• 🥗 B&G Offloads Green Giant Shelf-Stable To Longtime Co-Man
• 🛍️ Amazon Expands Grocery Delivery Service To Non-Prime Members
• 👩‍⚖️ Blue Apron Sued Over Merger With Wonder Group Inc.
• 🐔 Perdue Wants Consumers to Snack Like A Chicken

With pumpkins slumping on doorsteps and some houses already slinging seasonal lights, it can only mean one thing – its earnings season, of course. A couple of (relative) newcomers announced Q3 results yesterday so we dove in to see who is packing on positive points, and who saw slimmer sales than expected.

🥣 Kellanova & WK Kellogg Co.

The first earnings reports from what was formerly The Kellogg Company – now split between WK Kellogg Co. and Kellanova – were announced separately, but technically these results represented the final quarter Kellogg’s lived as one single company.

Kellanova saw flat net sales growth in Q3 (at $3.9 billion) with profits rising to $482 million – a dramatic 30.5% increase compared to the same period last year. The new snack-focused entity forecasts that its first quarter (Q4) as an independent company will net $3.1 billion in sales and see an operating profit of between $380 million to $390 million.

• “The company is set to start its new era as Kellanova with a more growth-oriented portfolio, a refreshed strategy and higher long-term financial targets,” a press release stated. 

At WK Kellogg Co, cereal sales declined nearly 2% to $692 million compared to Q3 2022. Similar to Kellanova, net income was up, tallying $42 million in the quarter – a 82.6% improvement to the same period last year. Chairman and CEO Gary Pilnick said these results are right “on track.”

• Going forward he said the company “will focus only on winning in cereal. We will integrate the business end-to-end to drive better execution. We will invest in capabilities, technology and infrastructure and we will do so in a targeted and highly disciplined manner.”

Get the full recap on NOSH.

🚚 Fresh off its September IPO Instacart’s inaugural earnings report saw revenue up 14% y/y to $764 million. Orders were up 4% y/y – totalling $66.2 million. 

• Though confident in its growth position, the company did say its anticipating several macroeconomic headwinds in the online grocery market including continued post-pandemic demand declines, less government aid, high interest rates and inflation tightening consumer spending.
• Shareholder questions largely focused on the company’s plans to scale its advertising business and the ecommerce company pointed to its new partnership with The Trade Desk as an example of how it is providing CPG brands measurable results from ad campaigns on the platform.

Every winter NOSH’s annual “Best Of” Awards celebrates the companies, brands, individuals, products, ideas and trends that are transforming the better-for-you packaged food industry.

This year, NOSH’s “Best Of 2023” nominees stood out for their contributions to the natural food industry, whether it’s redefining established categories with innovative products, captivating consumers through compelling marketing campaigns, spearheading ethical sourcing and business practices, or crafting delicious food products that we just can’t stop snacking on.

Winners will be announced on November 30 at NOSH Live Winter 2023. Wondering who made the list? Check out the full roster of nominees on NOSH.com.

As part of continued efforts to focus on its core products and top performers – B&G Foods has divested its shelf-stable Green Giant business to longtime co-manufacturing partner Seneca Foods. B&G will retain Green Giant’s trademarks and license the brand name to Seneca.

• The deal does not include Green Giant frozen products, the brand’s Canada business or the Le Sueur brand.
• Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay off long-term debt.
• The news was released alongside B&G’s Q3 earnings where it reported a gross margin increase of 80 basis points despite a 4.9% drop in net sales to $502.7 million.
• In December, B&G divested its Back to Nature business to Barilla Group as part of its portfolio realignment efforts.

Go Deeper: Read up on the Back to Nature deal on NOSH. 

As of today, Amazon is allowing all U.S. customers – including those without a Prime membership – to use its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery and free pickup services in all cities where it is available.

⏩Looking ahead, the ecommerce giant is planning to expand the service beyond Amazon Fresh – to more than 3,500 cities and towns nationwide – with grocery delivery and free pickup from Whole Foods Market for customers without a Prime membership. 

🛒 Customers can also now order from a variety of local grocers and retailers who sell through Amazon, including Bristol Farms, Cardenas Markets, Weis Markets and Save Mart. 

🏗️ To continue supporting its grocery growth, Amazon redesigned two Amazon Fresh stores in the Chicago area and is expected to unveil similar updates in the Los Angeles area – Pasadena, Irvine and Woodland Hills.

Blue Apron shareholder Richard Birnbaum filed a suit against the meal delivery company in Delaware Chancery Court yesterday to contest the $103 million proposed merger with Wonder Group Inc. Birnbaum is requesting access to Blue Apron’s books to investigate an alleged “conflicted process” leading up to the proposed merger. 

• Birnbaum alleges the company filed a “materially misleading and omissive” Schedule 14D-9 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection to the proposed deal, which recommended shareholders accept the offer and tender their shares.
• Wonder Group will acquire Blue Apron in exchange for $13 in cash per share of common stock, per terms of the agreement. 
• “Plaintiff is justifiably concerned that the merger is not the result of a full and fair process, but instead one manipulated by certain members of the company’s board and/or management,” reads the complaint. 
• Birnbaum also requested documents on the purchase agreement between Blue Apron and fresh meal provider FreshRealm through which the latter will purchase Blue Apron’s operational infrastructure for $50 million. 
• Yesterday, Wonder Group also announced it received a $100 million investment from its new strategic partner, Nestlé.

How do you innovate within a poultry-packed portfolio? For the R&D folks at Perdue, it involves thinking inside and outside of the pen and must have led to the question: ‘what does a chicken eat for dinner?’ 

🐣 Yesterday, the meat producer announced the launch of Chix Mix – a new snack made with some of the very same ingredients that go into the all-vegetarian diet consumed by its flocks. The trail-mix like blend contains corn, wheat and edamame and will be given away for a limited time online, starting November 17. 

🍗 But why is Perdue doing this? Well, the company said 63% of consumers like to know where their food comes from and that can include what that food eats before it has been eaten itself.