Most food and beverage startups dream of expanding from a local brand serving only a handful of stores to one that is nationally distributed to hundreds or thousands of retailers, but the logistics of getting there can be a nightmare if not carefully...
An estimated 70% of purchasers of the plant-based Beyond Burger are flexitarians - meat eaters that are cutting down on meat – as opposed to hardcore vegans or vegetarians, validating the initially controversial decision to merchandise the product in...
Nestlé is now working with the first round of start-ups selected through its partnership platform, Henri. We asked its global innovation director how the biggest food company in the world ensures a peer-to-peer relationship between David and Goliath.
Aquafaba – the viscous liquid left over from cooking chickpeas and the #2 ingredient in Sir Kensington’s Fabanaise mayo – is one of the vegan community’s best-kept secrets. But Faba Butter, a new plant-based ‘butter’ debuting at the Winter Fancy Food...
North Carolina-based start-up Glean is appealing to health-conscious shoppers and consumers on specialty diets (Paleo, gluten-free, keto) with a novel range of vegetable flours made from 'ugly' produce that doesn't meet retail specifications....
With the help of industry professionals and consumers who were inspired by The Soulfull Project’s mission to donate a serving of hot cereal to a food bank for each serving it sells, the young company has reached milestones in first year that most startups...
Marshmallow snack brand SMASHMALLOW has raised $10m from Sonoma Brands and VMG Partners and brought in David Lacy – who previously held finance roles at Plum Organics, KRAVE and personalized nutrition service Habit – as its new CEO as it carves out its...
‘This is a breakthrough product that could ultimately make sugar obsolete'
The term ‘game-changer’ is bandied around with wearying regularity by food start-ups, but HEYLO – a patented combination of acacia fiber and stevia promising to blow rivals out of the water in the sugar replacement stakes – may actually warrant this moniker,...
Achieving sustained profitability is a basic business goal that has eluded many in the highly competitive meal kit category, but a top executive of Home Chef says the company may be the first to achieve it in 2018 in part by following the lead of the...
Plant-based food manufacturer Tofurky’s stubborn status as an independent, family-owned company focused on “purpose over profits” could give it a competitive edge over other players in the space that were recently acquired by parent companies that might...
By going “beyond a typical licensing deal” that only places popular movie characters on packaging to include thematic custom shapes in the bag, shareable 4-ounce pouches of popchips’ Star Wars themed Galaxy Puffs’ are out-stripping the dollar velocity...
2017 has been a rollercoaster ride for the food industry, with Amazon coughing up a cool $13.7bn for Whole Foods, a flurry of M&A activity from Nestlé, Hershey, Campbell Soup and Kellogg, and an exodus from the industry’s biggest trade association,...
Bay area start-up Finless Foods – one of a new wave of cellular agriculture companies producing meat by culturing cells (without raising or slaughtering animals) – has slashed production costs by 50% since September and is aiming to achieve price parity...
From entrepreneurs pioneering new farming methods and food technologies, to big brands adjusting to the changing landscape, FOOD VISION USA 2017 brought together a wide cross-section of industry players to explore how the industry is facing the challenges...
New York-based smoothie delivery brand Daily Harvest - one of a new breed of online operators targeting time poor consumers prepared to pay for a service that makes healthy eating convenient and easy by delivering customized products to their doorsteps...
Animal-free dairy offers nutrition and functionality of milk without industrial animal farming
Berkeley-based Perfect Day – which is creating ‘vegan’ dairy proteins without cows – is in talks with food industry partners about scaling up production in order to introduce dairy ingredients that vegans, vegetarians and dairy lovers alike can enjoy...
Beyond Sausage - the latest innovation from plant-based brand Beyond Meat – is made with pea protein isolate, fava bean protein, rice protein, potato starch, coconut oil and beet juice “to deliver on the juicy, satisfying taste and texture of pork sausage,...
Many people know Chicago has a vibrant restaurant culture and is home to some of America’s biggest food companies, but they may not know about the start-up culturing blossoming in the shadow of the city’s skyscrapers, with success stories like RXBar and...
Most ‘banana’ ice cream or frozen dessert brands start with a dairy/coconut/nutmilk base, and then add sugar, and banana, or banana flavor. Hakuna Banana reverses this dynamic and starts with mashed bananas as the #1 ingredient.
Chickpea-fueled pasta brand Banza is now in 8,000+ locations after striking deals with Kroger and Ahold that have added 2,000+ stores to its footprint, but remains laser focused on velocity as part of its bid to be the “most productive pasta in the set”...
When Anne Laraway takes the reins of the fastest growing baby food brand in the country in January as the new CEO of Happy Family Organics, she plans to expand its reach into new markets with new products while remaining “laser focused on our mission...
Geltor seeks to disrupt gelatin market with potentially game-changing animal-free alternative
As anyone that’s tried a vegan gummy bear lately will tell you, it’s incredibly hard to replicate the unique properties of gelatin, a gelling agent derived from animal skin, bones and connective tissues used in everything from candies to Jello. But what...
Beyond Meat raises $55m in round led by Cleveland Avenue LLC
Beyond Meat – the plant-based company behind the Beyond Burger (the first meat-free burger to be merchandised in the meat counter) – has raised $55m in a financing round led by VC firm Cleveland Avenue, LLC, and supported by meat giant Tyson Foods.
The NadaMoo! coconut milk fueled dairy-free brand – which has been growing at an explosive, triple-digit pace over the past three years – is exploring moves beyond the frozen case into new plant-based categories, says its CEO.
The first commercial products from Hampton Creek’s clean (aka cultured) meat production platform – launching at the end of 2018 - will be in the poultry family, and could be targeted at retail and foodservice customers, says the company, which has just...
Every 21 seconds someone in the US discovers they have diabetes, setting a breakneck pace that is fueling a 6% annual increase in the number of Americans diagnosed with the chronic disease for which there is no cure, but which can be managed in part through...
NadaMoo! – which is carving out a niche at the premium end of the dairy-free frozen dessert market with its organic coconut milk based wares – has raised $4m in a Series A financing round led by InvestEco Capital and supported by District Ventures Capital,...
Portland-based Brew Dr Kombucha has notched up another year of triple digit growth in 2017, with revenues likely to be “close to $30m,” says founder and CEO Matt Thomas, who is planning to introduce a canned version of the brand sometime next year.
Hidden hunger due to malnutrition can have devastating consequences not only for those who suffer from it, but also on the economy – prompting governments to seek help in a way that is creating business opportunities for innovators with solutions.
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. and CPG veteran Bill Moses have launched Disruptive Brands, a new platform focused on investing in and supporting emerging better-for-you food and beverage brands.
Undeterred by savory yogurt’s failure to find traction in the US, the ever optimistic start-up The Chaat Co. is evolving its portfolio and branding to better meet American consumers where they are and to reinforce its original mission to be a broad-based...
Consumers with sensitivities to cow’s milk who have begrudgingly forgone dairy-heavy comfort foods such as pizza and mac & cheeses or turned to plant-based options but miss the taste and texture of “real dairy” now have another option: Funny Farm’s...
Grasshoppers have several distinct advantages over crickets as a food ingredient, claims Dror Tamir at Israeli edible insect start-up Hargol FoodTech, who caught up with FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine Watson at FOOD VISION USA in Chicago.
Green-Go is ready to launch its zero-calorie, organic cactus water onto the market and it’s going after fun, social media-savvy millennials, its founder says.
Dr Richardson: 'Strategic plans empower entrepreneurs to say ‘no’ to the wrong opportunities'
By Dr James Richardson, founder, Premium Growth Solutions
With retailers increasingly open to stocking premium products from emerging brands, and Amazon offering a great platform to help entrepreneurs reach a nationwide audience, it might seem like there's never been a better time to start a food &...
They had a pretty lengthy courtship, but two years after they first began wooing New York Knicks player Kristaps Porzingis, Seattle-based vitality brand Zing Bar has tied the knot with the NBA star, who has made a ‘significant’ investment in the company,...
Personalised nutrition using a natural, calorie-free fibre to create nutritionally enhanced foods on demand is “revolutionary”, according to the makers of a 3D-printing platform.
New technology developed by a team of Cornell University graduates could revolutionize food storage by dramatically extending the shelf life of produce without refrigeration – which means it also could cut overhead energy costs and emissions.
They might be a novel concept for most Americans, but farmer’s cheese bars could develop into a potentially exciting new category in the burgeoning protein snacking segment, says the co-founder of Yooli Foods, which is rolling out farmer’s cheese cups...
The US team behind the coconut-based yogurt COYO hopes slashing its suggested retail price will help the brand jump from the natural to the conventional channel and that its creamy texture will keep it there by captivating mainstream shoppers who place...
As sugar continues to gain prominence as public enemy No. 1 in America for contributing to obesity and other chronic health problems, Berkeley-based biotech startup Sugarlogix has taken on the daunting task of teaching manufacturers and consumers that...
New research revealing a dramatic increase in the number of insurance claims related to severe allergic reactions to food reinforces other evidence indicating that food allergies are on the rise, and bolsters the marketing opportunity and potential longevity...
Extruded chickpea puff brand HIPPEAS has raised $10m from CAVU Venture Partners to help fund its explosive growth, while CAVU co-founder Brett Thomas will join its board of directors.
After building a successful restaurant in Mexico based in part on the popularity and health benefits of coconut, entrepreneur Daniella Hunter is expanding her mission of promoting digestive well-being and sustainability to the US and Belize with a new...
We’re still just scratching the surface when it comes to unlocking the potential of microbial fermentation to manufacture food ingredients, says Canadian bioengineering firm Noblegen, which is developing a new breed of designer oils, proteins, and nutraceuticals...
“Instead of giving farmers a barn with 50,000 chickens, why not give them a small factory and 10,000 machines?”
While it might be a while before steaks grown in bioreactors (instead of on the farm) become standard fare at your local steakhouse, ‘locally produced’ cultured meat could quickly gain traction in nuggets, burgers, meatballs, and hot dogs if the price...
What kind of food company names itself ‘nonfood’? The kind that wants to start a conversation, at the very least, says founder Sean Raspet, an artist turned flavorist who used to work at Soylent, and clearly shares that brand’s interest in redefining...
Bored of beef jerky? New York City-based start-up Beyond the Shoreline has an intriguing alternative: a plant-based mix of sugar kelp, mushroom stems, nutritional yeast, brown rice flour, sea salt and pea protein, which is due to hit the market in January...
