• 🛒FreshDirect’s New Emerging Brands Program
• 🐟What A Catch: Where Food Comes From Acquires Sustainable Seafood Program
• 🔀Report: Reducing Dietary Carbon Footprint With Food Swaps
• ⛔🍎FDA: WanaBana Recalled For Lead Levels

Protein plays a vital role in baking, conditioning dough, providing structure, and enhancing texture. But formulators face complex challenges when subbing animal proteins or gluten with plant-based alternatives. Read what makes hemp protein the ultimate ingredient for gluten-free, vegan baked goods. Learn more

The candy industry’s Super Bowl is upon us (and we assume dentists’ too) with less than 48 hrs before children will begin banging down your door if a bowl of treats isn't at the ready. But with continued chatter around inflation, and its impact on food spending, how has the industry fared, and what trends have crossed over into the spooky space? 

Well, spoiler, people love Halloween.

• According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending is projected to reach $12.2 billion this year, up from $10.6 billion in 2022 and even higher when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 ($8.8 billion).  
• And a lot of that cash is going to the confectionery industry (as opposed to 12 foot skeletons), with 68% of respondents saying they plan to hand out candy this year. 

So what’s everyone buying?

• Chocolate is still the king of Halloween candy, coming in first as the “top Halloween treat,” according to the National Confectioners Association. 
• Despite seeing increased industry interest in the form factor, gummies ranked second and candy corn scored third place. No word yet on which type of treat is king among the reported 60% of parents planning to raid their kids' Halloween stash. 
• Trick or Treats can be extra scary for the 1 in 13 children who have food allergies, FARE reports; the organization has encouraged folks to hand out treats of the non-edible variety. 
• Sesame is the newest scare parents should be on the lookout for, FARE said. Some candy produced in 2022, before a new law made sesame the ninth allergen, do not declare sesame as an allergen. 

For food makers though, Halloween 2023 is more important in regards to their plans for 2024, and even 2025. Planning LTO flavors takes time, with retailers placing purchase orders over six months in advance. If you’re going the pumpkin spice route, plan for even earlier than that, with launches coming fast and furious as early as August. 

Curious what the NOSH team is snacking on during this spooky season? Give the latest NOSH Podcast episode a listen. 

Food tech company NotCo has partnered with hot sauce maker Yellowbird to launch its newest product, NotChicken Spicy Patties. Available at select Whole Foods Market locations nationwide in 12 oz. 4-packs, the alt-meat product combines NotCo’s NotChicken Patties with Yellowbird’s Spicy Habanero hot sauce, which is made with a base of habaneros, carrots, garlic and tangerine.

The launch comes a year after the plant-based food and beverage platform announced it had brought in $70 million in new growth capital to build a business-to-business platform “that operates like Coca-Cola.” 

Check out more new product news on NOSH.

Online grocery shopping platform FreshDirect has announced that six New York-based emerging CPG brands have been selected to participate in the inaugural class of its new Rising Industry Producers and Entrepreneurs (RIPE) Program. 

• The four food brands selected for this year’s program include Doughnuttery mini donuts, Matriark Foods upcycled pantry staples, Spoonful overnight oats and TerraNut cold-pressed snacks. 
• The year-long program will give participants the opportunity to learn how to adapt  strategies for ecommerce success, work one-on-one with a FreshDirect category manager and grow their customer base within the New York City and tri-state area. 
• Founded in 1999 by former Fairway Market CEO Joe Fedele and former investment banker Jason Ackerman, FreshDirect partners with local vendors across the farming, fishing and food production sectors. 
• In 2020, the online grocer was acquired by Netherlands-based grocery company Ahold Delhaize and private equity firm Centerbridge Partners. 

“Many customers value local products and knowing the origin stories behind where and how their food is made,” said Loan Heilner, FreshDirect senior associate category manager, in a press release. “We take great pride in introducing such innovative products, enabling shoppers to support up-and-coming brands they have a community connection to.” 

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Where Food Comes From (WFCF), a third-party verification company, has acquired Smart Catch adding the restaurant-focused sustainable seafood program to its list of services. WFCF will expand Smart Catch’s offers from restaurant menu consultation and into foodservice, institutions and chain restaurants, retail, seafood distribution, suppliers and producers.

• The Smart Catch program was pioneered through the James Beard Foundation as a way to provide chefs and restaurants menu consultation on sustainable seafood options. 
• The program used information from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program and Seafood Watch, the NOAA Fisheries Fish Stock Sustainability Index to source environmentally sustainable fish during menu construction. 
• WFCF verifies CPG food and beverage brands for different certifications such as USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project, Upcycled and Paleo among others. 
• The company also offers software that aid in animal traceability, food sustainability and farm management services supporting over 17,500 producers, manufactures, trade groups and restaurants.

A new study was published in online journal Nature Food last week that found small changes – such as substituting high carbon foods for low carbon alternatives – could substantially reduce a person’s food-related carbon footprint. According to the report, 85% of Americans' dietary-related CO2 footprint was contributed by four groups: meals, protein foods, dairy and beverage. Here’s a quick look at key takeaways from the report:

• Swapping beef for chicken or plant-based proteins could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by 50%; if all Americans made the switch, the country’s food-related carbon output could be mitigated by up to 15%, the report notes.
• Passing on juice in favor of fruit would result in an 8% daily reduction for individuals’ dietary carbon footprint.
• Subbing out foods from the four high carbon categories noted above with lower-carbon items could cut an individual’s daily carbon food footprint by 45% and improve “dietary quality” by 8%.

“Bottomline: Making simple substitutions by choosing more sustainable foods - even for a day - can significantly reduce your personal and national greenhouse gas emissions and improve your diet,” said Christina Lee, an author of the report and research associate at Stanford University, in a LinkedIn post.

Elevated levels of lead have been found in pouch fruit puree brand WanaBana’s Apple Cinnamon products – impacting all lot codes and expiration dates, according to a notice from the FDA. 

• The products are sold nationwide at retailers like Sam’s Club, Amazon and Dollar Tree.
• The news comes more than two years after “concerning levels” of lead and arsenic were detected in a range of products intended for babies, toddlers and young children; however, the majority of those products were made with a cereal or rice base. 
• The FDA has been working to impose limits on lead in apple-containing products, like juice and purees, over the past year as part of its Closer To Zero action plan.