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🚨NOSH INSIDER WEEKLY: April Fools Special, Ozempic Alternatives, Algae Cooking Oil & More |
This week we're vacuuming up some more Expo West insights while also looking at what you missed out by putting all your eggs into the Anaheim basket. But, more on all that below.
And, speaking of eggs: Eggland's Best is facing a class action over claims its eggs contain 25% less saturated fat than regular eggs. We're walking on eggshells with this one, folks. Alright! On with the Sunday newsletter. FIRST UP! Aloha investment: protein rocketship aims for the moon with SEMCAP backing. |
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🫰 SEMCAP Snaps up $68M Aloha Stake |
Growth equity guru SEMCAP Food & Nutrition has paid a crisp $68M for a ‘significant’ minority stake in plant-based protein slinger Aloha writes Monica Watrous from the sun-kissed beaches of Honolulu. | |
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B-Corp certified Aloha is largely employee-owned, supports Hawaiian communities and uses ethically sourced ingredients. Its line of plant-based protein bars is supplemented by powders and drinks with most of its sales coming form the D2C channel.
And, it’s working: the brand enjoyed 500% growth from 2020-23 and has achieved profitability and positive cash flow, no mean feats these days.
SEMCAP meanwhile was founded in 2020 and invests in sustainable high-growth businesses with $25M+ revenue (e.g. Purely Elizabeth and Good Culture). As partner Ryan ‘General Mills’ Newcom puts it, the fund is looking for a bingo board of buzzwords: "organic, natural, non-GMO, functional ingredients, clean ingredient deck, minimally processed." Read the full hello over on Nosh.com. 🥡 Key Takeaway: Aloha has achieved a number of milestones. Firstly, it’s hit profitability where many startups in recent years have struggled. Secondly, it's stuck to its D2C guns and grown substantially. Expect to see the biz further expand in natural and conventional retail as it continues on its double digit growth rocket ship.
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📺 Expo West: ZenB's Brand Building, Evergreen Rebrands |
| ZenB has been busy making yellow peas the star of the show. Owned by Japan's Mizkan Group (Ragu, Bertolli), the brand makes pastas, sides and snacks - but how does it decide on its next product? Adrianne DeLuca spoke with ZenB CMO Hugo Perez on how the company's innovation pipeline funtions.
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| AND: better-for-you breakfast biz Evergreen has reformulated and rebranded its fruit-and-veg-filled waffles as it looks to put 'fun' in 'functional'.
Evergreen Nosh reporter Lukas Southard spoke with founder/CEO Emily Cole Groden about why the brand relaunched and how its new SKUs are bringing it into conventional retail.
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🔊 CPG Week Podcast: April Fools, Ozempic Alternatives |
| On this week's CPG Podcast the Nosh trio of managing editor Monica Watrous and reporters Brad Avery and Lukas Southard play the Prank Product Pop Quiz in preparation for April Fools (hey, that's tomorrow!).
Later, they discuss allulose as a potential alternative for weight loss drug Ozempic (which you may have heard of).
Spin this week's podcast here. | |
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📣 Community Call: Find Your Angel Investor |
| This week's Community Call sees angel investors Nicole Bruno and Gefen Skolnick, alongside EriTea founder Ruth Berhane-Williams, give tips and insights into angel investments and their growing importance as early stage equity remains thin on the ground.
Listen up: Community Call open meetings are free to take part in and are as easy as hopping on a 30min Zoom call - except way more exciting, obviously.
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🍓 Juicy Quote |
"Expo is a major money and time suck that does not connect us with our customers"
This week's insights report comes from Expo Expert Adrianne DeLuca who talked to founders that skipped over Expo West in favor of more targeted excursions. Me? I stayed behind to clean out the Nosh fridge. | |
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| In a fiscally tight environment spending at minimum $20K just on a booth can be unwise, nevermind the 'mental gymnastics' required in managing the excursion notes True Made Foods founder/CEO Abe Kamarck.
For others such as Myles Comfort Foods founder/CEO Myles Powell it was a strategic choice: he demo'd at Whole Foods instead (the brand has just been accepted into the retailer's On The Verge Cohort accelerator program).
What are your thoughts, Sunday readers? Are huge trade shows justifiable when money is tight - and when is it ok to choose a different path? Click here to send in your comments. | |
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🥑 Quick Bites |
Before and afters of some of the more striking product rebrands seen at this year's event.
The latest Elevator Talk sees special co-host Manitoba Harvest founder Mike Fata join Taste Radio editor/producer Ray Latif.
The thick cut shredded cheese line includes Cheddar Blend, Mozzarella Blend, and G̶r̶u̶y̶è̶r̶e̶-̶B̶a̶l̶s̶a̶m̶i̶c Mexican Blend. |
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📰 Jobs Market |
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Ocean Township, NJ |
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🍳 Oil Be Darned: Meet Algae Cooking Oil |
| There's no shortage of cooking oils on the market but the recently launched Algae Cooking Club is adding a new player to the mix with its microalgae-based neutral oil, writes Deep Fryer Editor Adrianne DeLuca.
Microalgae is a single-cell plant species that can be produced en-masse in fermentation tanks like beer: feed it sugar and three days later squeeze the oil out like an olive, says founder/CEO Kasra Saidi.
With many oils under unprecedented scrutiny, it's a remarkably clean process that has met the approval of chef Daniel Humm at Eleven Madson Park.
🥡 Key Takeaway: While algae oil is currently at a premium on par with a good olive oil, its quick production means it can scale and with scale comes lower pricing. It's just starting out but ACC could easily be a rising star consumer brand over the coming years.
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👀 ICYMI: April Fools Special 👀 |
| Over in the 'I Can Believe This' aisle, Last Crumb is angling to take the last crumbs of my savings with its $12k cookie collection.
Conveniently (and per the head baker's 'clear instructions'), the high rolling dough co is refusing to tell us what exactly inside the box. Caviar? Gold leaf? A5 wagyu? Who knows?
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| AND FINALLY: actually, this one might not be a joke: BJ's Restaurants is offering for one day only a Pizickle Pizookie - that is, a giant cookie topped with ice cream topped with what looks like a jar of dill pickle slices (yes, really).
Personally, my money's on the Cinnamon Roll Pizickle Pizookie to somehow become a fan favorite. | |
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