Headlines

This week on the podcast, Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and senior reporter Brad Avery discuss a spate of funding news for a hot sauce brand, a hummus startup and a functional beverage company. The hosts also chat about what an executive order to reschedule cannabis could mean for the hemp drink market.

This year will go down in the history books as one marked by an unprecedented federal focus on the food industry, sparking strategic overhauls of, and a bit of panic within, Big Food operations; a flurry of state-level action against a plethora of synthetic ingredients; and the adoption of some new acronyms – UPFs and MAHA, just to name a few.

“Hot Ones” wouldn’t be where it is today without Heatonist, the boutique, Brooklyn-based hot sauce retailer responsible for stocking the now-hit YouTube show’s lineup since nearly its inception.

Backed by a new investment partner, Laird Superfood has big plans for expansion. The Colorado-based brand is working with Nexus Capital to build a superfood platform.

The uncertainty surrounding the future cannabis regulations could impact the amount of hemp farmers plant in the coming year.

At Nosh Live 2025, SPINS senior director of brand strategy Kelli Howard aptly dubbed this the “Say/Do” dynamic, which separates the trends that consumers claim they’re paying attention to and the spending trends that is actually visible in retail sales data.

Roughly seven months after its primary lender pulled two-thirds of the company’s available cash, mycelium-based alt-meat producer Meati has reportedly powered down its Thornton, Colo., plant.

Fiber and protein may be familiar nutrients, but their role in food and beverage is undergoing a quiet transformation. Spate reveals how these “always-on” macros are not only growing at massive scale, but evolving in meaning.

Former NFL player Jason Kelce has invested in New Jersey-based hot sauce brand Hank Sauce, to help expand distribution and build awareness.

Laird Superfood is powering up its food and beverage platform with plans to acquire all outstanding equity of Navitas LLC in an all-cash transaction valued at $38.5 million.