The latest acquisition targets are indie beauty brands

There were 52 acquisitions in the personal care space last year, and some of the most sought after companies were private brands with big social media fan bases, says investment bank Financo. There's also "a lot of capital chasing investments," according to another industry watcher. These days, they say, consumers are gravitating to smaller, authentic brands, and word of mouth (through social media) can have a huge impact on their purchasing decisions. Will any natural brands be scooped up? Read more at Bloomberg...

Boulder's 1908 Brands umbrella expands in natural products market

1908 Brands has proven it can buy companies and rebrand them and develop interesting new products. But it has yet to prove that it can make them national brands, says CEO Steve Savage. That's the goal for 2017. The firm owns Boulder Clean, CompoKeeper, Fruitivity Snacks, Schultz's Gourmet, Thrive Tribe and Yummari. Three Bears, an oat snack brand, is set to roll out in April. Read more at Daily Camera...

Food accounts for 12.5 percent of American households' budgets

Americans only spend more on housing and transportation, according to the USDA and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' numbers from 2015. About 7.2 percent of expenditures were at the grocery store, while 5.4 were at restaurants. Read more at USDA Economic Research Service...

Walmart is 'best positioned' in online grocery battle against Amazon

Among major food retailers, Walmart is best positioned to take on Amazon, according to a new report from Citi Research, which puts Kroger close behind. At the bottom of the list? Whole Foods. The report looked at factors including profitability, pricing and exposure to Amazon markets to make its conclusions. Read more at CNBC...

McDonald's remembers it is a fast-food chain

Four straight years of declining guest counts has led McDonald's to explore potential mobile order-and-pay or delivery options. It has also explored making its chicken nuggets without artificial preservatives and testing fresh beef for some burgers, but the company recently noted that it wants to go back to its roots and focus on "delicious, unpretentious food." Read more at Inc...