO of beverage advisory firm The Industry Collective, joins us for a conversation framed as a series of statements that she addresses as true or false, including those about the value of great taste, the impact of bad PR, the sober-curious movement, the future of cannabis beverages and Gen Z consumers’ relationship with alcoholic drinks.

Listen to the episode now.