Watch: Companies Explain ‘Why I Chose to Rebrand’

The annual Natural Products Expo West is one of the most awaited events in the natural food industry.

Retailers, distributors and investors rush the show floors with the same questions on their brains: What brands should I be looking at and who will be making the must-have products of the year? But for brands, in a sea of over 80,000 industry professionals and 3,100 exhibits, the question is how to stand out from the crowd.

For some, a new look may do the trick.

Numerous companies including Nothin’ But, Grainful and The Jackfruit Company used Expo West as their own red carpet to highlight recent rebrands. While at the show, the NOSH team spoke with these companies to hear about their new looks and the motivations behind them.

NOTHIN’ BUT

For snack brand Nothin’ But, the hope is to embrace the fun side of functional food. Jeff Dworzanski, director of product innovation at Nothin’ But, told NOSH that the rebrand is the biggest change for the granola cookie bites and snack bars company since being acquired by natural frozen food maker Dr. Praeger’s in 2017.

GRAINFUL

Grainful is hoping to stand out from the sea of white frozen food plates. Jan Pajerski, Grainful president and cofounder, explained in the video below that by utilizing bright colors and updated formulations, the Ithaca-based company can better appeal to retailers on a larger scale. In 2017, Grainful was accepted into the Chobani Food Incubator. The company said the program helped them better understand where its product and packaging needed to evolve.

THE JACKFRUIT COMPANY

The Jackfruit Company’s founder Annie Ryu explained in the video below that her company also looked to bright colors to better highlight the whimsical nature and exciting opportunities that the misunderstood jackfruit has to offer. The new look comes on the heels of executive changes at the meat alternative company. Earlier this month, The Jackfruit Company brought on 34 Degree’s Wes Brasher as its COO.