• 📈 John B. Sanfilippo & Sons Q4 Earnings
• 🔔 DDC's Stock Market Standing
• 🚚 Distributor Gains In Ground In Fla.
• 🍌 Applied Nutrition Inks Chiquita Deal
• 💸 Liberation Labs Rasies $50M
• 🥚 Eggs-istential Crisis At The Grocery Store

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Supporters of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are calling for a boycott of Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream brand reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for equality. Here’s the scoop.

After President Trump signed an executive order last week to end corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, Ben & Jerry’s cemented its stance, declaring in a TikTok video, "We use our power, our privilege, our platform and our relationship with our fans to advocate for progressive social change." 

The video, which has racked up more than 14 million views in five days, features a pair of company spokespeople responding to a tweet demanding that Ben & Jerry’s “stick to ice cream” rather than speak out on political issues. 

“We’re never going to stop trying to dismantle white supremacy, end the climate crisis or fight for our democracy,” one spokesperson said, while the other added, “And, no, we’re not going to stop fighting laws that restrict trans rights, ban books and roll back abortion protections.”

On X, user @TexasRepublic71 re-shared the video to his more than 208,000 followers with the caption: “If you’re not boycotting Ben And Jerry’s ice cream, you will be after you watch this video.” 

In the days since, multiple TikTok users have posted videos showing locked supermarket freezers stocked with Ben & Jerry’s pints, though reasons for the locks remain unclear.

Ben & Jerry’s has also expanded its ongoing censorship lawsuit against parent company Unilever. The legal feud began last year when the frozen dessert brand accused the conglomerate of silencing its attempts to support Palestinian rights amid the conflict in Gaza. In the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s claimed Unilever blocked a social media post about President Trump two days prior to the inauguration.

In the midst of it all, a fake flavor dubbed Eat the Rich (conceived by a TikTok user) quickly gained traction on the platform, swirling speculation that the brand behind such progressively charged ice cream varieties as Pecan Resist and Empower Mint had planned to launch a real version. 

By Thursday, some 21 million posts on TikTok were pinned to “Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Eat The Rich,” with users mocking up possible combinations such as “toasted middle class marshmallow swirl,” “truffle oil” and “billionaire tears.”

Go Deeper: Ben & Jerry’s Sues Unilever

John B. Sanfilippo & Sons posted the company’s largest quarterly sales volume and highest quarterly net sales growth in its history during a Q2 2025 report on Tuesday, fueled by sales volume increases across all three distribution channels (consumer, commercial ingredients and contract manufacturing). 

• The company, which owns Fisher, Orchard Valley Harvest and Squirrel Nuts, saw sales volume jump 7.1% across all channels, in the quarter ending Dec. 26, including a single-digit increase driven by new distribution across private brand pecans, walnuts and trail mixes.
• Its contract manufacturing business saw sales volume grow by 55.6%, fueled by increased granola volume at its Lakeville facility. 
• However, gross profit decreased due to lower selling prices caused by “competitive pricing pressures” and “strategic pricing decisions.” The decline was also a result of higher commodity costs for most tree nuts and higher on-hand quantities of almonds and cashews. 

Asian consumer food platform DayDay Cook (DDC) is back in good standing with the New York Stock Exchange, announcing today it is now current on its SEC financial filing requirements.

• The multi-brand platform has faced a possible delisting since April 2024 due to non-compliance and late filings
• In June, DDC brought on finance executive Jeff Ervin as co-CFO and by September added Tony Tao as co-CFO and principal accounting officer to manage its future financial strategy. 

Ben E. Keith Foods has broken ground on a new 707,000 sq. ft. facility that will span 148 acres in Alachua, Fla. The company claims it will be one of Florida’s “largest and technologically advanced distribution centers.”

• The new DC is projected to create approximately 400 new jobs in the next five years. Construction is expected to be complete in 2026.  
• Ben E. Keith Foods acquired Florida Food Service in 2022; this new development marks a continuation of their commitment to serve the region post-acquisition, a release stated. 
• The Texas-based foodservice distributor services 20 states but has focused growth on the Southeast including Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. 

Chiquita Brands has licensed its name and signature flavors to Applied Nutrition PLC for a new line of sports nutrition products, according to an announcement Wednesday. To quote the great Gwen Stefani, “this sh*t is bananas!” 

💪 The new AN Performance line includes Banana-Chocolate Whey Protein, Banana-Peanut Butter Whey Protein, Pineapple-Strawberry Non-Stimulant Workout Powder, Pineapple-Strawberry Pre-Workout Powder and Pineapple-Strawberry Hydration Powder. 

🛍️ The products are exclusively available at The Vitamin Shoppe locations nationwide and at vitaminshoppe.com. 

🗣️ What they said: “Chiquita is a household name synonymous with quality and nutrition… Through our licensed collaboration, we’ve been able to combine Chiquita’s legacy in fresh produce with our expertise in sports nutrition.” - Aaron Heidebreicht, CEO of AN Supps, a division of Applied Nutrition PLC

Liberation Labs has closed a $50.5 million convertible note in order to continue scaling its large precision fermentation manufacturing operation. 

💰 The new capital includes $31.5 million in new funding combined with $19 million of insider bridge notes raised during 2024. Liberation Labs has raised a total of $125.5 million in deployable capital.

🏭 The new biomanufacturing plant in Richmond, Ind., (expected to open this year) will have 600,000 liters of capacity to co-manufacture fermentation ingredients for food and beverage brands making animal-free alternatives to dairy and protein, among other products.

🪖 The company also received a $1.39 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense to conduct a feasibility study for a potential 4,000,000-liter bioindustrial manufacturing facility adjacent to its flagship facility.

Inflation has been on everyone’s mind in the last few years, and elevated egg prices serve as the quintessential example of why price tags will likely remain higher than desired in the near future. 

💬 The CPG Week podcast team discusses why external factors like bird flu are not the only reason why eggs are so expensive while explaining what we can anticipate in grocery inflation for 2025. 

🎧 Tune in to hear about Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous’ “bougie” eggs, why senior reporter Brad Avery might be stocking up on coffee, and how senior reporter Lukas Southard came across an interest in Warhead candy-flavored pickles.

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