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.)
Butter is back, and soon too could be butter coffee if the manufacturers of Grass Fed Coffee, a ready-to-drink version of bullet coffee, meet their Kickstarter goal to raise $15,000 by Feb. 1.
As the race for manufacturers and restaurants to switch to 100% cage-free eggs in the US gains momentum, the speed of the transition could create short-term supply challenges for manufacturers and long-term opportunities for existing specialty egg providers,...
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 old adage that one person’s trash is another’s treasure is the foundation of San Francisco-based startup ReGrained, which makes snack bars from grains used to brew beer and eventually hopes to connect other manufacturers with a steady supply of the...
There’s a new ‘shroom coming out of the storied grounds around the Woodstock Festival 1969 site. It comes in tea form, and it will hit the shelves of New York City health food stores and gourmet delis this coming January.
Go Gourmet wants to “up the ante” in the applesauce and fruit cup aisle with its “superfood snack” Slammers – premium fruit and veggie purees for school-aged children in pouches that pose a triple threat with taste, nutrition and personality, says CEO...
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.
“Local” is a hot marketing term that can drive sales – especially for startups hoping to capitalize on home court advantage – but it also can restrict expansion if it is defined too narrowly, says the founder of Dona Chai.
Startups ranging from the maker of fine sodas to an information management firm for farmers took center-stage at Rabobank North America Wholesale’s client appreciation event in New York City earlier this month where they were recognized as the winners...
For Undone Chocolate, what is in a name is not as important as what is in its gourmet bars, which is why the startup is dropping individual product names in favor of umbrella branding and highlighting key ingredients.
After struggling with slumping stock prices, increased competition and consumer complaints, Keurig Green Mountain stockholders received some good news for a change Dec. 7 when an investor group led by JAB Holdings acquired the single-serve coffee pod...
A self-proclaimed “sugar-fighter,” the founder and CEO of The Right Cup is taking on America’s addiction to sweetened beverages with the upcoming launch of a scented cup that tricks the brain into thinking plain water is a fruit-flavored beverage.
'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...
Three years ago, Chef Jeannine Sacco was cooking Jambalaya, discovered she was out of rice, ransacked her cupboard for a substitute, and found a packet of whole grain steel cut oats. The results blew her mind; the entrepreneurial juices started flowing;...
Spicy hot sauces, cozy hot chocolate, premium tea, seasonal sweets and stocking-stuffer sized treats were on display just in time for the holiday season at Washington, DC-based incubator Union Kitchen's tasting event Dec. 1. The event doubled as...
For startup Tru, Inc., a successful Kickstarter campaign is about more than raising funds to launch its TRUEnergy sports shot – it is about proving to retailers and future investors that the product concept is viable and will sell, said CEO and Founder...
From NatureBox to VEGA Coffee, BeanGenius, and LoveWithFood, new online subscription services targeting snack lovers, coffee aficionados, and foodies are popping up almost every week. But what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this market?
Small batch roaster Cameron’s Handcrafted Coffee believes in drinking coffee from a cup – not brewing from one, which is one of the many reasons its single serve coffee brews in a filter instead of the ubiquitous plastic cup made popular by Keurig.
From vinegar-based sodas to caffeinated yogurt drinks, high-protein nut milks and yet more alkaline waters, check out FoodNavigator-USA's gallery of new beverage launches hitting US shelves this fall/winter.
Long-anchored in the conventional channel’s center-store with iconic brands such as Hungry Man and Wishbone, Pinnacle Foods’ $975 million acquisition of Boulder Brands gives it a better foothold in the fast-growing refrigerated and health food segments.
Not so long ago, an organic beverage brand boasting ‘adaptogenic super-herbs’ would have had a fairly niche audience. Today, it’s a very different story, says Sheryl O’Loughlin, former CEO of Clif Bar and co-founder of Plum Organics, who has just moved...
The egg industry is undergoing a “renaissance” as consumers increasingly turn their backs to conventional eggs from caged hens and reach instead for those from chickens raised with space to move and access to outdoors, claims the co-owner of Handsome...
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Transparent advertising is essential for reaching modern consumers, but as the maker of Element [Shrub] discovered – knowing which facts to emphasize first is key to driving initial trial.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Heinz Tomato Ketchup has been an iconic staple in American diners and homes for more than 130 years, but Washington, DC-area startup ’Chups believes the condiment is long overdue for an update and that it is just the company to do it.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Fermented foods and beverages are growing in popularity as consumers learn more about their health benefits – in turn opening the door for entrepreneurs like The Sweet Farm, which sells fresh sauerkraut and is developing a line of cultured sodas and probiotic...
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
To make it in the highly competitive food and beverage segment, startups need to listen to consumers and evolve to meet changing demands – even if that means letting go of their “baby,” says the founder of Momme Meals.
Award winning Australian olive oil manufacturer Cobram Estate in February will extend its reach into the competitive US market, which it says suffers a dearth of high quality, extra virgin olive oils.
'We’re selling products you won’t find in big box retail stores or on Amazon'
Consumers are increasingly enthusiastic about discovering ‘small-batch’ foods from artisanal producers, while growing numbers of small producers are looking for other avenues beyond traditional retailers to get their wares to market. Hatchery – an online...
Online retail of food and beverage may be small now, but it is slowly gaining traction in the US – providing start-ups struggling to get their foot in the door another option for reaching consumers, according to the CEO of online subscription snack service...
High-pressure-processing (HPP) – which gave birth to the super-premium juice category – will also play a disruptive role in the baby food market in the next five years, predict the founders of Once Upon a Farm, a new baby food brand in a pouch that will...
Quest Nutrition has a somewhat ambitious mission statement (“Our goal is to end metabolic disease,” says president Tom Bilyeu). But while it may be some time before the El Segundo-based firm can tick this particular goal off its checklist, its progress...
If services such as Blue Apron target people that love to cook and prepare meals, but don’t always have the time or energy for meal planning and grocery shopping, TableRunner appeals to people that want restaurant quality meals at home but don’t have...
Hella Bitters' explosive growth in the last three years has been a dream come true for the founders, but it easily could have been a nightmare if the young company had not had in a place a viable finance plan it could access quickly.
Two relatively small, but high-profile snack categories are merging with the Nov. 4 launch of Exo’s savory meal bars with alternative protein from crickets.
Collaborative innovation between retailers and manufacturers can jumpstart product development, generate substantial cost-savings and improve the success of a launch more effectively than either partner likely could achieve on its own, a senior director...
Americans increasingly want fresh, healthy food, but they don’t always have the extra time it takes to plan and prepare those ingredients – creating a white space in the market for enterprising manufacturers.
If you didn't make it to Chicago last week for the 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 facing small...
Ready to leap from start-up to category leader, better-for-you snack company Wonderfully Raw Gourmet Delights exchanged a slice of its equity for accelerator Fresca Food’s help expanding production, distribution and marketing.
Big brands have always sought to convince us that by purchasing their mass-produced wares we are expressing ourselves (although it’s hard to argue that buying a Coke – even with your name on it - is a bold expression of individualism). But how can food...
Stressed, time poor and short of culinary inspiration, but feeling guilty about ordering pizza again? Sun Basket – the latest entrant to the burgeoning home meal delivery market – gives you the tools to cook restaurant-quality meals at home, without having...
Armed with little more than her neighbors’ accolades for her homemade granola and a business book recommended on Oprah Winfrey’s website, Viki Sater dove head first into the competitive cereal market.
VEGA Coffee is based on a simple – but surprisingly novel – concept, says founder Noushin Ketabi: What if the farmers who grow coffee, actually roasted and packaged it as well, and then sold their ‘farm-roasted’ product directly to US consumers via an...
From savory yogurt and coffee fruit infusions, to switchel – apple cider vinegar-based concoctions that offer a modern twist on a centuries-old tradition - Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) highlights 10 culinary trends it predicts will inspire packaged foods...
Company has been ‘bombarded’ with offers from private equity and strategic investors
In 2009, when Daiya Foods first started selling cheese alternatives, the addressable market (based on what was selling at the time) was an uninspiring $10m, a figure most investors and CPG brands won’t even get out of bed for. Fast forward six years,...
Can a bunch of food-tech start-ups really ‘fix the broken food system’, feed 9bn people by 2050 and ‘disrupt’ the food industry with a killer app? Maybe, but they might be better off focusing on more tangible goals, according to investment experts gathered...
