Top Feature

While the news may be dominated with stories of bone broth, kale chips and avocado oil, after visiting Natural Products Expo West 2016, it seems that consumers are still saving room for dessert. Although that takes the form of more healthy options for some products, there are also still many indulgent products hitting retailer shelves this year.

Bonafide Provisions, a newly-renamed maker of frozen chicken and beef bone broths, has become a portfolio company of Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR), an investment firm founded by the former managers of Boulder Brands’ venture capital group, the company announced this week.

While consumers may be trying to eat healthier then ever, snacking hasn’t gone anywhere. Chips, dips and cookies haven’t gone anywhere, they may just look a little different with the additions of superfoods, fermented products and yes, even crickets. The following slide show looks at many of the trends influencing the snack category.

Earlier this month, retailer Target detailed their continued plans to revamp their grocery department and focus on the perimeter of the store. One of the brands that has already seen the potential power of Target’s perimeter is yogurt brand Noosa. At Expo West, Noosa Co-Founder Koel Thomae talked with Project NOSH about the company’s history, the relationship with Target, and what’s next for the yogurt brand.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo West shortcuts for meal prep were seen across categories and day parts. Many of the products we spotted not only assisted with speed of preparation, but also provided an on-the-go option for busy consumers. While these options were fast and easy, the flavors were anything but basic, often pulling from global flavor profiles of dishes that take hours to cook (such as curries and slow simmered soups). Click through to view some of the highlights we featured on Instagram.

Although Natural Products Expo West, which ended on Sunday, has swelled to an amazing 3,000 exhibitors, Project NOSH spotted three macro trends (insect based protein, full-fat dairy and single origin products) that spanned numerous categories. In the following video, Project NOSH Editor Carol Ortenberg and BevNET Editor-in-Chief Jeff Klineman discuss these trends — and the brands and products that embody them.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo West, it was clear that plant-based proteins are becoming a key ingredient class across almost all categories. In the following video, Project NOSH Editor Carol Ortenberg speaks with one of the entrepreneurs behind Healthy Skoop, which produces plant-based nutritional blends.

The all-natural, vertically-integrated jerky company closed on a $5 million funding round shortly before Expo West and is now trying to push East from its California base. The minority investment came from Monogram Capital Partners.

It’s hard to imagine ever calling condiments a “hot category,” but alternatives to big brands like Heinz and Hunt’s have been gaining speed lately, either through the premiumization of process and ingredients, updated brand propositions, or even scientific advances that eliminate products like animal fats. Attention has come to the category through investors, who have… Read more »

Today upstart jica-based snack brand, JicaChips, announced the closing of an over $1 million round of funding from several investors, including accelerator firm and investor AccelFoods and natural foods strategy and brokerage firm Presence Marketing. While the raise itself is notable, it capstones a week of announcements from AccelFoods about major investments in brands that have graduated from its accelerator program.