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Nona Lim spoke about the development of her namesake food brand and the importance of saying “no” to “top-line growth that isn’t in line with our profitability requirements.” She also discussed the ways in which she funded her upstart brand prior to accepting venture capital, how she negotiates favorable terms with suppliers and why she describes venture capital as a “double-edged sword.”

At the Winter Fancy Food Show, Aylon Steinhart, co-founder of plant-based dairy brand Eclipse, discussed the company’s path to market, having launched its soft serve ice cream bases and packed ice cream drums into San Francisco and New York restaurants and scoop shops in 2019.

Angelina McClean is the Vice President of Wake-N-Bagel, a frozen bagel brand that’s bringing the bagel shop experience to home kitchens. The company is targeting natural food consumers and specialty shoppers that want fresh baked bagels without spending hours in the kitchen.

Mondelēz International announced last week the appointment of Nancy Pak as CEO of premium cookie brand Tate’s Bake Shop. Pak succeeds former CEO Maura Mottolese, who is now CEO of hot sauce brand Cholula Food Company.

In a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019, Talia Halperin, head of brand management at BuzzFeed, explained how an online experiment became BuzzFeed’s Tasty — dubbed the “Internet’s favorite kitchen” — and evolved into a thriving e-commerce business as well.

Banking on consumer appetites for clean ingredients and responsibly-sourced meat, entrepreneur and investor Zubin Mehta launched Union Snacks into retail last week with two varieties: Charcuterie Crisps and Trail Mix Squares.

The new year kicked off with a slew of better-for-you treats hitting shelves, with new frozen desserts from Ben & Jerry’s and O’MY, keto-friendly confections from Halo Top and Birch Benders and limited edition Valentine’s Day offerings from LesserEvil and RXBAR. Check out the gallery for notable new products launched this month, which also includes the latest from Late July and Kiva Confections.

Specialty natural and organic grocery chain Earth Fare today announced it will close its 50 stores by the end of February, following similar announcements in recent weeks from Fairway Market and Lucky’s Market.

Beyond Fried Chicken is back, plus other Beyond Meat updates, Nestlé advances plant-based protein, and more in this week’s Checkout.

This week we’re joined by Nick Guillen and Nick Ajluni, founders of TRUFF, a fast-growing brand of upscale, truffle-infused hot sauces. Guillen and Ajluni spoke about how their shared backgrounds in digital media and streetwear fashion inspired the creation of TRUFF, how Instagram factored into the brand’s design and why they are trying to “influence the influencer” on social media.