The last bite: Roxii Supercube ‘functional shot’ coming to a freezer aisle near you

Welcome to “the last bite,” an end-of-week food and ag roundup from the Minnesota Star Tribune. Reach out to business reporter Brooks Johnson at brooks.johnson@startribune.com to share your news and hydration hacks.

Powdered electrolytes and functional juice shots have seen rapid growth in recent years as they quench Americans’ thirst for all things health-and-wellness.

Pete Speranza is taking that energy to the freezer aisle with Roxii Supercube, an ice cube packed with juice and in-demand ingredients like magnesium, fiber and collagen.

“I think we’re hitting a sweet spot with what’s going on in the market,” Speranza said. “You can’t get the flavor we’re going to give you with powders.”

The General Mills alum and former CEO of plant-based brand Wicked Kitchen co-founded Roxii Supercube with British nutritionist Belle Robinson and set up the business in Minneapolis, where products will first hit shelves this fall after a year in development.

The Supercube will come in four flavors with functional ingredients such as collagen, biotin, prebiotic fiber and vitamin A in the “Glow” cube or vitamin C, zinc, ginger and turmeric in the “Immunity” cube.

The biggest question for the Roxii Supercube — how fast it should melt — was answered with research from Minneapolis’ Broadhead agency: Slowly, for sipping and refilling, is just fine.

Roxii Supercube will debut at Lunds & Byerlys in October, and Speranza hopes to hit Target shelves early next year.

A key survey shows consumer trust in food safety is at an all-time low, a major red flag for regulators and food manufacturers.

Just 55% of Americans are at least somewhat confident in the safety of the food supply, according to the International Food Information Council. That’s the lowest level since the survey began in 2012 and well off the 10-year average of 65%.

Those lacking confidence in food safety — and very few respondents were “unsure” — said they thought “profit is prioritized over safety in the food industry.” They also said there is not strict enough regulation of the industry, the survey found.

The top suggested fixes? Better transparency from food companies and governments about how they ensure food safety.

There are too many soybeans, too much corn, too much wheat out there to keep prices at a sweet spot that both keeps farmers reasonably profitable and food prices in check.

Even as the U.S. generally produces more of these crops every year, the country’s share of global grain production has fallen from 25% to 23% over the past decade.

During a recent owners forum, CHS leaders said it’s even more important for the company to be a “strong global agribusiness” to balance the domestic issues with overseas opportunities.

The Inver Grove Heights-based ag cooperative is regularly keeping a close eye on costs and the strategic value of assets, company leaders said in the owners forum presentation.

“Capital-intensive” is a pretty common term in the food manufacturing world, so a recent $1.75 million infusion of state grants to buy equipment was welcome news for 42 Minnesota food and farm companies.

U.S. Department of Agriculture leaders this week were called into a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing to defend their choice to relocate 2,600 workers from the Washington, D.C., area to five hubs across the country.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, ranking Democrat on the committee, was particularly critical of the decision, suggesting similar moves under Trump in the last administration led to slower productivity from important agency research units.

Klobuchar also said the move would lead to unnecessary staff losses. About 15,000 USDA workers have already left the agency since the Trump administration came into power in January.