Mark Crumpacker

In today's CBD: Two of the largest Black-owned breweries, California's Crowns & Hops Brewing Co. and Full Circle Brewing Co., have struck a watershed alliance to leverage its members’ strengths and show up at market in a much bigger way. The new shared resources platform is dubbed “Circle of Crowns Beverage Group” (CCBG). The alliance “combines two leading Black-owned brands and centralizes production, sales and marketing between the two companies,” per announcement. Production will be centralized at Full Circle. Currently, the brands produce about 10,000 barrels collectively. It’s about “unlocking untapped opportunities” in the craft market, by "leveraging retail and venue diversity programs." Historically, Black suppliers have lacked the infrastructure to address these opportunities on a wide scale. CCBG also includes the historic Speakeasy Ales & Lagers brand, one of the oldest in San Francisco, and Sonoma Cider. "As you know, there's 9,000-plus breweries out there, and there's only 1% that are Black-owned," Arthur Moye, Full Circle founder, told CBD. "And I think, during a good period of the last half a decade or so, people have wanted to support Black-owned businesses. So you have major retailers reaching out to those 1%; you have distributors reaching out to those 1%; but then there hasn't been a structure by which they could significantly respond, because that 1% is mostly represented by people that don't have production facilities and can't create the margins and the economies of scale to sit on the shelves throughout the distribution networks of the chains." This starts to solve that. More here, we left the story open to all. https://lnkd.in/gsHErbeK

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How did jackfruit become a plant-based success? It took strategy, innovation, and understanding consumer drivers: taste, health, and sustainability. The Jackfruit Company shows how combining natural benefits with market insights can break barriers. Can jackfruit inspire more breakthroughs in sustainable food systems? https://lnkd.in/eJaF_Jgc

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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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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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Great time with Elanie and Kay from the Renegade Nutrition Podcast! Their content is always so timely related to changes in the science of nutrition, it's impact on our wellness, and how we can all be better at 'biohacking'. We discussed the importance of polyphenols in the diet for longevity, data from blue zones, and Goode Health. Give it a listen (if you have an hour or listen at 1.75x speed) and follow Renegade!

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🌱 Redefining Plant-Based Dining 🌟 At Never Better Foods we're committed to elevating plant-based dining to new heights. From innovative ingredient sourcing to scalable solutions for commercial kitchens, our mission is to deliver flavor, versatility, and consistency that rival—and often exceed—traditional options. Check out our latest blog post to discover how we’re partnering with food service professionals to create delicious, sustainable, and accessible plant-based dishes that diners love. Let’s build a future where exceptional plant-based dining isn’t the exception—it’s the standard. 🚀 #PlantBasedInnovation #FoodService #Sustainability #NeverBetterFoods Read the full article here 👇 https://lnkd.in/g6EebRv6

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🍺 On NPR yesterday, “After almost 20 years of explosive growth in the craft beer industry, more U.S. breweries closed than opened…the biggest challenge for breweries right now is standing out.” - Bart Watson , incoming CEO of the Brewers Association . “Demand for craft beer really stemmed for three things - for flavor, for variety and for a set of values around local, independent and just the companies themselves.” He goes on to note that they’ve succeeded in variety and flavor, which leaves the companies—branding—to make the difference. At Creature Theory we’ve been pessimistic about #craftbeer growth for nearly 10 years, and as strange as this sounds, that’s why so many of our craft beer clients have achieved so much success. We take nothing for granted. Saying “local” isn’t enough any more. Saying “quality” or “independent” is just white noise. Purchase behavior is emotional—and often irrational. By applying audience profiles, core operating principles, competitive audits and a bit of poetic license in sweeping brand storytelling, Creature Theory devises a three-dimensional, strategic exploration of your brand. And that’s all before we get to award-winning #logos #packagedesign #websites etc. Link to Article: https://lnkd.in/eiTK2zet Link to Creature Theory for more beer branding: https://lnkd.in/gSKJyXms Some of my most well known craft brewery experience includes working with Stone Brewing Funky Buddha Brewery Odell Brewing Company Cigar City Brewing Carolina Brewery Garage Beer Humm Kombucha 49th State Brewing Precarious Beer Engkanto Brewery Green Flash Brewing Co. Blue Mountain Brewery, Inc. Mother Earth Brewing ——— #craft #brewery #beer #craftbrewery #beerbranding #branding North Carolina Brewers Guild #labeldesign #beerlogo #candesign

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I had such a great time chatting with Molly Wood for the latest episode of her Everybody in the Pool podcast about Daily Harvest’s mission, how we're evolving our business strategy (including our retail expansion), and how partnerships can help drive innovative sustainability initiatives in the food and agriculture sectors. Have a listen here: https://lnkd.in/gcN6Ahpj #organic #organicagriculture #podcast #regenerativeagriculture

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Community Call: Whole Foods Market - Updates for Local and Emerging Brands Kristin Sherman, Principal Local Forager at Whole Foods Market, and Casey Gaston, Executive Leader of Local and Emerging Brands, join Community Call to share essential updates and strategies for local and emerging brands who want to get their products on shelf including: *Changes to how the local and emerging team operates *Current differentiation and innovation the team is looking for *Inside tips for submissions and pitching *Distribution recommendations *Pricing strategies *Special diets and macro trends of note

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Brand positioning is everything, and it's really frickin' hard. Below is a 30 second example of how we're approaching it with CPG Fast Track - and it all starts with asking the right questions every brand should consider: ➡️ What problem are we solving better than anyone else? ➡️ Where do we fit in the landscape of other brands solving similar problems that our target customer would know? ➡️ How do we differ from them in ways that add value to our customers? Doesn't hurt to have stellar business minds on board to help with this... Lisa Barnett Matthew Gartland Jason Feifer Markus Karjalainen

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The resurgence of dairy foods is just beginning, and there is much to anticipate. Take a look at our newest column from Amy DeLisio, MPH, RDN, the CEO of Dairy Council of California, to learn more. #DairyCouncilofCalifornia #AmyDelisio #DairyFoods #DairyResurgence https://lnkd.in/g7Rd4Dtg

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Interesting that they've tiered third-party verifications vs. soil health assessments in the regenerative ingredient sourcing policy. It would be good to know if soil health-assessed ingredients command a premium, or if it's become the cost of accessing this retail channel. According to their May newsletter, Farmer Direct Organic in Saskatchewan is "actively seeking partnerships with farmers who are cultivating organic and ROC certified lentils. We have significant demand for ROC and organic lentils into retailer bulk bins, Farmer Direct Organic packaged products and retailer private labels." Their bid for certified organic French green lentils is currently $1.15/lb, picked up on farm (no trucking cost to the farmer) on net clean weight (no payment to the farmer for non-lentil dockage in the shipment). The premium for ROC-certified French green lentils is $.15/lb (all values in Canadian dollars). So from $1.30/lb to the farmer (+/- depending on dockage and location), in theory we could now expose the supply chain margins involved in trading into Whole Foods' retail channel. Historically this has been impossible - but the new money, new demand, new intermediaries, etc. that make up the regenerative movement are a lot more interested in transparency than commercial sensitivities in business.

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We’re not in Kansas anymore. Dorothy Gale — of Wizard of Oz fame — could use this refrain for today’s craft beer business. As the demand for craft beer ebbs, while the costs of doing business increase, breweries are overhauling their business models by offloading production equipment, closing locations, and sharing production equipment, ingredient orders, and sales and marketing duties with fellow breweries. Shouldn’t they have been doing this all along? Or did pride get in the way? My pride is as deep as the pockets in my Levi’s. “Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world.” — Jack Nicholson #Beer #CraftBeer #NonAlcoholicBeer #Cider #RTD #Microbreweries #Pubs #Taprooms #Brewpubs #ConsumerBehavior #BrandAwareness #EmergingTrends #BusinessIntelligence #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #DeepLearning ✦✦✦ Stephen Carter King Chief of Growth and Marketing and Strategy, Beer Market Analyst and Beerconomy CEO • Thought Catalyst • Advisor • Sherpa • Speaker • sharing beer market trends, insights, forecasts + data • Publisher of The Beerconomist “The best beers are ones we drink with friends.” — Beerconomy Digital Coming Soon: Beerconomy Pro

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The Beans (Bean Crunchy), a Korean foodtech company, secured seed funding from Newkids Investment, leveraging 300% sales growth and export plans to Southeast Asia and China for further expansion.

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As someone deeply immersed in the CPG industry for nearly two decades, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges that come with managing data and driving growth. We’ve taken those years of learning and closely observed the solutions currently in the market as we’ve been building out the subscription offering of Pitchable – our game-changing software tailor-made for CPG operators:  🔍 Data Synthesis: Pitchable seamlessly consolidates data from industry giants like UNFI, KeHE, Whole Foods, and SPINS, providing you with a unified platform for comprehensive insights.  📊 Actionable Dashboards: Developed by CPG operators, for CPG operators, our intuitive dashboards simplify complex data, empowering you to make informed decisions effortlessly.  🚀 Powerful Tracking Capabilities: From promo tracking to sales forecasting, Pitchable equips you with the tools needed to optimize every aspect of your business – all in one place. ✅  Optimized Inventory Management: Align purchase orders with actual sell-through to optimize inventory levels.  ✅ Seamless New Item Roll-outs: Monitor new item roll-outs to ensure flawless execution every time.  ✅ Unlock Volume Opportunities: Identify volume opportunities with independents and alternate channel customers effortlessly. Check out Pitchable – developed by CPG operators, for CPG operators. DM me to get a demo on the books. Here is the link for booking a demo with Kevin Mannering:  https://lnkd.in/gq4wMxhj Pitchable Demo

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I am writing a post for our Food Trends website about the new trend of unique flavor combinations or combining ethnic foods to create something new. (Think: Korean BBQ tacos, Ranch Dressing Ice Cream, etc) If you are a brand with a product that has a unique flavor combo or a food/health pro who wants to be featured in my article about flavor combos, please fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch!

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At Narrative Food, each of our gifts is designed to tell a story. We have worked with hundreds of vendors over the years, listening to their stories and sharing them with you. In this new series, we are honored to spotlight a few of our favorite small-batch makers in their own words. Read our interview with Jeanette Greenlaw, the Director of Business Development at Bona Furtuna. #bcorp #b1 #1percentfortheplanet #wethechange,#storytelling,#sustainablefood #eatkind,#sustainableshopping,#businessasaforceforgood #consciouscapitalism,#esg #environmentalsocialgovernance,#giftsthatgiveback #giftwithpurpose #impactfulgiving

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