• 🔔 Earning Highlights From Big CPG
• 💰 BTomorrow Announces Fund II
• 🏢 GOOD GOOD Opens Texas Office
• 🌭 Oscar Mayer Hiring Hotdoggers
• ♻️ U.S. Plastics Pact Impact Report
• 💔 Kroger/Albertsons Break Up, Hershey Says ‘No, Thanks’ To Mondelēz Proposal

Kodiak Cakes co-founder Cameron Smith jumped back into the CPG game this month, alongside a handful of his former colleagues, with the launch of protein-enhanced pretzel brand Kindling Snacks.

But as high-protein product iterations proliferate across grocery categories, Smith said he was met with surprise and skepticism when he approached this new innovation.

“There were a couple times that we tried to innovate at Kodiak and we couldn’t get the product right, either from a texture or flavor standpoint, with meaningful protein and nutrition – it just didn’t work and so that was my hunch [about this gap in the market],” said Smith.

However, his hunch didn’t hold up. 

• Kindling now sells a 4-SKU line of whole grain wheat-based knots, fortified with wheat protein isolate and chickpea protein. They contain 9 grams of protein per serving and between 1 to 2 grams of sugar, depending on the variety. 
• Flavors include Sea Salt, Garlic Parmesan, Honey Mustard and Dill Pickle.

The co-founding duo, which includes former Kodiak VP of marketing Brandon Porras (now also Kindling’s CMO) is looking to build a snack platform that appeals equally to kids and their parents. That strategy began first with the brand development, a process that was spearheaded by Porras, Smith noted.

“While I love this for kids, and I love this for school lunches as a snack, this is also a snack for me – a snack for adults,” Smith said. “We wanted adults to see this as ‘this is my brand,’ and I resonate with this. But then the fox and the animals [on the bag] help bring in the kids. [They] see it, they’re like, ‘I want the fox pretzels,’ and that’s how the kids connect to it.”

Nosh Insiders can access the full story for all of Smith’s insight including why he is taking a different approach at Kindling, how the company is capitalizing with an influencer-investors network and more.

👀 Despite a return to growth in Q2 – including a 2% rise in net sales for its grocery and snacks segment – Conagra Brands has slashed its annual profit forecast as president and CEO Sean Connolly expects the business to be impacted by two major headwinds in the second half of the year: inflation and unfavorable exchange rates.

📉 CPG giant General Mills downgraded its FY2025 forecast as it implements price cuts in priority categories to draw consumers back in on value. During yesterday’s earnings call, CEO Jeff Harmening said, “While stepping up our investment is impacting our profit for the back half of the year, I’m confident that it positions us for stronger growth in fiscal 2026 and beyond.” 

🍟 Lamb Weston appointed current COO Michael J. Smith as its new CEO and president amid missed Q2 earnings and a “challenging operating environment,” said outgoing CEO Thomas P. Werner (who vacated his board seat as well). Lamb Weston reported that dollar sales declined 8% in Q2 as foodservice demand waned for frozen potato products.

Stay tuned for additional details on Nosh later today. 

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BTomorrow Ventures has launched its second fund, dedicating £200 million (around $250 million) to global investments in consumer brands, tech and “future sciences.”

• BTomorrow’s initial £150 million fund in 2020 led to investments in functional beverage brand Moment (winner of BevNET’s New Beverage Showdown 19 in 2020), TRU Drinks, and caffeinated chocolate maker AWAKE, among 26 other investments. 
• The firm is focused on early-stage businesses “that support the development of innovative, reduced-risk new category products,” the firm said in the announcement.

Icelandic sugar-free jam and spread maker GOOD GOOD is opening a new office in Austin, Texas, as it works to grow its presence in the U.S. 

🧊 The company said this new chapter – dubbed TEX-ICE – is “about embracing everything Texas has to offer while staying true to our Icelandic roots,” in a LinkedIn post this week.

🏠 GOOD GOOD’s home base will remain in Reykjavik. 

Maybe write your resume in mustard? Recent college graduates can now apply (through Jan. 31) to become Hotdoggers – that is, full-time drivers of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile for one year. 

• Oscar Mayer is offering a "competitive package” of a $35,600 base salary, a weekly allowance of $150 and all hotel expenses covered. 
• Responsibilities include driving and maintaining a 27-foot-long hot dog on wheels, visiting dozens of cities, attending hundreds of events and creating marketing content.
• Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree, a valid driver’s license and no problem disappointing their parents.

🗣️ What they said: “With more than half of Gen Z aspiring to be an ‘influencer,’ our Hotdogger program is a great first step for anyone interested in exploring a career in social media or brand marketing.” – Molle Twing, senior brand manager, Experiential, Oscar Mayer

The U.S. Plastics Pact – a consortium of businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and research institutions – released its 2023-2024 Impact Report with updates on its progress toward creating a circular economy for plastic packaging since its 2022 findings. Here are the highlights:

• Increased the use of post-consumer recycled content (PCR) in plastic packaging from 9.4% to 11%.
• A nominal rise in reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging from 47.7% to 50%.

Though the Plastics Pact still has a long way to go in addressing the environmental impact of plastic packaging the report did highlight a success from Kraft Heinz, which transitioned its Crystal Light packaging from plastic to recyclable paperboard, eliminating 3 million pounds of plastic annually and advanced toward a 20% reduction in virgin plastic use by 2030.

The CPG Week team has returned from Nosh Live and BevNET Live to dive into the latest M&A activity. The podcasters sift through the important questions facing grocery retail and packaged food consolidation after the Kroger/Albertsons merger fell apart, dive into why Mondelēz made an attempt to acquire Hershey again and what the future holds for frozen potato product maker Lamb Weston. The CPG Weekers also shared their takes and highlights from BevNET Live last week.

Click here to listen to this week’s episode.

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