Ingredients

What began as a pandemic-era home kitchen experiment has transformed into a full-blown business with 3,000 retail placements across all 50 states, all in just two years’ time. Last week, Refresh Gum doubled its SKU count with three new plant-based, sugar-free gums in Peppermint, Bubble Gum and Peach flavors.

Big Picture Foods has always had a vision that goes beyond its flagship line of fermented, organic and regeneratively-grown olives, peppers and capers. Now, three years after the company’s launch, that picture is starting to come into view.

Mellody is readying to substantially scale up its plant-based honey business through a new retail distribution partnership with KeHE, starting with Town & Country Markets in the Pacific Northwest region.

Algae Cooking Club launched earlier this year and immediately began to make waves in the industry and online. But, despite the rising popularity of macroalgae – a group that includes seaweed, sea moss, kelp and other ocean-hailing ingredients – in food and beverage products, Algae Cooking Club (ACC) identifies with a completely separate group.

Yellow pea-powered pantry staple brand ZenB has grown its lineup to span pastas, sides and snacks with a single legume as its North Star. The brand has quickly innovated and entered new categories – but how does it decide what comes next?

Snacktivist Foods, a regenerative agriculture-focused baking mix brand, is putting its CPG line on the back burner while it works to spearhead a new ingredient supply and brokerage service.

In this roundup: KIND is cleared in ‘All-Natural” class action suit, Kashi sued for misleading consumers with pear-filled, strawberry-flavored bars, Kellogg’s served for not putting enough whole grains in crackers and Sabra sued to remove its Kosher mark.

While it’s been a tumultuous path for Thrive Oil, it seems the road goes no further — Its current owner, ingredient company Corbion, announced the algae-based product line has been discontinued.

An innovative, novel ingredient — such as a fermented protein found inside volcanic rock — can be difficult to explain. As a result, ingredient suppliers often find themselves creating or evolving into CPG brands to showcase their unique ingredients before outside brands are willing to commit. It’s a move that can help drive ingredient sales, but also requires new capital, skills, labor and time to execute.

The small but mighty chia seed has increasingly moved beyond beverages, bars and the bulk bin toward savory snacks and breakfast food as consumers seek added function from everyday foods. But after a temporary boom in attention during the middle of the last decade, under brands like Health Warrior, the Chia Company, and Mamma Chia, the ingredient still hasn’t fully reached the masses.