Being an entrepreneur can feel desperately lonely – especially in the early days when budgets are tight, days are long and challenges crop up constantly – but as romantic as the idea of buckling down and becoming ‘self-made’ may be, few founders actually...
With the help of $1.25 million in seed funding, the creator of the first ready-to-eat “skinless popcorn” is relaunching a rebranded version of his better-for-you snack after overcoming logistical hurdles related to a failed business partnership.
Pipcorn has grown into a full-fledged snack brand with an expanding product portfolio that now includes popcorn, corn dippers, cheeseballs, and coming soon, crackers made from the corn flour byproduct leftover after the extrusion process for its cheeseballs....
Conagra’s legion of high-selling brands – including Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, Slim Jim and Snack Pack – are launching new products this year as the company cements its focus on the lucrative snacking market.
Ready-to-eat (RTE) popcorn has experienced strong sales growth in years past due to its ‘better-for-you’ snack image, but now flavor innovation is driving the category, research from Mintel showed.
Hershey’s acquisition of Amplify Snacks has made the chocolate company the second largest popcorn producer in the US market, ‘second to Frito-Lay,’ who owns Smartfood, said Euromonitor analyst Jared Koerten.
For all the hub-bub around bold and exotic flavors, the success of Jolly Time’s Blast O Butter microwave popcorn for the past 20 years is a good reminder of the power nostalgia and familiarity can play in driving ongoing sales.
Conagra Brands has struck a deal to acquire ready-to-eat popcorn maker Angie's Artisan Treats, the maker of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, from private equity firm TPG Growth for an undisclosed sum.
Newcomer Eagle Foods has snapped up ready-to-eat (RTE) popcorn brand Popcorn, Indiana, strengthening its position in the RTE popcorn and snacking segments.
In the food and beverage industry, 100-year-old companies are adapting with the times. Eagle Foods’ acquisition of ready-to-eat popcorn brand G.H. Cretors is one prime example.
Based in part on the idea that good things come in small packages, the founders of The Little Kernel earlier this year launched a line of tiny pre-popped popcorn, which they say is sweeter, crunchier and easier to eat than regular sized popcorn because...
Already recognized by many as the epitome of a convenient and better-for-you snack, ready-to-eat popcorn is about to become even healthier and easier to enjoy, claim the founders of New Pop as it makes its US debut.
There’s a poetic ring to the moniker ‘sun-popped corn’ that is sure to attract intrigued customers to grab a bag. But BjornQorn’s story goes deeper than the romantic image of corn kernels sitting under the sun until it pops into one of America’s most...
Food- and beverage-focused venture fund AccelFoods’ latest cohort of six startups underscore the ongoing heavy influence on industry and market potential of healthy snacking, international flavors and small-batch production.
Puffed whole grains are adding crunch to creamy snacks, and ‘quinoa is the next quinoa,’ say trend forecasters at the Whole Grain Council’s Whole Grains Away from Home Conference.
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...
San Francisco-based ready to eat popcorn maker 479 Degrees has raised a new round of capital from some high profile investors including KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky and Emil Capital Partners, which has also pumped cash into fast-growing brands including...
Minnesota-based Angie’s Artisan Treats will be opening a new manufacturing and distribution facility in Reno, Nevada this month for Boomchickapop as popcorn's popularity rises in the US.
PopCorners manufacturer BFY Holdings is on a mission to become a global leader in the booming better-for-you snack category and to help it the company has tapped an industry veteran with substantial leadership experience as its new president and CEO.
A new company backed by private equity firm Permira has acquired New York State-based Medora Snacks LLC (best-known for PopCorners, Pop Crinkles, and popped bean chips); and Ideal Snacks Holding Corporation (a contract manufacturer of better-for-you popped...
Efforts by Emerald Premium Snack- and Kettle brand chip-maker Diamond Food’s Inc. to meet consumer demand for healthy, natural and convenient snacks are paying off with sales climbing 2.5% to $662.4 million in the first three-quarters of the year, company...
Sales of snacks account for a whopping 40% of the $370 billion U.S. packaged food market and are set to grow 2% annually through 2019, thanks in large part to millennials who eat more snacks than any other group, according to analysis by Euromonitor.
Ready-to-eat popcorn sales surged 60% to $750m between 2012 and 2014, while microwave popcorn sales dropped 8% to $830m, so what lessons can we learn from all this?
Frito-Lay’s upcoming sweet cinnamon snack Cheetos Sweetos will help the company latch on to a younger consumer base interested in sweet snacking, says Euromonitor International.
What are the hottest trends in snacks? Sprouted grains? Baked popcorn? Gourmet jerky? Join Elaine Watson from FoodNavigator-USA on a snacking odyssey at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco to find out more about...
US sales of ready to eat popcorn grew 25% to an estimated $750m in 2014
“Tired brands and off-trend categories should take inspiration from the astonishing turnaround in the fortunes of popcorn,” according to a new report from Rabobank International, which reveals that US sales of the bagged, pre-popped, ready-to-eat (RTE)...
Snack and cereal makers have stepped into smart packaging territory with stand-out, portable pouch formats but they can still stretch further, says a packaging expert.
Almost eight out of 10 popcorn products launched in the US in the 12 months to June 2014 were on a 'health' platform of some kind, according to Innova Market Insights.
The US ready-to-eat popcorn category has been “growing in the double-digits for the past 3-4 years” and is now worth “north of $600m in annual [retail] sales”, according to Diamond Foods CEO Brain Driscoll, who says new launches under the Kettle and Pop...
Popcorn has exploded and thins have sliced into action in snacking – both riding on the wave of being indulgent with a healthy slant, according to Euromonitor International.
Microwave popcorn was a childhood favorite snack of Kristy Lewis; though her nostalgia turned to disillusionment when as an adult she learned that the chemical-, hydrogenated oil-laden formula hadn’t evolved alongside her growing awareness.
A former commodities trader with a passion for snacks, Robert Ehrlich turned Pirate’s Booty into a multimillion dollar brand. But can he strike gold again with his latest product, SexyPop? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with the ‘shaman of snacks’ to find...
Bell Flavors & Fragrances has unveiled its annual list of the top flavor trends to watch in the next 12 months, from a new wave of Asian flavors to aromatic herbs used in traditional Andean dishes.
Fiery flavors, popped chips and retail-ready pack designs were some of the biggest trends for snack makers this year, according to trade heads in Europe and the US.
From maple water to ‘brogurt’, posh jerky, seaweed chips, purple corn, gourmet popcorn and non-GMO labels; what were the hottest trends of 2013, and what’s on the menu for 2014?
Bold, meaty flavored chips and extra spicy meat snacks are trending as manufacturers strive to excite millennial tastebuds, says a Euromonitor analyst.
Diamond Foods has said it will file all of its late SEC filings ‘as promptly as practicable’ following a second NASDAQ determination letter threatening delisting.
Snack maker Diamond Foods has said that it has made some market share gains following its failed Pringles bid and is taking steps to reposition the business, including rekindling relationships with walnut growers.
Kettle chips and Emerald nuts maker Diamond Foods has struck a $2.35bn deal with Procter & Gamble to merge with the latter’s Pringles chips operation in a move that will more than triple the size of its snack foods empire.
