In this episode: This week, the podcast team gets ready for BevNET Live in New York City by sharing what they are looking forward to at the summer conference. Then the CPG Week hosts jump into all the legal drama in the industry from the past week. Senior reporter Brad Avery shares the latest from the family power struggle over kefir brand Lifeway Foods. The group talks about gut health claims after Poppi is hit with a class-action lawsuit, and, lastly, the team wades into the claims that Genera...
Jun 06, 2024•16 min
In this episode: How does artificial intelligence fit into the CPG industry? Senior reporter Brad Avery walks the podcast team through A.I.’s impact on everything in food and beverage from product ideation and formulation to streamlining operations. Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous shares data on the granola segment and the CPG Week group discusses how recent product launches speak to enlivening a staple category. Lastly, the team examines the news that Suja Life has acquired the trademark fo...
May 30, 2024•22 min
In this episode: This week, the podcast team digs into the growing trend among major retailers to invest in new modern white label programs. The CPG Week crew discusses why retail chains from CVS to Walmart to Grocery Outlet are launching expanded private label programs and what these next-generation brands might mean for consumers and independent CPG businesses. Later, the group dives back into the GLP-1 diet trend after the news that Nestlé is set to launch Vital Pursuit , a 12-SKU line of fro...
May 23, 2024•16 min
In this episode: What did the CPG Week team think of Netflix’s “Unfrosted” movie? The group dives into Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop-Tarts biopic and why it is a (partially) accurate portrayal of the R&D process of creating a CPG food product. Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous shares some of the latest snack trends as related to the Sweets & Snacks Expo happening this week. Senior reporter Lukas Southard goes on to unpack the unfolding cocoa pricing crisis and what that means for chocolate prod...
May 16, 2024•16 min
In this episode: In a first for the CPG Week podcast, the team records all in-person. The group kicks off the roundtable discussing senior reporter Lukas Southard’s reporting on ketone beverages. The Nosh and BevNET team go on to talk about mergers, acquisitions and restructuring by first exploring the news of Bolthouse Farms splitting its agriculture segment from its CPG business. Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous walks the team through the newest acquisition for snack maker Our Home and why ...
May 09, 2024•15 min
In this episode: In this episode, the CPG Week team is joined by BevNET and Nosh Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman, who shares some insights from his trip with senior reporter Brad Avery to the Beverage Forum conference in Los Angeles this week. The two discuss celebrity beverage brands, why industry stakeholders are high on next-generation drinks and how big companies are diversifying. The group moves on to discuss how the recent news that marijuana is expected to be rescheduled by the Department o...
May 03, 2024•20 min
In this episode: The CPG Week team dives into the sudden closure of Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market stores. The group digs into this developing story , discussing possible factors of why Outfox Hospitality failed and ceased operations so quickly. The Nosh and BevNET editorial team unpacks what they know so far, what this means for the brands that sprung out of Foxtrot and Dom’s into wider distribution and hypothesizes on how this will be felt throughout the CPG world. Later, reporter Adri...
Apr 25, 2024•13 min
In this episode: In this episode, the CPG Week team starts with an update from Momofuku’s chili crunch trademark dispute. The conversation focuses on what has transpired, the implications for Chang’s appeal to consumers and how this is representative of what it takes for a CPG brand to hold a trademark. The group moves on to talk about why canned water is positioned as a beer alternative for live events and how the Liquid Death-effect is bringing new brands to the category. Later, BevNET Editor-...
Apr 19, 2024•19 min
In this episode: The BevNET and Nosh team discusses three food news stories that have carried industry headlines in the past week. Senior reporter Lukas Southard explains why David Chang-founded Momofuku is getting blowback from other Asian-American brands over a trademark dispute involving chili crunch products. Next, senior reporter Brad Avery discusses an exposé that highlights the questionable innovation stream of Trader Joe’s private label program. Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous finish...
Apr 11, 2024•19 min
In this episode: The Nosh and BevNET team bring on spirits editor Ferron Salniker to dive into why the adult non-alcoholic beverage category might be facing struggles as news broke that Boisson, one of the largest independent retailers of NA beverages, is closing its brick-and-mortar stores. The team talks about what this says about the category as a whole and what might come next as non-alc brands move into larger retail distribution. Later, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior report...
Apr 04, 2024•18 min
In this episode: With April Fool’s Day fast approaching, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous tests senior reporters Brad Avery and Lukas Southard to see if they can tell the difference between real CPG items and prank products that have shown up in marketing campaigns over the years. After the Prank Product Pop Quiz, the team discusses how allulose is being talked about as “nature’s GLP-1” and the gray area around that assertion, leading to a bigger conversation on the state of sweeteners highli...
Mar 28, 2024•15 min
In this episode: This week, the Nosh and BevNET team discusses recent food and beverage funding news. In this capital-constrained environment, startups are tapping conventional options like investment firms as well as celebrities, consumers and distributors to rake in extra cash. Show Highlights: 0:35 - Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous shares the latest twist in the Kellogg cereal drama. HumanCo founder and CEO Jason Karp filed an activist letter urging the company to follow through with its ...
Mar 21, 2024•14 min
In this episode: This week, the Nosh and BevNET team gear up for Natural Products Expo West, the so-called Super Bowl of the packaged food and beverage industry. With a special appearance for BevNET Editor-In-Chief Jeff Klineman, the group discusses their various strategies for the big show. What’s the best attack plan for hitting all the booths on a show planner? What items should (or should not) make it into an Expo backpack to stay prepared for long days on the floor? Learn how to keep an eye...
Mar 12, 2024•16 min
In this episode: This week, the Nosh and BevNET team talks about how a marketing campaign to boost cereal sales might be imploding for Kellogg’s and what it means for the greater food maker’s empire as it moves into a new era as Kellanova and WK Kellogg Co. Senior reporter Brad Avery takes the temperature of the performance energy category through the most recent quarterly reports of Monster and Celsius. The team talks about two plant-based companies’ financial losses and finishes up discussing ...
Mar 07, 2024•16 min
In this episode: What’s it like to stay in a Eggo-themed pancake house in rural Tennessee? Why is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenging the Kroger/Albertsons merger? What is yaupon? Why is Mason Dixie betting consumers want more clean comfort food? This week the BevNET and Nosh team dive into all these topics and more. Show Highlights: 0:45 - It might look like the setting for a bad horror movie, but Eggo’s short-term rental “pancake house” marketing stunt is probably a satisfying place...
Mar 01, 2024•14 min
In this episode: This week the BevNET and Nosh team discusses Poppi acquisition rumors, the investment landscape, and consumer adoption of functional mushrooms. Show Highlights: 0:30 - Monica starts the episode challenging Jeff and Brad to a hypothetical pistachio cracking competition that devolves into a semantical discussion about “nut meat.” 3:25 - Brad highlights prebiotic soda brand Poppi’s big week, which included a highly-watched Super Bowl ad and a Bloomberg article speculating about a C...
Feb 22, 2024•16 min
In this episode: This week the BevNET and Nosh team talk about Subway speed dating, cell-cultured meat’s many challenges, why unrealistic investment might be dragging down food tech companies, and why the alternative meat and dairy industry is a good comparison point for realistic market demand. Show Highlights: 0:30 - Monica starts the episode asking Brad and Lukas how they feel about Subway’s recent Valentine’s Day speed dating stunt. 2:00 - After a series of stories in recent weeks explaining...
Feb 15, 2024•14 min
In this episode: In the first episode of CPG Week, Nosh Managing Editor Monica Watrous and reporters Brad Avery and Lukas Southard sit down to discuss the various M&A deals seen so far in the first month of the year. Show Highlights: 0:30 - The team discusses their various Super Bowl meal plans with Monica explaining what a “ham sandwich” translates to at her local bar. 3:15 - The first month of the year is in the books, and there have already been a lot of mergers and acquisitions. Lukas st...
Feb 08, 2024•11 min
In this episode: In a special dispatch from Las Vegas, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and reporter Adrianne DeLuca spoke with Specialty Food Association trendspotters Jenn de la Vega, chef and cookbook author, and Drexel University professor Jonathan Deutsch about the latest food and beverages on display at this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show. Show Highlights: 2:30 - Global flavors have established a foothold in food and beverage. The group discusses innovation they saw with ingredients like...
Jan 26, 2024•19 min
On this week’s episode of the NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Lukas Southard and Adrianne DeLuca talk about Thanksgiving traditions and what to expect at NOSH Live. Then the trio dives into influencer disclosures on social media (or the lack thereof) after the FTC warned a group of registered dietitians who were paid to post by industry lobbying groups. Show Highlights: 1:00 - Thanksgiving is here so the NOSH team talks about holiday traditions at the table, the hierarchy...
Nov 22, 2023•22 min
On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and the founder and CEO of Zack’s Mighty, Zack Gazzaniga, dive right into a corny discussion on the origins of Zack’s Mighty’s, and the special corn variety behind its unique taste and texture. The duo grind through the brand’s supply chain journey and how different audiences respond to the details of that sourcing story. Show Highlights: 02:03: Building a tortilla chip that doesn’t break in guac starts with good corn. For Zack’s Mighty, that purs...
Nov 17, 2023•40 min
In this episode: On this week’s episode of the NOSH Podcast, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Brad Avery chat about Orchard Valley Harvest’s “No Nut November” ad campaign, including the importance of knowing your target audience when taking a risk with marketing. Then the two muse over Getir’s acquisition of FreshDirect and what the future holds for grocery delivery. In the featured interview, Brazi Bites cofounder and CMO Junea Rocha shares how and why the brand expanded into the frozen...
Nov 10, 2023•37 min
On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Brad Avery ponder Eminem’s new CPG venture, Mom’s Spaghetti, and discuss why yet another cannabis company is switching focus to the hemp-derived THC market. Later, Adrianne chats with Scott Marcus, CEO of Blue Zones Kitchen, to learn how, alongside Vital Farms founder Matthew O’Hayer and Blue Zones Guru/National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner, the team translated a two decade-old diet and lifestyle into a new fr...
Nov 03, 2023•32 min
In this episode: With Halloween on the horizon, this week NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Lukas Southard and Adrianne Deluca kickoff the episode discussing their favorite sweets before moving onto marshmallows with the news that confection brand Smashmallow won a $21 million verdict in a dispute with its former equipment maker. The team also discusses changes to West African food brand Yolélé’s supply chain. In our featured interview, Lukas hears from Circana’s Sally Lyons Wyatt about ...
Oct 27, 2023•33 min
In this episode: NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg,Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman and reporter Lukas Southard kick off the podcast with a discussion about what to expect this winter at NOSH Live, before turning their attention to hot news in chili peppers and the difficulties natural brands sometimes face in the c-store channel. Later, Lukas talks with Wilde Brands founder and CEO Jason Wright about how the brand broadened its positioning via a branding change, and how that’s brought about new growth o...
Oct 19, 2023•45 min
On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg sits down with the Eat The Change team to discuss how the company has evolved its identity by rethinking its product lines. Seth Goldman, co-founder and CEO, and Sarah Shah, Head of Marketing talk through how the company evaluated its product mix, ultimately making a measured decision to discontinue one slow turner and revamp and reposition another. Show Highlights: 01:56: Mushrooms were… so last year? Seth and Sarah shared how declining consumer ...
Oct 12, 2023•31 min
On the NOSH Podcast this week, editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Brad Avery discuss the U.S. government’s suit against Amazon, how CPG brands’ differing approaches to selling on the retail platform and dive into recent shake ups in meal kit delivery space. Carol then goes completely nuts – during a chat with Nuts.com’s new CEO PJ Oleksak and chairman Jeffrey Braverman. The trio discusses how the nut empire was built, the ever-changing landscape for an ecommerce, DTC-based ...
Oct 06, 2023•45 min
This week on the NOSH Podcast, editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Brad Avery debrief from their trip to the final Natural Products Expo East including some approaches brands have taken to combat the rising costs of retail and Expo’s new replacement. Then, Brad sat down with Ronak Shah, the co-founder and CEO of flavored collagen brand Obvi, to discuss how his brand built a D2C-first model on the foundation of a very specific consumer demographic. In this episode: 1:33: The ...
Sep 29, 2023•42 min
This week on the NOSH Podcast, editor Carol Ortenberg and reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard talk about top trends and new tastes they are on the lookout for at the last Natural Products Expo East . The team also discusses the approaches of two new CPG-industry backed investment funds that debuted this past week. While the team travels to Philadelphia, this week we revisited a conversation from NOSH Live Winter 2022 featuring Thrive Market head of merchandising James Ren and Misfits Ma...
Sep 21, 2023•36 min
On this week’s show, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg, reporters Adrianne DeLuca and Lukas Southard, as well as editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman dive into all of the deal news this past week including J.M. Smucker’s acquisition of Hostess and Kroger/Albertsons’ initial store divestment plan. Then, the team also discusses news surrounding Pacqui’s One Chip Challenge. Show Highlights: 01:02: What does Smucker want with Twinkies? Despite two bankruptcies in the past decade, Hostess brands has notched an im...
Sep 14, 2023•32 min
