Snacks

Having transitioned away from day-to-day operations at their first brand, Q Drinks, entrepreneurs Jordan Silbert and Ben Kaplan are going AGRO for their next big project. Founded in 2023, AGRO makes a line of plant-based jerky that comes in resealable bags and includes functional options alongside indulgent snacks, such as a caffeinated Energy Bolt flavor.

Consumer holding company Louisville Brands has acquired Louisville Vegan Jerky Company from early-stage investment firm Render Capital. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

What’s driving growth in the $148.6 billion U.S. snacking industry? Conagra Brands partnered with market researcher Circana to put together its inaugural “Future of Snacking 2025” report. The maker of Slim Jim and Angie’s Boomchickapop highlighted five trends that are shaping snacking behaviors.

It seems that mushrooms are in everything these days, from coffee to chocolate bars. But after years of innovation and expansion, are consumers any closer to truly embracing functional shrooms as their snack of choice?

No bones about it – bone broth has been gaining steam for about a decade now, championed as a natural source of collagen, amino acids and minerals. Although bone broth has evolved into a well-established category on its own, several exhibiting brands at Newtopia Now this week in Denver are moving beyond the bottle – or jar or carton – to bring bone broth’s benefits to snacks and other applications.

Known for its craft beef jerky, Righteous Felon has spent the last few years reallocating resources toward its meat stick offerings, with sales rapidly growing as a result.

Awake Chocolate has raised CAD $8 million (approximately $5.84 million USD) in funding, including CAD $5 million from Btomorrow Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of British American Tobacco, and CAD $3 million from BDC Capital. The investment brings the brand’s total funding to CAD $15.5 million since its inception in 2012.

In this report curated exclusively for Nosh Insiders, discover how emerging formats, functional ingredients, and clean oil swaps shake up the snack aisle.

Less than two years after selling a majority stake of meat snack maker Western Smokehouse to AUA Private Equity Partners, Monogram Capital has reacquired the co-packing business.

Within a few months of its late-April launch, Khloé Kardashian’s snack brand Khloud Protein Popcorn has expanded into more than 2,500 retail doors nationwide, including Target and Sprouts Farmers Market stores. Additional distribution is planned for Wegmans, Raley’s, ShopRite and CIBO Express this month. The products also are available online on Thrive Market, GoPuff and the brand’s direct-to-consumer website.