With the acquisition of three competitors, healthy snack subscription box company UrthBox hopes to better shine a light on organic and natural brands that otherwise may be caught in the shadow of more broadly recognized but less nutritious conventional...
In an about-face, Blue Apron’s stock is surging on the strength of positive investor ratings published earlier this week, but the meal kit company’s initial rocky start in public trading still could have a negative long-term impact on competitors’ ability...
Protein2o – a rapidly-growing brand of flavored waters infused with electrolytes and 15g of whey protein – has completed a $4m capital raise and attracted two high-profile ex-Gatorade executives as its president and chairwoman after a year of “explosive”...
Tumbling soda sales have opened the door to the mainstream market for a variety of functional beverages that were previously relegated to the natural channel, including kombuncha sales of which, according to one entrepreneur, grew 41% to $534 million...
Koia, a refrigerated RTD plant-based protein beverage company, has secured a $7.5m funding round led by private investment firm KarpReilly and existing investor AccelFoods.
The ready meal category in the US is set to explode in part as a natural evolution of the meal kit craze that taught consumers how to cook healthy, fresh food at home, but which still ultimately takes more time than many people have daily, according to...
As recently as two years ago, bone broth was virtually unheard of by the masses, but now it is seemingly everywhere with newcomers crowding the category and pushing early players such as Bonafide Provisions to innovate to stay ahead of the competition.
The thought of fermenting coffee beans by feeding them to small cat-like civits or large elephants only to collect them again at the other end of the digestive process sounded unappetizing and cruel to Edgar Salgado – even if it produces a less bitter...
Entrepreneurs whose families immigrated to the US increasingly are bottling the flavors of their culture in marinades, sauces and spreads to satisfy not only their cravings for foods from their heritage, but to make international cooking at home more...
Nutrition-packed, environmentally sustainable and already notoriously well-known – although partly for the wrong reasons – hemp is well positioned to become one of the next big superfood superstars in the US.
Snack bar company Kind has hired investment banks to advise on the sale of a minority stake, Reuters reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter but who wished to remain anonymous.
Food is fun. But not everyone has the time or energy to prepare three nutritionally-balanced meals every day, and brands that do all the hard work for you have big growth potential, claims UK-based Huel, which is making its US debut this summer with “perfectly...
Despite recent innovations and strong sales in the plant-based milk category, many products are low in desirable nutrients and high in unwanted “superfluous ingredients,” such as gums and starches, which leave the category vulnerable to an exodus but...
Competition in the roasted chickpea snack segment is heating up as more players enter the field, including newcomer Lebby Snacks, which stands apart from the others by offering a soft and chewy – but still roasted – version of the legume rather than the...
The Amazon/Whole Foods deal has “absolutely rattled food retailing and CPG markets in a way I have never seen in my life,” says the founder of organic meal-kit company Green Chef, who says he has been approached by multiple ‘strategic’ suitors as the...
Growing demand for products that support gut health is fueling rapid growth in sales of fermented beverages, but for kombucha to hold on to its pole position in the category and reach its full market potential, manufacturers must improve labeling compliance...
Canadian bug powder supplier Entomo Farms is still doing most of its business with snack food companies, but VP Darren Goldin – chatting with FoodNavigator-USA at the IFT show - envisions a future where frozen raw insects (as well as the roasted and milled...
As the nascent drinkable soup category starts to take shape, newcomer ZÜPA NOMA is looking to carve out its own niche with refreshed packaging that will help its bottles pop on store shelves and better showcase on-trend call-outs such as organic and Whole30...
As the new CEO of Beanfields Snacks, industry veteran Mark Rampolla hopes to do for the better-for-you snack company what he did for the better-for-you beverage industry when he founded Zico Coconut Water and in doing so also help Los Angeles-based non-profit...
What new tools are brands using to get products to market more quickly, and build consumer insights into the process at every stage? Are traditional focus groups becoming passé?
Amazon.com offers startups a way to test their products' proof of concept and gain an early, loyal following before approaching large physical retailers. But the website also leaves brands vulnerable to public consumer reviews and can be difficult...
After years of steady growth in the high single-digits, consumption of water in the US has finally surpassed carbonated soft drinks to become the largest beverage category by volume in the United States, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation....
When industry vet and trained sports nutritionist and food scientist Juan Salinas created P-nuff Crunch baked peanut snacks he wanted to make a product that wasn’t just “better-for-you” but actually good for you without compromising on taste.
Founded during the recession by two “ultimate underdogs” who needed to pay their mortgage to save their farm, the gourmet food and lifestyle brand Beekman 1802 epitomizes the American dream and US value of giving a helping hand to those in need who are...
Between 1 to 3 million people in the United States follow the paleo diet, and yet relatively few packaged products comply with the regime – making it a market brimming with potential that once tapped could quickly drive brand awareness and sales, according...
Premium coffee and brain-boosting nootropics are big business in the US and by combining the two Kimera Koffee is cashing in on the trends while also offering consumers significant savings.
Startup Vega Coffee wants to create a “more equitable coffee experience” by empowering small-holder farmers to roast and sell their own beans directly to consumers through a subscription at a higher profit margin than their unroasted green beans would...
Three years after Sunwarrior set its protein powder apart from the competition by switching to a smaller, easier to grab and store square tub, it continues to lead the category in innovative packaging with a new collapsible scoop that clicks inside a...
The SmashMallow snackable marshmallow brand – launched by food & beverage brand incubator Sonoma Brands in August 2016 – is “charging towards a very visible $25m dollar run rate in the next six to 12 months,” with a flurry of new products to come,...
Boston-based Biena has raised $3.75m to expand its chickpea-fueled snacking empire from a series of high profile investors as it prepares to roll out its first major line extension: chocolate coated roasted chickpeas, new territory for pulse-based snacks,...
Savory oats pioneer Grainful has already convinced a growing number of consumers on the east and west coasts that steel-cut oats aren’t just for breakfast, and has now persuaded investors to part with a cool $3.3m to take that message to a wider, national,...
A “powerful and emotional brand connection,” “constant product innovation,” “attractive unit economics,” a “hard-to-replicate value chain,” and “proprietary technology and data,” help Blue Apron stand out in the burgeoning meal kit market, says the company....
Thanks to its unique partnership model, wider selection, and no subscription fees, customer acquisition costs at meal-delivery firm Chef’d are significantly lower than rivals,’ claims founder and CEO Kyle Ransford, who says Chef’d has been “first order...
Leonardo DiCaprio – who has already shown quite an interest in the food and beverage sector via investments in guayusa-fueled tea brand RUNA and seafood company Love the Wild – has poured an undisclosed sum into chickpea snack brand Hippeas, along with...
The seafood industry is “fundamentally broken” and crowded with businesses beholden to “old school thinking” that fails both the oceans and the consumers, according to Ken Plasse, the CEO of a Fishpeople, which claims to be a different kind of seafood...
Organic fruit and veggie snack maker Peeled Snacks has closed a private placement investment from Seurat Capital, while ‘superfood’ energy bar maker Redd Bar has raised early stage capital from a suite of high-profile investors, with Whipstitch Capital...
Incubators provide startups with more than access to heavy-duty machinery and production space at a reduced price, they also plug entrepreneurs into an active network of professionals, suppliers and potential investors who can help accelerate a company’s...
A strategic packaging redesign of Canadian start-up Jaswant’s Kitchen’s Indian spice blends reveals that consumers are willing to spend more for products that provide simple step-by-step recipes directly on the package than for products that require visiting...
The idea of eating a burger grown in a lab rather than from a cow raised on a farm and slaughtered for its meat may sound like something out of a science fiction story set far in the future, but in reality the commercialization of so-called “clean meat”...
Right now, hydroponic and indoor grown lettuce account for around 4-5% of lettuce production in the US, but that figure will rise “substantially” in the coming years as more growers prove that water can give soil a serious run for its money, predicts...
Sparkling water brand Spindrift has raised $10 million in a funding round led by VMG Partners and supported by Prolog Ventures, Karp Reilly, and other existing investors.
Can you make money supplying fresh prepared food via vending machines? Not everyone was convinced when Luke Saunders launched Farmer’s Fridge in October 2013, but the fact he's just persuaded the former bosses of ZICO and McDonald's, among others,...
The clean label movement may have started as industry’s response to consumers who wanted foods and beverages made without artificial or “chemical” sounding ingredients, but overtime as brands continued to one-up each other, the concept morphed and metastasized...
Does selling up mean selling out? Not if you go in with your eyes open, say the co-founder of upmarket condiments brand Sir Kensington's, which has just jumped into bed with Unilever, but says the brand will retain its autonomy, its integrity, and...
For years kale has reigned supreme as the go-to superfood for many Americans thanks in part to its relatively low cost, nutrient density, broad accessibility and the plethora of ways to enjoy it from green smoothies to chips to raw salads and stir-fries.
Nutriati’s chickpea protein is white, odorless, and neutral-tasting
Commercial quantities of highly functional, neutral-tasting chickpea protein concentrates and a high-protein chickpea ‘flour’ will be available by the end of the year, says Richmond-based Nutriati, which has just closed an $8m financing round to help...
Unilever has struck a deal to acquire New York-based condiment maker Sir Kensington’s, under which co-founders Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton will continue to run the business from their offices in Manhattan.
Grass-fed cottage cheese brand good culture – which launched in August 2015 with organic ingredients and some edgy savory flavors - is confident it will be in 6,000 stores by the year end after bringing out a lower-priced ‘natural’ range (with more familiar...
“So why does the world need another [insert your product here]?” is a question entrepreneurs are well-advised to prep for before hitting the stage at any pitch slam judged by ZICO founder Mark Rampolla. So how does he answer his own question when it...
