This week we're rounding up on some more Q3 (and Q1) reports, including WK Kellogg Co. and Beyond Meat. Plenty of info below.

Props to the Kraft Heinz marketing team for its 'big dill' ketchup campaign. By the looks of it this big pickle trend is far from turning sour (heyyyyy).

And, shout-out to all the nominees for the NOSH Best of 2023 Awards. From ethical ingredient sourcing through to marketing, this list showcases some of the many businesses we can be proud of as a sector.

Alright! On with Sunday newsletter.

FIRST UP! IP-OH: Instacart (a.k.a MapleBear Inc) has released its first post-float financials - but is the trolley half empty?

Ecommerce delivery leader Instacart had something to shout about in its Q3 earnings report released on Thursday, its first since going public in September writes Cart Narc Fanatic Lukas Southard.

The company increased revenues 14% YOY to $764M for the quarter, with Adjusted EBITDA jumping 120% to $163M. This was balanced by $3BN in operating expenses, ultimately dragging net income down to -$2BN - although this in itself is mostly attributable to a once-off $2.6BN stock-based compensation expense. Got all that?

Advertising was a big focus during the earnings call - Instacart boasts around 5,500 advertisers and expects that number to grow. CEO Fidji 'Insta' Simo is bullish on the idea of growing its customer base (and data), thus opening up more advertising potential as the platform proves itself.

Get the full cart at NOSH.com.

🥡 Key Takeaway: As previously reported, Instacart's IPO is big news for the wider shopping sector. The company seems intent on going down the ad revenue path for growth but, as Adrianne DeLuca pointed out, that could well irk retailers weary of the intrusion. For now its initial results have certainly beat expectations.

AND: Not-meat update: Beyond Meat CEO and cofounder Ethan 'Burgers' Brown expressed his disappointment with the company's Q3 results, blaming 'broader consumer headwinds' and 'vested interests' for its unexpected 8.7% YOY sales dip.

Grab the full sausage over on NOSH.com.

Speaking of grocery delivery: Ahold Delhaize has offloaded its NY grocery delivery biz FreshDirect to Turkish startup Getir, writes Adrianne DeLuca from the NOSH Hamptons retreat.

Founded in 2002, FreshDirect was snapped up by Food Lion parent co Ahold in 2021 and currently has around 3,200 employees. Its operations will be unaffected by the transaction.

For Getir it's an opportunity to turbocharge its US expansion - and inject its ultrafast 15min delivery window tech into an established business.

Read the scoop on NOSH.com.

This week's Community Call sees Soom Foods founder Amy Zitelman troubleshoot an underperforming chocolate SKU with professional wizards Fred Hart of Interact Brands and Adam Levit of Velocity Sales. Take part as the group assess the situation and brainstorms solutions.

Listen up: Community Call open meetings are free to take part in and are as easy as hopping on a 30min Zoom call - except way more exciting, obviously.

Click - hey! - here to register.

NOSH Live alert: At NOSH Live Winter 2023, taking place on November 30 and December 1 in Marina del Rey, attendees will hear from entrepreneurs who also spent time in big CPG companies. It's a chance to take home some CPG lessons for your emerging brand.

The special session will include former Alter Eco CEO (and PepsiCo Biz Dev Manager) Arnulfo Ventura and Partake founder Denise Woodard (formerly of Coca-Cola).

Book your place at the front of the queue here.

On this week's NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Brad Avery clam up over Orchard Valley Harvest’s 'No Nut November' ad campaign, before musing over the future of grocery delivery following Getir's purchase of FreshDirect.

Later, Brazi Bites co-founder Junea Rocha joins the festivities to reveal how the Brazilian cheese bread company found itself in the breakfast category (hint: TikTok helped).

Spin this week's podcast here.

"For us, it’s about the balance between the [sugar] alternatives and what [actual sugar] does to your teeth"

This week's deep dive comes from Juicy Fruit Fanatic Adrianne DeLuca who sat down this week with Rev Energy Gum CEO Blake Settle to chew over his company's high caffeine chewing gums.

Each piece of Rev Energy Gum has between 60-100mg of caffeine and no sugar (there's a small amount of aspartame). The gum has proved a broad-based hit with every demographic from parents staying up late, college students grinding through coursework, early morning gymgoers and - yes - truckers trying to avoid liquids snapping it up.

Rev has proved an early success story with revenue growing 250% per year since its launch, says Settle.

Read the full story over on NOSH.com.

What are your thoughts, Sunday readers? The global energy gum marked is predicetd to grow 8.2% to $192.1M by 2031. It's a crowded market, can Rev rise to the top? Click here to send in your comments.

Notable new products: salmon shorties from Blue Circle x Spicewalla, Siete caramel sauce.

A roundup of some of the more interesting product launches this week.

Hain Celestial's Q1 report shows effect of new strategy.

A 3.3% net sales dropoff is to be expected, according to prez and CEO Wendy Davidson.

WK Kellogg Co. spinoff on track for full-year expectations.

The recently spun-off cereal arm reported a net sales drop of 2% to $692M in Q3, slightly ahead of project earnings says Brad 'Cocoa Krispies' Avery.

Accounting Manager - BevNET.com, Inc.

Newton, MA

Area Sales Manager - NYC Metro - wildwonder

New York, NY

Whole Foods Market Global Key Account Manager - Green Spoon

Austin, TX

Natural foods broker Dirty Hands has acquired CPG sales consultancy firm Burgess Strategic Advisors (BSA) as the former expands its range of client services, writes Hands-On Editor Lukas Southard.

The move will allow Dirty Hands to offer extra merchandising and brokerage services while also expanding into the conventional set for its family of brands. It also gives Dirty Hands access to BSA's 'impressive' structure and reporting system, says prez Will 'Handy' Ahern.

Read the full four finger report on NOSH.com.

🥡 Key Takeaway: Dirty Hands has been successful in supporting emerging natural channel CPG brands by way of store merchandising and brokering distro deals. Expanding into conventional gives its existing brands huge scale potential on a national level.

You know how it goes - your grandmom brings over 5 party size bags of Lay's, they all get opened and next you know there's a pound of potato chips going to waste.

Well, Lay's has the solution with its potato chips-into-mashed potato recipe, courtesy of - yes - TikTok. Turns out, you can basically boil town chips and reconstitute them as mashed potatoes. Delicious - and perfect for that casserole topping.

What's more, there's a whole recipe book based around the trend. Sign me up.

AND FINALLY: Over in the 'what? Why?' department, Primal Kitchen has graced us with its shockingly limited edition Cranberry Mayo. Sidestep the issue of dry turkey sandwiches by dousing your holiday bird in eggy cranberries. Who needs a moistmaker when you have this?

If anyone needs me, I'll be boiling down Takis to make a roasted red pepper soup. Until next week, your host,

Mark Murphy

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