Long gone are the days when a deal was sealed with a handshake and verbal commitment, which is why the co-founder of veggie snack startup Theo’s advises entrepreneurs to be persistent – but not annoying – about securing commitments in writing before acting.
When a delayed flight could have ruined her day, Bumpin Blends' founder, Lisa Mastela, used the downtime to network with fellow travelers and, in doing so, connected with representatives from toymaker Mattel that ultimately landed the smoothie brand...
Biotech company, Novonesis, addresses core taste, texture and nutritional challenges in plant-based meat and dairy with its biosolution technologies, potentially reducing the ingredient label deck.
Beekeeper Coffee's co-founders leveraged their extensive brand-building expertise from giants like Nike and Beats by Dre to stand out in the crowded RTD coffee market with a distinct honey-sweetened brew, emphasizing authenticity and sustainability...
New pumpkin spice products continue to hit store shelves as other food and beverage product launches in September usher in the holiday season from Halloween to Rosh Hashanah to Christmas.
Consumers increasingly want more from their beverages – more benefits, more flavor and more fun, but they do not want more sugar nor do they want to compromise on taste, which creates a challenge for manufacturers to find the sweet spot between shoppers’...
Fast-growing pantry staples brand SIMPLi is reinvigorating sleepy center-store categories and unlocking additional distribution in thousands of regional and independent grocers nationwide after growing nearly 500% year-over-year at Whole Foods Market...
Building a net zero, water secure future in food & beverage
Increasing water scarcity is prompting stakeholders across the food industry to rethink and reup their stewardship practices, and in doing so they not only are reinforcing supply chains and the health of the planet, but market research suggest they could...
Coffee is not just for adults thanks to Kiid Coffee, a functional beverage mix designed to help children hit their daily recommended intake of iron, magnesium, calcium and other important nutrients, the brand's co-founder David Sanborn told FoodNavigator-USA...
Nature’s Fynd is expanding into the dairy-free yogurt category with its proprietary Fy Protein to deliver nutritious solutions that meet consumer demand for plant-based alternatives that deliver taste and texture without compromise.
NutraIngredients-USA is inviting early-stage active lifestyle brands to enter its "Start-up Stars" competition which will see three pioneering entrepreneurs gain industry notoriety at the Sports & Active Nutrition Summit 2025.
milkadamia’s flat-pack oat milk, a format made from a proprietary 2-D printing process that takes oat paste and prints it out in sheets, has potential to cut down on packaging waste and carbon emissions due to lighter shipping weights, according to milkadamia’s...
West African frozen meal and sauce brand Ayo Foods’ expanded from 200 retail doors to more than 20 retailers nationwide through a combination of cold calling and working with brokers to land shelf space.
Regenerative agriculture is emerging as a powerful marketing concept with recent research by ingredient supplier ADM revealing most consumers familiar with the tenets are more likely to trust and buy from brands that support the practice.
Long gone are the days when salt and pepper were sufficient seasonings for most Americans – now US consumers want bold flavors that will take their tastebuds on a global adventure, giving rise to a new class of frozen meals, sauces, spice blends and even...
Big advertising budgets are not a requirement for big sales or an indicator of how successful a marketing campaign will be as illustrated by a viral video on social media by functional beverage newcomer Yesly, which generated more than 16 million views...
The waning days of summer bring a colorful lineup of food and beverage launches featuring bold purples and blues, along with nostalgic flavors that welcome the promise of cooler weather and seasonal partnerships that celebrate traditional fall activities.
Children's snack brand Mission MightyMe is taking its first big step beyond ecommerce, launching in select Target stores, after raising $2.3 million earlier in the year to fuel growth and raise awareness on reducing peanut allergies by introducing...
FUL Foods is a social impact company focused on sustainable nutrition solutions using microalgae. Julia Streuli and her co-founders first met in business school and became interested in decarbonizing the food sector due to its significant impact on global...
Much like Gen X before them, Gen Z consumers have grown disillusioned with traditional marketing that over-promises and under-delivers, prompting energy drink brand OK Energy to take a more authentic—yet still playful—approach Evan Nied, CEO, OK Energy,...
Plant-based milks offer great potential to not only mimic the nutritional profile of dairy milk, but also distinguish itself through taste, texture, functionality and technologies like precision fermentation, Lynn Dornblaser, director of innovations and...
Passion, experience and market insights are essential to launching a business, but they are far from enough to ensure enduring success, according to long-time CPG industry expert and first-time entrepreneur Douglas Yu, who earlier this month launched...
Lever VC is zeroing in on innovative companies within the alternative protein space, backing those with strong technological potential and the ability to scale, Nick Cooney, founder and managing partner, Lever VC, told FoodNavigator-USA during Future...
For cultivate meat companies to hit ambitious goals of scaling production from a few kilograms a year currently to tons annually within the next three years, the industry must overcome manufacturing, regulatory and funding challenges by embracing AI,...
Kellanova is optimizing digital marketing through a test-and-learn approach, and leveraging AI capabilities to create assets more efficiently, Lauren Freedman Autry, senior director of integrated marketing and ecommerce at Kellanova, told FoodNavigator-USA.
Who says no to distribution at Whole Foods? Brightland shares its strategy behind its launch into the natural foods retailer after declining two previous offers, as the company seeks to differentiate itself from the olive oil category with a modern design...
Even though most Americans consume enough protein, they continue to want more and companies at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City are delivering with increasing innovation and sophistication across categories and occasions, including snacks,...
Creating a successful alternative protein company is not just about developing an innovative ingredient or product, but it also is about scalability — from building the right size facility in budget to hiring the right personnel and meeting regulatory...
Strategic partnerships with restaurateurs and CPG brands in adjacent categories helped Poi Dog transform from a food service business into a up and coming packaged food brand available on retail shelves, founder Kiki Aranita told FoodNavigator-USA in...
The buzz around weight-loss drugs has “turbo-charged” the food as medicine movement creating opportunities and challenges for which one expert warns the food industry is unprepared to address, resulting in far more “losers” than “winners” – but he added...
Mondelēz is investing in new omnichannel shopping capabilities and educating employees on digital shopping best practices, the snack giant’s Global Ecommerce Director Abhishek Ahluwalia said at the 2024 Digital Food and Beverage event in Palm Springs,...
Using proprietary technology that mimics the “miracle” inside an egg for a chick to develop, startup Hatchless says it can make real poultry meat from infertile eggs without applying chemicals, growth factors or genetically modified cells and without...
Some legislators worry general political discord and uncertainty about the presidential election could aggravate food insecurity in the US and threaten investments in food as medicine as well as other initiatives and pledges made at the historic White...
Given how little time entrepreneurs have during most pitches, intentionally ending the meeting a few minutes early may sound counterintuitive, but the founder of the bakery and packaged cookie company Sugar Bliss says this gives potential buyers or investors...
A solid data foundation is crucial to leveraging AI to address alternative-protein market challenges, including raw material shortages and developing on-trend products faster, CEO of AI-based recipe company Proxy Foods Panos Kostopoulos shared at the...
Vegan cookie company Love+Chew is controlling its destiny by not accepting venture capital (VC) funding and finding success at Costco in the process, brand CEO and founder Lauren Chew told FoodNavigator-USA during a Startup Spotlight interview.
Capitalizing on the boba tea boom during the pandemic, coupled with their love of the Taiwanese drink, Bobabam co-founders, Brian Khoddam, Ron Escopete and Bob Yau, leveraged their expertise in supply chain, foodservice, and data analysis to quickly launch...
The IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas 2024 in Salt Lake City highlighted many of the innovations happening in the prebiotics space, including how GLP-1s are impacting the category.
Bread is back after being demonized for years as high in calories and carbs and low in nutrition, innovative bakers are bringing to market bagels, buns and brioches that are high in fiber, protein, healthy fat and, of course, flavor.
Upcycling would-be wasted food or side streams from manufacturing into nutritious and sustainable products for human consumption continues to gain traction with more companies calling out the claim and sales of Upcycled Certified products overall growing...
For the cultured meat industry to deliver on its promise of feeding a growing population in a way that is healthy for people and the planet, it needs stable cell lines with desirable characteristics for commercial production, which is where the startup...
Innovative startup Hydrosome Labs is leveraging ultra-fine bubbles to overcome significant roadblocks to the development of alternative proteins via precision fermentation, including capacity constraints, by dramatically increasing yield from the same...
Crafted by a neurodivergent team with special skills for consumers with special diets in a facility where nothing goes to waste, startup Vêsucré is bringing to market decadent vegan desserts that are free from soy, gluten and refined sugar.
50/50 Foods' Both Burgers with a 50/50 beef and veggie blend target flexitarians who love meat but want more plants, while also addressing water scarcity caused by traditional agriculture, according to CEO Drew Arentowicz at the Future Food Tech...
Consumers seeking clean labels historically have given a pass to plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, even though they have long lists of unfamiliar or difficult to pronounce ingredients, but that may be changing as the category’s health halo dims...
Gluten free may not be as trendy as it once was, but the call-out continues to resonate with consumers as the quality, quantity and variety of products making the claim continue to improve – as showcased by brands across categories at the Summer Fancy...
The early retail success of functional beverage startup Crunchy Hydration shows sugar – or its low- and no-calorie counterparts – are not a necessary ingredient for success in a category that is laden with sweeteners used to mask the sometimes bitter...
Portuguese-based food-tech startup PFx Biotech is harnessing precision-fermentation to create human milk proteins for infant formulas and other applications, company Co-founder Harry Barraza shared during the Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins event...
Building a packaged food or beverage business from scratch can be expensive and overwhelming for entrepreneurs, but Startup CPG is making it a little easier with a suite of free tools, extensive networking opportunities and a safe space for founders to...
In this episode of Startup Spotlight, Bandit’s Founder Bo Babaki discusses how his passion project making vegan cheese eventually landed him a distribution deal with Lancaster Farm Fresh in 2020 and secured a $1.5 million investment from VC firm Prime...
