Headlines

Food tech company NotCo announced today that it has raised $235 million in a Series D funding round led by Tiger Global, bringing its total financing to over $350 million to date. The funding will help the plant-based milk and meat producer to launch its food products in the U.S. and scale its proprietary A.I. technology platform.

North Carolina-based grocer The Fresh Market filed for an initial public offering this month for the second time in the company’s almost 40-year history. This second IPO could bring significant changes to the grocer’s position in the retail landscape, forcing them to optimize operations at the expense of local and emerging brands.

In this Ingredients Roundup: NURA introduces organic 5-HTP supplement CLEANMOOD, an unexpected frost causes Arabica coffee prices to plunges, , Blue California and Conagen promote energy and healthy aging through new ingredient, Welcome Dairy Holdings Acquires North Star Processing and Monin Introduces Energy Boost.

Having established a national footprint, ZOA Energy -- the plant-based beverage brand co-founded by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and distributed through Molson Coors Beverage Company -- is preparing to launch its first televised marketing campaign beginning with a 30-second spot during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Direct-to-consumer powdered beverage maker Athletic Greens announced this week that it has raised its first ever round of outside capital featuring celebrity and institutional investors; Stevia-sweetened beverage maker Zevia debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, offering 10.7 million shares priced at $14 each, raising just under $150 million for the company.

In this weeks distribution roundup: Bimble expands to Rhode Island with Horizon Beverage, 'Try My T' makes its retail at Southern California Whole Foods, Cruise Beverage partners with Egizii Distributing, and the latest from Take Two, KRISP DRINKS, Zenify, Keef Brands, Hylux and Shine Water.

A year after its launch, Health-Ade’s soda-adjacent Booch Pop product has been redesigned and rebranded. Now known simply as Health-Ade Pop, the company aims to expand its reach with consumers by repositioning the line away from kombucha and towards better-for-you soda.

All Market Inc., the parent company of Vita Coco, announced today that it has converted to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) structure, signalling an embrace of ethical, sustainable and better-for-the-planet business practices. According to the company, the PBC model provides All Market with a framework for continuing to expand its charitable initiatives.

As the pandemic wreaked economic destruction on large portions of the global beverage industry, the fitness channel was among those hit hardest by lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. For sports nutrition and performance beverage brands, a key sales channel was strangled. Now, as the country returns to pre-pandemic mobility, gyms and the brands that rely on them are still looking down a long road to recovery.