April 18, 2025

Please see below for a listing of what the North Point Food & Beverage Team has been tracking this week. We hope that you find the content insightful and a nice way to summarize the most noteworthy Food & Beverage events of the week.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

Glen Clarke

Head of Food & Beverage

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Cal-Maine Foods prices public offering at USD 92.75 apiece.

• Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 2,978,740 shares of its common stock by the four daughters of the Company’s late founder, Fred R. Adams, Jr., Dinnette Adams Baker, Luanne Adams, Nancy Adams Briggs and Laurel Adams Krodel, and Adolphus B. Baker, Board Chair and Mr. Adams’ son-in-law at a public offering price of $92.75 per share.

Source: Mergermarket

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JBS proposes plan to list shares on NYSE as early as June.

• Brazilian meatpacker JBS S.A. is getting closer to its goal of achieving dual listing. On April 11, the company filed an F-4 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in which JBS laid out a tentative schedule for listing shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Source: Meat + Poultry

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Ronin Equity Partners, Landon Capital Partners sell Heartisan Foods to The Gellert Global Group.

• Ronin Equity Partners in partnership with Landon Capital Partners, announced today (14 April) the sale of Barron, Wisconsin-headquartered Heartisan Foods to The Gellert Global Group.

Source: Mergermarket

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Vermont Farmstead Cheese acquires GVCC.

• Vermont Farmstead Cheese, a South Woodstock, Vermont-based cheese producer, has acquired Brattleboro, Vermont-based Grafton Village Cheese Company (GVCC).

Source: Mergermarket

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Clearwater Seafoods sells Arichat to I.Deveau.

• Clearwater Seafoods, a Canadian seafood group, is selling its Arichat live lobster business to lobster exporter and distributor I.Deveau, Intrafish reported.

Source: MergerMarket

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Bunge to sell North America corn milling business to Grain Craft.

Bunge Global SA has entered into definitive agreements to sell its North America dry corn and corn masa milling businesses to Grain Craft, one of the largest independent flour millers in the U.S.

Source: Mergermarket

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NEOM acquires strategic stake in Liberation Labs.

• NEOM Investment Fund (NIF), the investment arm of NEOM, has announced a strategic investment in Liberation Labs, a global pioneer in precision-fermentation biomanufacturing. 

Source: Mergermarket

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Waterloo Sparkling Water explores sale with UBS.

• Sponsor-backed Waterloo Sparkling Water is exploring a sale with UBS, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

Source: Mergermarket

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How food giants are embracing AI to forecast recipes, regulatory hurdles.

• Kellanova and Ingredion use AI to optimize recipes, predict ingredient disruptions, and ensure global regulatory compliance through tools like RegAsk and digital twins.
• Tastewise helps forecast consumer trends by analyzing billions of data points from social media, menus, and home recipes to guide product innovation.
• AI accelerates product development timelines, improves supply chain resilience, and enables hyper-targeted marketing based on real-time consumer insights.

Source: Food Dive

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Food industry bristles as states move to ban soda, candy from SNAP.

• Republican-led states are seeking USDA waivers to ban soda and candy from SNAP purchases under the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, sparking backlash from the food and beverage industry.
• Industry groups argue the bans are arbitrary, difficult to implement, and won’t meaningfully improve health outcomes, especially given conflicting definitions of “candy” and similar items across states.
• Experts and advocacy groups emphasize that affordability—not access—is the main barrier to healthier eating, and that incentive-based programs are more effective than restrictions.

Source: Food Dive

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Natural cheese dollar sales surpass $20B.

• Natural cheese dollar sales surpassed $20 billion in the 52 weeks ending January 26, 2025, with nearly all subcategories showing year-over-year growth, including shredded, sliced, and grated formats.
• Refrigerated grated cheese had an especially strong year, while only ricotta and cheese cubes saw slight declines—each less than 1%.
• The category’s performance reflects robust consumer demand for convenient, flavorful dairy options despite broader industry challenges.

Source: Dairy Foods

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CoBank: Tariffs anxiety turns consumer sentiment negative.

• Consumer and business sentiment in the U.S. has sharply declined due to tariff uncertainty, but economic fundamentals like retail spending and protein demand remain relatively stable for now.
• CoBank reports record-high beef prices amid tight supply and increased imports of lean beef, moderate growth in pork driven by exports, and strong demand for chicken as a value alternative.
• Trade volatility, falling biofuel production, and shifting crop planting patterns are pressuring agriculture markets, with longer-term risks tied to global trust in U.S. trade policy and its inflationary effects.

Source: Meat + Poultry

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2025 food trends influenced by economic stressors.

• Consumers are stockpiling groceries, reducing restaurant breakfast visits, and increasing alcohol consumption in response to inflation, tariffs, and economic uncertainty.
• Plant-based and global flavor trends are rising due to affordability and desire for novelty, while traditional comfort foods are declining as consumers seek stress relief through new experiences.
• Eco-friendly product features resonate only if they come at no added cost, with behavioral shifts showing preference for value, experimentation, and private label over expensive quick-service options.

Source: Meat + Poultry

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Consumer sentiment plummets amid trade war.

• Consumer sentiment dropped 11% in April, with inflation expectations hitting a 44-year high as trade tensions escalated and tariffs between the U.S. and China reached 145% and 125%, respectively.
• The University of Michigan survey showed deteriorating expectations across business conditions, labor markets, and inflation, with recession fears spreading across all demographics.
• Economists forecast GDP growth to fall below 1%, unemployment to rise, and inflation to reach 3.5–4%, while consumer spending may remain resilient despite worsening sentiment.

Source: Food Dive

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Food manufacturers rethink innovation to keep up with rapidly-changing consumer demands.

• Food manufacturers like Conagra are leveraging AI and social media analytics to track emerging trends, speed up product development, and adapt to changing consumer preferences in real time.
• Traditional innovation models are being replaced with more flexible, adaptive processes to navigate inflation, supply chain volatility, and fast-moving trends like GLP-1-friendly foods.
• AI reduces development cycles from months to weeks by analyzing consumer behavior, streamlining formulation, and enabling quicker, data-driven product launches.

Source: Food Dive

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PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz face off with shareholder activists on sustainable packaging.

• PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz are facing shareholder pressure to address risks tied to non-recyclable flexible packaging, with proposals urging transparency, investment in reusables, and reduction of single-use plastics.
• While both companies oppose the proposals, they cite ongoing initiatives in compostables, paper-based alternatives, and participation in recycling programs—but activists question their scalability and transparency.
• Shareholder groups also targeted Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Sealed Air with proposals on refillable packaging, recycling claims, and plastic footprint disclosures, driving broader scrutiny across the CPG sector.

Source: Food Dive

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True Story Foods expands distribution of Protein Toppers.

• True Story Foods has expanded distribution of its Protein Toppers Diced Chicken Breast to Whole Foods in five U.S. regions, offering Oven Roasted and Roasted Garlic flavors.
• The ready-to-eat toppers provide 15 grams of protein per serving and are made from humanely raised chickens with no antibiotics or artificial ingredients.
• This expansion follows strong performance at other retailers and aligns with Whole Foods’ focus on natural and organic, clean-label products.

Source: Meat + Poultry

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Campbell’s promotes insiders to accelerate growth.

• Campbell’s promoted Elizabeth Duggan to lead its snacks division and appointed Janda Lukin as its first chief growth officer, signaling a strategic push for long-term expansion.
• The internal promotions follow recent CEO changes and reflect efforts to drive innovation amid soft consumer demand and revised sales forecasts.
• Despite strong brands like Rao’s and Pepperidge Farm, Campbell’s lowered its sales outlook as categories like cookies and crackers face headwinds from GLP-1 drug usage and economic pressures.

Source: Food Dive

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Vermont Smoke & Cure expands Costco partnership.

• Vermont Smoke & Cure is expanding its presence in Costco’s Northeast Division, adding new retail locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.
• The company is introducing a Hickory Smoked Premium Beef Stick made from hand-trimmed, antibiotic- and hormone-free beef, slow cooked and hardwood smoked in small batches.
• Known for premium, clean-label snacks, the brand’s growth is driven by strong unit velocity, quality sourcing, and consumer demand for high-protein meat snacks without artificial ingredients.

Source: Meat + Poultry

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TreeHouse Foods to cut 150 corporate jobs in a cost-saving move.

• TreeHouse Foods is laying off 150 corporate employees and eliminating the chief commercial officer role to streamline operations, improve profitability, and enhance cash flow.
• The company has faced challenges from two major product recalls and ongoing category softness, with its stock now at a 17-year low despite portfolio reshaping through divestitures and acquisitions.
• CEO Steve Oakland emphasized the need for better execution and efficiency as TreeHouse continues efforts to become a more focused private-label player amid a volatile consumer environment.

Source: Food Dive

JUST FOR FUN

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Leftovers: Hershey fills pretzels with Reese’s | Ferrara worms Trolli gummies into ice pops. – Food Dive

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