• 🆕 Giant Pop Tarts & Oreo Cream Cheese
• 📊 Beyond Meat Continues Uphill Climb 
• 🤝 Conagra Acquires FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks
• 💪 Above Food Adds More Ingredient Muscle
• 📰 NYT: Heat Waves, Droughts and Junk Food
• 🚢 Take A Spicy Ferry Ride?

Mission MightyMe is readying for a launch in nearly 200 Target stores nationwide following a recent $2.35 million funding round. The Atlanta-based kid’s food company markets snacks formulated with common allergens including peanuts to prevent future food allergies. 

Mission MightyMe was founded by Catherine and JJ Jaxon, Todd Slotkin and pediatrician Dr. Gideon Lack; the Jaxons are parents to a child with tree nut allergies, and Dr. Lack brings a breadth of research on infant peanut consumption that has influenced feeding guidelines for babies around the world. The brand’s Nutty Puffs contain more than 50% nuts, plus organic ingredients and no added flavors, palm oil or cane sugar.

The Target launch marks the brand’s brick-and-mortar retail debut following four years of direct-to-consumer sales that have more than doubled each year, according to the company. The brand’s quick-dissolve Organic Peanut Butter Nutty Puffs (made only with peanuts and sea salt) and Mixed Nut Butter Nutty Puffs (made with hazelnut, peanut, cashew, walnut and almond protein) will retail for $4.79 per pouch.

“When we first introduced Nutty Puffs more than four years ago, our goal was to develop a healthier snack option that would also be a game changer for families trying to follow the pediatric feeding guidelines,” Catherine Jaxon said in a press release. “We created the exact product we were looking for as parents, and we’re so excited to share it with even more families across the country by launching in Target.”

As of 2021, roughly 20 million Americans have food allergies, including 16 million (6.2%) of U.S. adults and 4 million (5.8%) of U.S. children, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Research led by Dr. Lack, Head of Pediatric Allergy at King’s College, London, shows that including peanut foods in infant diets early and often can reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy by up to 86%.

Several other children’s brands are built on the principle of early allergen introduction. Ready. Set. Food! offers a line of puree pouches that incorporate peanut, egg and milk. Globowl produces jarred baby and toddler food featuring small amounts of soy, egg, fish, peanuts, tree nuts and milk. Lil Mixins’ collection of powders based on peanut, tree nut and egg protein may be mixed into pureed fruits, vegetables, yogurt or cereal.

“The evidence is clear that early introduction of peanut in infancy induces long-term tolerance and protects children from allergy well into adolescence,” Dr. Lack said in a press release. “This simple intervention will make a remarkable difference to future generations and cause peanut allergies to plummet.”

It's Friday, and that means it's time to round up all of this week’s new product creations and brand collaborations. Here’s a sample of what’s in store:

👀 Pop-Tarts unveils what is likely its biggest product launch yet – The Pop-Tarts Party Pastry, which feeds a whopping 73 people. Consumers can purchase the Strawberry Frosted behemoth on the brand’s website for $60. 

🍝 Food tech startup EQUII launches its new line of boxed pasta, available in Mac & Cheese and Rigatoni varieties. The former has 19 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per serving while the latter has 28 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber. 

🥯 PopUp Bagels teams up with Mondelez-owned Oreo to launch a new cream cheese flavor: Cookies and Cream Cheese. The sweet topping will debut exclusively at PopUp Bagels locations from August 14 to August 20. 

Keep an eye out for the new full new products roundup on Nosh later today. 

Despite marking Beyond Meat’s ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue declines, the plant-based meat maker saw some blue sky in its Q2 earnings report this week. The company marked a gross profit of $13.7 million, an improvement over the $2.3 million it garnered in the year-ago period. It also posted its lowest quarterly cost-of-goods sold per pound since Q2 2021. Here’s some more numbers to chew on:

• Gross margins improved to 14.7%, its best showing since Q3 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA loss of $23 million compared to a loss of $40.8 million in the prior-year period.
• Volume of products sold decreased 14% but was offset by a 6.1% increase in net revenue per pound.

🗣️ Beyond’s CEO and president Ethan Brown was optimistic on the call, saying that the results provided “very clear proof point that our operations are making progress toward getting leaner and more efficient.” The sentiment was echoed by CFO and treasurer Lubi Kutua who noted the company was “starting to see the financial benefits from some of the pricing, network consolidation and other cost reduction initiatives.”

Read the full earnings report recap on Nosh.

Conagra Brands announced today that it has acquired Sweetwood Smoke & Co., the maker of FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

⏪ Sweetwood Smoke & Co. launched FATTY Meat Sticks in 2010 and was created by UnderAmour co-founder Ryan Wood. The smoked meat snacks are available in a variety of flavors, including Jalapeño, Honey BBQ, Teriyaki and Cheddar and pack 12 to 20 grams of protein, depending on the variety. 

💭 "The acquisition of FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks is another step in reshaping our portfolio for faster growth. Adding a premium brand such as FATTY to our growing, better-for-you snack portfolio is consistent with our strategic focus on the snacking and frozen categories,” said Sean Connolly, president and CEO of Conagra Brands, in a statement. 

👀 In its FY 2024 earnings report last month, Conagra reported a 2.3% net sales decline as well as a 2.4% drop in organic net sales during the fourth-quarter and similar results – 1.8% net sales decline and 2.1% organic net sales drop to $12 billion – for the full year. 

Canadian regenerative food platform company Above Food announced today it has acquired The Redwood Group, an ingredient supplier that specializes in pulses, for $39 million. 

🇺🇸 The deal will provide Above with its first U.S facilities as it integrates Redwood’s Mission, Kan., and Chester, Mont., teams. 

🌱 Above Food said during a business update in late July that it plans to continue growing its capabilities via M&A and intends for its ingredient and processing arm to support the bulk of its business; the company also owns CPG brands including Good Wheat, Tuno, Loma Linda and more. 

🗣️ What they said: “[This acquisition] operates in full harmony with our ‘Seed-to-Fork’ approach, providing us with top-tier processing and storage assets supported by end-to-end quality assurance, product development and safety protocols, while bringing strong relationships with growers, suppliers, and customers.” - Lionel Kambeitz, founder, president, CEO and executive chairman of Above Food. 

Go Deeper: Above Food Outlines Path Ahead In First Public Co. Update

In regions of the world where water is scarce and fresh food can be, particularly during times of extreme weather, hard to come by – soda and junk food flourishes, according to an opinion piece in The New York Times this week. 

🔥 As part of its What to Eat on a Burning Planet series, Dr. Lindsey Smith Taillie explores how multinational CPGs often target climate disaster stricken zones, promoting junk food and soft drinks “under the guise of ending malnutrition.”

🧃 The piece also explores how these companies market towards children, particularly in regions of the world with high migration rates where they may be responsible for feeding themselves. 

🚑 Noting that many of these companies are often on hand to provide emergency food aid, the piece also explores the dark side of those efforts, including how these companies use that goodwill to mask less valiant efforts, like extracting water from drought-prone zones. 

Unless you happened to be in Denmark last night, you’ve already missed the boat. South Korean food manufacturer Samyang Foods marked the spicy return of its noodle brand Buldak to the Scandinavian country after the Danish feds banned three of its top products earlier this year. 

The ban has since been lifted, and Samyang celebrated by inviting its loyal fans to board the "Buldak Spicy Ferry" for a four-hour-long float around Copenhagen's harbor.

“We are back. Thank you for your support, Denmark. We are hotter than ever. For the Vikings who can handle the spice," the boat apparently proudly declared, according to a press release.