Monica Watrous
For more than a decade, Monica Watrous has covered the latest trends, innovations and developments in the food and beverage industry and has organized and hosted multiple events featuring emerging brands and cutting-edge concepts. She is a lifelong foodie and a champion of startups and disruptors in the consumer packaged goods landscape.
Posts by Monica Watrous
UNFI Profit Surges Despite Sales Decline
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) delivered stronger profitability and margin performance in its third quarter despite a decline in revenue driven by ongoing network optimization efforts.
Second Nature Brands To Acquire Tillamook Country Smoker
Second Nature Brands is expanding into the meat snacks category with the acquisition of Tillamook Country Smoker from Insignia Capital Group and family shareholders.
Meat Snack Makers Cash In on America’s Protein Fix
Jerky and meat sticks have emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments in center store, fueled by consumers’ increasing focus on protein, convenience and portion-controlled eating.
Standing Tall Takes Aim At Soy Myths and Menopause
An industry veteran launched Standing Tall earlier this year with a line of roasted soybean snacks designed to support women’s health through midlife and beyond.
Smash Foods Raises $5M
The six-year-old brand markets an assortment of superfood spreads and snacks featuring chia seeds and dates. Its products are available nationwide at Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Walmart, Costco and more.
Patti LaBelle’s Soul Food Brand Snags Strategic Investment
Factory Holdings announced this week a strategic investment in Patti’s Good Life, a soul food brand founded by singer and actress Patti LaBelle.
Campo Grande Raises $4M to Build the ‘Wagyu of Pork’ in U.S. Grocery
Campo Grande is betting American consumers are ready to rethink pork – not as the “other white meat” as it’s been pitched in the past, but as a premium, chef-driven protein more akin to Wagyu beef.
WILDE Opens New Facility to Fuel Broader Snack Ambitions
WILDE Brands, known for its chips made with chicken breast, egg whites and bone broth, is hatching a plan to create a much broader protein snacking platform.
Opopop Pops Into Walmart With Ambitions Beyond Microwave Popcorn
Five years after debuting online, and with a store footprint that so far only includes about 500 Target doors, Opopop is in the midst of attempting to make its biggest retail push to date, opening last month in 3,000 Walmart locations across the country.
Steakholder Foods Brings 3D-Printed Plant-Based Meat to U.S. Retail
The Israeli startup today announced the launch of Perfecta Premium Plant-Based Meat, a line of products using a proprietary process designed to mimic the complex textures of traditional animal protein.