Carol Ortenberg

Young, emerging brands dominated the North Hall at Natural Products Expo West 2018 butt amidst the sea of new companies, there was a CPG giant: Unilever, which took its place among the early stage companies for the debut of a new, mission-driven, organic snack brand, Growing Roots.

For 30 years the PepsiCo-owned Naked brand has been synonymous with juice, but now the company is moving into food, continuing PepsiCo’s efforts to create a platform of health-centric products. First up is the Naked Fruit, Nut and Veggie Bar, which launched at this year’s Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif.

In this video, Project NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg and reporter Meagan McGinnes explore the rising momentum behind several trends found at Expo West 2018 and discuss how they fit into the current CPG landscape.

Hot off the announcement of a $103M round of funding, the co-founders of Ancient Nutrition chatted with Project NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg about how the company has achieved such rapid growth in a short period of time.

Ancient Nutrition, a brand of “real food nutritional products,” announced today the close of a $103 million minority investment. Led by VMG Partners, the deal also included investment from Hillhouse Capital, ICONIQ Capital a 100-plus member co-investor network hereon known as the “Ancient Pioneers.”

RxBar is ready to establish itself as a platform brand. The first iteration of this expansion is a line of protein-enhanced nut butters, which launched today.

Snack brand Square Organics announcement it had closed a $500,000 convertible note opened the curtain on the first investment by retailer Thrive Market as part of their newly developed venture fund, Thrive Market Ventures (TMV).

Today new snack brand Weller announced the launch of a line of hemp-extract enriched coconut bites as well as the close of a $1.25 million round of funding.

The powerhouse snack executives behind Halen Brands are at it again with the launch of two new snack-centric brands and a line extension for plant-based protein play Only What You Need (OWYN).

Watch as Brownie Brittle Founder Sheila G. Mains tells the Project NOSH team about her strategies for channel growth and how to build a portfolio of products.