SIMPLi’s Post

If you haven't started reading Errol Schweizer's new venture - The Checkout Grocery Update, it's definitely worth the time. This week he walks through an in depth review of Sprouts Farmers Market that is informative and tough but fair. He walks through their evolution and lauds their significant operational and financial progress since Jack Sinclair took the helm. Errol's key points include: - They have positioned themselves as 'mid'...mid market, mid priced, mid standards. - They've become the innovation hub for new items via well curated displays. - Operational execution of promotions and new items is superior and provides more value back to the CPGs. - Their private label is growing extensively and uniquely . He asserts, "Sprouts doesn’t have the charm of @Mom’s Organic Market, the low-priced gravitational pull of Aldi or Walmart or the high standards and oddball quirks of Natural Grocers. It is still doing that “farmers market” shtick. Sprouts, by tightening up their go-to market strategies, is full of optimism and momentum and still remains, happily, stubbornly “mid”." From a personal perspective, I think they're better than mid, but that's colored by the fact I live in Florida, dominated by a few players. I enjoy that I can do a complete shop in their stores (after all, we need paper towels and other items, too) but still have the farmers market feel. It's wonderful that we can get a wide assortment of organic and gluten free items that my local regional grocer doesn't carry and their operational (in stock and cleanliness) conditions exceed others. If you haven't been to a Sprouts lately, you should definitely add them to your list of must see. Retail Insight #operations #grocery #farmersmarket #innovation #onshelfavailability #waste #retail #startups https://lnkd.in/edw7Rv6N

Nestle has invested in #fooddelivery startup Wonder Group, which aims to sell high-tech #cooking equipment and prepared ingredients to enterprises such as hotels, hospitals, and sports venues. According to persons familiar with the subject who asked not to be identified because #financialfacts of the arrangement are not public, the deal includes a $100 million #investment from Nestle as well as a strategic relationship. Nestle and Wonder confirmed the agreement but declined to disclose financial terms. The #funding could get Wonder a step closer to its ambitions of making it easier, faster and cheaper for busy families to have high-quality meals at home. The #startup, which was valued at about $3.5 billion when it closed a $350 million funding round in June, was founded in 2018 by serial #entrepreneur and former Walmart e-commerce chief Marc Lore. Wonder recently struck a deal to acquire meal-kit company Blue Apron for $103 million. It has also developed #kitchenequipment that simplifies and speeds up cooking restaurant-quality food. Prior to Wonder, Lore founded and sold #ecommercestartup Jet. com to Walmart for $3.3 billion in 2016. #walmart ultimately shut down Jet, but Lore oversaw the big-box retailer’s aggressive push into the online world and its race to close the gap with rival Amazon. He left Walmart nearly three years ago. Lore also sold Quidsi, the parent firm of Diapers. com that he co-founded, to Amazon. Nestle, a food and #beverage conglomerate, manufactures ingredients, snacks, and frozen meals sold in supermarkets, but it also operates a substantial #foodservice sector and sells to clients such as college campuses and cruise lines. Lore believes that some of these companies may be interested in Wonder's kitchen equipment. The #collaboration will begin with Nestle creating pizza and pasta specifically for Wonder's cooking equipment, as well as selling the kitchen equipment to customers. Nestle's out-of-home president, Melissa Henshaw, stated that many of Nestle's clients have battled to keep up as #customers desire more quick #meals and stronger flavours, but the #businesses lack the people to provide them. In many situations, this has resulted in modifications that limit sales opportunities and dissatisfy clients, such as reduced room service menus at hotels, limited hours at cafés, or flavourless, soggy, or cold food. Wonder started with a totally different business model: a fleet of trucks equipped with mobile #kitchens that parked and cooked meals outside customers' houses in #newjersey and New York suburbs. In an effort to earn a profit faster, it abandoned that strategy in January and lay off hundreds of people. https://lnkd.in/fzpnPPW #WonderGroup #fooddelivery #investment #partnership #innovation #foodtech #hospitality #hospitalfood #marclore #employees #strategicalliance #kitchenequipment #expansion #innovation #collaboration #foodinnovation Nestlé Walmart Wonder

"During early 2023 we conducted consumer research, to test our proposition and understand more about consumer need" says Kate Gordon, co-founder of Naked Rivals. The staggering success of Naked Rivals is a win for health, a win for Aussie fruit growers and a win for anyone wondering if their brilliant idea might be worth the effort. Most startups fail, and that's often because the founders think that having a brilliant idea also means having all the answers. Even for startups and small businesses, investing in quality market research is ALWAYS worth the money. And it never hurts getting your story out to the industry via Inside FMCG! Bill Lang Amie Larter Deeon Mladin Alec Jeffrey Robert Stockdill Heather McIlvaine Amanda Ledger Tim Ladhams Philip Derham Emma Coath Nicki Marks Angeline Achariya (GAICD) The Research Society Monash Food Innovation Brett Jackson frank frappa Olivia Tait Simon Drum Charmaine England Vicki Stirling Anna Barlow Stephanie Hall Jess Gomes Sam Almaliki Rohit Bhargava Mark Newman Josh Lipscombe 🌈 🚀Gemma Clancy Mark Knobel Amelia Hartney Daniel Ross Mark Shaw Dean Blake Coles Group Woolworths Group #citrus #startups #marketresearch #startupgrowth #startupstrategies #supermarkets #fmcg #fmcgproducts #fmcgmarketing #branding

🍔🌊 AKUA KELP BURGER STARTUP SHUTS DOWN Akua, the New York-based maker of the Kelp Burger, is ceasing operations, in what is the latest example of the trials of the vegan seafood sector. In a post on LinkedIn, founder and CEO Courtney Boyd Myers said the company’s board had decided to wind down in late April, seven years after it first began operations. “We had luck, but not enough. We had some wins, but they weren’t big enough,” she wrote. And in a joint post with the startup on Instagram, she said: “After many, many tough months and hard decisions, we are announcing that our Akua adventure has come to an end. And while we didn’t get to the destination that we envisioned when we were just at the start, we’re more proud than we are sad today.” Known for its plant-based meat and seafood products from regenerative kelp, Akua first launched its jerky analogue in 2019, followed by its flagship burger in 2021. Having raised $5.4M in funding, its products have been available at retailers and online platforms like Erewhon, VONS, Pavilions, Pop Up Grocer and Good Eggs, as well as at restaurants like PLNT Burger and Hula’s Island Grill. Many companies in the alternative protein space have felt the squeeze – whether through sales declines, layoffs or more drastic measures. In the last 12 months, Nowadays, SCiFi Foods and Sunfed® Meats have all ceased operations, while Mycorena has filed for bankruptcy. Ordinary Seafood and New Wave Foods Ltd, both startups making seafood analogues, have been forced to shut too. “Compared to alternative beef, pork, and chicken products, alternative seafood is still a nascent category with fewer companies tackling this problem,” Brittany Chibe, co-founder and CEO of cellulose-based seafood maker AQUA Cultured Foods, told Green Queen last month. The company is currently selling The Last Bundle, a combination of all its products, to sell off its remaining inventory. As for Myers, she said she wouldn’t be building “another supply-chain-related business for the foreseeable future”. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d--wZyCr #GreenQueen #altprotein #futurefoods #foodsystems #sustainability

👑 In one of the hardest fundraising environments for founders, she secured funding 🖐️🎤 👋 Meet, Cori Omundson founder of Rising Wines Collective and member of our community. ✊ How She’s Scaling Impact: Rising Wines Collective partners with local small production winemakers — most with less than 15k cases in production — and form genuine relationships with them. They care about the diversity of our winemakers, the stories behind each wine, and their winemaking practices; sustainable, minimal intervention, organic, biodynamic, and more. They connect you with some of the best Washington, Oregon, and California wines. 🤗 How You Can Collaborate: If you’re an investor looking for an amazing company to invest in with great momentum, connect with Cori Omundson. We’re so proud of you Queen,  <3 #shegetsshitdone #startups #femalefounders #wineries #cpg #ecommerce #marketplaces

#CPG startups are going back to basics with simpler messaging. #Adaptogenic beverages are out, while better-for-you mac and cheese is in. Rather than touting the hottest new ingredient, investors and buyers say that the products they are most interested in right now are those that play on familiarity. #retail #grocery In this piece by Gabriela Barkho, we speak to Anna Whiteman of Coefficient Capital, Genevieve G. Gilbreath of Springdale Ventures, Breezy Griffith of SkinnyDipped, and Diego Norris of Gimme Seaweed.

📦 Introducing The Pod Foods Box of Innovation! What is a “Box of Innovation” you ask? Every month, the best of our newest, coolest and most innovative brands on the Pod Direct online marketplace are selected to be shipped to some the biggest retailers in America. Less than 2% of our brands are featured in each box, and our team will actively present these boxes filled with amazing samples to those top retail buyers in the industry. Over the past few months, we’ve helped early stage brands secure placements with awesome accounts like Sprouts Farmers Market, Foxtrot, Fresh Thyme Market , Erewhon, DoorDash, and many others. If you want YOUR brand to be in the Box of Innovation, just sign up for FREE to Pod Direct, and our team will reach out to discuss a growth strategy that works for your goals. 📈 Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your brand’s innovation and reach new heights with Pod Foods: https://lnkd.in/geDNWq7T #PodFoods #CPG #FoodAndBeverage #Innovation #FoodIndustry #FoodInnovation #Distribution #Entrepreneur   Fiona Lee Larissa Russell Peter Gialantzis Dan Rabens Matthew Noia Ammar Hanafi Clint Chao Brody Burk Russell Heiman Jake Benedict Manan M. Nitin Pachisia M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund Cultivation Capital Christian Gammill Al Sambar Diana Melencio Brandon Shainfeld Elizabeth Yin

When you’ve 80 years of history in one area of food production and bring on an entirely new product line, it’s a pretty risky move.   In 2020, Greenlea Premier Meats Ltd purchased a boutique bone broth company called Restore.   The plan was to bring production into a Greenlea factory and scale up for export.   But kitting out a new processing facility warrants some serious consideration.   That’s where The FoodBowl came in.   Greenlea Business Development Manager, Julie McDade says part of the scale up process was trying equipment at The FoodBowl before they made significant capital expenditure.   They experimented with different food processing machines, raw materials and packaging formats.   That gave Greenlea the confidence to purchase the right equipment knowing it would do what they needed it to do.   The FoodBowl lets you develop new products without interfering with your own plant and production schedule.   Julie says, “To be able to test a number of theories and do this trial work gave us such valuable learnings. The team at The FoodBowl is so great to work with.   “They helped us through all the logistics and walked us through all our options and held our hands every step of the way, meaning we were able to get exactly what we needed from our time in their incredible facility.”   Greenlea now has its own broth processing facility installed in the company’s Morrinsville meat production plant.   They’ve launched Restore into New Zealand retail as a prelude to export and have plans for further value-added export products.   And Julie says The FoodBowl will be their first port of call when they get to testing those new ideas.   #foodindustry #foodandbeverage #foodinnovation #newzealand #startup #scaleup #export   We help ambitious food businesses scale up and commercialise new products. Tap into a national network of open-access food and beverage production facilities. 

Dil Foods: Revolutionizing the Food Industry with a Virtual Twist 🚀 The Innovative Business Model Imagine a world where your favorite restaurant dishes come to you with a click, not from a traditional kitchen, but from a concept that's changing the food industry landscape. Meet Dil Foods, a virtual restaurant operator. Here's how they're making waves: Utilizing Underused Capacity: Dil Foods partners with existing restaurants to use their spare kitchen capacity. These partner restaurants prepare Dil Foods' signature pre-packed recipes, ready to be reheated and delivered through online platforms. Reducing Costs: By skipping the brick-and-mortar route, Dil Foods slashes capital expenditure, making high-quality, diverse regional cuisines more accessible. Boosting Income for Restaurants: This model isn't just good for Dil Foods; it's a win for partner restaurants too, providing them with an additional revenue stream without the need for extra investment. 🌟 The Investment Journey Arpita, the brain behind Dil Foods, initially sought ₹50 lakhs for a 0.5% equity stake. However, the final outcome was a testament to the potential seen by investors. Arpita secured a whopping ₹2 crore for a 2.67% equity. 💡 The Deal Makers The faith in Dil Foods was echoed by a consortium of four heavyweight investors: Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics) Radhika Gupta (Edelweiss Mutual Fund) Peyush Bansal (Lenskart) Ritesh Agarwal (OYO Rooms) Their advice? Scale up existing brands, enhance brand differentiation, broaden the menu within current offerings, and build a robust delivery network. 🔥 Vineeta Singh's Praise Vineeta Singh, known for her keen investment eye, praised Arpita not just for her pitch but for embodying the traits of a standout entrepreneur: clarity, data-driven decision-making, passion, and a scalable model that speaks volumes. 📈 Looking Ahead With eight virtual brands under its belt, Dil Foods is not just surviving; it's thriving and expanding, offering a glimpse into the future of dining. As of February 2024, it's clear: Dil Foods is here to stay and grow. Embrace the future of food with Dil Foods, where tradition meets innovation, and every dish tells a story of culinary excellence and entrepreneurial spirit. #foodtech #startupinvestment #entrepreneurship #innovation #sales #growth #startups #businessgrowth #marketing

👏🏼 I’d like to give a big shoutout to the Syzl team! Azrah Manji-Savin Adrian Savin, MBA What’s Syzl? https://syzl.io “We believe in food makers. From world-renowned chefs making headlines to amateur cooks selling signature homemade dishes from food carts, those who prepare our food are the backbone of our culture. Unfortunately, food makers often face a huge problem: finding the right kitchen. Once you have a concept for your business, it can be a slow, costly process to find a professional kitchen with the right equipment, in the right area, at the right time, for the right price. We started Syzl to make it easier for food makers of all stripes to achieve their vision.” 🙋🏻♀️ As some of you know, I worked extremely hard to establish my brand CC Spicy 🌶. Therefore, I chose to sustain the brand by producing the product on demand rather than manufacturing thousands of jars to sit in a warehouse — prioritizing cash flow $$! 💡 That's why I discovered Syzl and became a client. The advantages of using Syzl are noteworthy: 💥Eliminates the need for me to commute to the factory, saving valuable time that equates to money. 💥Aids in managing cash flow effectively. 🚀 As someone who has developed a tech product, I must commend the Syzl team for their exceptional work on product design, sales process, customer service, and insurance. The team’s attentive care throughout the entire process has been invaluable—customer care reigns supreme, especially in the early stages of a startup. ❤️👏🏼 #startup #innovation #foodmaker