• 🐔 Mackay Steps Down as Daring Foods CEO
• 🎪 Expo West: Plant-based Innovation and Snack Bar Line Extensions
• 🚚 Distribution: Big Picture Foods, Del Real Foods and Lexington Bakes
• 🧀 Famous French Cheeses Face Extinction Level Event

On this first day of April, the entire Nosh team is walking on eggshells each and every time we visit our inboxes. Could Jack Link’s really have created a Dr Pepper flavored jerky? As the news flows in it can be difficult to delineate whether that many brands are really making the jump from sweet into savory or if they are just being facetious. 

In the words of Nosh Managing Editor Monica Watrous: “My gullibility and I were not cut out for this.” As we’ve sifted through the madness, however, we couldn’t help but round up some of the best “new products” spotted along the way. 

From Del Taco-inspired Tic Tacs to Tikka Masala sunscreen, this year’s innovations do their best to stretch our imaginations to their limits. Check out the highlights on Nosh. 

In years past a few savvy marketers have flipped their tomfoolery into real food – or food-inspired – products. Take Burt’s Bees x Hidden Valley Ranch lip balms or Tia Lupita x Double Rainbow Chipotle Chocolate Chip ice cream, for example. While not all tricks should be turned into treats, the holiday does offer an opportunity to test the buzz on outlandish new innovations and measure whether there really is an appetite for cottage cheese-flavored cereal.

That is why we are tackling this April Fools’ day with a concrete objective for all of you innovative minds out there: it's time all of this trickery is turned into something tangible. It seems the folks at Velveeta were listening to that latest CPG Week episode as senior reporter Brad Avery broke down the plea for all as its La Dolce Velveeta limited-edition golden hair dye is in fact available for purchase on Amazon at this very moment.

And keeping to that commitment, we’ve decided to turn the tables on all of you. That’s right – this first day of April, Nosh is entering the CPG game with a product spawned from all of our unique insights that is sure to hit on the trendiest of all the trends. It's plant-based, protein-packed, natural and spicy as heck. Don’t worry; it's also low-sodium and low-sugar. Introducing Nosh Nooch, the protein seasoning you never knew you needed (and still probably don’t). 

Click here to purchase this one-of-a-kind seasoning that is sure to add extra muscle to your meal… and business 😉

(We may be joking about our foray into packaged food, but we are serious about delivering invaluable content to your inbox every day. Go deeper by joining the BevNET & Nosh Community Slack and subscribing to the CPG Week podcast.)

Daring Foods founder Ross Mackay announced Friday in a LinkedIn post that he is stepping down as CEO of the plant-based chicken brand and transitioning to the role of Chairman Emeritus. 

💦 What’s next? Mackay is a co-founder of new electrolyte hydration beverage Cadence, alongside luxury apparel entrepreneur George Heaton. The brand is slated to launch April 3, according to its Instagram.

🍗 Mackay founded Los Angeles-based Daring in 2018 and grew the brand to 15,000 stores nationwide. Products include plant-based takes on chicken pieces and wings, plus frozen meals. 

💭 He did not share whether a successor had been named (and the company did not respond immediately to requests for comment), but he noted “although my role is changing, my belief in our collective vision remains unwavering.”

The show might be over, but we are still shaking news out of our notebooks. In the latest new product roundup from Natural Products Expo West, we highlight a slew of new plant-based innovations from alt-hot honey, to kimbap and cream cheese as well as line extensions from BTR Nation, Perfect Snacks, Nature’s Bakery and more. Here’s a taste:

🍣 Konscious Foods unveiled a trio of new products, including a Korean kimbap roll packed with rice, marinated carrots, chili crunch mushroom protein, pickled cucumber and sesame seeds, with a side of sriracha sauce.

🍯 Alternative honey maker Mellody unveiled its latest innovation – Hot Honey – with a Spicy Habanero flavor. This marks the company’s first expansion beyond its original plant-based honey.

🥥 Coconut product brand Harmless Harvest is working to use more parts of its flagship ingredient with the launch of Rich and Creamy, a new iteration of its plant-based yogurt available in two varieties.

Check out the full gallery on Nosh.

Natural food brands are constantly expanding their respective retail footprints, so we’ve rounded up the latest distribution gains and updates from around the industry. 

🖼️ After hedging its bets in Sprouts’ innovation set and iterating its banana peppers and Amfissa olives to be shelf-stable, Big Picture Foods has announced it is now a permanent fixture at the all of the retail chain’s locations nationwide. 

🤝 Del Real Foods is growing its club channel presence with the launch of Chicken & 3-Cheese Mini Pupusas exclusively at Sam’s Club this month. Each gluten-free pupusa is packed with 6 grams of protein. 

🟫 Lexington Bakes is bringing three of its best-selling luxury brownie flavors to Lassen’s locations in La Brea, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Thousand Oaks via distributor Pod Foods. 

🛒 Still a mighty team of one consisting of founder Mehek Khera, Indian-inspired dip brand Niramaya Foods has launched in 800+ Albertsons stores including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and Shaw’s. 

🍬 Globally-inspired sour gummy brand Better Sour has landed its products in its first Kroger banner (140 Ralph’s doors) as well as all Fresh Thyme locations. 

First it was the dinosaurs. Then the dodo bird and, now, Camembert and brie cheese? Hopefully not, but the soft-ripened, creamy Northern France favorites are facing an existential threat as the supply of the fungi strains that give the rich cheeses their characteristic flavor and texture are in decline, according to a report from NBC.

🇫🇷 France’s state-run science agency, The National Centre for Scientific Research, has warned that the prioritization of white mold on the famous cheese varieties has led to the strain (Penicillium camemberti) not being able to reproduce as well naturally.

😳 Experts also caution that climate change and the preference for only one or two varieties of fungus also creates potential problems where the rise of a specific virus or pathogen could wipe out the whole supply.

🐄 Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy company and maker of President Camembert, said in a statement to NBC News that it was “not worried about the future of our products”; however, large cheese makers are more susceptible to potential supply challenges than smaller, artisanal producers due their reliance on lab-grown strains.