Meagan McGinnes

From hiring executives to adding board members, here are some of the biggest moves the food industry has seen over the past month.

Plant-based, health startup Revere launched last week with plans of bringing personalization to athletes’ pre- and post-workout mixtures. The direct-to-consumer drink mix company also announced that it raised $2 million in a seed round led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures prior to the launch.

The food industry is like photography: entrepreneurs need to look at their world through a focused lens in order to get the best result. Or at least that’s how James Richardson, senior VP of knowledge and innovation at the Hartman Group, sees it. Richardson shared that sentiment and other insights on the power of focus for growing brands during last month’s Summer 2017 NOSH Live event in N.Y.C. Watch his entire presentation here.

Paleo snack brand Wild Zora has seen 20 times growth in its Amazon sales since revamping its retail and marketing strategies last October, according to the company. Cofounder Joshua Tabin told NOSH the online side of business has now become the brand’s “bread and butter.”

From deepening footprints regionally to increasing store counts with leading grocery retailers on a national scale, here are some of the biggest distribution wins the industry has seen over the past month.

KEEN Growth Capital told NOSH the firm has obtained a “significant” partnership interest in both O’Dang Hummus and The Jersey Tomato Co. The fund, led by managing partners Jonathan Smiga and serial entrepreneur Jerry Bello, is a group that invests in early-stage entrepreneurs. KEEN did not disclose financial terms for either deal.

More than 10 U.S. food companies issued voluntary recalls for products vulnerable to listeria last month — and the contamination is stemming from issues with a supplier, according to the individual recall notices. Bulletproof, GoMacro, Wildway, Trader Joe’s, Fresh Foods, Lantana, Marketside, Nature’s Path, Nature’s Promise, Woodstock, Market Basket, Publix and Wholesome Pantry were all affected.

Toosum Healthy Foods announced last week its acquisition of KUTOA, a non-GMO, vegan nutrition bar company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Toosum founder Peter Guyer told NOSH that Grassia will remain “very involved” with the business and will have minority ownership. Currently Garcia is focused on helping the two brands come together and continuing to build customer relationships with new and existing retailers.

During the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City last month, Shelley Balanko, of the Hartman Group, and David Lockwood, of Mintel, gave a presentation on the current state of the specialty food industry, and spoke about how they think it will fare in years to come. The duo crunched the numbers, surveyed and conducted numerous focus group interviews to create sales projections for each category for the next five years. Watch to hear what they had to say.

Many showed off new-and-improved appearances during last month’s Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. From package redesigns to complete rebrands, here are four companies that are touting new looks this summer.