Carol Ortenberg
Posts by Carol Ortenberg
Spring Sees New Growth For Brands
With springtime flowers starting to bloom, so too are sales for several NOSH brands bursting onto the scene. The growth comes after debuts at Expo West, packaging redesigns and new partnerships.
HOPE Foods Talks Summer Plan & Details Investment
HOPE Foods, a hummus company using HPP, is setting its sights on a new new category, guacamole. Helping fund the new line was a round of investment from friends, family, and investment firm BIGR.
Beneath the Wires, IBM’s Watson Turns out to be a Granola Chef
Millennial focused granola and snack bar company Bear Naked has partnered with with IBM’s supercomputer “Watson” to allow consumers to create their own perfect, customized granola blend. The resulting program speaks to the trend of customization while decreasing food waste.
CLIF Kid Unveils the Fruits (and Veggies) of Their Labor with New Zbar Fruit + Veggie Bars
CLIF Kid, maker of organic snacks for active kids, is introducing a new addition to the CLIF Kid family – CLIF Kid Zbar® Fruit + Veggie. This certified USDA organic snack not only contains whole grains, but also a blend of fruit puree concentrate and vegetable powders that deliver the taste kids want, with the nutrition parents desire.
Complete Video Coverage of BevNET Boot Camp Boston Now Available
Last month BevNET and Project NOSH hosted the first BevNET Boot Camp for food and beverage entrepreneurs. For those that weren’t able to join us in person, complete video coverage of the day is now available for viewing on our YouTube channel.
Triscuit Uses Crowdfunding to Help Launch Brands
In an attempt to stay ahead of the trends, many large strategics, such as General Mills and Campbell, are building out venture capital arms to hunt down and invest in enterprising, adventurous food and beverage startups. In March, beloved cracker brand Triscuit decided to take a different approach, reaching into the crowdfunding world to create the Triscuit Maker Fund.
Mission Driven Companies Focus of New Collaborative Fund & CircleUp Partnership
Last week equity and investment crowdfunding platform CircleUp and venture capital firm the Collaborative Fund announced the launch of Collab+Consumer, a new fund on CircleUp for early-stage, mission-driven companies in retail, apparel, CPG and pet care.
Distribution Roundup: Across All Categories, New Products Launch Nationally
While the Expo West frenzy has almost died down, many of the brands that exhibited at the show are now seeing pickup by retailers both big and small.
VMG, TerraVia Partner to Build Investing Platform — With Algae
This week private equity firm VMG Partners and algae-based food maker TerraVia (formerly Solazyme, Inc) announced the formation of a new venture, TerraBrands. The new group, which will function as a part of TerraVia, will acquire or invest in leading food and beverage companies that would like to incorporate TerraVia’s algae-based ingredients into their products.
Kuli Kuli Raises $1Million for Mission Driven Superfood Brand
Fresh off a year of retail growth, moringa company Kuli Kuli has closed a $1 million round of funding. Investors in the round include noted tech luminaries Brad Feld of the Foundry Group and venture capitalist Derek Proudian, as well as food entrepreneur Mary Walder.