• 💰Springdale Ventures Closes $40 Million Fund
• 🆕 Mary’s Gone Crackers Looks To Packaging, Ingredients To Source New Innovation
• ⚠️ FDA Update: Lead Applesauce Contaminant Appears To Be Intentional
• 🦾 ADM Strengthens Ingredient Provider Portfolio
• 📈 Report: Consumers Still Concerned About Inflation, Rising Prices

Two sides of the conversation around the proliferation of hemp-derived THC products were reflected today in a pair of stories in high-profile newspapers, making it clear that the fast-growing sector of the cannabis business is dragging the whole category toward a federal reckoning.

😠 First, the Wall Street Journal’s alarming headline “Hemp Gummies Are Sending Hundreds of Kids to Hospitals” details the growth of hemp-derived Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC-infused gummy bears, snacks, and drinks that are more readily available outside of dispensaries. 

Money Detail: “Calls to poison-control centers concerning these newly popular hemp-derived cannabinoids boomed over the past several years, from four in January 2021 to hundreds every month of 2022 and 2023 for which there is data, according to America’s Poison Centers.” 

Expect calls for regulation, as the story places blame squarely on the 2019 Farm Bill that opened the door for hemp THC harvesting.

😄 Second, behold the Boston Globe’s glowing profile of the Hi5 Beverage Dispensary, the first THC Package Store (local lingo: Packie!) in the state of Massachusetts. Focusing specifically on THC-infused beverages, the store sits alongside a full-product dispensary. 

Not clear from the story: whether Hi5 will sell hemp-derived or marijuana-derived THC beverages. Also not clear from the story: how the shop will compete with the hemp-derived brands now available for sale in liquor stores all over the state. 

Call it Pandora’s box. Call it the great hemp THC Jailbreak of 2023. But be ready to talk about it at your Christmas dinner!

Austin-based venture capital firm Springdale Ventures has closed its second fund, Fund II, at $40 million. The newly refreshed capital pool will allow it to “double down” on its early-stage CPG-focused investment strategy.

• Springdale was founded in 2019 and its portfolio features over 40 brands, including food and beverage companies such as Better Booch, KOS, Mr. Beast’s Feastables, BEATBOX, and GOODLES.
• Fund II has already been used to invest in 14 brands, including Asian-inspired hard seltzer Nectar, YouTuber-created snack brand BloxSnacks and whiskey distiller Big Nose Kate.
• The firm expects to increase its average check size to $1 million with eyes on investing in a total of 25 to 30 brands. Around 25 to 30% of the fund will be reserved for reinvestment in existing portfolio brands.

Read the full story on NOSH for all the details.

With 30 years of business under its belt and a new chief executive on board, Mary’s Gone Crackers is primed to keep new ideas and innovations flowing. According to CEO Michael Finete, new products will range from channel specific pack-size iterations to the exploration of new and unfamiliar ingredient inclusions. 

🏭 The company is in the process of ushering in “a new era of leadership” as well which includes new VP of operations Nate Lindsay as well as the newly created role of VP of business development. 

🚚 Mary’s has rolled out to hundreds of new doors over the past month – spanning natural and conventional retailers like Publix, The Fresh Market, HEB and more. In 2024, Finite said club and convenience will come into greater focus as well. 

Read the full story on NOSH to find out more about Mary’s upcoming innovation and expansion plans. 

📣 PSA: Did you know the brand’s name stems from peer-reactions when founder Mary Waldner decided to leave her decades-long career in psychotherapy to pursue the organic gluten free cracker biz? Mary’s Gone (And Lost Her Mind, But Now She’s Making) Crackers could have been the working title for all we know… 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is continuing to investigate how cinnamon used in WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis-branded Apple Cinnamon Puree pouches came to contain  lead levels over 2,000 times higher than the FDA’s proposed maximum, according to an update yesterday. 

🍎The agency has determined that Ecuadorian food company Negasmart supplied the cinnamon to co-manufacturer Austrofoods. Lead has not been detected in the non-cinnamon products from the recalled brands.

🧱FDA officials believe the contamination was intentional. Some have theorized it was for economic reasons, claiming the cinnamon could have be mixed with compounds of similar colors like red brick, red lead salt, lead oxide and lead chromate to increase its value.

🤒 The contaminated products have sickened about 125 children, spanning 22 states, all under the age of six years old since the issue was detected in October.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Fuerst Day Lawson Limited (FDL), a London-based ingredient provider specializing in custom flavors, syrups, sauces, juices, botanical extracts and bakery ingredients among others.

🤝 FDL is a portfolio company of PE firm Highlander Partners, which last week announced its salty snack portfolio company, Benestar Brands, would merge with snack manufacturer Palmex. 

📈 FDL projects sales this year to be about $120 million. The ingredient supplier operates three production facilities and two customer innovation centers in the U.K. and employs about 235 people.

🐄 ADM is on a bit of a buying binge, announcing yesterday it would also acquire Wisconsin-based dairy ingredient company Revela Foods.

Despite U.S. consumer spending setting new records in 2023, many Americans still see inflation and rising prices as the top issue facing the country today. That’s according to Coefficient Capital’s new 2023 Consumer Trends report which surveyed more than 3,000 consumers.

🤔 The report found that GLP-1 weight-loss users are spending less on food and snacks, while Gen Z and Millennial consumers are fueling trends like native shopping on TikTok and sustainable goods.

💲 42% of respondents cited rising prices and inflation as the most important issue facing the country today.

Read the full story on NOSH to learn more about the impact and perceptions of inflation, Ozempic and TikTok shop on buying patterns.