The food & agriculture fix
MAHA, distributor fees, food marketing grants, nut prices and more!
In this post:
Trump era food & ag policies
USDA food + ag grants
Distributor fees inflate grocery prices
Nut prices will go up
Walmart betting on natural foods
David Protein wants to know what you think about sweeteners
What’s up with whole body deodorant?
What will MAHA look like?
Our next Secretary of Health and Human Services may be RFK, who along with advisor Calley Means think the food industry’s influence on nutrition science has been "an orgy of corruption”, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee "a disgrace", and the Farm Bill a "dysfunctional dumpster fire".
You have my attention.
We do not know the specifics on what new food and ag policies under MAHA will look like, but we can expect:
a new subsidy system that would "unleash the American farmer to produce the world's healthiest, most nutritious, highest quality food"
an examination of the pesticides and herbicides used on food
significant reform in food policy, nutrition science, and agricultural practices
Means is the co-founder of Truemed, a tax-free HSA/FSA spending company for metabolic health, and co-author of Good Energy, a book on food as preventative medicine (which I’ve covered here and here).
RFK was really turned on to Means during this podcast interview a couple months ago, and the pair were at Mar-a-Lago last Wednesday.
I will be following for future developments.
These grants are not just for roadside stands and farmers markets, but for retail marketing of grower-owned brands. Sign up for grant alerts here
*Newsflash* Brands raised prices in part to offset distributor fees
Wildway founder Kyle Koehler was interviewed for this article, letting America know that problems in the food distribution supply chain ultimately contribute to higher grocery prices. As a brand you already know about the flood of obscure distributor charges that are often bogus.
UNFI, a major grocery distributor, is facing a lawsuit for applying prompt-pay discounts on delayed payments. The lack of transparency and imbalance of power should make actions like this a slam dunk.
Nut prices going up
I get asked a lot when is a good time to contract for almonds. The answer is not simple. Do you shop your spec around? Depending on what you buy, some handlers find inventories of particular sizes and specs in short supply, and that drives price. At this time of year full yields for the new harvest won’t be known until the end of the year, so some handlers are holding firm. Firming of prices are also due to slowdowns in acreage planted, interest rate cuts, and exports. Exports to China have been strong, however a renewed trade war could change all that.
Pistachios are all over social media. Tastewise says conversations about pistachios grew by 10% over the past year and interest as an ingredient jumped 15%. Check out this pistachio cream pastry I had at Il Giardino di Lilli in La Jolla —
Walmart has a new Modern Soda set
This is exciting for small brands like Aura Bora, Wildwonder, and for agua frescas like Bawi and Agua Bonita to join the ranks of sodas Poppi and Olipop
I got this David survey
Asking about sweeteners and fibers. It assumes people have different perceptions of sucralose vs monk fruit extract for instance. Curious if that’s true and what the people at David will learn with this survey.
Body deodorant
I’d like to know if any of you on the health and beauty side of CPG can explain the rise of whole body deodorant to me? We’ve never needed this before. Could it be body wash’s fault? I say go back to bar soap and see if you still stink. It doesn't make sense that water saving cleaning powders, laundry sheets, and bar shampoos are trending while people are still using body wash. Here’s my favorite bar shampoo and conditioner:
That’s all folks!
All my best,
Jennifer