When it comes to a successful product launch, timing is vital – especially if a company hopes to disrupt a category or substantially change the way consumers think about what is on their plate and how it got there.
Summer is just barely over and already the makers of popchips are looking forward to the next one and the chance to repeat the widely successful 'one snack at a time' regional sampling campaign, that resulted in an astounding 72% lift in velocity...
Breaking into the notoriously competitive US beverage market is a daunting task, but purple tea has some distinct advantages, says Purpose Tea founder Chi Nguyen. First, it’s purple, and it’s new, so consumers are going to notice it; second, it tastes...
Compared to crickets, grasshoppers and even meal worms, the fruit fly is minuscule, but according to the co-founders of Flying SpArk this tiniest of insects could prove to be a more bountiful, sustainable and efficient source of protein.
Terra's Kitchen CEO: Strategics are eyeing up meal kit players now...
As shockwaves from the Amazon/Whole Foods deal continue to reverberate throughout the food industry, Albertsons has struck while the iron is hot via a deal to acquire Plated – one of the leading brands in the burgeoning meal kit market – for an undisclosed...
What began as a hobby for a 15-year-old girl, now is blooming into a bustling family business as Abby’s Better Nut Butter rapidly gains sales and distribution thanks in part to its clean labels, better-for-you angle and unique flavor combinations that...
Consumers are notoriously fickle, but their ongoing demand for beverages that are healthy and natural is paving the way for several sustained sub-trends that not only show immediate growth potential but also long-term payout, according to Google trends...
Plant-based Greek-style yogurts from Ripple Foods – slated to hit the market by the end of this year – will have a higher protein content (12g/serving) and superior texture to brands currently on shelf, which have improved, but can still look “gelatinous”...
DouxMatok, the Israeli firm behind patented technology that makes sugar taste sweeter, has raised $8.1m in a funding round led by Israel’s largest VC fund, Pitango, with the participation of existing shareholders including Gil Horsky* and FoodLab Capital.
Seeking an “evergreen path” to growth while still protecting its mission, Revive Kombucha gave a seat on its board of directors to a top executive at Peet’s Coffee, which also led a $7.5 million series B financing round for the brand, according to company...
The entrepreneurs behind an app enabling shoppers to earn cash back after purchasing natural, organic and healthy lifestyle products, say they can give brands participating on the platform “unprecedented insight into their customers' shopping habits.”
Boulder-based MycoTechnology has raised $35m in a series B financing round from a flurry of high profile investors* from Kellogg’s Eighteen94 Capital to Bunge Ventures and inked a strategic partnership with a leading player in the natural products industry...
Allergy-friendly baked goods brand Mikey’s has teamed up with innovation and scale-up specialist Factory LLC, which will invest $5m in two tranches to help founder Mike Tierney scale the business and build a better-for-you product platform potentially...
After a month of hints about pursuing an “exciting and terrifying” new opportunity in organic food, former Annie’s CEO John Foraker has finally gone public about his plans to join refrigerated babyfood brand Once Upon a Farm, alongside actress Jennifer...
Recognizing that introducing peanuts to potentially allergic infants is a “significant concern among new parents,” FDA approved a new qualified health claim that reiterates and reassures parents of new advice to give 4- to 10-month-olds products containing...
New Frontier Foods has spent four years building a presence in the rapidly-growing seaweed snacks market with its Ocean’s Halo brand, but reckons its latest innovation – organic seaweed-based broths (now rolling out nationwide at Walmart, Safeway/Albertsons,...
Whether it is trying to raise money, build brand awareness or convince a buyer to stock your product on store shelves, knowing how to successfully pitch your company, and yourself, to potential business partners and consumers is essential.
Kabaki purple tea – made from a phytonutrient-rich purple-hued cultivar grown in Kenya – could follow RUNA’s playbook by bringing something disruptive to the US ready-to-drink tea market, while at the same time improving the livelihoods of small growers,...
Does selling up mean selling out? Quite the opposite, says the co-founder of plant-based brand Sweet Earth, who says teaming up with the world’s biggest food company is one of the most effective ways of accelerating the kind of change many activists want...
Nestlé has gained an “immediate entry” into the plant-based foods category via the acquisition of fast-growing California-based brand Sweet Earth for an undisclosed sum.
In general, talking about how a food or beverage is processed is not a way to win the hearts, minds and money of today’s consumers, who increasingly want products that are fresh, made with clean ingredients and as close to their natural state as possible.
Recognizing most Americas have a love-hate relationship with vegetables, Garden Lites is introducing a series of new products that either celebrate or hide vegetables to help ensure all consumers can hit their recommended five a day.
Even though sales of groceries online are minuscule compared to brick and mortar stores, online snack subscription service UrthBox sees significant potential in ecommerce for food and beverage and hopes to attract more consumers to the channel with launch...
It’s barely more than a year old, but Hippeas is already generating monthly revenues just shy of a million dollars, says founder Livio Bisterzo, who reckons the chickpea-fueled brand could generate two or three times that amount next year.
When you start out, it’s tempting to say yes to everything, observes Banza co-founder Brian Rudolph (who admits ‘shiny object syndrome’ can also kick in once your brand gains traction and you start wondering where it could extend). But one of the reasons...
Innovation in the baby food aisle has come in waves. First came jars, then shelf stable pouches, and most recently a new generation of HPP (high pressure processed) refrigerated brands carving out a premium niche in the category. But could freeze-drying...
In another signal that traditional meat companies see cultured meat as an opportunity, rather than a threat, Cargill and other unnamed "food industry giants" have participated in a $17m funding round in clean meat firm Memphis Meats.
At a time when many grocery retailers and food and beverage brands are increasing their ecommerce presence, snack maker NatureBox, which began as an online service, is expanding its distribution in brick and mortar stores, which the company CEO says favors...
When Nourish Snacks decided earlier this year to ditch its old white packaging in favor of bold patterns and bright colors it did so not only to standout better, but also to help consumers feel happy about choosing a better-for-you option and not like...
As any entrepreneur that has conducted instore demos will tell you, says TrySome founder Rune Knudsen, asking someone face to face what they think of your product may not be the best way to elicit an honest response, even though direct interactions with...
From turmeric paste and green banana flour to sprouted mung bean snacks and cauliflower wraps and pizza bases, the entries to our 2017 trailblazers challenge are at the cutting edge of food & beverage innovation. But we could only pick three winners...
Banana-fueled snack Barnana is rolling out to 8,000 Starbucks stores nationwide in chocolate, and chocolate and peanut butter flavors in single serve bags with customized brown and gold packaging.
A minority equity investment from Encore Consumer Capital could help fast-growing Veggie Noodle Co. spring to new levels by funding the startup's expansion into a larger facility in East Austin that will allow it to produce more than five times its...
Canada Enterprises LLC - the company behind spicy ginger beverage Jin + Ja - is on course to more than double revenues in 2017 to approach $4.5m as it explores new territory with the launch of Super Greens powder and ramps up its direct to consumer business.
It’s hard to think of a company where mission and brand are more intertwined than RUNA, which was forged around an ingredient - guayusa - that created a powerful point of difference for an emerging beverage brand, but also generated income for small farmers...
Hampton Creek has confirmed the Silicon Valley start-up is in talks to license its lab-grown meat technology to some of the world’s biggest meat companies.
Consumers who begrudgingly endure the medicinal taste and multisyllabic, chemical-sounding ingredients in some energy drinks in exchange for the boost the beverages provide no longer need to make that trade off thanks to the launch of Zola’s purely plant-based...
Despite the sustained popularity of the paleo diet that has spawned an entire industry of packaged products from soup to snacks to decadent desserts, parents who want their children to follow the trend have had to make their own baby food – until now.
For time-strapped entrepreneurs who are brave enough to take the stage, competing in pitch-slams is a good way to secure funding, meet potential business partners and weave a network of supporters who can help shine a spotlight on them without investing...
When it comes to edible insects, there is still something of a disconnect between the rhetoric (insects can help us feed the world) and the reality, in the US., at least (they’re still niche and expensive). But that’s about to change, predicts the company...
For US-based Indian street snack maker The Chaat Co, $1 million in seed funding including investment from India’s Jain Farm Fresh Foods is about more than just the money -- it is also about securing a supply line for authentic ingredients to make its...
New parents who remember enjoying classic fruit snacks growing up but who struggle to justify giving them to their children in the current era of clean eating and better-for-you foods now have a new option from Veggie Go’s that the company says they can...
Much of the punditry immediately following the Amazon/Whole Foods announcement focused on how the tie up might impact Whole Foods stores. Will they become test beds for Amazon Go-style technology and fulfilment centers for Amazon's broader grocery...
As an early mover in the edible insect space, Exo initially downplayed the presence of crickets in its snack bars to help drive trial, but as the idea of eating bugs becomes more familiar to Americans the brand is more heavily featuring crickets in its...
With another infusion of investor funds, Country Archer Jerky Co. is set to make the leap from the natural channel where it is thriving into the conventional and convenience channels, which the CEO says are wide-open for better-for-you snacks such as...
To make it in the crowded plant-based beverage category, new products need to be more than just a passable alternative to dairy – they also need to be nutritious, delicious and environmentally sustainable, according to an established category player overseas...
The mail order oyster company Real Oyster Cult launched last May out of equal parts desire to deliver to consumers the freshest tasting oyster experience and a need to address food safety risks that threaten public health and commercial viability of shellfish...
When it comes to eating meat in the US, chicken, without a doubt, is the main attraction with Americans consuming an average of 91 pounds last year – that is nearly double the roughly 50 pounds of pork and 55 pounds of beef consumed in the same period,...
The Andean herbal infused beverage Wanku combines the functional health benefits of kombucha with the refreshing flavor of the increasingly popular plant-based waters and none of the downsides of the two categories, claim the young brand’s co-founders.
