Image Credit: Food & Wine

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. How Omsom’s Vanessa and Kim Pham Found a Buyer in DayDayCook – Inc

DayDayCook acquired the noodles and sauces company in an effort to become the ‘General Mills for Asian food.’

2. Cultured Meat 2.0 – Technically Food

Larissa Zimberoff investigates protein made with light, the hidden costs of our food system and fake pistachio ice cream.

3. Sparkling Water Companies: State of Play – Axios

Sparkling water startups are attracting investors and acquirers as health-conscious consumers opt for zero-calorie alternatives like sparkling flavored water over soda.

4. Meati Foods Dealt Blow in Alt Meat IP Dispute with the Better Meat Co; Judge Slams Firm’s ‘Sandbagging,’ and ‘Shenanigans’ – AFN

A court has thrown out Meati’s claim to Better Meat Co’s patents and accused Meati of “sandbagging and shenanigans.”

5. Perfect Day Files $200M Counterclaim Accusing Ex-Partner of ‘Gross Negligence’ and ‘Willful Misconduct’ – AFN

In court docs filed today, Perfect Day accuses manufacturing partner Olon of fraud, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.

6. After Hits Like Reddit and Scopely, Collaborative Fund Easily Raised a $125M Fund to Tackle Climate, Health and Food – TechCrunch 

The firm invests in sectors like climate, health and food, with a focus on consumers.

7. Researchers Net $85M to Tap Ancient eDNA to Inspire Next-Gen Climate Resilient Crops – AFN

The Ancient Environmental Genomics Initiative for Sustainability project has been awarded $85m over seven years in order to explore ancient environmental DNA to help develop more climate resilient crops.

8. Don’t Call It an ‘Ethnic’ Grocery Store – NY Times

As Asian groceries like H Mart, Patel Brothers and 99 Ranch expand, they are reshaping American eating habits, and the American grocery market.