Keys to scaling for emerging brands
The right mindset affects an emerging brand’s ability to make its first million dollars in sales or reach its $100m milestone, according to a study of 90,000 brands
Startups & entrepreneurs
The rise of functional snacks: How Day Out is redefining plant-based protein options
From a founder’s kitchen experiment to retail expansion, Day Out reflects the growing demand for nutrient-dense, convenient and clean-ingredient snacks
The new rules of snacking: How to navigate a $150bn market in flux
Data from Conagra and Circana shows how shifting tastes, wellness demands and convenience are rewriting the playbook for snack makers worldwide
Sustainable squid snacks: How The Hermit is disrupting the jerky category
Squid jerky startup targets the clean-label snack market
Startup Spotlight
Niche vs mainstream: Startup ReadyBar sees big potential in focused market
ReadyBar’s founder warns CPG startups against trying to be everything to everyone. His lesson: focus on a niche, like first responders, to build real traction
Startup Spotlight
Salad Sprinkles takes aim at ‘big crouton,’ expands from DTC to retail
Salad Sprinkles’ gluten-free, rice-flour topping has gone from TikTok virality to retail shelves, backed by a lean startup strategy and plans for retail expansion
Positively Groundfish’s Catch+Create Accelerator seeks startups to scale sustainable west coast seafood products
The new accelerator empowers early-stage seafood innovators to develop and launch value-added products that meet growing consumer demand for sustainable, traceable West Coast seafood
Startup Spotlight
Private label, public impact: Startup Mamame outsources consumer education to retailers
The Indonesia-based brand uses retailer partnerships to introduce US consumers to tempeh chips - turning a low-cost trial tactic into a long-term strategy for awareness and growth
IFT FIRST 2025
Upcycled carob offers prebiotic fiber tailored to glp-1 and gut health
Dietary fiber, like carob, is gaining traction as a star macronutrient in food and beverage formulations as consumer interest in metabolic health, gut support and clean-label products accelerates
Summer Fancy Food Show
Azabu Foods puts umami front and center with debut condiment
The startup is taking a measured approach with its globally inspired Umami Everything sauce, soft launching in select markets to ensure production keeps pace with growing demand
Startup Spotlight
Do more with less: How the right partners can supercharge small teams
Startup Fudi Protein’s lean team of two is bringing an alfalfa-based egg white alternative to market fast thanks to strategic collaboration with time tested-experts, open-minded farmers and well-connected investors
Graasí’s organic barley water taps into the functional beverage boom
Founder Chris LaCorata shares how Graasí evolved from a community revitalization effort into an organic barley-based wellness drink built for today’s health-conscious consumer
Summer Fancy Food Show
How condiment makers are scaling flavor and rethinking the sauce aisle
Specialty sauce brands are no longer simply pushing Scoville levels – they are telling sourcing stories, building in-house capacity and tuning into regional palates to shake up sleepier aspects of the category
Startup Spotlight
‘Let it go, to let it grow’ – Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen founder shares how to delegate to avoid being relegated
‘The biggest aha moment that I’ve had in my business. If you are holding on to it, it can’t grow. You have to let it go, to let it grow. And that means hiring people,’ Founder Auria Abraham shares in this Startup Spotlight
Startup Spotlight
When life gives you peppers: WIPS turns a family recipe into a scalable brand
The startup brings generations-old family recipes of West Indies hot sauce to shelves with support from the entrepreneurial community
Future Food-Tech Chicago
Coffee crisis: What will it take to close the looming ‘massive’ supply-demand imbalance?
Demand for coffee is rising, but current production is threatened by climate change and geopolitical tensions in regions where the crops are concentrated – creating an opportunity for new methods for creating coffee and alternatives
Future Food-Tech Chicago
Whipping up innovation: How 3 companies co-created a first-of-its-kind product in 3 weeks
An unlikely trio - Savor, Alamance and Thimus - used applied neuroscience, novel fats and agile frameworks to create a sustainable whipped topping and an innovation model other companies can use to fast-track product development
Breaking through the bottleneck: New accelerator aims to help female founders ‘stuck at the starting line’
Kellanova’s Pure Organic brand and the Female Founder Collective are launching a 12-week program to bridge knowledge gaps that hold promising food and beverage brands back and to connect founders with funders
Startup Spotlight
From stealth to the field in less than a year: Finally Foods leverages partnerships for speed
Molecular farming newcomer Finally Foods is speeding past major milestones on its path to commercialization – including recently launching the first field trial for producing dairy proteins in potatoes – thanks in part to powerful partnerships, exclusive...
Eat Happy Kitchen taps owned channels to accelerate retail growth
The company leveraged Founder Anna Vocino’s podcast and cookbook audience, clean-label products and Startup CPG momentum to expand into 479 more Kroger banner stores
When should a start up sell?
A thoughtful, well-timed exit begins not with the market, but with a company’s internal readiness
Startup Spotlight
Netting Sprouts’ shelf space: How Fable Fish found success with new packaging
CPG startups seeking shelf space at major retailers should collaborate with them to ensure the product and packaging resonates with shoppers
Brand Alchemy
Halfday iced tea rebrands to spotlight gut health and taste
With a bold new look and growing retail presence, the prebiotic iced tea brand sharpens its positioning for the modern beverage consumer
Startup Spotlight
Blobs brings fun and flavor fusion to better-for-you gummies
Startup gummy brand Blobs stands out in the better-for-you sweets set by leaning into the playful, colorful and fun spirit of classic candy — while delivering innovative, natural and low-sugar options
TikTok candy brand Final Boss Sour levels up with $4 million in funding
Video game-inspired Final Boss Sour is making better-for-you candy with playful marketing that is designed to test consumers’ taste buds
Startup Spotlight
Digital sampling campaigns expand startup’s reach beyond limited retail distribution
Startups with limited retail distribution can test consumer interest in potential new regions and generate viral buzz that can prime a market for launch with digital sampling campaigns that convert first-time buyers into micro-influencers
Startup Spotlight
Why Key built its energy drink brand block by block in NYC
By starting small and local, the founders are gathering insights on ingredient preferences, usage occasions and brand resonance – before scaling nationwide
Founders' Fundamentals
Surviving tariffs: How CPG startups can prepare for whatever comes next
CPG founders must think on their feet to work around tariff-induced supply chain disruptions, collaborating with co-manufacturers and ingredient suppliers on innovative solutions to business obstacles
Startup Spotlight
How two founders saved the family dairy farm with an organic yogurt brand
Painterland Sisters taps into demand for clean label and protein-rich yogurts, but chasing trends was never the mission of two farmers-turned-CPG founders
Brand Alchemy
Walmart Unlimited’s gamified shopping brings products to consumer IRL
The partnership between Walmart and gaming platform Spatial meets gamers in the digital world while shortening the distance between concept and commerce
Startup Spotlight
From self-reflection to investor ready: The tough questions to ask before fundraising
The founder of sauce, spice and snack brand Eat Happy Kitchen deeply feared asking for money, but by reflecting inwardly to identify the root causes of her anxiety and worse case scenarios she was able to create a business plan and pitch to overcome her...
Founders' Fundamentals
VC fundamentals: CPG startup lawyer shares tips for securing the best fundraising deal
CPG founders on the hunt for venture capital should consult a lawyer first to ensure they get the best possible deal, without giving too much of their company away
Founders' Fundamentals
Surviving market volatility with CPG fundamentals
Economic uncertainty requires food and beverage founders to focus on CPG fundamentals to survive and thrive
Startup Spotlight
Global flavors help candy stand out in ‘static’ crowd
Bold, cross-cultural flavors can set apart emerging candy brands – especially when paired with thoughtful retail strategy and a focus beyond social media hype
Startup Spotlight
‘A love letter to Chicago,’ Local Style Potato Chips celebrates Windy City flavors
One potato chip startup hits the block with unique Chicago flavors – like the iconic Italian beef made popular by the TV shows The Bear – creating a sense of belonging one deli and grocer at a time
Cell-cultured meat gains traction with regulatory wins and scaleups
Cultivated meat and fat edge closer to scale and shelves worldwide
News Bites
Sustainability, clean label, and tariff fallout: This week’s top industry trends
This week’s stories explore how sustainability and clean label standards around ultra-processed foods impact companies, plus the implications of Liberation Day tariffs across the global supply chain.
Startup Spotlight
Local loyalty: The secret ingredient to faster profitability and successful expansion
To become a profitable business quickly in an industry known for razor thin margins, kid-friendly flavored milk startup Jubilee’s is focusing on its local fanbase first before expanding regionally on the basis that ‘you can’t rely on constantly acquiring...
Natural Products Expo West
How one snack brand eliminated refined sugar with this novel sweetener
Consumer demand for natural, clean and low-sugar snacks is inspiring innovation, as brands like Tosi turn to novel sweeteners
Natural Products Expo West
Mondelez SnackFutures’ investments reveal playbook to tackle snack industry’s biggest challenges
Snacking may be here to stay, but what consumers want - and how companies source it - are evolving quickly, prompting Mondelez to narrow the aperture of its investment strategy
Natural Products Expo West
Health-food donut? Baked goods startup finds sweet spot with allulose
Allulose is a popular sweetener in the burgeoning better-for-you baked goods category, with brands like Planet Bake, Drumroll and others using the ingredient to reduce or eliminate sugar
Startup Spotlight
Startup taps into guar protein for food fortification
Ingredient startup CoryPro Ingredients bets on guar protein to shake up food innovation
The Global Food Tech Awards 2025
Global Food Tech Awards 2025: Innovation shines in Americas heat as finalists announced
A novel bubble-based precision fermentation technology has scooped the top prize in the Americas heat of the inaugural Global Food Tech Awards
From tuber to egg replacements: The rising potential of potatoes
Protein-packed potatoes drive Polopo’s expansion for natural functional foods
NutraCast: Delivering on women’s health: How a meal service took the market by storm
Without any marketing, Chiyo became the top Google search result for postpartum nutrition, attracting thousands of pre-orders and recognition from The New York Times and Bon Appétit. The company has since expanded beyond postpartum care to address...
Future Food-Tech San Francisco
Hydrosome Labs’ ultrafine bubbles take top prize in Global Food Tech Awards Americas heat
Hydrosome Labs, which is “improving the power of water” with ultrafine bubbles that can turbo-charge precision fermentation and enhance the nutritional and functional benefit of food and beverages, scoops up first place in Americas heat for inaugural...
Startup Spotlight
Perfecting the pitch: Startup CPG’s new female focused community cultivates confidence and shares tips for successfully selling brands to retailers and consumers
Pitching pumps the lifeblood of most startups as a fundamental strategy for receiving funding, securing shelf space and earning consumer engagement, but it doesn’t come naturally to most entrepreneurs, which is why Startup CPG is creating safe spaces for...
Founders' Fundamentals
From metrics to market: Data strategies to succeed in retail
Spins and NielsenIQ representatives shared strategies for retail success, including boosting velocities, utilizing data efficiently and developing an omnichannel strategy that inserts a brand into a consumers' everyday life
Natural Products Expo West
From niche to necessity: How global flavors are shaping grocery
Brands tackle authenticity, consumer education and perception to bring diverse flavors to market
Startup Spotlight
How one protein bar brand is differentiating with savory flavors
US-based snack and coffee brand Svry Nutrition is spicing up the protein bar category with bold-flavored baked bars