It's just around the corner at this stage - NOSH Live Winter 2023 is taking place Nov 30th - Dec 1st in Marina Del Rey, CA. Early reg may have just ended, but us wonderful Insiders can still grab a sweet discount here.

And, perhaps I'm late to the party, but I certainly believe in l̶i̶f̶e̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e gelato over ice cream - which is why I'm currently halfway across the country, en route to LA to sample some Cherlato.

Alright! On with Sunday newsletter.

FIRST UP! Got any change? Eat the Change does - and then some.

Cosmic Chews corp Eat the Change has picked up an additional $14M in funding for its recently launched (and highly successful) Just Ice Tea line, writes Cosmonaut Carol Ortenberg.

To date the company has now eaten over $34M in change. This latest round, led by returning investors, will hopefully see the biz through to being cash flow positive says to co-founder Seth ‘Honest Tea founder’ Goldman.

Much of the $14M will go to Just Ice Tea which was launched in Summer ’22 after Coca-Cola culled Honest Tea. Unsurprisingly many Honest Tea veterans quickly moved to ETC, including sales directors Melanie Knitzer and Rick Tidrow, while others took part in the latest funding round. The remainder of the cash will be used for hiring.

Crush the full can of tea over on NOSH.com.

🥡 Key Takeaway: Just Ice Tea already has over 5,000 accounts after less than 16 months - about as many as Honest Tea did after 8 years. It’s mostly in the natural channel right now, but Goldman et al are keen to continue expanding. Recently debuted cans at Expo East will further the brand’s growth.

African foods brand Yolélé has split from its longtime supply and distro partner Woodland as it expands as a CPG brand and fonio supplier, writes Brad ‘Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hoo’ Avery.

Fonio is a West African grain that is naturally high in fiber and gluten-free, and is really fun to say. Moving forward, Yolélé will directly control its branded products while also moving into ingredient sales and foodservice by way of a new facility due to open in Senegal.

Fonio is a relative unknown in the US but Yolélé is working towards greater awareness. A not gluten-free collab with Brooklyn Brewery available nationwide at Whole Foods surely doesn't hurt that goal.

Read the full scoop over at NOSH.com.

This week's Community Call sees Steve Wangler of Good Crisp (they are very good c̶r̶i̶s̶p̶s̶ chips) discuss what data points are available to CPG brands, what to pay for, their value, and how to use that knowledge to make better business decisions.

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.

Click - hey! - here to register.

NOSH Live alert: At NOSH Live Winter 2023, taking place on November 30 and December 1 in Marina del Rey, attendees will hear from Charlotte Apps, Global EVP of Bain & Co's Consumer Products practice, who will be revealing what it takes for a brand to disrupt existing food categories - and really stand out from the crowd. Charlotte and her team develop the global consulting company’s annual Insurgent Brands report, so they kinda know about this stuff.

Read up on the most important show of the year here.

On this week's NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman and reporter Lukas Southard dig into this winter's NOSH Live before getting hot and bothered about chili peppers.

Later, Lukas reigns in Wilde Brands founder and CEO Jason Wright to discuss how the company's branding change led it into new segments.

Spin this week's podcast here.

"How can emerging food brands successfully capture the attention of investors and move their companies forward in today’s challenging environment?"

This week's deep dive comes from NOSH Head of Data Analytics Shauna Golden, who sheds a light on a recent Axial survey discussing the challenges dealmakers are facing in the current economic environment.

Amongst the 26 respondents, just 25% had confidence in the grocery market. Oof.

The survey mapped out three key takeaways for the sector - businesses must address operational challenges, investors need to better understand future demand, and we can expect PE firms to be the most active over the next year.

What are your thoughts, Sunday readers? Can we anticipate further tight pursestrings - or has 2023 cut businesses into shape enough that investors can start to feel more confident? Click here to send in your comments.

Notable new products: hibiscus popcorn, Illy Caffé's regen-ag coffee.

A roundup of some of the more interesting product launches this week.

Daily Harvest has appointed its Chief Supply Chain Officer as CEO.

Outgoing CEO Rachel Drori will remain on as chair of the board, writes Frozen Smoothie Fanatic Carol Ortenberg.

AriZona Beverages has launched a new line of frozen ice pops.

Packs of Mucho Mango, Watermelon, and Fruit Punch will be on sale for 9̶9̶c $4.99 each in 2024.

Accounts Payable - Buzzballz

Carrolton, TX

Sales Manager - Orange Blossom Brewing Company

Orlando, FL

Head Brewer - Zilker Brewing Company

Austin, TX

Tia Lupita has nabbed $2.6M from Mexican investors as the better-for-you Mexican food brand looks to increase its household penetration, writes Salsa Verde Expert Shauna Golden.

The brand's line of clean label hot sauces, salsa macha and grain-free tortillas has proved a hit since launching in 2018, and can now be found in over 5,000 stores nationwide. To date the biz has raised over $4.5M including $86k from a WeFunder campaign last year - which is about how much I've spent on their cactus tortilla chips (seriously, they're good).

Get the full chip n' dip over at NOSH.com.

🥡 Key Takeaway: Mexican food is big business - it's expected to grow by over $113BN between 2021-26 (58% of that in North America). Dovetail it with a better-for-you ethos and you can see why there's big interest here. But Tia Lupita is not alone - category leader Siete is flanked by SOMOS and Masienda, while bigger players are dabling in category expansion.

Speaking of ice cream, creamy champion Blue Bell has partnered with James Avery Artisan Jewelry for the sweetest of all collabs - Blue Bell Ice Cream charms.

The stupidly adorable sterling silver carton design is adorned with Blue Bell's cow imagery, topped with a bronze-rimmed lid. H/T Carol 'Cookies n Cream' Ortenberg.

AND FINALLY: Just because it's Halloween doesn't mean we can't shoehorn a cocktail recipe into the mix - hats off to Butterfinger and household favorite Tinx for the wonderous Butterfinger-Tini. Just mix peanut butter whiskey, chocolate syrup, butterscotch syrup, chocolate bitters and cream, and hey presto! Don't forget to blitz up a Butterfinger to rim the glass with(?!).

If you'll excuse me, I'll be stopping at the nearest Popeyes for a Truff Chicken Sandwich while en route to grab my Cherlato order. Until next week, your host,

Mark Murphy

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