One of the main goals of effective branding and packaging is to set a product apart from the competition, but how this is achieved is fundamental to whether a product will be embraced or shunned by consumers.
Many millennials worry about nutritional gaps in their diet, but would prefer to get what they need from food rather than popping pills, says GEM, a Los Angeles-based online subscription business delivering whole food based daily ‘bites’ containing 15...
While the food and beverage industry is virtually oozing with innovation as entrepreneurs launch category-breaking and -making ideas at a rapid-fire clip, the full potential of many new products and companies is held back by lackluster branding that a...
As conscious consumerism gathers momentum, retailers, investors and shoppers all are scrutinizing companies’ values more closely and looking to support brands that are focused on more than just profits.
Shaka Tea, Bushel, and Toast Ale scooped the top prizes at FoodBytes! San Francisco 2019, Rabobank’s 15th global pitch competition for food and ag startups, after wowing judges with their innovative products and business models.
60-second interview: Mike Mauzé, founding partner, VMG Partners
If you walk into someone by mistake as you push through the crowds at the Natural Products Expo West show these days, you are just as likely to find yourself apologizing to an investor as a retail buyer searching for hot new brands. But what does all...
While modern wisdom may favor launching fast and iterating quickly based on consumer feedback, the director of innovation at Endangered Species Chocolate says when it comes to packaging and branding it is better to slow down and invest in consumer research...
Following the lead of many other established food & beverage players, Mars, Incorporated is launching a new accelerator to help early stage food-focused companies fast-track growth in exchange for access to the energy and ground-level market insights...
The frequency with which food and beverage startups in the US secure multi-million dollar investments in early fundraising rounds might lead some entrepreneurs to believe earning capital is easy – but the founder of the moringa company Kuli Kuli says...
Springboard – a Kraft Heinz platform dedicated to nurturing and scaling ‘disruptive’ US brands - has unveiled its second incubator class, spanning lupini bean snacks, seed-packed bars, plant-based yogurt, ancient grain snacks, and cold pressed almond...
As recently as a few years ago, the words food and tech were incongruous together, but today they signal a booming industry that is ripe for innovation, and according to the VP of business development at the Israel-based incubator The Kitchen, the combination...
When seeking investor support or trying to woo customers, companies not only need to describe their product, but they also need to explain the problem that the product or brand solves, according to the CEO of SmartCatch.
Fundraising is different for every company, every time they do it, but according to Luke Saunders, the CEO and founder of Farmer’s Fridge, which recently closed a series C round, there are two common denominators that entrepreneurs must understand in...
What is piquing the interest of food & beverage investors as we approach Expo West? Not surprisingly, CBD is high on the list, along with brands disrupting the kids’ food category, according to New York based venture fund AccelFoods.
Many entrepreneurs describe their startup as their baby, but just like parents they need to learn to say no sometimes and to let go – lessons that the founders of I Heart Keenwah learned early.
With new players entering the food and beverage space daily, entrepreneurs at startups may feel pressured to stake out their shelf space in as many stores as they can as quickly as possible – but this can be a recipe for disaster.
Entrepreneurs looking for relief from being pulled in multiple directions may be tempted to rely on their broker or distributor to craft a strategic growth plan for their business, but industry veteran and the founder of Premium Growth Solutions James...
First time entrepreneurs often lament that if they had known how much work it would take to launch a startup they might not have done it, but the husband and wife duo and long-time industry veterans behind the plant-based protein brand Sweet Earth Natural...
While many big food companies are outsourcing innovation through venture capital arms and accelerators focused on external startups, Nestlé is innovating from within through an internal incubator that fosters the entrepreneurial spirit of its existing...
Amazon food and beverage sales topped $4.75bn in 2018 making food/bev the fastest growing segment for the online retailer. Coffee products represented the most popular subcategory with year-to-date sales totaling more than $140m, according to Edge by...
Advanced school nutrition policies programs can strongly influence a child’s eating habits and body mass index (BMI), a study led by the Yale School of Public Health concluded.
Earlier this week, Chobani put out an open call for “big-hearted food and beverage startups” that make delicious, nutritious, natural and affordable food to help it “take on the broken food system” by participating in the fifth cohort of its highly competitive...
Cargill has unveiled its new 188,000-square-foot North American protein headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, designed to foster employee collaboration and drive innovation in the protein category.
Given the importance placed on making a good first impression, many entrepreneurs and innovators may think they need to perfect a product before they introduce it to the market – but according a co-founder of the cold brew nitro-infused coffee company...
Giant Food, a regional grocery chain in the Washington D.C. area, has invested $175m to remodel 24 of its existing stores and open a new store location over the next two years.
For startups, balancing inventory to meet supply while minimizing waste is a make-or-break challenge that could prompt some entrepreneurs to project conservatively, but the founder of dried fruit startup Rind Snacks cautions this strategy could back fire...
While the food and beverage industry is inherently competitive that doesn’t mean companies need to operate as islands – rather, at Rabobank’s FoodBytes! pitch slam in New York City the founder of whipped vegetable spread brand Frescious explains collaborating...
Launching a new product or company comes with seemingly endless potential that the director of marketing with the startup Ocean Hugger Foods acknowledges is exciting, but she also warns can become overwhelming unless entrepreneurs craft a strict strategy...
For entrepreneurs and startups willing to go the extra mile, the benefits of competing in pitch slam, such as Rabobank’s FoodBytes!, can go far beyond the immediate exposure they gain when presenting their products or the possibility of winning a prize.
The days of landing a spot on store shelves simply by walking into a retailer without an appointment and wowing an employee with an unbranded, unpackaged product are becoming farther and fewer between as competition in the food and beverage space intensifies....
Natural Products Expo West in March may seem far in the future, but now is the time for entrepreneurs to start preparing if they want to launch a new businesses, brand or product at the show, according to the co-founders of the condiment startup Kumana.
Entrepreneurs launching products that are unfamiliar to consumers or vastly different than previously available versions offered by competitors may struggle to gain initial trial – but partnering with chefs and distributing through foodservice can be...
Introducing consumers to a new brand isn’t easy, but when the product is an entirely new concept, this challenge is magnified ten-fold, as illustrated by the struggles startup Ayoba-Yo experienced trying to explain biltong to American shoppers.
For many entrepreneurs who dream of launching the next big national brand, the future can’t get here fast enough; but the founder of the “curiously pink” antioxidant lemonade brand Poppilu, warns growing too quickly without first nailing down the fundamentals...
When Kraft Heinz launched its Springboard incubator program earlier this year, it was flooded with more than 200 applicants for only five spots – an overwhelming response that underscores the importance of fine-tuning a pitch when presenting to potential...
