How is the CPG industry honoring Hispanic Heritage Month? With a (tech-fueled) “touch of Spanglish” and a side of Queso Fresco.

And with today’s announcement, Miguel Leal, co-founder and CEO of Somos, has embedded more into his company than just an authentic take on heritage foods. The Mexican-inspired food CPG brand introduced Abuela AI, a new consumer-facing platform that combines Augmented Reality (AR), deep learning, generative AI and voice cloning to bring a digital avatar of Leal’s mother, Veronica, to life. 

• Abuela Veronica can guide consumers through grocery shopping, cooking a meal, “late night ponderings” and even give lessons in Mexican history – truly making her an Abuela for all. 
• Consumers can access Abuela AI online, in the grocery aisle through a QR code on any SOMOS’ packaging or through an adapted, text-only version via WhatsApp.
• Abeula AI was developed in collaboration with Vantage Innovation Lab. Over the course of three months Veronica herself “trained” the tech platform to host her own life lessons, stories and insights.

Abuela Veronica converses just like the real Veronica, with “a ton of passion, a dose of humor, cultural competence, and a touch of Spanglish,” Somos claims. "At the end of the day but especially in today's day and age, we all need an Abuela in our back pocket," Leal concluded. 

Elsewhere in the industry: Kroger introduced a new Hispanic-inspired private label line dubbed “Mercado” with over 50 new products spanning Queso Fresco, Pre-cooked White Corn Meal and Agua Fresca in Tropical Mango and Watermelon Guava flavors. The grocery retailer also overhauled and re-opened a new store in Houston designed around a “​​multicultural shopping experience” with authentic Hispanic foods, bilingual signage and refreshed departments such as the Panderia and Fruteria. 

Go Deeper: Hear how Masienda Is Approaching The Mexican-American CPG Food Scene.

Organic frozen meal maker Amy’s Kitchen has introduced a new offering to feed the whole family. The California-based company announced today it will roll out six Family Size formats of its top-selling SKUs to retailers this month. The multi-serve products can feed between three to four individuals and include:

• Cheese Enchiladas, Poblano Enchiladas, Pad Thai, Vegetable Lasagna, Pesto Tortellini and Broccoli & Cheddar Bake. 
• The large-format products will also feature refreshed packaging that aims to capture the size of the meal with food photography.

Earlier this month, Amy’s introduced a new multi-pack format for its top-selling burrito products. Considering the frozen food company has faced numerous production challenges over the past year, these recent moves may signal a strategy shift to focus growth on top performers rather than looking to new innovation to drive revenue. 

Go Deeper: Amy’s Kitchen Adds Execs to Stabilize Supply Chain Ops, Brand Transparency

Global food giant The Kellogg Company completed its planned corporate split yesterday, resulting in a $1.3 billion valuation drop between the newly divided entities over the course of a single day’s trading, as reported by Axios. 

• Within an hour of their debut on The New York Stock Exchange on Monday, both Kellanova and W.K. Kellogg saw their share prices fall roughly 6.2% and 8.2%, respectively. 
• As of market close on Friday, Kellogg was worth $20.4 billion but by the time trading closed yesterday, the food giant had become two separate companies worth $19.1 billion combined. 
• As of this morning, Kellanova is trading at $52.53 per share while W.K. Kellogg is at $12.84 per share.

MrBeast’s snack brand Feastables has partnered with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets to debut a refreshed brand identity. The revamped package subs out the brand’s former wordmark emblem for a new logo featuring a beast with a lightning bolt eye patch.

• As part of the partnership, the new Feastables logo will be featured on all Hornets team jerseys, court signage throughout Spectrum Center broadcasts, media banners used by the team and co-marketing opportunities between the two brands.
• Feastables’ updated brand design will roll out to store shelves nationwide and across other countries throughout the end of this year. 

Earlier this year, MrBeast said in a now-deleted Twitter post that he was moving on from his ghost kitchen and QSR concept MrBeast Burger to focus on the CPG space. “I enjoy Feastables 100x more,” he said in a separate post. “Making snacks is awesome and something I’m way more passionate about.”

SoCal grocery chain Gelson’s is launching c-store concept ReCharge in partnership with electric vehicle (EV) charging provider Rove. The initial 2024 rollout will include six locations in the Southern California area, with 20 charging centers planned by 2026.

• ReCharge by Gelson's will offer food and beverage services including poke bowls, sushi, hot and cold sandwiches, salads, charcuterie and cheese plates along with convenience channel staples like snack foods, bread, and non-grocery items.
• The new c-store concept is Gelson’s first move into the convenience channel. Currently, Gelson’s operates 27 grocery locations.