- CPG Weekly News
This Week in CPG 03/16/2026
🛒 Retail Rollouts
🌮 PACHA expanded at Target and stacked up wins
PACHA, co-founded by Madeleine Hamann and Adam Hiner, debuted a new USDA Certified Organic Sourdough Buckwheat Tortilla recipe at Expo West, expanded into about 250 West Coast Target stores, and earned NEXTY Awards finalist recognition in the Gluten-Free Product category as it grows beyond bread into a broader platform of regenerative, gut-friendly, allergen-free staples. PACHA shared three major milestones at Natural Products Expo West 2026 that point to its next phase of growth: an improved USDA Certified Organic Sourdough Buckwheat Tortilla recipe, expansion into roughly 250 West Coast Target stores, and recognition as a NEXTY Awards finalist in the Gluten-Free Product category. Together, the updates position the brand to move beyond bread and further establish itself as a platform for nutrient-dense, clean-label staple foods rooted in fermentation, sprouting, and ingredient simplicity.
🍿 Frankie’s Organic Snacks landed a major Sam’s Club rollout
Frankie’s Organic Snacks, led by President Frank Cristiano, is launching in more than 600 Sam’s Club locations nationwide through April 25 with its Organic Puffcorn Variety Pack, marking the family-owned brand’s first national U.S. retail placement. The Sam’s Club rollout features Frankie’s Organic Puffcorn Variety Pack with White Cheddar and Himalayan Pink Salt, packed with 15 individually wrapped mini bags of each flavor and a suggested retail price of $12.98. The launch builds on the brand’s growing U.S. presence across retailers including Erewhon, PCC Natural Markets, Central Market, Fairway Market, and Thrive Market, while bringing its USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten-Free, and kosher snacks to a much broader national audience.
🍪 Love&Cookies took its cookie dough show to Costco
Love&Cookies, founded by Ashley Cameron, is popping up at Costco locations across Southern California through May 17 with fresh-baked samples and a special two-for-$11.99 offer on its frozen cookie dough, while continuing its retail expansion into Sprouts, HEB, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, Thrive Market, and 23 new states. At each Costco stop, Love&Cookies is baking cookies fresh on-site and sampling three of its best-selling frozen cookie dough flavors: Sugar & Sprinkle, Oatmeal Raisin, and Chocolate Chip. The roadshow gives shoppers a promotional chance to buy any two flavors for $11.99, a notable value compared with the usual in-store price, while reinforcing the brand’s broader momentum as it scales distribution across major grocery partners.
🚀 New Product Launch
🫛 HIPPEAS turned up the heat with two new flavors
HIPPEAS, founded by Livio Bisterzo, is expanding its Chickpea Puffs lineup with Jalapeño Cheddar Blaze and All Dressed Up, rolling out nationwide now as the brand builds on its refreshed look with more bold, globally inspired flavors. Jalapeño Cheddar Blaze combines a spicy jalapeño kick with a creamy cheddar-style finish, while All Dressed Up gives the brand’s take on the classic Canadian chip profile with BBQ, salt and vinegar, and sour cream and onion notes. Like the rest of the Chickpea Puffs lineup, both varieties are made with chickpeas and deliver 4 grams of plant-based protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, with 50% less fat than the leading puffed snack.
🥞 A-Sha Foods added a new Hello Kitty breakfast flavor
A-Sha Foods, founded by Young Chang, expanded its Hello Kitty Mochi Pancake Mix line with a new Banana Macadamia flavor, joining Original and Ube in a gluten-free, mochi-style breakfast mix now available at Target and Target.com. Made in the USA with no artificial flavors or colors, the Banana Macadamia variety uses a rice flour blend designed to create soft, chewy mochi-style pancakes with a nutty twist and playful Hello Kitty packaging. The mix only requires eggs, milk, and oil, giving the brand another easy-prep option for fans of fun, better-for-you breakfast products.
🤝 Brand Partnerships
🧁 Baked by Melissa brought beauty shades to cupcakes
Baked by Melissa, founded by Melissa Ben-Ishay, teamed up with essie on a limited-edition cupcake collection inspired by the nail brand’s Gourmet Grocery polish shades, marking the dessert company’s first major beauty collaboration with flavors tied to Marshmallow, Berry Naughty, and Unsalted. Available from March 8 through March 23, the collaboration turns essie’s polish colors into bite-size cupcake flavors, with Marshmallow featuring vanilla cake and marshmallow fluff, Berry Naughty built around dark chocolate raspberry ganache, and Unsalted bringing together Bavarian cream and butter cookie notes. The partnership taps into the growing crossover between food and beauty, pairing playful color trends with sensory-driven treats sold online nationwide and in Baked by Melissa stores while supplies last.
💸 Acquisitions and Investments
🍬 Harken Sweets paired fresh funding with rapid retail growth
Harken Sweets, founded by Katie Lefkowitz, raised fresh capital from Selva Ventures as it expands nationwide into Kroger and expects to reach around 7,500 doors this year in just its second full year on the market. The funding comes at a breakout moment for Harken Sweets, which is quickly scaling from an emerging better-for-you candy brand into a much larger retail presence. Alongside the Selva Ventures investment, the company announced a nationwide Kroger expansion and projected distribution in roughly 7,500 doors this year, underscoring strong momentum for its mission-driven approach to nostalgic candy made with less sugar and more gut-friendly fiber.
🎉 News to Celebrate
🧂N/UM picked up another industry honor
N/UM, founded by Awa Kone, earned its second Food & Beverage Magazine Editor’s Pick, this time for its African Beechwood Smoked Salt, adding to the brand’s growing recognition in specialty seasonings. The new honor follows an earlier Editor’s Pick recognition for the brand’s Smoked Salt & Black Truffle, making N/UM one of the few specialty seasoning brands to receive multiple nods from the publication. Its African Beechwood Smoked Salt uses mineral-rich salt crystals slowly cold-smoked with African beechwood to create a rich, elegant smokiness suited for everything from meats and vegetables to cocktails and desserts.
🥭 Sun & Swell pushed packaging innovation further
Sun & Swell, founded by Kate Flynn, quietly launched an updated snack line in certified home-compostable wrappers, advancing its long-running push toward more practical, lower-impact packaging. Flynn framed the launch as the result of years of moving away from conventional plastic and then beyond industrial-compostable formats after realizing that many municipal systems still cannot process compostable packaging. The new film is harder to run on machines and comes with shelf-life and distribution challenges, but it gives consumers the ability to compost the wrappers at home, representing a meaningful step forward in the brand’s sustainability journey.
🍨 Smearcase FroCo scored a big Expo West win
Smearcase FroCo, co-founded by Joseph R. Rotondo and Drew, won first place in the 2026 Expo West Albertsons Innovation Launchpad pitch competition. The win gave Smearcase FroCo an early and high-profile boost at Expo West, with the founders calling the moment surreal and expressing gratitude to Karen Ivanis-Rogers and the Albertsons team. Taking first place in the Innovation Launchpad competition adds strong validation for the brand as it builds awareness in front of retail and industry audiences.
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