Nick Wiseman

The Open Food Company is bolstering its leadership bench as it kicks off a $3 million seed round to scale its “radically transparent” CPG platform. 💼📈 The open-source holding company has appointed former CAVA Group CFO Jonathan Clark as fractional CFO and tapped creative veteran Matthew Langille as strategic advisor. Clark, who previously guided Honest Tea through its acquisition by Coca-Cola, will steer financial strategy and fundraising as the company eyes omnichannel expansion and new brand launches beyond its debut product, Harry’s Famous Sauce. Founded in 2024 by Renée Guilbault and actor Harry Hamlin, the company positions transparency as a competitive advantage—publishing detailed testing and nutrition data alongside its retail rollout at Gelson’s. With plans to expand into marinades, dressings, spices and more, the next chapter is already taking shape. 🌿🥫 Link to the full story in the first comment below 👇 #CPG #FoodIndustry #StartupFunding #Leadership #FoodTransparency #BetterForYou #RetailExpansion

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This is an excellent summary from Troy Hooper on what’s happening in the restaurant industry with declining traffic and sales declines. As Troy mentions, everyone needs to be prepared to stop the bleeding as much as possible now so that we’re prepared to take advantage when the market turns positive in 2026.

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The U.S. wine and spirits market has plummeted from its pandemic highs. At-home consumption pulled demand forward, and what followed has been a reset marked by softer volumes, rising inventories, and a consumer who is drinking less and thinking more about health. Spirits have been more resilient, but even there growth is slowing. Wine is the clear laggard, losing relevance across multiple price points. The issue is generational. Gen Z and Generation Alpha are not adopting alcohol the way Baby Boomers did. Wellness, moderation, and alternative social rituals are reshaping the landscape. Penfolds sees that clearly. This move is about customer acquisition, not brand awareness. Pop Icon Troye Sivan brings cultural relevance, not just reach. He connects the brand to a younger, global audience that lives at the intersection of music, fashion, and digital culture. But wine still carries signals of formality and occasion that don’t naturally align with how younger consumers engage.

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Searching for growth? General Mills has announced plans to boldly go after the over 55s in their quest to increase volumes. While much of CPG chases 18-45s or the latest wellness fad, General Mills is placing its bets on three under-the-radar, high-leverage consumer groups: - Adults aged 55 +, who account for nearly half of U.S. households and have enormous spending power. - Consumers using GLP-1 medications (up to 12%+ of U.S. adults), who’re eating less but seeking more protein, more functional nutrients, smaller portions. - Hispanic shoppers, where General Mills plans to ramp up innovation and engagement by ~40% in FY26. This move takes product renovation in new directions - redesigning products and formats to match how people now live, eat and feel. They’re innovating for smaller households (smaller pack sizes), higher-protein need states, functional nutrition and not just indulgence. And this isn’t an isolated move. It’s part of a broader CPG reboot as the absence of growth looms. Full article by Elizabeth Crawford here: https://lnkd.in/eC7uqJSk #CPG #Innovation #ConsumerTrends #GeneralMills #Wellness #GLP1 #MidlifeConsumers #BrandStrategy

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Important discussion shared by PeakBridge on ultra-processed foods and the clean-label movement that is growing louder. But one surprising reality is rarely discussed: Most “vanilla flavor” used in food products is not real vanilla. Not because companies don’t want to use it — but because natural vanilla supply has historically been too fragile, volatile, and limited to support global demand. For decades, the industry filled this gap with synthetic flavor systems. If the food industry is truly moving toward cleaner labels and real ingredients, then the ingredient supply chains behind them must evolve as well. At Vanilla Vida, our mission is to help enable that shift by building a scalable and reliable natural vanilla supply chain — combining controlled farming and industrial curing to bring stability to a historically unpredictable crop. #TheVanillaParadox

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