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Project NOSH is delighted to start rolling out the lineup for NOSH Live | Summer 2017 with our first speaker announcement: James F. Richardson, Ph.D. of The Hartman Group. He will be taking the stage to talk about the growth curves of early stage brands and how the power of focus is revealed by an elite group of entrepreneurial brands in the natural/organic space.

This Saturday, some of food’s biggest names got in on the jokes, fooling consumers about everything from new services and dramatic name changes to “innovative” product launches and category jumps.

Granola and hot cereal brand Purely Elizabeth today announced a $3 million investment by General Mills’ venture arm, 301 Inc. The investment marks 301’s eighth addition to its portfolio and eight-year-old Purely Elizabeth’s first outside investment.

On Thursday, the troops were rallied by Annie’s President John Foraker, who issued a call to defend beloved food activist Ron Finley, better known as the “Gangsta Gardener.” Foraker sent an email to his large list of industry contacts and posted an open letter on LinkedIn urging members of the food industry to help Finley’s Los Angeles-based inner city garden avoid eviction, which he faces as a result of his previous landlord’s default on the property.

From conventional grocery to national coffee chains, natural brands are expanding their reach — and it’s still early in 2017. Here are some of the players making notable distribution growth.

An annual health and wellness progress report conducted by Consumer Goods Forum found that 66 percent of reporting companies reformulated products in 2016. But of those companies, roughly 27 percent made their policies regarding nutrition and product formulation public.

Land O’Lakes made hay while the sun shone today, acquiring venerable artisanal cheese maker Vermont Creamery. Founded in 1984, Vermont Creamery operate as an independently operated subsidiary of the Minnesota-based dairy giant.

Earlier this month, State Senator Bob Wieckowski, a Democrat, introduced California SB 504, a bill that would require warning labels on all food containing synthetic dyes, including those sold in restaurants. It’s an issue that may cause food manufacturers to reconsider their use of synthetic colors not just in California, but nationwide.

Along with record levels of funding from both private and corporate entities, the rise of plant-based protein and new products and services that combine convenience and health were identified as two of the major disruptive trends reshaping the food and beverage space during strategic data analytics firm CB Insights’ “Dining on Disruption” webinar on Tuesday.

Now under new ownership, but back to the same old purpose: Snikiddy, an 11-year-old healthy snacking brand for kids, sported a new look, new products, and a new focus on organic that have all come to fruition under Utz Quality Foods.