• 🎙️ Now Streaming: CPG Week Podcast
• 🚚 Misfits Launches Perishable Fulfillment Services
• ⚾ Why WNWN Wants To Play Ball With Big Cocoa
• 📲 Grocery-to-Personalized Menu App Jow Raises $13M

It’s earnings season folks. That means today on Nosh we are bringing you a rundown on the quarterly and full-year performance of two Big Snack players and, exclusively within this newsletter, an update on the possible meltdown of Unilever’s ice cream business. Let’s dive in: 

🥣 Kellanova saw net sales increase slightly in Q4 to $3.1 billion and recorded a 4% increase in full-year sales to $13.1 billion. “The Kellanova era is off to a good start,” said president and CEO Steve Cahillane on the Thursday morning earnings call. 

• The company expects a 14% operating profit margin in 2024 as it works to optimize production for both its North American frozen foods business and European cereal segment.
• The company is also prioritizing innovation in its snacks category, its largest segment in the U.S., as well as growth in emerging markets.

🍫 The Hershey Company expects ‘historic’ cocoa prices to limit FY 2024 growth. The company posted Q4 sales growth of $2.65 billion, a modest 0.2% y/y increase. 

• Its Salty Snacks segment – which has been instrumental in the diversification of Hershey’s product portfolio – saw sales drop 24.6% due to planned inventory declines. 
• The North America Confectionary division fared better, with sales up 2.1% to $2.2 billion.
• Hershey expects FY 2024 net sales growth of 2% to 3%, primarily driven by net price realization. Both reported and adjusted earnings per share are projected to be flat due to high sugar and cocoa prices and one-time expenses related to ERP. 

🍦 Unilever is launching a new growth action plan to win back market share. Despite full-year positive volume growth and margin improvements, CEO Hein Schumacher said the multinationals’ “competitiveness remains disappointing,” during its FY earnings report today.

• The company launched a $1.6 billion share buyback as it looks to improve its financial position; its full-year operating profit rose 2.6% but still missed analyst expectations. 
• The Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum bar maker saw its ice cream segment volumes drop 6% over the full-year while sales jumped 2.3% and prices rose 8.8%. 
• Unilever’s share price increased 4% following the earnings release.

Dive Deeper into the results from The Hershey Company and Kellanova on Nosh.

Givaudan explores four elements that offer a glimpse of how food and flavors shape multi-sensory experiences within the consumer lifestyle through DELIGHT. We start with Well & Great, as self-care is the ultimate luxury. Learn more

New year, new podcast. Today, BevNET and Nosh launched a new podcast called CPG Week where our editorial team will bring you a weekly quick hit of food and beverage news. 

What did we cover in our first show? The high volume of mergers and acquisitions that may signal a possibly fruitful 2024 for companies looking to transact. The team digs into all the latest: from a new investment vehicle taking over sustainable treat maker Alter Eco to Moosehead Brands betting on Beanfields and Caveman Foods. If nothing else, take a listen to hear the soothing voice of Nosh’s new managing editor Monica Watrous breakdown what a “ham(m) sandwich” actually translates to in at least one Kansas City bar.

Tune in here to this week’s episode and subscribe to get a fresh episode every week. 

Like what you hear? Please don’t hesitate to rate our show and leave a review on your podcast platform of choice.

Online grocer Misfits Market has launched a perishable fulfillment service, Fulfilled By Misfits, that allows brands to leverage the company’s national scale, infrastructure and logistics capabilities. 

📦 Existing options for perishable brands are expensive and inflexible for small and growing businesses. Misfits aims to provide “cost-effective, reliable and robust solutions” for storage, fulfillment and e-commerce.

⏭️ Core services include pallet receipt and storage, pick-and-pack order fulfillment, a comprehensive warehouse management system, and first-party and third-party logistics shipping. 

🍎 Brands currently using the service include Spot & Tango (fresh dog food), Cometeer (frozen coffee capsules) and Little Spoon (fresh baby and children’s food). 

Cocoa-free chocolate company WNWN wants to win the support of multinational food corporations by presenting its alt-chocolate product, made from barley and carob, as a solution for ESG commitments.

🍫 The London-based food tech company recently participated in Mondelēz CoLab Tech Accelerator and has 15 pilot partners utilizing its ingredient everywhere from high-end restaurants in France to pastry shops in the U.S.

🛍️ The company is also gearing up for a retail launch in the U.K., fueled by a $5.6 million Series A last year. 

💭 “This is a brand new category that we're co creating with a couple of others,” said co-founder and CTO Johnny Drain. “But [right now] if you go to someone in a supermarket or on the street and say ‘would you want to try some cocoa-free chocolate’ before they say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ they'll probably say: ‘what the f— is cocoa-free chocolate?’”

Check out the full story on Nosh to hear how WNWN answers that question. 

Paris-based tech platform Jow announced today it has raised $13 million led by global investor Northzone. Jessica Schultz, a partner at Northzone and co-founder of HelloFresh will join Jow’s board. The new capital will be used to expand its personalized menu-creating-grocery-shopping app further into the U.S.; it has been partnered with Kroger since 2022. 

🍳 Consumers using Jow’s platform input basic information like household size, dietary restrictions, and cooking appliances they have access to and the app recommends a slate of recipes, then allowing the user to add necessary ingredients to their cart directly in the app

🧃 Users can also add on household items, beverages, and more. The groceries are then either delivered or packed for in-store pickup by the partner store. 

🗽 Jow currently boasts about 6 million users and works with eight of the leading grocery chains in France. The company recently established a team in New York to support its U.S. growth.