Items Tagged with 'food startups'

The US Highbush Blueberry Council awarded $30,000 to two emerging brands at its inaugural Blueberry Boost Accelerator Pitch Competition. Pluff claimed the grand prize for its high-protein mousse dessert, with Bonny earning runner-up honors for its prebiotic fiber powders.

From collagen creamers and carbon-negative ice cream to compostable yogurt cups and A2 ultra-filtered milks, 14 emerging brands have been selected for Real California Milk’s 2025 innovation programs. The cohorts will receive mentorship, funding opportunities and a platform to pitch for up to $100,000 in support.

The 2025 Unreasonable Food cohort brings together entrepreneurs tackling critical food system challenges. Backed by Mars and Unreasonable Group, the ventures aim to scale innovations that reduce emissions, advance nutrition, and build resilience.

The 2025 Early Growth cohort consists of 10 innovative brands – selected from more than 1,600 applications – not yet available in Whole Foods Market stores: beituti (Ohio), Corpse Reviver (Colorado), Fable Fish Co. (Colorado), Häppy Candy (New York), Pisqueya (New York), Reprise Health (New York), SEND Bars (Colorado), Saiga Foods (California), Singing Pastures (Maine) and Xinca (Washington).

Each brand will be matched with a hand-picked mentor team of top CPG leaders, founders, and investors who all are dedicated to help them successfully scale their business.

The 2025 Summer Fancy Food Show revealed a diverse range of emerging and evolving trends shaping the specialty food market. Korean flavors stood out with products inspired by popular dishes, beverages, and pantry staples, while ingredient innovation brought new offerings such as cupuaçu, yaupon, and plant-based dairy alternatives. Global convenience remained a key driver, with meal kits, ready-to-eat dishes, and sauces making international flavors more accessible.

The Blueberry Boost Accelerator was launched earlier this year to fuel forward-thinking product innovation and elevate blueberries as a hero ingredient by supporting visionary startups. 

Our editors found an inspired collection of new and small brand owners guiding their products into the market with cutting edge approaches and refined product messaging. Sustainability, cultural significance and better for you trends were all present among the young brands in the startup space.

The SKU Spring '25 selected brands are Fairly Nuts, good dirt, Kobi, Niramaya, PetPax Co, pi00a, Rookie's and Saint Rocco's Treats. Pi00a, which makes Neapolitan pizza frozen pizza with an Asian flair, is SKU’s first brand founded by Deaf and CODA entrepreneurs.

At the top of the trends hierarchy are five macro forces that impact consumer needs and behavior: focus on health, increased cost of living, potential political and global threats, technology transformations, and health of the planet.