Cathy Engelbert

Hey Network: "There is no silver bullet to guarantee product adoption in the marketplace. However, businesses can implement strategies before launch to improve market readiness and increase the likelihood of securing a place in consumers' weekly dinners." If product adoption is something that your company struggles with, please listen to this episode CPG Launch Leaders featuring TPG's own Eleni Shipp and reach out to Eleni or I so that we can share strategies that can help you secure your place in the weekly dinner rotation. #food #CPG #newitems #newitemlaunch #ecommerce

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These CONVERGENCE sessions will be quite informative for #dietarysupplement and #functionalfood professionals!

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Great report! If you're in the F&B industry, download it and get the latest insights and trends on different topics ranging from innovation to M&A.

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🚀 The rise of functional beverages is more than just a trend—it's a movement reshaping how we think about what we drink. 📖 Great piece by Keren Landman at Vox on why the better-for-you beverage category is surging, with the market set to surpass $200 billion by 2027. Millennials are leading the charge, consuming these beverages at twice the rate of other age groups.   🌱 This is just the beginning. The rapid innovation and demand we’re seeing are a testament to consumers seeking healthier, more mindful alternatives to traditional drinks.   🌵 We look forward to continuing to pave our own unique path forward for MAGIC CACTUS and provide consumers with a refreshing, healthier beverage that can be enjoyed by a broad base of drinkers nationwide. ✨   Link to full article below:

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We want to hear directly from you! By participating in the 30th Annual Long Island Economic Survey, you will help us identify key trends, challenges and opportunities for businesses and communities. Fill out the survey here: https://bit.ly/3TCTaCh Use code: PKFOD24 #PKFOD #KnowGreaterValue #LongIslandEconomy #EconomicSurvey

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US spirits consumption has declined, with volume sales shrinking by 3% in the first seven months of the year compared to the previous year, as higher prices deter consumers. Vodka, rum, and Scotch whisky were the worst performers, with vodka sales down 3.8% and Scotch whisky by 5.8%. The spirits sector had previously enjoyed steady growth, peaking during the pandemic before falling back. Analysts are debating whether this decline is cyclical or structural. Some point to factors like the popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, Gen Z’s lower alcohol consumption, and marijuana legalisation as long-term challenges. However, others suggest the current weakness is primarily cyclical, driven by destocking and competition from the growing “ready-to-drink” (RTD) category, which saw an 11% rise in spirit-based RTD sales. Spirits companies such as Pernod Ricard, Diageo, and Brown-Forman have seen their share prices drop, with inflationary pressures and destocking weighing on revenues. Despite the current challenges, Diageo’s CEO remains optimistic about the industry’s long-term fundamentals.

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Excited to support all the great work being done at Cornell Agritech and advance Upstate NY food & agriculture! Check out the full article linked below on Cornell Chronicle.

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*Breaking Industry News* Molson Coors Beverage Company has acquired a majority stake in energy drink brand ZOA Energy in a $53 million cash transaction, expanding its growing non-alcoholic beyond beer portfolio and adding to rising M&A interest across the energy space. Co-founded by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in 2021, this deal indicates that Big Beverage has 'woken' up to innovation and the influencer economy within the sector. From a VC / venture studio point of view is also an encouragingly short timeline from launch (2021) to liquidity event (2024) to realise a return for their investors. 🚀 https://loom.ly/KEMNjs8 #beverageindustry #cpg #beverage #acquisition #investment #bevnet #TheRock

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Massachusetts Business Associates, Inc. empowers businesses in Oxford and the surrounding area to thrive. We provide a comprehensive suite of services including tax preparation, bookkeeping, and IT consulting to streamline operations and ensure financial well-being. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, Massachusetts Business Associates, Inc. offers the guidance and support to navigate the complexities of business management. Click here for your quote today and the first step to growing your business - massbusinessassociates.com

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Diageo doubles down on non-alcoholic spirits with the acquisition of Ritual Zero Proof & now owns three of the five world's largest non-alcoholic spirit brands Ritual Zero Proof was founded in 2019, and became the #1 non-alcoholic spirits player in the US after joining Diageo’s accelerator program in 2020. Five reasons why this deal makes sense: 1) Fast growing: The US non-alcoholic spirits has been the fastest growing category with +31% L5Y CAGR. 2) Incremental: 94% of non-alc buyers in the US also purchase alcoholic beverages, spending on avg $292 more than households exclusively purchasing alcohol demonstrating the incrementality of the category to beverage alcohol. 3) High Right-to-Win: Ritual is already a #1 non-alcoholic spirits player in the US, with a strong market position and tailwinds 4) Synergistic: being a #1 player globally in both alcoholic and non-alc spirits Diageo is well positioned to build on Ritual’s current success and scale it up further leveraging its GTM muscle and category expertise 5) Close to the Core: being a part of Diageo’s accelerator (Distill Ventures) since 2020, Ritual already knows what it takes to make cooperation with a spirits giant successful, limiting risks of integration challenges Exciting times for Diageo 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝘀: FF&A solves the most complex strategic problems of the world's largest FMCG companies across Corporate Strategy, Organic Growth, Digital RTM (eCommerce, DTC, and eB2B) and M&A. 14 out of the world's 20 largest FMCG companies are repeat Clients 𝗧𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗰𝗳. 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗠&𝗔 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄: https://lnkd.in/efD5RNWX 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 & 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://lnkd.in/ea4gy65y #fmcg #cpg #mergersandacquisitions https://lnkd.in/dXAZQ242 Pernod Ricard The HEINEKEN Company AB InBev Carlsberg Group Campari Group William Grant & Sons The Coca-Cola Company PepsiCo

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Great discussion on CNBC with Brian Sullivan discussing the consumer behavior tailwinds we’re seeing at Torch Capital with Cava’s success as a key indicator. The street is noticing how consumer preferences for food are changing. Cava is up over 300% since IPO. I believe this shift will continue—medications like GLP-1s (Ozempic, Wegovy) are already pushing users towards healthier food options and lifestyle choices. Our investments from Ro to Tia are fueling this change — improving access to life changing medical services. Watch this trend. Maxwell Meyers

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Great article on Fast Co covering Oishii. This gets a little deeper into our strategy and shares some of my views on where we’re going if you are interested! https://lnkd.in/emWTWeCd

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The U.S. spirits market in 2025 will be defined by an emphasis on quality, health-conscious choices, and sustainability - conclusion from bartenderspirits.com Start the #NewYear with one of the forecasted trends. #Spirits #trends for 2025 #bartenders https://lnkd.in/ei6jzYun

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Yesterday, a long-term dividend-income investor sent me the following message on the Seeking Alpha platform: "Mr. Reese, "First, a thank you for your invaluable insight on The Hershey Company over the years. I have followed your commentary for nearly a decade here on Seeking Alpha. "One question, on the future of the company. I know for example that Hormel Foods has vowed to remain a stand-alone, publicly traded, company forever. Do you believe that The Hershey Company will remain a stand-alone, publicly traded, company for decades to come? Would you say that is probable? "I am a longtime holder of the stock (since 1990) and the very last scenario I want to see is the stock being taken out by an entity like Berkshire Hathaway or 3G Capital or for that matter even Nestlé. A takeover by Nestlé would mean that the company would be domiciled in Switzerland, which as you know would mean that longtime Hershey shareholders would have to pay substantially more in dividend taxes, more than double, actually. "My best to you and thank you in advance for your insight. "Charles" --------------------------------- Well, below was my response to this long-term dividend-income investor who messaged me yesterday on Seeking Alpha: --------------------------------- First Charles, you're welcome. Secondly Charles, I do not believe that The Hershey Company will remain a stand-alone publicly traded company. Thirdly Charles, The Hershey Company as well as its controlling shareholder, the Hershey Trust Company, are already being totally manipulated by Larry Fink of the BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, PDF page 49, item 4. Charles, since I helped stop the sale of Hershey in 2002, its quarterly cash dividend has increased by +736%. Thank you for your kind note. Brad #SeekingAlpha #HersheyCompany #HormelFoods #BerkshireHathaway #3GCapital #Nestle #HersheyTrustCompany #HersheyTrust #BlackRock #LarryFink

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Once again food retailers are following rather than leading in the food-as-medicine space. Instacart has partnered with New York's largest health system, Northwell Health, to provide stipends for patients to purchase healthy food. Food retailers have an opportunity to take a leading role in helping shoppers improve their wellbeing and control, if not eliminate, some of the chronic health conditions that afflict a majority of the U.S. population. Technology is providing the tools - extensive attributes on every food item driven by diet, health condition, lifestyle, drug interactions, and more, are coming together with automated hyper-personalization to enable retailers to guide each individual shopper to foods beneficial to them. My white paper, Next-Generation Food-As-Medicine, lays out how food retailers can do well by doing good. The paper is available here: https://lnkd.in/gq-QuR5T https://lnkd.in/gGSaBJE2 #FAM Center for Advancing Retail & Technology (CART) Sifter Birdzi, Inc. Andrew Parkinson Thomas Parkinson Shekar Raman #food #grocery #supermarket #health #health&wellness #innovation #retail #CEO #CIO #CMO Supermarket News Instacart

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