Conagra Sells Chef Boyardee, AG1 Reformulates 🧪

Author

CPG WIRE
May 03, 2025

GM and Happy Saturday, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

  • High Basin buys Can-Tini 🍸

  • Grupo Bimbo expands in Romania 🍞

  • Jimmy Fallon backs Xochitl 🎙️

  • Birkenstock collabs with STAUD đź©´

  • Dobrik launches snack brand đź‘€

Conagra Sells Chef Boyardee 🍝

Conagra Brands is selling Chef Boyardee, the iconic but off trend canned pasta brand, for $600M in cash. The buyer is Hometown Food Company, a portfolio company of Brynwood Partners, and the owner of a variety of baking brands like Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, and Birch Benders.

The company is divesting Chef Boyardee, which accounted for $450M of Conagra’s $12B of net sales in 2024, in order to focus on frozen foods and healthier snacks, two growth-oriented, more on-trend divisions.

In addition to enabling Conagra Brands to reshape its brand portfolio, the sale will also allow the company to pay down debt.

The divestment is very much in line with Conagra’s recent acquisition history: 

  • In 2024, they purchased FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks for an undisclosed sum.

  • In 2018, they shelled out $10.9B for Pinnacle Foods, a diversified player in frozen food, sweets, and snacks.

  • In 2017, they acquired better-for-you popcorn brand Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP for $250M. 

  • Earlier in 2017, they purchased Thanasi Foods — the owner of Duke’s Meat Sticks and BIGS Seeds – for just over $217M.

More on the transaction here.

Deals đź’°

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Texas-based spirits firm High Basin Brands has acquired Can-Tini, a premium canned espresso martini brand. High Basin Brands launched last year by raising $4M in funding and acquiring Treaty Oak Distilling for an undisclosed sum. High Basin was founded by former On The Rocks execs. Global Drinks Intel

  • Global dairy giant Lactalis is acquiring Portuguese cheese maker Queijos Tavares from Crest Capital Partners. The deals includes two manufacturing facilities and 120 employees. The company produces a variety of cow, sheep, and goat cheeses. FoodBev

  • Two Scotch whisky producers — MacDuff International and InchDairnie — are merging to streamline operations and compete more efficiently. The new entity is called InchDairnie Whisky Limited and will be led by Graham Glen. The Spirits Business

  • Mexican baked goods giant Grupo Bimbo has expanded its presence in Romania by purchasing Karamolegos, a Bucharest-based producer of baked goods for the retail channel. Grupo Bimbo first entered the Romanian market in 2023 by acquiring Vel Pitar. Just Food

Fundraising

  • Jimmy Fallon is now an investor in Xochitl, the Mexican pantry staples brand that Forward Consumer Partners acquired a stake in last year. Xochitl also officially announced its fantastic brand refresh 👇 Fast Company

  • UK-based tea brand Good & Proper grabbed ÂŁ850K in fresh funding. Half of the funding came from existing investors. Good & Proper will use the funding to fuel growth in the retail and foodservice channels. The Grocer

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Fast-growing wellness brand Bloom just released its new Hormone Health Collection. Two SKUs are available: Detox and Balance. The new line is currently available exclusively at Walmart. Bloom has been on an absolute tear recently. Instagram

  • Birkenstock and STAUD collaborated on a gorgeous footwear collection. The Birkenstock + STAUD Arizona Sandal is available now for $170. Hypebae

  • Unilever is shutting down Ren Skincare after acquiring the sustainable beauty brand in 2015. Unilever didn’t provide a clear reason for shuttering the brand but presumably they’re just cleaning up their portfolio and refocusing on higher-growth assets. Cosmopolitan

  • Fragrance brand Ellis Brooklyn is releasing a milkshake-inspired body mist range. Three varieties are available: Banana, Mango, and Lychee. The branding is more playful and youthful than any of their previous products. The new line debuts on May 13th. Trend Hunter

  • Nashville-based fragrance brand Ranger Station opened a flagship store in New York City. This is Ranger Station’s second retail store thus far and they plan on opening more. Beauty Independent 

  • CEO Kat Cole announced that AG1 reformulated its core product. AG1 added five new probiotics, more micronutrients, and optimized a few existing ingredients to promote better absorption. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • YouTuber David Dobrik launched a new salty snack brand called Wavers. The savory snack brand is launching with four trendy flavors: Spicy Pickle, Late Night Pizza, Hot Honey, and Extra Cheesy. They really nailed the branding. Twitter

  • Alileo, a Sicilian natural boxed wine brand, collaborated with Roberta’s Pizza on three co-branded SKUs. The collab will be available for purchase at Roberta’s NYC locations. LinkedIn

  • Happy Coffee partnered with Tate’s Bake Shop (owned by Mondelez) on a cross-promotional range of products. The Happy x Tate’s RTD latte looks very good. Bake Magazine

  • GuayakĂ­ Yerba Mate officially rebranded as Yerba Madre. This is a step in the right direction for the beverage brand. GuayakĂ­ has an instantly recognizable color palette — a huge advantage in retail — but nobody ever knew what the hell it was called. Hats off to them for pulling the trigger and making a difficult decision. Forbes

  • Actual Veggies expanded into the refrigerated section with three new veggie burgers: Protein Black Bean, Protein Mushroom Quinoa, and Spinach & Feta. The new range is available exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Instagram 

Data 🖥️

  • Tech-driven beauty firm Oddity reported very good Q1 2025 results. Net revenue jumped 27% year-over-year to $268M while net income increased by $5M to $38M. Oddity will also be launching its third brand in Q3 and its fourth in Q4. Oddity

Distribution News đźšš