Member News & Headlines Blog

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that partner Randy Bridgeman was a recent finalist for the “Food & Beverage Dealmaker of the Year” category in The Deal Awards Middle Market, which recognizes leaders and innovators in the world of dealmaking. Over the past several months,The Deal received hundreds of submissions, nominating individuals and firms across dozens of categories and sectors. The awards covered deals involving at least one U.S. party that clocked in at under $500 million.

Randy Bridgeman, co-chair of the firm’s Corporate & Securities practice, recently led a series of cross-border, co-manufacturing joint ventures for a global food manufacturer as well as the sale of a family-owned business specializing in the production of caramel color for beverages. Known for immersing himself in his clients’ businesses and industries, Randy has extensive experience representing companies with domestic and overseas operations in the food and beverage sector.

The Deal is an intelligence service that provides actionable information on deals and dealmakers, offering over 100,000 users the unique opportunity to identify potential deals and target dealmakers to accelerate revenue generation. The Deal  Awards Middle Market recognizes the leading lawyers, bankers, investors and advisers in middle-market transactions.

Access the full list here

Kellogg announced Monday that it is selling Keebler, Famous Amos and other snack brands for $1.3 billion cash to chocolate confectioner Ferrero. Ferrero is best known in the U.S. as the maker of Nutella.

Known for its cereals, crackers, salty snacks and toaster pastries, Kellogg recorded about $13.5 billion in sales in 2018. Its cookie business, which includes Keebler, Mother's, Famous Amos and Murray's, netted about $900 million last year. Shares of Kellogg fell about 1 percent in morning trading.  

Fulton Galley, an innovative food hall opening in June at 1115 W. Fulton Market, has announced the chefs and concepts that will occupy the nearly 13,000-square-foot space.

The Fulton Market project, announced last fall, will be the fifth for the Pittsburgh-based Galley Group, which creates low-cost, low-risk launching pads for new restaurant projects.

“We don’t lease the spaces, we do a revenue share,” said co-founder Ben Mantica. “We show people we’re willing to walk the walk and tie our financial success with theirs.”

Mantica said he and partner Tyler Benson sifted through about 40 applicants before setting on the final five — which are all the restaurants Fulton Galley will hold.

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The food and beverage industry moves quickly, notably customer demand, rising transportation costs, data, and technology. Hear Matt Stekier, senior manager of Plante Moran and Brian Winshall, executive vice president of GlobalTranz, discuss industry challenges and the strategies you need to thrive.

Listen here to Matt Stekier and Brian Winshall discuss:

• Expanding industry opportunities for strategic collaboration and data capture.
• How blockchain can help overcome traceability and food safety challenges.
• Controlling the “Amazon effect” by addressing the truck driver shortage, rising transportation costs, and profitability.

Kellogg Company, a leading global cereal and snacks manufacturer, has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2019 World's Most Ethical Companies.

Kellogg has been recognized by Ethisphere for 11 years. The company will be listed under the Food Processing & Distribution category.  

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It’s been about two weeks since Origin Almond unofficially relocated its HQ from Philadelphia to Chicago to join Springboard Brands, the Kraft Heinz incubator. My beverage startup, out to reinvent premium juice with a low-sugar alternative via our innovative Almond Juices, was selected by Kraft Heinz out of an applicant pool of hundreds of other emerging natural food brands to join the program.

I put together three takeaways from my initial whirlwind experience in the incubator to shed some light on what happens in the program. But first, here’s a quick overview on the Springboard Incubator and why emerging food & beverage brands should consider applying to the next cohort:

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Imbibe sent a team to Expo West to look for the hottest trends and most innovative products. In Part I of our recap we highlighted trends in coffee and tea, plant-based beverages, CSDs, sparkling waters, and sports nutrition products. Here's what else we found! 

Click here to read this full article from Imbibe.

Learn from our member Imbibe and Andy Dratt about what can developers and brands do to adapt to society’s changing perception and behavior around sugar consumption? Chief Commercial Officer, Andy Dratt, gave a presentation at South by Southwest in Austin, TX on the introduction and evolution of sugar throughout our food supply. We may be in the midst of a revolution, especially with the changes to the Nutrition Facts Panel looming, and expect more resolutions to come to the forefront in the ways of natural, non-nutritive sweeteners and flavors with modulating properties. 

Listen to the podcast here.

Another fantastic year for our partners at Family Farmed, as they put on their 15th anniversary Good Food Expo! It was a great opportunity for food and beverage start-ups and innovators to showcase their products. There was an abundance of snacks, nibbles, dips and sauces for attendees to sample - all within the better-for-you food category. For CFBN, we were delighted to see so many of our members present. From IFSH, Moon Meals, Kitchfix, Blake's Seed Based, The Hatchery and Simple Mills (who was an event sponsor this year!) We were humbled to share this opportunity with our fantastic members, and the Chicagoland community.

McDonald’s is set to announce that it has reached an agreement to acquire Dynamic Yield, a startup based in Tel Aviv that provides retailers with algorithmically driven "decision logic" technology. When you add an item to an online shopping cart, it’s the tech that nudges you about what other customers bought as well. Dynamic Yield reportedly had been recently valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars; people familiar with the details of the McDonald’s offer put it at over $300 million. That would make it the company's largest purchase since it acquired Boston Market in 1999.

Read the full article here