• 🤝 TreeHouse Acquires Harris Tea
• 😎 Operating Crew Aims To Cut DTC Costs
• 🧊 Lakeside Acquires Oregon Frozen Food
• 📝 Investors Pen Letter For Transparency

The EVERY Company has combatted the tough investment terrain and managed to lock in $2 million in new funds from the U.S. Department of Defense, according to an announcement this morning. 

The San Francisco food tech outfit will use the new capital to begin testing the feasibility of U.S.-based manufacturing, a shift from the decade-old company’s Europe- and Asia-based production up until now. The cash has also been deployed to assist EVERY in developing military use-cases for its novel proteins. 

“Investing in biomanufacturing will allow the United States to safeguard reliable domestic supply chains, reduce reliance on foreign imports, and establish itself as a leader in food technology, especially in the face of rising global challenges such as food insecurity, zoonotic disease risk, and climate change,” said EVERY’s CEO, Arturo Elizondo.

Currently, EVERY produces two proteins: OvoBoost, a soluble protein, and OvoPro, an ovalbumin ingredient designed to be an egg or egg white replacement; the latter secured a foundation patent in the past month that covers its use in a broad range of applications. 

Meanwhile, the highly soluble clear, flavorless OvoBoost has been added to various products to-date including items from Unilever-owned Vegetarian Butcher and more as it is distributed by Ingredion. That protein ingredient will be an essential item in EVERY’s military efforts as it works to position it within high-quality, nutrient-dense formats. 

“Our technology allows us to bring novel applications to market using our soluble protein. Imagine a glass of water that looks and tastes like water, but contains 20 grams of protein. That’s what our protein can do,” said Elizondo.

But the cash is also a grant of faith for the food tech sector, which has seen others, particularly CPG-focused entities such as Perfect Day and Eat Just, struggle to find their footing and generate consumer appeals for precision-fermented, animal-free products. According to EVERY, it has managed to consistently produce at industrial scale (more than 100,000 liters) but this deal will help it expand production capacity to meet both mass market and military demands. 

Go Deeper: The EVERY Company Raises $175 Million To Scale Production

Private label manufacturer TreeHouse Foods announced today it has acquired private label tea business Harris Freeman & Co, Inc. for approximately $205 million. The transaction will bring further vertical integration across TreeHouse’s tea business, intended to boost its growth trajectory and margins, per the announcement. 

🏭 The deal includes Harris Tea’s manufacturing facilities in Moorestown, N.J., and Marietta, Ga., along with 300 employees. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. 

⏪ The news comes after TreeHouse posted a Q3 net sales decline of 2.8% last month and pared down its full-year 2024 forecast as it attempts to recapture private label opportunities while battling a “tough operating environment.” 

🗣️ What they said: “The acquisition of Harris Tea strengthens our competitive positioning in the fast-growing tea category and adds unique blending and sourcing capabilities that customers desire, building upon TreeHouse’s category leadership, enhancing our position through additional depth and scale.” – Steve Oakland, president and CEO of TreeHouse Foods

In other private label deal news: One Rock Capital Partners, LLC announced today it has completed the acquisition of private label savory snacks company Europe Snacks. The Parisian producer makes crisps, stacked chips, crackers and other savory snacks for European retailers. 

There’s a new fulfillment platform on the block and its positioning to be a full-service operations resource for DTC brands. Operating Crew intends to help brands scale ecommerce operations by offering packaging, shipping and 3PL warehouse fulfillment services claiming it can help brands save up to 30% in operational costs.

⛓️ Founded by Yan Sim, who cut his teeth in supply chain management leading teams at Warby Parker, PERCH., Atomic venture studio and, most recently, ecommerce Asian grocery Weee!, Operating Crew is partnering with DTC brands across food, beverage, home goods and personal care with revenue between $3 million and $75 million.

☕ The company has already partnered with Kolkata Chai Co. claiming it has saved the brand 10% in shipping costs.

Westward Ho! Wisconsin-based canned and frozen food maker Lakeside Foods has acquired the business assets of century-old Smith Frozen Foods, including a production facility and farming operation in Northern Oregon. The deal will expand Lakeside’s frozen vegetable market share and storage capacity while opening up a new region of operations for the Midwestern company.

🤝 Lakeside will retain a “substantial number of Smith employees” as part of the transition, but as a result of the added capacity, Lakeside will be closing down one of its Manitowoc, Wis., production facilities.

💭 “This decision, which we did not make lightly, best supports our long-term strategic growth plan. We remain committed to Manitowoc as our home and corporate headquarters, with four remaining production, warehouse and office locations,” CEO and president Joe Yanda said.

In a letter led by U.K.-based investment nonprofit ShareAction, stakeholders are urging six major food and beverage corporations – Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Mondelēz, Kellanova and PepsiCo – to increase transparency on the “healthiness” of their products. 

👀 According to the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) 2024 global index, just 34% of sales of the biggest F&B manufacturers worldwide can be considered healthy. Additionally, the report found that the healthiness of the product portfolios hasn’t improved since 2021. 

⭐ The letter requests that the companies adopt one or more internationally recognized nutrition scoring systems – Health Star Rating, Nutri-Score, and NPM – that classify products based on their nutritional content to help consumers identify healthy products and avoid diet-related diseases. 

💭 “The increasing headwinds against unhealthy food sales – from growing consumer preference for healthy products to regulatory, fiscal, and reputational pressure – mean investors have an even greater need for clear and transparent disclosures on the healthiness of product sales. Without this information, we cannot accurately assess related risks and opportunities,” the letter states.