• 🆕 This Week’s New Products
• ⭐ Reviews? We Got ‘Em
• 🤝 Mary’s Gone Crackers Sold
• 🕵🏼 FDA: Natural Dye Approved & More
• 💪 Archer Adds Production Power
• 🍋 Behind The Scenes Of A ‘Perfect’ Brand Refresh

The quarterly reports continue to roll in and our team has had an ear to the conference calls all week, parsing out profits from puffery. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve learned about the state of CPG over the past week (or so):

Outlooks Are (Pretty Much) Down All Around: 2025 financial outlooks will likely fall short of previously posted expectations, said the minds behind top CPGs like Kraft, PepsiCo, Hain, B&G Foods and WK Kellogg. Executives pointed to softened consumer demand, uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment – including both tariffs and regulatory actions like a food dye phase out – and higher supply chain costs as the reason for the rather unfavorable, anticipated outcomes. 

Laird, Post and Hershey are among the few outliers, with all three either upping or maintaining expectations. Laird and Post pointed to the continued strength of their plant-based dairy products (more on that in a moment) while Hershey simply reiterated guidance while putting a heavy asterisk next to the fact it hasn’t worked in the impact of looming tariffs (which, it noted, could cost the candy co anywhere between $15 million and $20 million in the next quarter).    

Snack Sales Soften: Hain, PepsiCo, Kraft and others joined Conagra and General Mills this quarter, where the once-mighty snack segment has proven to be a softer sales driver than before. Hain even highlighted that two-thirds of its overall sales decline this quarter came from softness in snacking.

Hershey once again stood out from the pack, claiming growth in its Salty Snack set (which includes SkinnyPop, Dot’s Pretzels and Pirate’s Booty) helped offset declines in other segments. The company’s recently announced intent to buy up better-for-you snack brand LesserEvil could also give it an added boost at least in the near term. 

Plant-based Problems? Only when the producer works in alt-proteins. The plant-based dairy industry is having a fine time with Laird and SunOpta both posting double-digit gains – the former reported an 18% net sales increase, and the latter, a 12% boost in volume growth. Even Hain pointed to its plant-based dairy business as a bright (read: growing) spot among its otherwise “disappointing” results. 

But over at Beyond Meat, it was a “particularly dark quarter,” per founder and CEO Ethan Brown. The company posted a 9.1% sales decline and 11.2% drop in volume year-over-year. Those results came through just a day after mycelium-based alt-meat maker Meati sold for just $4 million, despite raising $450 million during its eight years in operation.   

Dig deeper into each report rundown on Nosh.

Hot off the (virtual) presses, it's the latest edition of Nosh’s weekly New Products Gallery. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:

🔥 Xochitl is spicing up its product portfolio, partnering with Cholula on a co-branded tortilla chip. The hot sauce-flavored snack was crafted to “bring the bold, spicy flavors of Mexico closer to you,” the chip maker claims. 

☕ Café Bustelo expanded its ground coffee line with Light Roast, Medium Roast, Dark Roast and Dulce de Leche. All four varieties will hit retail shelves nationwide, including Target, Walmart, Meijer and Kroger, starting this summer.

🍪 3 p.m. Snacks released 3pm Afternoon Bites, a postbiotic snack “designed to help overcome the inevitable 3 p.m. slump.” Available in two flavors at launch – Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Cranberry with Flaxseed – the soft-baked oat cookies contain 5 grams of protein per serving.

Check out the full gallery on Nosh.

In this review roundup, we take a bite out of Two Spoons’ no-sugar-added ice cream, Harken Sweets Lil’ Ones and Sour Blobs low-calorie candy.

We are sharing our takes on taste and texture, packaging and positioning and opportunities for improvement.

🆓 Check out this week’s review roundup on Nosh.

Want your product reviewed? Send an email to mwatrous@nosh.com.

Organic gluten-free snack maker Mary’s Gone Crackers has been acquired by Rosseau Incorporated, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Canadian food conglomerate Dare Foods Limited.

🔀 The deal was reached on April 29 when Mary’s prior owner – legacy Japanese food business Kameda Seika Co. – agreed to divest the company in a debt equity swap.

💱 Mary’s will convert a loan it received from Kameda into equity – to the tune of $60.7 million – which will be transferred to capital surplus; no shares will be issued, per the filing.

💰 Kameda acquired Mary’s in 2012 as part of a strategic expansion into the U.S. where it aimed to establish a portfolio of emerging better-for-you brands, but as Mary’s has struggled due to “soaring raw material prices” the brand has reached a turning point. 

Insiders can access the full story for more details.

Hot off our inbox – the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced this morning that Galdieria extract blue, Butterfly pea flower extract and Calcium phosphate are now approved color additives for food use. 

The update follows a late April directive that the agency would phase out the use of synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, adding that it had accelerated the approval process for alternative, naturally-derived colorings. As for other recent regulatory news:

🐷 We eat genetically engineered plants; why can’t we consume gene-edited pigs? 

• The FDA this week approved the use of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) resistant pigs developed by Pig Improvement Company (PIC). 
• PIC uses CRISPR technology to protect pigs from a viral infection that costs the pork industry approximately $560 million annually.

🙄 For those industry stakeholders holding their breath about new FDA front-of-package (FOP) nutrition label directives, you might go blue in the face. 

• The FDA extended the proposed rule comment period this week by another 60 days to July 15. 
• The FOP rule most directly addresses how food makers inform consumers about Daily Value recommendations on saturated fat, sodium and added sugar.

Go Deeper: Can FDA Really Phase Out Food Dyes?

Archer is beefing up its manufacturing with a new production facility. The meat snack maker will open its second manufacturing plant in Vernon, Calif. which will primarily focus on meat sticks and is set to nearly double its capacity.

🏭 The 140,000 sq. ft. meat processing plant will employ about 200 people and is scheduled to be operational by September.

💭 “Our founding principle has always been that supply chain ownership is crucial for maximizing margins and ensuring quality control, as evidenced by our jerky business. This expansion represents our next strategic step to vertically integrate our fastest growing product line,” said founder and CEO Eugene Kang.

🆕 Last week, Archer expanded its meat stick line with three new varieties (Pepperoni Style, Beef Taco and Prime Rib Style Beef Sticks) as it capitalizes on the category’s continued growth.

Catch Up: Everything you should know about Archer’s rebrand.

After a challenging 2024, Lemon Perfect knew it was time for a reset. Founder Yanni Hufnagel led the charge with a reengineered bottle and improved formula, but the brand’s comeback wouldn’t be complete without a revitalized look. Enter Paula Grant and her creative studio Suite9C, tasked with developing a daring visual identity refresh. This is the story of how a brand turned setback into spotlight.

Tune into the episode here. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.