Food Industry News, Insights, and Education for the CPG Community

This week, we’re investigating the significant tranche of M&A deals that defined the month of January, revealing who just bought squeezy sauce sensation Bachan’s, and making some ill-fated Game Day bets. Hey, what more could you ask for?

From celebrity cameos to cause-driven messaging, brands across categories are using the Big Game to spotlight new products and creative strategies.

David Protein was handed an early victory this week in the antitrust lawsuit accusing it of creating an “artificial monopoly” for its alternative fat ingredient EPG after a New York federal court dismissed the case brought by competing food manufacturers.

Publicly traded TRUBAR was acquired by an affiliate of privately held, Turkey-based snack company ETi Gida for $173 million in cash.

In this week’s new products roundup, A-Sha seeks to transport consumers to Bikini Bottom with SpongeBob SquarePants-inspired ramen noodle cups, Fly By Jing introduces its “Hot Pot Bomb,” and Ghost bulks up classic childhood cereals with 17 grams of protein.

Once Upon A Farm is officially on the public markets. On Thursday, the baby and kid food brand announced it had raised nearly $198 million from selling about 11 million shares of common stock.

Following months of conversations with the board about its next phase of growth, Michael Adair, the founder of Red’s All Natural, described handing off the reins of his frozen foods company in January to an experienced operator as a “natural evolution.”

Project Potluck, a non-profit organization supporting People of Color in CPG, announced the four recipients of its inaugural grant program.

The Hershey Company beat expectations for its fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2025 earnings today, driven in part by double-digit price increases implemented last year to hedge against cocoa commodity inflation.

Polymarket – the online prediction market platform that allows consumers to play the odds on everything from sports games, to the likelihood of military interventions, to the day Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will get married – is opening a free public grocery store in New York City next week.

This week on the podcast, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior reporter Brad Avery dig into the public relations crisis surrounding brands linked to prominent investor and advisor Peter Attia following recent revelations of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The duo also discusses the acquisition of Japanese-style barbecue sauce brand Bachan’s, Hain Celestial’s decision to divest its snack brands, and big moves by mushroom beverage makers.

Mondelēz International reported profitable fourth-quarter earnings after weathering a year of adjusting to high cocoa prices.

Easy Lunches & More, a specialized food delivery service that claims to be the “last retailer of Better Bagel,” is now shipping its own version of the product, called The Fit Bagel, after it was “ghosted” by the company, according to its Instagram page.

Whoa Dough has discontinued its first product line as it leans into a fresh new format bringing it deeper into snacking while hurdling the protein-saturated and overly-competitive bar category.