Ray Latif

Business isn’t something to be left to chance; sometimes you have to make your own luck. Episode 70 of BevNET’s Taste Radio podcast spotlights a recent conversation with Jeff Church, the co-founder and CEO of Suja. At the helm since 2012, Church has guided Suja’s remarkable ascent as the leading brand in a highly competitive category.

Taste Radio is getting to the meat of Krave Jerky with the brand’s founder Jon Sebastiani. Recorded during the 2017 Summer Fancy Food Show, Sebastiani delved into his 20-year background in the food and beverage industry, and what spurred him to strike out on his own with Krave.

Gary Hirshberg, the co-founder and chairman of dairy company Stonyfield Farm and a highly influential figure in the organic food movement, shares war stories ranging from the company’s pastoral beginnings, to its decade-long struggle for financing, and on to its eventual sale, mining them for wisdom that will resonate with any food and beverage professional.

At first, few suppliers weren’t sure what to make of the deal, with numerous food and beverage companies reserving their comments. Now, after more than a week’s reflection, many have told NOSH they are excited about the potential sales opportunities the partnership could provide, expressing enthusiasm for how it will maintain or even enhance Whole Foods’ reputation as a launching pad for small brands.

Three days prior to the blockbuster announcement that Amazon would acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, Matt Jimenez, the senior category leader for Whole Foods’ global grocery team took the stage at BevNET Live Summer 2017 and discussed recent changes to the company’s grocery management structure and buying processes.

In a deal that’s shaking the shopping experience for consumers, retailers, and food and beverage companies, Amazon’s scooping up of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion on Friday has hardened talk of large-scale disruption in the way consumers buy their groceries. The deal is the largest U.S. grocery transaction since a $17.4 billion takeover of Albertsons, according to Mergermarket. Here’s an in-depth look into the acquisition and its implications for the retailers and beyond.

The BevNET Podcast team sat down with Gigi Lee Chang, the managing director of cause-oriented food business accelerator FoodFutureCo. Chang, who also founded baby food brand Plum Organics. She explained FoodFutureCo’s work in advising and supporting early- and mid-stage food and beverage companies, particularly those that are providing unique products and solutions for the food system.

The BevNET Podcast crew recently visited Boston’s Fenway neighborhood to recorded a wide-ranging interview about the launch and development of Chew, a new food incubator focused on recreating legacy snack brands.

Millennium Products, Inc., the parent company of GT’s Kombucha, has acquired Tula’s CocoKefir, the maker of coconut-based kefirs and yogurts that are fermented with vegan probiotic cultures. The transaction took place earlier this year, according to Millennium Products founder GT Dave, who told BevNET, Project NOSH’s sister publication, that he has long had a fondness for Tula’s products.

Drinkable soup brand Tio Gazpacho today announced a new partnership with award-winning chef José Andrés and his company ThinkFoodGroup. Tio Gazpacho will collaborate with Andrés, a culinary innovator often credited with the Spanish tapas boom in the U.S and whose company owns 25 restaurants in the U.S. and Mexico, on new marketing and retail initiatives for the brand.