Day two of NOSH Live Winter 2019, held today in Santa Monica, California, offered insight from industry leaders on growing and scaling brands, cutting through the noise of a crowded space and when to follow your gut when making pivotal business decisions.

Faced with an ever-increasing selection of products on the shelves, more consumers are turning to private label brands for price-conscious options that don’t compromise on value, according to a new report by market research firm IRI. The Consumer Connect report, “Beyond Price, Consumers Find Value in Private Brands” examined the growing influence of private label brands and consumers’ shifting attitudes toward them.

When plant-based protein start-up Emergy Foods closed a $4.8 million venture capital funding round in July, the Boulder-based company was still in stealth mode, revealing only that it would focus on meat alternatives. Now it’s ready to get cooking. This week, it announced the launch of Meati Foods, which will produce whole cuts of plant-based meat from mycelium, a fermented fungi.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo East trade show in Baltimore, Coristine spoke with NOSH editorial assistant Erin Cabrey about how LesserEvil has evolved to become a “vessel for mindful moments” and how its redesigned packaging unifies its product lines and promotes sustainability.

When moringa-based food and beverage brand Kuli Kuli launched onto the market in 2014, its founder and CEO Lisa Curtis claims “virtually no one” had heard of the superfood plant. Today, Kuli Kuli launched in 2,500 Walmart locations, a significant gain in its ongoing efforts to make this lesser known ingredient appeal to the mainstream consumer.

Convenience stores are positioned to be a top retail channel for CBD products, according to a new survey of c-store retailers by Wells Fargo Securities.

In the latest distribution news, Mesa de Vida launches in Whole Foods nationwide and Cali’flour enters Walmart and expands in Kroger.

Vegan pork rind brand Snacklins has named Kevin Blesy CEO. Blesy was previously head of strategy at Washington, D.C.-based pizza chain &pizza. On his transition to CPG, Blesy told NOSH that regardless of format, “food is the ultimate unifier.”

In the latest distribution news, Whole Foods adds both sweet and spicy new products with the addition of Zia Hatch Chile nationwide and additional lines of vegan cakes and muffins from Abe’s.

Like its three co-founders, direct-to-consumer energy snack company Verb is graduating to its next stage of life. Last year, two of its three co-founders graduated college and moved Verb’s headquarters to Boston from the Yale University campus, where they first created it. Today, the company announced it had raised $3.5 million from investors.