Food Industry News, Insights, and Education for the CPG Community

Earlier this week, Inc. released the 2019 edition of the Inc. 5000 list — a ranking of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. This year’s list featured dozens of natural food and beverage companies, showing the industry’s increasing impact on the American economy.

Misfit Foods co-founder Ann Yang opened up about how the stress of entrepreneurship led to unhappiness and depression, and, ultimately, her decision to leave the company. She also explained how therapy has become a critical part of her life, her belief that we live in a culture that “mythologizes who the entrepreneur is,” and the resulting pressure to build “a personal brand.”

In this video from NOSH Live Summer 2019 in New York City, Daniel Grubbs, managing director of PepsiCo Ventures Group, goes behind the scenes on how the snack and beverage giant lends a helping hand to new brands.

Vegan pork rind brand Snacklins has named Kevin Blesy CEO. Blesy was previously head of strategy at Washington, D.C.-based pizza chain &pizza. On his transition to CPG, Blesy told NOSH that regardless of format, “food is the ultimate unifier.”

Having made breakfast, lunch and dinner a little easier, direct-to-consumer frozen food maker Daily Harvest is turning its attention to snack time. The company announced today the launch of the Bites collection, its first ready-to-eat product.

Snack brand Biena announced today the close of an $8 million round of funding. “It just made a lot of sense for us to go out and raise money to take advantage of the growth opportunities in front of us with the brand platform,” Founder Poorvi Patodia told NOSH about the round. The brand will use the capital for sales, marketing and innovation — possibly expanding beyond its current focus on chickpeas.

Shibani Baluja is the founder and CEO of lil’ gourmets, a company focused on elevating the food that kids are eating. The company aims to introduce kids to fresh, flavorful vegetables at an early age to jumpstart healthy eating habits.

Continuing on its goal to create better-for-you, kid-friendly American staples, frozen brand Farmwise is looking toward the start of a meal, launching a new line of appetizers into retail this month.

Grillo’s Pickles founder/CEO Travis Grillo spoke about why he pursued his passion despite the naysayers and explained why he fondly recalls the days when he was struggling and broke. He also discussed the unconventional way that Grillo’s got into Whole Foods, how he considers new hires and investment and why he’s just as likely to take advice from a homeless person as he would from a billionaire.

New technology is following brick-and-mortar grocery shoppers into the store, offering ways to get them in and out faster. Will Glaser, the former co-founder and CTO at music streaming platform Pandora, started Berkeley-based Grabango in 2016 to eliminate checkout headaches.

Speaking at Cannabis Forum 2019, held on June 14 in New York City, Michael Hayford, co-founder/CEO/chairman of Cannabiniers parent company Lighthouse Strategies, shared a look at the company’s ambitious roadmap for growth.

Paleo-focused Hu Master Holdings, owner of Hu Kitchen and Products, announced today that Sir Kensington’s co-founder and former CEO Mark Ramadan has joined the snack brand as CEO. Ramadan assumes the role from former PepsiCo executive Rita Hudetz who departed the company earlier this month. Co-founders Jason Karp and Jordan Brown told NOSH Ramadan brings a skill set that will help the brand scale to its next phase of growth.

No Cow founder/CEO Daniel Katz spoke about his passion for entrepreneurship and the genesis of his plant-based protein bar brand, which he launched with no business plan or extensive market research.

Snack company Lehi Valley Trading Company’s production manager noticed the company wasn’t making any snacks tailored to Mexican tastes, a growing consumer segment. Now, Lehi is now launching Delicias Gloria (Gloria’s Delights), a new Hispanic-focused snack line.