• 🌱 The Humble Seed Acquired
• 🆕 ICYMI: Notable New Products
• 🐟 The Long Road For Fish Jerky 
• 📣 Multistate Deli Meat Listeria Outbreak

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Don’t call it a comeback just yet. 

In 2022, writer Kyla Scanlon put forward the idea that America was experiencing a “Vibecession” – the sense that consumers’ feelings about the economy were contrary to its actual strength. Although the GDP remained strong, rapid inflation hit wallets hard, especially at the grocery store, and financial media was loudly predicting an imminent recession that never came to pass.

Two years later, even as economists have hailed a “soft landing,” the disconnect between market and mindset for consumers is ongoing. According to The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital’s new Consumer Trends 2024 Mid-Year Report, 40% of Americans said rising prices are one of the most important problems facing the country today, more than any other issue including illegal immigration (28%) and reproductive rights (15%).

That could be because although inflation has fallen to just 3% year-over-year, the cumulative effect has lodged a 19% increase in prices from January 2021 through May 2024, slightly outpacing a 17% cumulative increase in wages in the same time.

So what does this mean for food and beverage? Well, according to the report, consumers may be upset about the market’s state of play but they’re still paying. Or as the report frames it, “The new consumer economy is strong in an otherwise fragile world.”

• Through the trailing 12-months ending in Q1 2024, Shopify stores reported a 23% increase in gross merchandise volume and online grocery reported gross transaction volume up 11%. 

The Vibecession is also helping to boost private label sales, as retailers across channels, from Target to CVS, have rolled out revamped store brands that embrace modern flavors and category trends. In response, CPG giant General Mills is now updating its own portfolio to improve flavor and remain competitive with the store brand sector.

Beyond the contradictory economic situation, the report highlights another key trend driving growth: GLP-1 drugs. The weight loss drug continues to dominate the attention economy. The proof? This Spring, Google searches for “Ozempic” overshot searches for “Keto,” suggesting that a proper changing of the diet-trends-guard is underway, while 92% of GLP-1 users say they’re interested in food products created specifically for patients on the drug – a plurality (39%) reported they’re extremely interested.

And as grocery prices still creep upwards (though not as much as before), the price for GLP-1s is plummeting, opening up availability to more consumers. As the report notes, healthcare company Sesame has partnered with Costco to create a $60 per month weight loss program, while Him & Hers now offers “unbranded, compounded” GLP-1 regimens for as low as $199 a month.

Go Deeper: Listen to this CPG Week episode on the Private Label-Palooza & Nestlé’s Bet On GLP-1

The seed-based cracker startup has found a new home. The Humble Seed founder and CEO Sara Meis announced on LinkedIn that the company has been acquired by Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods.

🌻 The cracker company was founded in 2022 and makes a three SKU line of crackers with six seeds, including hemp. 

🛒 The products are sold at a variety of retailers including Sprouts, HEB, Fresh Thyme, The Fresh Market and HyVee; Manitoba said in a release it expects to introduce the brand to additional accounts nationwide. 

🔎 Context Clues: Meis, an experienced CPG marketer who has worked at Good Karma, Lily’s Sweets, Purely Elizabeth and others, launched the company with industry vets Steve Shaffer and Jennifer Mancusco. And for a bit of history, Manitoba Harvest was founded in 1998 by now-CPG investor/advisor Mike Fata.  

Stay tuned for more details on Nosh. 

🏭 In other deal news: Baked goods contract manufacturer Legacy Bakehouse announced today it has acquired the assets of Angelic Bakehouse, a unit of T. Marzetti Company. Angelic shuttered in March and will bring a 42,000 sq. ft. production space to Benford Partners-owned Legacy’s growing operations. 

In case you missed our weekly new products roundup on Friday, here’s a brief overview of what’s inside:

🥞 Birch Benders highlights a trendy tuber with its newest release, Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix. The new mix combines the essence of ube (purple yam) with the texture of mochi due to the use of sweet flour. 

🍽️ Best known for its side dishes, Ben’s Original is now commanding the center of the plate with its new Street Food entrees available in four varieties: Jamaican Jerk Style Red Beans & Rice with Chicken, Gumbo with Chicken Andouille Sausage, Fried Rice with Vegetables and Bean & Rice Burrito Bowl. 

🦸 Cosplay meets condiments in the latest collaboration between Heinz and Marvel, which features limited edition collectibles that let fans accessorize their ketchup and mustard bottles to resemble Deadpool and Wolverine. 

Check out the full new products gallery on Nosh.

Pescavore has spent a decade scaling its tuna jerky business and is now on the cusp of national distribution. The problems with commodity tuna is a difficult problem to tackle while simultaneously trying to introduce a novel category to American consumers, the founders recently told Nosh. 

🎣 The Santa Cruz, Calif.-based brand was founded by husband-and-wife team Matt and Clarice Owens as a high protein, on-the-go snack that supports sustainable tuna fishing practices.

💸 Operations at the company’s production facility has led to some starts and stops, but is now on solid ground after key investments from REI, Lukas Walton’s Builder’s Vision and recording artist Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition Opportunity Fund. 

🛒 The team has spent years finding the right mix of merchandising and sales strategies. Those tactics will soon be key to an upcoming national partnership.

Check out the full story on Nosh.

🥩 Two people are dead and 28 have been hospitalized following a listeria outbreak in deli meat sold across 12 states in the U.S., according to a Friday announcement from the CDC. Of the 18 people able to be interviewed, 16 reported eating meats sliced at the deli including turkey, liverwurst and ham.

• The CDC has yet to mandate a food recall because it remains unclear which specific products have been contaminated. 
• Those who are at higher risk – including pregnant women, individuals aged 65 or older and people with weakened immune systems – are advised not to consume deli meats unless they are reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees fahrenheit. 

🥣 In other potential contamination news: Pouched organic baby food producer Baby Gourmet yesterday issued a product recall for its Organic Banana Raisin Oatmeal (intended for infants 6 months+) from all in-store and online retailers across Canada due to possible Cronobacter spp. contamination. No incidents related to the product have been reported.