Avocado leaf tea has a reddish hue and a distinct earthy - but not bitter - taste, says Scott Wibbenmeyer, who has developed a patent-pending method for producing it from leaves sourced from his avocado grove in Temecula, California.
PB&J is an all-American classic… but what about CB&J? If you combine roasted chickpeas and sunflower seeds with olive oil and a dash of coconut sugar and sea salt, the net result (‘chickpea butter’) is remarkably similar to peanut butter, minus...
KeHE has launched an emerging brands program called KeHE elevate to help emerging brands navigate the competitive and constantly-evolving food and beverage market.
Fresh Bowl – a startup supplying fresh salads, breakfasts and snacks from hi-tech vending machines in re-usable glass jars – has raised $2.1m in a seed round co-led by Betaworks Ventures and New Ground Ventures, with participation from Tuesday and Mana...
The consumer-packaged goods industry is undergoing a “cataclysmic transformation,” according to one branding expert, who explained that a new crop of entrepreneurs who are unfettered by outdated taboos and not intimidated by industry giants are challenging...
Entrepreneurs just starting out may feel pressured to present a façade of perfection or else risk missing an opportunity, but the CEO of Lily’s Sweets, Jane Miller, argues the opposite is true – that failing to seek help managing weaknesses or bridging...
Honeycut Kitchen, an emerging brand out of Los Angeles, is giving fitness enthusiasts an alternative to the monotony of protein bars with a lineup of snack cakes reminiscent of America's best-selling brands, but with a cleaner ingredients deck and...
Search for ‘hojicha’ on Google Trends and you’ll see a notable uptick in US searches over the past couple of years as Americans seek to learn more about the roasted green tea, which is low in caffeine and lacks the bitterness of regular green tea, says...
As more entrepreneurs adopt an iterative, fail-fast approach to innovation it is increasingly tempting to compare businesses and products as a way to measure success, but according to Jane Miller, the CEO of Lily’s Sweets, a better strategy to remain...
The plant-based Impossible Sausage – the latest innovation from Impossible Foods – will debut next week at Burger King outlets in five states in the 'Impossible Croissan'wich' for a limited period.
Until the 19th century, chocolate (cocoa) was something you drank, not ate, notes David Burke. “And then we figured out how to turn it into a food. Now we’re on the cusp of exactly the same thing with coffee.”
As mounting consumer interest in personalized nutrition continues to drive consolidation in the supplement side of the segment, the evidence-based supplement subscription service Baze is expanding into food as a point of differentiation, and in doing...
Consumers are demanding simple, wholesome, convenient snacks and mini-meals with cleaner labels, and you can’t get much simpler – or more nutritious - than eggs, says Phoenix-based startup Scramblers, which has developed what it claims is an industry...
KeHE, distributor of natural, fresh, specialty, and organic foods products, predicts personal and environmental wellness to be top of mind for consumers next year.
Patented infrared dry-blanching (IDB) technology has the potential to transform the hemp-derived CBD industry by dramatically speeding up the drying process, increasing cannabidiol yield, and eliminating harmful microbes and mold, claims San Francisco-based...
Xoca (pronounced sho’ka) is hoping to stand out in the notoriously competitive functional beverage set with a new line of sparkling, “slightly fermented” drinks made with 50% juice from cacao fruit, the nutrient-rich pulp surrounding cocoa beans that...
Lupin or lupini beans, which Italians enjoy pickled as a bar snack, are high in protein, high in fiber, and super low in carbohydrates, but are still a novelty this side of the Atlantic, something New York-based startup Lupii hopes to change by showcasing...
With a pile of FDA warnings letters closely followed by a wave of class action lawsuits, the debate over how the FDA should regulate hemp-derived CBD is heating up, with some arguing that high-dose, high-purity isolated cannabinoids belong in drugs, while...
Perfect Day, a startup producing milk proteins via microbial fermentation (minus the cows), has raised $140m in a Series C round led by Temasek with substantial involvement from past investors including Horizons Ventures, bringing its cumulative funding...
Crowdfunding is a popular option for entrepreneurs looking for an infusion of capital without having to handover equity in exchange, but according to Kickstarter only 25% of food-related projects successfully reach their funding goals – a discouraging...
Yumi, an early childhood nutrition and fresh meal delivery company which has grown 10x in the past year, has raised $8m in a funding round led by a who's who of category-disrupting direct-to-consumer brands including Warby Parker, Allbirds, Harry's,...
PepsiCo is seeking 10 purpose-driven start-ups to participate in its second North American Greenhouse program and to compete for a shot at $100,000 in funding beyond a guaranteed $20,000 grant and mentorship.
Making your own superfood smoothies with fresh or frozen produce isn’t rocket science, but it can be “cumbersome and daunting,” say the founders of Everipe, a new-to-the world shelf-stable smoothie brand about to hit shelves at Walmart that promises to...
From 'smoothie balls' packed with cacao fruit pulp to chickpea-fueled grain-free cereal, new food products are hitting the market every week. But which emerging trends have real staying power and what really interests VCs and strategic investors?...
Syndicated market data’s high price keeps it out of reach for many startups, but it is well worth the investment – even if it is means forgoing other investments that might provide shorter-term returns, according to the co-founder and CEO of the thriving...
Based on research from Canadian neurosurgeon Dr Teresa Purzner - best known for her pioneering work with novel approaches to tackle childhood brain cancer – Cerebelly seeks to give babies the key nutrients their growing brains need, exactly when they...
Kids love chocolate milk. Most adults do too, says Boston-based entrepreneur Manny Lubin. But they want something convenient “without cartoon cows” on the label that’s “a bit more hip than that bottle of YooHoo they drank as kids.”
If you didn't make it to Chicago last week for the FoodNavigator-USA FOOD FOR KIDS summit, you missed an inspirational ensemble of industry experts, pediatricians, consumer health advocates, Chicago parents, market researchers and brand strategists,...
With an ambitious mission to give consumers what their bodies need “in the most bioavailable form possible,” and in a way that they “will actually enjoy,” the functional beverage company Drink Nutrient is entering the marketplace with a trio of vitamin-packed,...
Perfect Day, a startup producing milk proteins via microbial fermentation (minus the cows) plans to expand into animal-free milk fat and other new-to-the-world fats that could replace coconut and palm oil in plant-based burgers and other products.
Uncomfortable with the idea that agriculture is a necessary evil with the demand for food outweighing the negative environmental impact of traditional farming and ranching, the co-founder and CEO of Bowery is expanding his revolutionary approach to food...
Chickpea-fueled brand Banza has raised $20m in a financing round led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Prelude Growth Partners. Both will take a seat on the board.
As an influential early-adopter of the incubator model that has spread throughout the CPG food and beverage industry in recent years, Chobani continues to push the boundaries of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by fine-tuning its program and recruitment...
The world probably doesn’t need another protein bar, but there is white space in the snacks category for lighter snacks that provide ‘mental fuel’ at key moments in the day, claims Chicago-based TeaSquares.
In the next few weeks, Icelandic-style yogurt maker siggi’s will begin rolling out a suite of new products that the company’s CEO Carlos Altschul described as “the most exciting since the launch of the brand” 15 years ago.
Back in 2015, when former college athletes Clint Matthews and Kyle Rood started making protein-packed gluten-free waffles "by hand in a rent by the hour kitchen and delivering to stores in a pick up truck" in St Louis, they were plowing a pretty...
The already fast-growing, oat-based nutrition bar and bite company Bobo’s is hoping to turbo-charge its ecommerce sales 200-300% in the next year with help from insiders at Amazon as a participant in the online retailer’s exclusive, invitation-only Emerging...
Influencers have become a crucial element of the content marketing toolbox for CPG brands, and with the recent launch of InfluenceImpact by IRI and IZEA Worldwide, brands and marketers can now measure the direct impact influencer campaigns have on the...
"With some persistence, very young children will eat salmon and kale," said Dr Erin Quann from Nestlé Nutrition at FoodNavigator-USA’s FOOD FOR KIDS summit last year. "But then we enter the chicken nuggets and French Fries phase...”
More than 45 million Americans suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome – the same number who use online dating apps and have student loans – only unlike people looking for love or struggling with debt, those suffering from gastrointestinal discomfort predominately...
The fact that ‘foods from West Africa’ hit Whole Foods’ list of the top 10 food trends to watch in 2020 shows foodies are interested in broadening their culinary horizons, says Vancouver-based Farafena. But incorporating ingredients from fonio and moringa...
Successful CPG brands market a feeling, not an ingredient (especially one about to be as ubiquitous as CBD), says the founder of Recess, who is building a lifestyle brand that includes the hottest ingredient in town... but doesn’t shout about it on pack.
Whether training for a marathon, raising a family, cutting calories, driving or a multitude of other reasons, more Americans are cutting back or avoiding alcohol – creating demand for healthier alternatives beyond sparkling water or sugary sodas and juices.
Could a suite of microscopic microbial factories (yeast, bacteria, fungi, algae) churning out protein in huge fermentation tanks prompt the collapse of the meat and dairy industry as we know it, or are proponents of this view living in some kind of ‘vegan...
Capro-X - a spin-off from Cornell University - uses microbes to convert the organic compounds in acid whey into high-value flavor and fragrance ingredients such as caproic acid and caprylic acid, which are currently sourced from palm oil.
Future Meat Technologies is one of the few players in the nascent space to have shown how cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated’) meat could move from the lab to an industrial scale, claims one of the lead investors in a $14m Series A round that will support...
Even as food and beverage brands are starting to look more closely at Gen Z shoppers to determine what they want and what makes them tick, many are still struggling to pinpoint how best to engage with millennials who Goldman Sachs has dubbed “the most...
Dissatisfied with flimsy lettuce wraps and preservative-filled gluten-free buns when eating out at restaurants, founder of Unbun Foods, Gus Klemos, created his own grain-free, gluten-free, keto-friendly buns to enjoy with his burgers.
Nine dairy startups promoting everything from whey protein-packed probiotic drinks to indulgent dessert-inspired dairy beverages will square up in San Francisco on November 7 in a competition designed to identify novel applications for fluid milk with...
