Hatchery – an online marketplace specializing in gourmet foods from small producers – is looking for a strategic partner as it seeks to raise $2m to expand its offer.
The retail fresh soup category is now worth “north of $200m,” as more grocery retailers invest in their fresh prepared food offer, says the CEO of Boulder Organic Foods. But there is still a lot of potential for growth as the boundaries between food retail...
Boulder Brands co-founder Steve Hughes - who resigned from the firm last summer - has teamed up with private equity firm Trilantic North America to form Sunrise Strategic Partners, which will provide growth capital and expertise to emerging brands in...
Supporters of the 'Paleo' diet (a hunter/gatherer-style approach to eating) urge us to eschew grains, dairy and legumes - among other things. But any diet that eliminates major food groups should be treated with caution, argue two high-profile...
It’s purple, intriguing from a nutritional perspective owing to its anthocyanin content, and poised to create a completely new category in the US beverage market, says one man on a mission to make Kenyan purple tea a household name in the US.
“We have delivered food from the best shops, farms and artisans. It was a wonderful journey, and while we learned a lot from it, it has come to its end,” says a message on the homepage of online delivery service Artizone, which closed its doors on February...
Sprouted watermelon seeds fuel a novel range of protein bars from Go Raw
Is ‘raw’ still a hot trend in food marketing, or is the lack of clarity over what it means diluting its value? A pioneer in the raw foods movement, Go Raw founder Rob Freeland says he is less hung up on semantics these days, and more concerned about making...
Want to know the size of the cold brew coffee prize, when Suja finally broke even, and what all the fuss is about over alkaline water? Check out the highlights of our 2016 Beverage Innovation summit, which aired live on Feb 18, and is now available on...
Cricket bar pioneer Chapul is poised for significant growth in 2016 after securing national distribution agreements with UNFI and Nature’s Best (KeHE) that will see it boost its footprint from 500 stores today to 3-4,000 stores by the year end, CEO Pat...
Pepperidge Farm – the latest food company to find itself in legal hot water over allegedly misclassifying employees as independent contractors – says it will vigorously defend itself after being hit with a class action lawsuit filed by its sales development...
Phenomenal Foods – the Los Angeles-based start-up behind probiotic-fueled organic fruit & veggie snack brand Nomva – has raised $3m in a series A fundraising round to help it take its HPP-treated pouches to a broader audience.
New entrants are quickly saturating the fast-growing jerky category, but there is still white space for pork, chicken and premium products aimed at consumers in the “middle of the road,” according to one category player.
Ask most people what ‘healthy vending’ is, and they will probably imagine a vending machine that has replaced candy with protein bars – but is still basically a snack machine. LeanBox, by contrast, is more like a smart fridge in the office breakroom packed...
2016 Beverage Innovation summit: Have you registered yet?
Bottled water, sparkling flavored water, energy and sports drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee have all made strong gains in the New Year as shoppers have continued to spurn carbonated soft drinks – particularly the diet variety - according to Nielsen data...
Revenues at plant-based foods maker Hampton Creek surged 350% in 2015 as the company expanded its product range and strengthened partnerships in retail and foodservice, said CEO Josh Tetrick, who also grew the headcount at the San Francisco-based company...
When Kevin Duffy first started test-marketing his Cide Road organic switchel in 2014, he was either met with blank stares (“to be honest, most people had never heard of switchel”) or evangelism (“I met all these enthusiasts that drink apple cider vinegar...
An unconventional partnership between the crowdfunding website Barnraiser and KRAVE Jerky founder Jon Sebastiani’s new incubator and venture fund Sonoma Brands will create a new paradigm for fundraising and marketing that promises earlier, more sustained...
CORE Hydration – an ultra-purified, electrolyte-infused bottled water with a ‘perfect pH’ of 7.4 that first hit shelves in late 2014 and is now in 30,000+ stores – is on course to generate retail sales of $60-100 million in 2016, predicts co-founder Lance...
Genius Juice – which is on a mission bring something fresh and different to the functional beverage set with its organic coconut smoothies – is finalizing a new round of seed capital, has streamlined its SKU count and switched to a smaller, 12oz bottle...
The premium meat snacks category is on fire, and scores of entrepreneurial brands have recently entered the market hoping to cash in. But there is still room for new players with truly differentiated products, says Colorado-based meat & veggie bar...
Cult personality David Klein speaks to ConfectioneryNews about his new jelly bean business that is seeking online funding through a Kickstarter campaign.
If you’ve heard of Michel et Augustin, you’re most likely French, or living in New York – where its pastries have recently started appearing in upmarket food stores. But that’s likely to change pretty quickly, predict its founders, who have just struck...
Often overshadowed by the tech industry, food, beverage and ag startups can step into the spotlight at Rabobank North America Wholesale’s upcoming second FoodBytes! pitch competition where they will meet hundreds of potential investors and partners to...
Whole Foods products at wholesale prices, delivered to your door? It sounds almost too good to be true, and at the beginning, that’s certainly how many potential investors viewed Thrive Market. But with a run-rate approaching $100m and hundreds of thousands...
60-second interview: Jordan Gaspar and Lauren Jupiter, AccelFoods
AccelFoods - a New York-based early-stage investment platform making waves in the natural products space – is offering brands it partners with a lot more than capital, managing partners Jordan Gaspar and Lauren Jupiter tell FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine...
A cold-pressed dairy-free beverage made from raw cacao beans, RAU looks like chocolate milk (it’s not); tastes super-indulgent (but has just 90-120 cals per 12oz bottle); and can claim the ‘superfood’ moniker because its use of high-pressure-processing...
From Cabernayzyns (dried Cabernet grapes) to bakkwa, a meat snack sold in street markets in Singapore and Malaysia that's just hit the West Coast of the US, the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco was jam-packed with unusual new products. FoodNavigator-USA...
Does bone broth have mass market appeal, and if so, what’s the best format to package it in, and where is the best place to put it in store? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with EPIC Provisions co-founder Taylor Collins to get his take on this emerging category...
From bone broth, birch water and yaupon tea to macadamia milk, the Winter Fancy Food Show is a great place to go beverage trendspotting. FoodNavigator-USA hit the showfloor at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where we also spotted a lot of chai spice...
KRAVE Jerky founder Jon Sebastiani - who sold his business to Hershey last year – has already identified some entrepreneurs he hopes to mentor – and fund – as part of his new incubator, Sonoma Brands.
Bone broth is not new, exactly, but most consumers are still not sure what it is, acknowledges the founder of San Francisco-based Bone Broths Co, although that could change in 2016 as high-profile brands such as EPIC enter the market and more celebrities...
Check out who’s moving onwards and upwards at Whitewave Foods, True Drinks, Coca-Cola, Smucker, Beyond Meat, Hershey, Smithfield and McCormick in FoodNavigator-USA’s New Year round-up of new hires in food and beverage.
While the plant-milk market is maturing, there is still room for new entrants offering a premium take on the category, says the CEO and founder of Texas-based MALK, which uses high-pressure-processing (HPP), and no preservatives, thickeners, or emulsifiers...
Upmarket meat snacks maker EPIC Provisions has been wooed by several suitors, but ultimately agreed to tie the knot with General Mills because it would help it achieve its goal of making high-quality grass-fed animal protein available to a broader audience,...
Bone broth – a warming, nourishing beverage made from meaty bones and veggies left to simmer for hours and then strained - is poised for significant growth in 2016, predicts one new market entrant, which is bringing a novel twist to the category by adding...
As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs on the trends they are tracking, plus what keeps them awake at night, from fundraising to recruitment. Here's part 2! (Best viewed on your desktop.)
As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs on the trends they wll be tracking in 2016, plus what keeps them awake at night, from fundraising to recruitment. (Best viewed on your desktop.)
Gluten-free Cheerios, Soylent, trendspotting, the rise of veganism, and lawsuits: All of these made the top 10 most read articles on FoodNavigator-USA, but what was #1?
If you didn't make it to Chicago in October for FoodNavigator-USA's inaugural Food Vision USA event, you missed a truly awesome ensemble of industry experts covering everything from our nutritional needs on a manned mission to Mars to the challenges...
The FDA has just cranked open Pandora’s box with its surprise bid to explore a working definition of ‘natural’ on food labels. As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage CEOs to find out what they think it means,...
Will 2016 be another bumper year for food-labeling class action lawsuits, or has the FDA’s surprise decision to weigh into the ‘natural’ debate put a spanner in the works for plaintiff’s attorneys? We quizzed leading food law attorneys to find out (gallery...
VeganEgg - a novel 100% plant-based whole egg replacer utilizing algae as its core ingredient - has taken off like a rocketship, says brand owner Follow Your Heart, which is ramping up production for a wider roll-out in 2016.
From veggie juice and bone broth combinations to pecan milk, teas brewed with wild-crafted chaga (a nutrient-packed fungus that grows on birch trees), bamboo leaves and the 'superherb' of the moment ashwagandha, the beverage aisle is a hotbed...
Juice in focus at BevNET Live: From V8 to Evolution Fresh, Suja & Bolthouse Farms
Brands, like celebrities and artists, have to stay true to their core essence to retain their integrity, but must also “change and shed personas” from time to time to stay relevant, says Campbell Soup’s beverage VP Kelli McCusker.
'We’ll be incubating our own brands and investing in other early stage brands'
KRAVE Jerky founder Jon Sebastiani - who sold his business to Hershey in January – is going back to his entrepreneurial roots next year with the launch of a CPG incubator he hopes can recreate the magic he felt in KRAVE’s early days with groundbreaking...
'It’s not the first or the second purchase order that really counts, it’s the third'
It won't happen overnight, but the future of babyfood is in the chiller, predicts one Texas-based entrepreneur pioneering the application of high pressure processing (HPP) in a category she claims is ripe for disruption.
'When people first try our popcorn, one of the things they notice right away is the flavor.'
Size matters, and when it comes to popcorn, the smaller it is, the better, says one Iowa-based farm, which has carved a niche in the market with its unique ‘Tiny But Mighty’ heirloom corn, which is tiny, but intensely flavorful (hence ‘mighty’), and comes...