December 2, 2021

SNAC International News and Events:

SNX Webinars Next Week:

What Snack Producers Need to Know About SNX – Wednesday, Dec 8 at 2 PM ET

All snack producers are invited to this educational webinar to learn how to make SNAC's new event -- SNX -- a big success for you and your company. Scheduled for March 27-29, in Phoenix, AZ, this in-person education and collaboration forum will feature new and innovative ways to improve business performance and learn about the industry's most important innovations and growth drivers. Register here.

All About SNX for Suppliers, 2.0 – Thursday, Dec 9 at 2 PM ET

Snack industry suppliers are invited to this "next step" webinar to learn how to make SNAC's new event -- SNX, scheduled for March 27-29, in Phoenix, AZ -- a big success for you and your company. Building on the previously held "All About SNX" webinar, this session will provide a refresher on the new format; insight into managing scheduled meetings in the Supplier Suites; ideas on how you can participate in the Experience Zone; and the steps you should be taking to plan in order to make SNX a home run for your company. Don't miss this valuable "how-to" presentation to ensure maximum ROI from your SNX participation. Register here.

Webinar Recording and Slides Available: Unpacking the Federal OSHA Vaccine Mandate

SNAC’s outside legal counsel, George Ingham with Hogan Lovells, discussed the recently released federal vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees ensure that their employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than January 4, 2022 or get tested weekly for COVID-19. George unpacked the ETS and helped companies understand what they need to do to properly implement the rule within their organization. Additionally, George discussed the current litigation landscape surrounding the ETS and what that means for companies moving forward. View the slides and recording here.

SNAC International Connects with Members, Promotes SNX at NOSH Live

The SNAC team is connecting with members and start up prospects at NOSH Live in Santa Monica, California. It is always great to see our members!

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Regulatory and Legislative News:

SNAC Requests Flexibility on Bioengineered Disclosure Deadline

SNAC joined nine industry allies on a letter to USDA requesting flexibility regarding the Jan 1, 2022 bioengineered rule compliance date. Companies continue to struggle to meet the compliance deadline due to unforeseen pandemic and supply chain challenges. To prevent unused film from being sent to the landfill, the letter requests USDA provide flexibility and enforcement discretion through January 1, 2023.

COVID-19 Hours of Service Waiver Extended Again

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended an exemption from hours-of-service (HOS) rules for drivers hauling pandemic-related freight through February 28, 2022, citing the need to provide capacity in the wake of a potential rise in COVID-19 infections. The exemption from the HOS rules will be granted if the driver is transporting eligible goods such as food and providing “direct assistance” to aid the “immediate restoration of essential services (such as medical care) or essential supplies related to COVID-19 during the emergency.”

Proposed New York State Bill to Restrict SNAP Purchases

A bill (A08469) was introduced in New York State that would request authorization from the federal government to ensure that SNAP benefits are only used for the purchase of healthy foods and beverages. Under this bill, "healthy and nutritious foods and beverages" would include items as determined by the commissioner of health to be medically or nutritionally warranted. The list of "healthy and nutritious foods and beverages" would not include foods and beverages with significant amounts of added sugar, artificial sweeteners, or sodium, such as soft drinks, confectionary products, and processed foods with high salt content.

Senate Takes on the Build Back Better Bill

Shortly before Thanksgiving, the House of Representatives passed President Biden’s $1.7 trillion social spending and climate bill, Build Back Better. The House bill contains key provisions that could affect the snack industry, such as “civil penalties” for employer unfair labor practices and a “parole” process that would waive immigration requirements for five years. The Senate has now taken up the bill, determining what can be included for it to be passed through budget reconciliation with the hope of bringing it to the floor for a vote before the holiday recess.

FTC Launches Investigation on Food Retailers and Suppliers

The Federal Trade Commission is ordering nine large retailers, wholesalers and consumer good suppliers to provide "detailed information to help the FTC shed light on the causes behind ongoing supply chain disruptions and how these disruptions are causing serious and ongoing hardships for consumers and harming competition in the U.S. economy." The companies have 45 days to respond to the order.

SNAC Member News:

Eagle Foods Thinks Inside the Subscription Box for Product Testing

As Eagle Foods prepared to launch new flavors of its Cretors popcorn last year, executives at the Ohio-based company decided to test their indulgent offerings with consumers using an unorthodox way: a subscription box. Read more on Food Dive.

Fuchs North America Introduces “Southern Inspirations: The Celebrating Soul Collection”

Fuchs North America introduces its "Celebrating Soul Collection" of seasonings, flavors, and bases. In introducing the collection, Shannon Cushen, Fuchs’ Director of Marketing, describes the inspiration behind the collection. “With travel still being limited during the pandemic, food is a way for consumers to explore new places. As a result, interest in regional cuisines and flavors have grown astronomically over the past couple of years. Southern cuisine has emerged as a standout among regional American cuisines. We wanted to bring authentic Southern comfort dishes to life through this innovative seasoning collection." Press Release.

Doritos® Takes This Year's Doritos Bowl to Another Level®

The legendary Doritos Bowl is back on Twitch Rivals, the #1 destination for competitive entertainment on Twitch, and Doritos is taking this year's competition to another level. With one epic day of gameplay on December 6 led by four top Twitch creators playing five different games, for the first time, fans will be able to watch some of their favorites play games that they've never streamed before. Press Release.

Reading Bakery Systems Expands Project Management Team to Support Global Growth

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS) has expanded their project management team in response to global growth by hiring Michael McDermott, Michael Manley, and Vardan Upadhyaya as project managers. “We are excited to welcome three talented professionals to RBS," said Tremaine Hartranft, Director of Technical Sales. "Each bring a blend of education and experience, that will enhance the strength of our project management group. Together, the new project managers will work to exceed our quality, customer service, and delivery goals for RBS’ growing global customer base.” Press Release.

Transportation Insight Holding Company Acquires SwanLeap

Transportation Insight Holding Company announced the acquisition of SwanLeap, Inc., a pioneering transportation management software company. The acquisition adds SwanLeap’s proprietary, multimodal TMS and powerful analytics to TI Holdco’s end-to-end logistics services, creating a comprehensive multimodal transportation management platform. Press Release.

Industry News and Trends:

Consumer Confidence Slid in November - Two new surveys find inflation concerns dampened consumers' economic outlook. Read on Winsight Grocery Business.

11 Plant-Based And Alternative Protein Trends To Watch For In 2022 - Read on Forbes.

Startup Debuts Better-for-you Nutrition Bars - A new between-meal snack solution brand is making its debut with a line a protein bars featuring simple ingredients. Available in both vegan and non-vegan options, the flagship products from BodyBar Protein are positioned as better-for-you replacements for traditional nutrition bars. Read Sam Danley's news on Baking Business.

Private Label Manufacturers Picking Up the Pace - It took a global pandemic to trip up the North American private label market, but now it is starting to regain its stride and respond to a strong consumer demand signal, according to Steven T. Oakland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Private Label Product Manufacturer, TreeHouse Foods, Inc. Read Keith Nunes' article on Baking Business.

Appleooz Adds Private-label Licensing for Apple Chips - ReMarkable Foods LLC, makers of the Appleooz branch of crunchy apple chips, has begun a private-label licensing program for the product. Read more.

Using Artificial Intelligence May Add More Transparency to the Food Supply Chain - Artificial intelligence (AI) is a critical part of better food supply chain awareness among all applicable parties. This article briefly discusses some interesting examples. Read on Food Safety Tech.

Retailer News:

Farmstead Becomes First Online-Only Grocer to Accept Digital EBT/SNAP Benefit - Farmstead and Forage have forged a new partnership intended to help combat food insecurity in two ways: Farmstead plans to integrate Forage’s technology into its own e-commerce operations by the second quarter of 2022, enabling the acceptance of EBT/SNAP payments on e-commerce orders. Additionally, Farmstead will integrate Forage’s technology into its Grocery OS software, which is licensed to other grocers to help manage e-commerce and delivery operations, thereby making it easier for those grocers to also accept EBT/SNAP payments online. Read more on Winsight Grocery Business.

KeHE's 10 Macro Trends for Retailers to Watch in 2022 - To help enhance food retailers’ product selection for next year, trend experts at KeHE Distributors LLC have predicted 10 key trends in its new 2022 Macro Trend Guide. Examining major events in 2021, and determining their potential repercussions for the next year, the team of experts observed rising product innovation, consumer trends and industry shifts to provide the top themes to watch for in 2022. Read full news on Progressive Grocer.

Natural Grocers Predicts Top 10 Nutrition Trends For 2022 - The company's Nutrition Education experts forecast 2022 to be a year centered on long-term health and wellbeing. Press Release

Boxed Expands into Fast, Fresh Grocery Delivery with Acquisition of MaxDelivery - Boxed, an e-commerce grocery platform which sells bulk consumables and licenses its e-commerce software to enterprise retailers, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire MaxDelivery, one of New York’s first on-demand grocery delivery services. Chieh Huang, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boxed, said, “This acquisition of MaxDelivery will mark our entry point into the rapidly growing fast-grocery delivery space, in addition to broadening our capabilities in micro dark-store fulfillment and fresh supply chain". Press Release

How Ahold Delhaize USA Plans to Reach Net Zero - In the wake of Ahold Delhaize’s Nov. 15 Investor Day, during which the multinational retail conglomerate discussed, among other things, the furtherance of its goals to help people and the planet, Progressive Grocer had the opportunity to find out about the sustainability efforts of Ahold Delhaize USA. Read on Progressive Grocer.

Jokr Expands, Sets Up Shop in Boston - Jokr, a global delivery platform that aims to deliver products from hyper-local vendors in as short a time as 10 minutes, is expanding into a new U.S. market for the first time since launching in New York earlier this year. Read on Progressive Grocer.

Shipt Bets on Personalization to Win Delivery Wars - Shipt is betting that people, and not processing power, will be the biggest differentiator for delivery in the coming years. Shipt Senior Director of Business Development Alex Ross joins The Food Institute Podcast to discuss Shipt’s position on the delivery spectrum.

A Robot is Now Delivering 7-Eleven Snacks - Autonomous delivery company Nuro and 7-Eleven just launched what they're billing as the first autonomous commercial delivery service in the state of California. Read on ZDNet.

President Biden Hosts Roundtable with Leading Retailers About Holiday Shopping, Stocked Shelves and Overcoming Supply Chain Challenges - Read White House news release.

ICYMI - In Case You Missed It:

Your Top SNX Questions Answered

The all-new SNX Education and Collaboration Forum (March 27-29, 2022) breaks down traditional trade show barriers to offer more trade and less show. Taking place in a resort setting, this multifaceted conference features an experiential approach that facilitates meaningful discussions, discovery and decision-making — which in turn leads to new product innovation, efficiencies and growth. Read more for the answers to your biggest questions about this new and exciting event!

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