• 🍨 Unilever Spins Off Ice Cream Business
• 🎪 Expo West Notebook: Sweet Loren’s Moves Beyond Sweets; Oakberry Enters U.S. CPG
• 🥑 Chosen Foods Explores Sale

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There’s still plenty of room for growth in the snack category, according to Mondelēz International, but the multinational food maker is less interested in devoting resources to incubation and more concerned with putting investment dollars towards innovation.

After releasing its annual State of Snacking report last week, Mondelēz VP and global head of SnackFutures Richie Gray told Forbes that the food conglomerate is winding down its SnackFutures innovation hub, along with its CoLab Program. In exchange for shutting down the startup accelerators, it has launched a corporate investment outfit called SnackFutures Ventures. 

The venture firm is directly linked to Mondelēz International and will invest in “disruptor” companies in both emerging and scale-up growth stages. SnackFutures Ventures has already invested in two startups: cell-cultured cocoa company Celleste Bio and ingredient tech company Torr Food Tech.

It’s not clear who is leading the fund, however, as Tapan Shah, the former head of venture investments for SnackFutures, left Mondelez in January to take the top job at packaging company Nap Industries.

The news comes just days after Mondelēz released its yearly temperature check on the snack industry. According to the report, any time is snack time these days with all day parts becoming occasions for small meals. Among the global survey respondents, a quarter had “embraced” early morning snacking, a 6% increase since 2020.

The report also highlights that the category’s upward momentum is showing no signs of slowing even as inflation has impacted prices in stores. Sixty-six percent of consumers claim they have not made significant changes to snack purchasing habits even though they are conscious of the elevated cost of food.

What’s in among crackers, cookies and pretzels? Portion controlled snacks were prioritized by nearly seven and 10 people surveyed (an increase of 5 percentage points from the previous year). Also, snacks that helped boost energy, improve mood or align with fitness goals were regularly chosen by over two-thirds of surveyed consumers.

Will the State of Snacking sway future SnackFutures Ventures investments? That remains to be seen but Mondelēz did report that plant-based snacks continue to drive trial, while environmentally sustainable snacks are preferred among consumers. Brands that use less plastic and/or prioritize efficient supply chains and sourcing practices are seeing increased growth among nearly all age groups.

Reporting live from the third day of Natural Products Expo West 2024 in Anaheim, California, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and BevNET editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman discuss entrepreneurial comebacks, egg-centric innovation and other highlights from the show floor.

Watch the video recap on Nosh.

Unilever announced today it will spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Talenti and other brands, that collectively generated global sales of €7.9 billion ($8.57 billion) in 2023. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

💰 Additionally, the London-based company is implementing a productivity program that is expected to deliver total cost savings of around €800 million ($868.3 million) over the next three years while eliminating approximately 7,500 jobs. 

💄 Following its exit from ice cream, Unilever will operate four business groups across beauty and well-being, personal care, home care and nutrition. The latter unit includes Hellmann’s mayo and Knorr soup brands.

💬 Ian Meakins, chair of Unilever, said the changes will help create “a simpler, more focused and higher performing” company, driving shares up around 3% in mid-morning trading.

⏩ The move comes as the CPG giant has struggled to remain competitive as consumers trade down or skip the ice cream set altogether amid high inflation. Last year, Unilever added frozen greek yogurt brand Yasso to its ice cream portfolio as part of a “premiumization strategy.” 

Expo West may be over, but we are all still wading through our notebooks and reminiscing about all we saw and sampled in Anaheim. In our latest roundup from the show, we highlight a handful of line extensions, new entrants to the CPG business, breakfast trends and more. Here’s a taste:

🍕 Gluten-free cookie dough and biscuit maker Sweet Loren’s is trying its hand in the savory space. The company exhibited two new refrigerated pastry sheet products including Puff Pastry and Pizza Dough. 

🍌 Oakberry – a Brazil-based açaí company with 35 smoothie shops and juice bars in the U.S. – is now making a break for the U.S. CPG market by launching four varieties of açaí pints for natural channel shoppers.

🧇 Morning meals have officially gone mini. MyMochi moved from ice cream to breakfast with waffle bites while Evergreen created a Lunchables-like waffle offering. Kodiak and Belgian Boys’ also showed off pint-sized products, in the form of pancakes. 

Check out the full roundup for news from Kooshy, Laoban, Blender Bites and more on Nosh.

Avocado oil maker Chosen Foods might be heading to a new home. According to a Reuters report, the PE firm that owns Chosen, Butterfly Equity, is working with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America on the sale. The process is expected to launch later this year, claims an anonymous source.

🤝 Butterfly took a majority stake in Chosen in 2021. The firm's portfolio also includes Pete and Gerry’s Organics, MaryRuth Organics, Orgain and Bolthouse Farms. The company generated full-year EBITDA of $50 million, according to the unnamed source. 

🍫 Chosen makes a range of avocado oil-based products including cooking oils, sprays, mayo and dressings. Earlier this year, the brand introduced an avocado-oil based Chocolate Hazelnut spread.

And, breathe… having combed the cavernous halls of a gargantuan Natural Products Expo West 2024, the hosts had plenty to discuss. From innovative new products and fast-growing categories, to trendy ingredients and exhibitor enthusiasm, this episode provides their first recap of an incredible event.

Listen to the episode now.