Halloween has come and gone scarily fast and we're quickly rolling towards turkey season, but not before we take a look at the Q3 results from some of the industry's biggest players. Plenty on that below.

Speaking of the holidays: shout-out to the CPG brands that made it to Oprah's Favorite Things list (I've got my wife's baked brie board on preorder).

And, big news: the NOSH Live Winter 2023 Pitch Slam finalists have been announced. Previous winners include Sunnie and Small Axe Peppers. View the roll call here.

Alright! On with Sunday newsletter.

FIRST UP! Q3 killah: Mondelez rings the bells with double stuffed growth and profits.

Chocolate king Mondelez International has posted Q3 net revenue of over $9BN, bumping its FY forecast up to 14-15% YOY growth, writes Sweets and Snacks Editor Brad Avery.

The company has seen strong growth across every channel including biscuits and baked snacks (up 12.5%) which accounts for 50% of total revenue. Chocolate was up 14.9%, reflecting about 30% of the business.

Interestingly Mondelez has continued with high price increases (+15.7% in Q3) - something other conglomerates have backed off from. This is likely offset by particular growth in the club and ecommerce channels where larger pack sizes play a part, said CEO Dirk 'Triscuit' Van de Put.

Open the full packet over on NOSH.com.

🥡 Key Takeaway: Further big news is the repositioning of Toblerone as a premium product with a new 'Never Square' marketing campaign. And, of course, the company's snack bar portfolio was firing on all cylinders - the Clif Kids Zbar line grew dollar sales 19% YOY alone as the division is looking to hit $1.2BN sales this year.

AND: Let's not forget about Keaft Heinz which - shock - improved its margins thanks in part to a 7.1 percentage points price hike.

As Shauna 'Ketchup' Golden Points out, the report doesn't mention Kraft Heinz's JV with Chilean food tech company NotCo or its recent foray into Philadelphia plant-based spreads.

Read the charts over on NOSH.com.

Further difficult news this week for early not-meat category leader Beyond Meat as it battles with a reported gross profit loss of $7-8M this Q3, writes Pea Protein Isolate Editor Adrianne DeLuca.

According to prez and CEO Ethan Brown a predicted return to growth never materialized, pointing to pesky cost cautious consumers looking for simpler-ingredient foods.

The company is now implementing 5 money saving initiatives including cutting 19% of its global non-production workforce and countering perceived misinformation through its branding and marketing.

This is Beyond's second major round of staff layoffs following a similar reduction in 2022. Meanwhile an ongoing shareholder lawsuit alleges the company misled investors. Ouch.

Read the full report over on NOSH.com.

This week's Community Call sees pricing experts Scott Sanders and Sarton Molnar-Fenton reveal how to account for distributor costs and trade spend in your financial planning to protect your gross margin. The fiscal duo will be joined by Ariana Farahani of Plant Press.

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, natural food brands are invited to participate in 30-minute meetings with reps from data and insights provider SPINS.

The reps will work with brands to fine-tune sales pitches, review and enhance sales decks, and provide data-driven insights.

Learn how to book your private SPINS meeting here.

On this week's NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Brad Avery lose themselves over Eminem's CPG venture Mom's Spaghetti before like, wondering, man, why another cannabis company is switching to the hemp-derived THC market.

Later, Adrianne pops into the microwave with Blue Zones Kitchen CEO Scott Marcus about how his team is turning a 20 year-old diet and lifestyle into a frozen CPG line.

Spin this week's podcast here.

"on an operational level you just can’t keep operating without cash, which was always the case"

This week's deep dive comes from High Times Subscriber Brad Avery who takes a look at the still difficult regulated cannabis market - which suffered another setback this week after TSUMo Snacks announced a pivot to hemp-based products.

TSUMo is part of Rosebud Brands' CPG venture portfolio and despite strong sales in the Californian dispensary market, the brand has hit longstanding issues with the use of THC. Most copackers are unfamiliar or unwilling to work with THC while the market's intricate red tape meant TSUMo was waiting up to 120 days for payment, leaving the company tight on cashflow.

Read the full story over on NOSH.com.

What are your thoughts, Sunday readers? Will the logistical difficulties of selling THC-infused products ever clear up, or is this an industry that might never take off as initially expected? Click here to send in your comments.

Notable new products: THC-infused red velvet chocolate bars, pickle mochi ice cream.

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

Miyoko's is moving to a full co-manufacturing model.

The company's production facility will be closed by the end of the year as it looks to reduce costs and explore scalability, writes Not-Creameries Editor Lukas Southard.

Pretzel maker Stellar Brands looks east as KY facility comes online.

The Nevada-based brand and manufacturer is looking to gain a greater foothold on the east coast, says Adrianne 'Bavarian Pretzel' DeLuca.

Marketing Coordinator - New Trail Brewing Co.

Williamsport, PA

Field Sales Representative - Forged Irish Stout

USA

Sake Brewer - Origami Sake Company

Hot Springs, AR

CPG-centric private equity group Brynwood Partners is raising the game again with an impressive $750M funding round, writes NOSH Funding Executive Jeff Klineman.

The Greenwich CN-based fund is known for taking controlling stakes in mature brands and creating value from ops and manufacturing synergies. Its current holdings include Buitoni Pasta and Hometown Foods (which in turn owns brands such as Pillsbury and Birch Benders).

Get the full windfall over at NOSH.com.

🥡 Key Takeaway: This is Brynwood's 9th raise - the last was in 2018. Fundraising is incredibly challenging right now and is typically narrowly focused on vertically integrated businesses, and CPG brands with a proven model that are looking to scale. Brynwood's approach is unique and cross-sector. Where the money is spent will be closely watched by many.

If last week's chunky Thanksgiving soup wasn't enough to convince you of the folly of man, leave it to DiGiorno to ram it home with its turkey trot pizza especiale.

The limited edition Detriot-style pie comes topped with turkey, diced sweet potatoes, crispy onions, green beans, cranberries and a blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, all on a base of, eh, gravy sauce. Yum!

The brand is no stranger to oddities - a few years ago it offered up DiGiornut, a doughnut stuffed with cheese and topped with sauce (I still have a case in my garage freezer).

AND FINALLY: Staying in the flavor profiles from hell aisle (the holiday season really does bring it out), we can only admire the taste testers at Pringles for their dedication with this limited edition Pringles x The Caviar Co tasting flight.

The terrifying creation pairs 3 cans of Pringles (Sour Cream & Onion, Original, BBQ, TYVM) with 1oz of white sturgeon caviar and 1oz of smoked trout roe. The box, a snip at $140, also comes with 2 plastic gold colored spoons. Shout out to the serving suggestion press image which includes dice, a deck of cards and some kind of old fashioned.

If anyone needs me, I'll be taste testing smoked salmon and peanut butter on dill pickle Lay's. Until next week, your host,

Mark Murphy

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