NadaMoo! – which is carving out a niche at the premium end of the dairy-free frozen dessert market with its organic coconut milk based wares – has raised $4m in a Series A financing round led by InvestEco Capital and supported by District Ventures Capital,...
Portland-based Brew Dr Kombucha has notched up another year of triple digit growth in 2017, with revenues likely to be “close to $30m,” says founder and CEO Matt Thomas, who is planning to introduce a canned version of the brand sometime next year.
Hidden hunger due to malnutrition can have devastating consequences not only for those who suffer from it, but also on the economy – prompting governments to seek help in a way that is creating business opportunities for innovators with solutions.
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. and CPG veteran Bill Moses have launched Disruptive Brands, a new platform focused on investing in and supporting emerging better-for-you food and beverage brands.
Undeterred by savory yogurt’s failure to find traction in the US, the ever optimistic start-up The Chaat Co. is evolving its portfolio and branding to better meet American consumers where they are and to reinforce its original mission to be a broad-based...
Consumers with sensitivities to cow’s milk who have begrudgingly forgone dairy-heavy comfort foods such as pizza and mac & cheeses or turned to plant-based options but miss the taste and texture of “real dairy” now have another option: Funny Farm’s...
Grasshoppers have several distinct advantages over crickets as a food ingredient, claims Dror Tamir at Israeli edible insect start-up Hargol FoodTech, who caught up with FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine Watson at FOOD VISION USA in Chicago.
Held at the W hotel in Chicago Nov 13-15, FOOD VISION USA brought together a glittering array of speakers from big and small food brands, spanning topics from food e-commerce and meal kits to clean-label trends, clean meat, hydroponics and whether the...
Green-Go is ready to launch its zero-calorie, organic cactus water onto the market and it’s going after fun, social media-savvy millennials, its founder says.
Dr Richardson: 'Strategic plans empower entrepreneurs to say ‘no’ to the wrong opportunities'
By Dr James Richardson, founder, Premium Growth Solutions
With retailers increasingly open to stocking premium products from emerging brands, and Amazon offering a great platform to help entrepreneurs reach a nationwide audience, it might seem like there's never been a better time to start a food &...
They had a pretty lengthy courtship, but two years after they first began wooing New York Knicks player Kristaps Porzingis, Seattle-based vitality brand Zing Bar has tied the knot with the NBA star, who has made a ‘significant’ investment in the company,...
Personalised nutrition using a natural, calorie-free fibre to create nutritionally enhanced foods on demand is “revolutionary”, according to the makers of a 3D-printing platform.
New technology developed by a team of Cornell University graduates could revolutionize food storage by dramatically extending the shelf life of produce without refrigeration – which means it also could cut overhead energy costs and emissions.
They might be a novel concept for most Americans, but farmer’s cheese bars could develop into a potentially exciting new category in the burgeoning protein snacking segment, says the co-founder of Yooli Foods, which is rolling out farmer’s cheese cups...
The US team behind the coconut-based yogurt COYO hopes slashing its suggested retail price will help the brand jump from the natural to the conventional channel and that its creamy texture will keep it there by captivating mainstream shoppers who place...
Can PepsiCo or Kraft Heinz build another brand like Pepsi or Heinz from scratch, in-house, or will they increasingly serve as scale up platforms for brands they didn’t create?
As sugar continues to gain prominence as public enemy No. 1 in America for contributing to obesity and other chronic health problems, Berkeley-based biotech startup Sugarlogix has taken on the daunting task of teaching manufacturers and consumers that...
New research revealing a dramatic increase in the number of insurance claims related to severe allergic reactions to food reinforces other evidence indicating that food allergies are on the rise, and bolsters the marketing opportunity and potential longevity...
Extruded chickpea puff brand HIPPEAS has raised $10m from CAVU Venture Partners to help fund its explosive growth, while CAVU co-founder Brett Thomas will join its board of directors.
After building a successful restaurant in Mexico based in part on the popularity and health benefits of coconut, entrepreneur Daniella Hunter is expanding her mission of promoting digestive well-being and sustainability to the US and Belize with a new...
We’re still just scratching the surface when it comes to unlocking the potential of microbial fermentation to manufacture food ingredients, says Canadian bioengineering firm Noblegen, which is developing a new breed of designer oils, proteins, and nutraceuticals...
“Instead of giving farmers a barn with 50,000 chickens, why not give them a small factory and 10,000 machines?”
While it might be a while before steaks grown in bioreactors (instead of on the farm) become standard fare at your local steakhouse, ‘locally produced’ cultured meat could quickly gain traction in nuggets, burgers, meatballs, and hot dogs if the price...
What kind of food company names itself ‘nonfood’? The kind that wants to start a conversation, at the very least, says founder Sean Raspet, an artist turned flavorist who used to work at Soylent, and clearly shares that brand’s interest in redefining...
Bored of beef jerky? New York City-based start-up Beyond the Shoreline has an intriguing alternative: a plant-based mix of sugar kelp, mushroom stems, nutritional yeast, brown rice flour, sea salt and pea protein, which is due to hit the market in January...
When it comes to a successful product launch, timing is vital – especially if a company hopes to disrupt a category or substantially change the way consumers think about what is on their plate and how it got there.
Summer is just barely over and already the makers of popchips are looking forward to the next one and the chance to repeat the widely successful 'one snack at a time' regional sampling campaign, that resulted in an astounding 72% lift in velocity...
Breaking into the notoriously competitive US beverage market is a daunting task, but purple tea has some distinct advantages, says Purpose Tea founder Chi Nguyen. First, it’s purple, and it’s new, so consumers are going to notice it; second, it tastes...
Compared to crickets, grasshoppers and even meal worms, the fruit fly is minuscule, but according to the co-founders of Flying SpArk this tiniest of insects could prove to be a more bountiful, sustainable and efficient source of protein.
Terra's Kitchen CEO: Strategics are eyeing up meal kit players now...
As shockwaves from the Amazon/Whole Foods deal continue to reverberate throughout the food industry, Albertsons has struck while the iron is hot via a deal to acquire Plated – one of the leading brands in the burgeoning meal kit market – for an undisclosed...
What began as a hobby for a 15-year-old girl, now is blooming into a bustling family business as Abby’s Better Nut Butter rapidly gains sales and distribution thanks in part to its clean labels, better-for-you angle and unique flavor combinations that...
Consumers are notoriously fickle, but their ongoing demand for beverages that are healthy and natural is paving the way for several sustained sub-trends that not only show immediate growth potential but also long-term payout, according to Google trends...
Plant-based Greek-style yogurts from Ripple Foods – slated to hit the market by the end of this year – will have a higher protein content (12g/serving) and superior texture to brands currently on shelf, which have improved, but can still look “gelatinous”...
DouxMatok, the Israeli firm behind patented technology that makes sugar taste sweeter, has raised $8.1m in a funding round led by Israel’s largest VC fund, Pitango, with the participation of existing shareholders including Gil Horsky* and FoodLab Capital.
Seeking an “evergreen path” to growth while still protecting its mission, Revive Kombucha gave a seat on its board of directors to a top executive at Peet’s Coffee, which also led a $7.5 million series B financing round for the brand, according to company...
The entrepreneurs behind an app enabling shoppers to earn cash back after purchasing natural, organic and healthy lifestyle products, say they can give brands participating on the platform “unprecedented insight into their customers' shopping habits.”
Boulder-based MycoTechnology has raised $35m in a series B financing round from a flurry of high profile investors* from Kellogg’s Eighteen94 Capital to Bunge Ventures and inked a strategic partnership with a leading player in the natural products industry...
Allergy-friendly baked goods brand Mikey’s has teamed up with innovation and scale-up specialist Factory LLC, which will invest $5m in two tranches to help founder Mike Tierney scale the business and build a better-for-you product platform potentially...
After a month of hints about pursuing an “exciting and terrifying” new opportunity in organic food, former Annie’s CEO John Foraker has finally gone public about his plans to join refrigerated babyfood brand Once Upon a Farm, alongside actress Jennifer...
Recognizing that introducing peanuts to potentially allergic infants is a “significant concern among new parents,” FDA approved a new qualified health claim that reiterates and reassures parents of new advice to give 4- to 10-month-olds products containing...
New Frontier Foods has spent four years building a presence in the rapidly-growing seaweed snacks market with its Ocean’s Halo brand, but reckons its latest innovation – organic seaweed-based broths (now rolling out nationwide at Walmart, Safeway/Albertsons,...
Whether it is trying to raise money, build brand awareness or convince a buyer to stock your product on store shelves, knowing how to successfully pitch your company, and yourself, to potential business partners and consumers is essential.
Kabaki purple tea – made from a phytonutrient-rich purple-hued cultivar grown in Kenya – could follow RUNA’s playbook by bringing something disruptive to the US ready-to-drink tea market, while at the same time improving the livelihoods of small growers,...
Does selling up mean selling out? Quite the opposite, says the co-founder of plant-based brand Sweet Earth, who says teaming up with the world’s biggest food company is one of the most effective ways of accelerating the kind of change many activists want...
Nestlé has gained an “immediate entry” into the plant-based foods category via the acquisition of fast-growing California-based brand Sweet Earth for an undisclosed sum.
In general, talking about how a food or beverage is processed is not a way to win the hearts, minds and money of today’s consumers, who increasingly want products that are fresh, made with clean ingredients and as close to their natural state as possible.
Recognizing most Americas have a love-hate relationship with vegetables, Garden Lites is introducing a series of new products that either celebrate or hide vegetables to help ensure all consumers can hit their recommended five a day.
Even though sales of groceries online are minuscule compared to brick and mortar stores, online snack subscription service UrthBox sees significant potential in ecommerce for food and beverage and hopes to attract more consumers to the channel with launch...
