Carol Ortenberg

Reading Steve Hughes’ biography is like walking down the aisle of a grocery store — you’ll see plenty of familiar brands along the way, from Healthy Choice, to Smart Balance and Evol, to any number of the products he oversaw as CEO of Celestial Seasonings. In this interview with Project NOSH, Hughes discusses his newest venture, Sunrise Strategic partners.

Over the past year, the meat-based snacking category has continued to grow with new innovations, new brands and lots of investments. While the meat may be, the category itself is far from dried up. In fact, it’s still smoking.

The Wine RayZyn Company announced that they’ve raised over $1 million to help develop the next superfood snack product. The company has a patented process that dehydrates grapes and caramelizes the nutrient rich wine seed in the grape’s own sugar.

While the news may be dominated with stories of bone broth, kale chips and avocado oil, after visiting Natural Products Expo West 2016, it seems that consumers are still saving room for dessert. Although that takes the form of more healthy options for some products, there are also still many indulgent products hitting retailer shelves this year.

Bonafide Provisions, a newly-renamed maker of frozen chicken and beef bone broths, has become a portfolio company of Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR), an investment firm founded by the former managers of Boulder Brands’ venture capital group, the company announced this week.

While consumers may be trying to eat healthier then ever, snacking hasn’t gone anywhere. Chips, dips and cookies haven’t gone anywhere, they may just look a little different with the additions of superfoods, fermented products and yes, even crickets. The following slide show looks at many of the trends influencing the snack category.

Earlier this month, retailer Target detailed their continued plans to revamp their grocery department and focus on the perimeter of the store. One of the brands that has already seen the potential power of Target’s perimeter is yogurt brand Noosa. At Expo West, Noosa Co-Founder Koel Thomae talked with Project NOSH about the company’s history, the relationship with Target, and what’s next for the yogurt brand.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo West shortcuts for meal prep were seen across categories and day parts. Many of the products we spotted not only assisted with speed of preparation, but also provided an on-the-go option for busy consumers. While these options were fast and easy, the flavors were anything but basic, often pulling from global flavor profiles of dishes that take hours to cook (such as curries and slow simmered soups). Click through to view some of the highlights we featured on Instagram.