Perseverance, determination and better-for-you innovation were on full display from the CPG brands at the Startup CPG holiday show in Chicago, as several founders shared with FoodNavigator-USA in a video interview.
Startup CPG is a community of emerging better-for-you brands that hosts events like the Chicago holiday show to bring founders together to share insights on how to run a food and beverage business.
At the event, FoodNavigator-USA met with three brand founders from Tierra Negra, RMBR and Mex Foods to discuss the challenges and opportunities these brands faced in 2024 and what they hope to accomplish in 2025.
Tierra Negra manages retail success, rejections to grow dark salsa brand
After four years of planning, third-generation restaurant operator Ivan Gutierrez launched Tierra Negra this year to honor his heritage and celebrated the year with retail distribution in Central Market stores in Texas.
Tierra Negra is a preservative-free dark salsa made from dried chili peppers, onions, garlic and a blend of seasonings.
“We just launched this product and really wanted to create a brand that was an honor to my family from and that is Mexico, and a lot of natives refer to Mexico as ‘Mi Tierra,’” Gutierrez said.
In expanding beyond the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, Tierra Negra faced several rejections from retailers and faced challenges working with co-manufacturers — a common challenge among early startups.
“Another setback was also getting a few noes when we first launched. We do get a lot of yeses getting into independently owned stores, but getting a few noes really makes you wonder if this brand is going to work or not. But you just keep going, and you go on to the next store, and then you eventually get a few more yeses,” Gutierrez elaborated.
From ‘square one’ to retail success: RMBR expands into Sprouts in 2024
Initially launching as Komunity Kombucha in 2023, RMBR Kombucha is reimagining “kombucha as a social beverage,” Kiara Tomirotti, co-founder and head of partnerships and events at RMBR Kombucha told FoodNavigator-USA. RMBR launched at several of its “dream-list” retailers in 2024, including Sprouts and Erewhon.
However, RMBR’s Sprouts expansion almost did not happen, Tomirotti noted. Before signing the deal, the Sprouts buyer working with RMBR left the company, requiring the brand to restart negotiations with a brand new representative, Tomirotti explained.
“We had to start from back to square one. So, it was a really exciting moment once we did get that green light, and it just makes it so much sweeter when you worked harder for it,” she elaborated.
Mez Foods communicates the potential of mesquite beans for confections
Launched last year, Mez Foods is taking a novel and sustainable approach to making a classic indulgent – chocolate – by using the fruit of mesquite beans, brand Co-founder Bob Schultz told FoodNaivgator-USA.
Mez experienced “a lot of growth” in 2024, as consumers opened up to new ways to satisfy their sweet tooth, Schultz explained. During that time, Mez continued to fine-tune its pitch and educated consumers about the use of mesquite as a sustainable chocolate alternative, he added.
“Bringing a new ingredient into the market and into a new space that is starting to grow has been very difficult, but I think we have been starting to understand a little bit more about how that is resonating with people, and how we can keep making that discussion piece a little bit clearer for them to understand,” Schultz elaborated.
Videography, editing & production: Carly Rude
Music credit: Artlist.io / Max Jackson/ Let’s Go
