News

On Tuesday, May 19 at 3 p.m. ET, investors Wayne Wu (VMG) and Robert Brown (Encore Consumer Capital) will offer financing advice and discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on investment in food and beverage companies, from sourcing and closing deals to changing terms.

NOSH’s Pitch Slam, presented by 301 Inc., returns this summer — virtually. Although the current pandemic has hit the pause button on in-person events like NOSH Live, early-stage food brands are still growing and evolving, and now more than ever they deserve a platform to share their latest innovations.

Jessica Weiss Levison, founder/CEO of Peekaboo Organics, a maker of indulgent ice cream infused with hidden vegetables, spoke about the importance of identifying those who instantly “get” the concept, shared the unconventional way in which she met a Target buyer, her process for raising capital and a key way to avoid slotting fees.

John Bonnell is the co-founder of Wholly Veggie, a Canadian company making vegetable-based snacks, appetizers and meals aimed at bringing convenient, plant-based options to consumers’ plates. The company is seeking to serve flexitarians and wellness consumers that are looking to reduce meat in their diet, by delivering products that fill white space in plant-based sets across categories.

In this video, NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg spoke with Alex Marx, director of category management for KeHe, about how he has seen the retail industry shift and how innovation has a key role to play in helping the market to recover from disruption.

What do you do when your revenue practically disappears overnight? For healthy office snacks and meals startup Oh My Green, the shuttering of offices across the US at first left the company with a highly uncertain future. Now, the company is pivoting, launching a direct-to-home snack box model that the company hopes will help it survive and hire back many of the employees it had previously laid off.

Consumers’ salty snacking appetites seem to grow with more time spent at home — and brands, facing decreased store trip frequency, have quickly had to adjust their retail channel strategy and product mix to help keep them satisfied.

The eleventh round of Elevator Talk Livestream features leaders from Suji’s, HARVST, Renewal Mill, Nightfood, Kefla, Gharana Foods and more. Watch founders and CEOs jump into the livestream and provide a brief recap of recent news and updates. This week’s special co-host is Lauren Jupiter, managing partner at AF Ventures.

PepsiCo is pivoting to meet consumer demand online with the launch of two new ecommerce platforms — snacks.com and pantryshop.com. The two storefronts will allow the company to give consumers easy access to the familiar and “comforting” brands they are seeking out during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Gibu Thomas, SVP and head of ecommerce for PepsiCo.

This week’s Office Hours features industry veterans Alan Murray and Brad Barnhorn, who, drawing upon years of experience working with brands as board members and operators, offer advice on forecast planning, organizational strategy and leadership during the pandemic.