Organizers of the upcoming Natural Products Expo West are touting the event as “a valuable opportunity for in-person discovery, drawing buyers from both big box and small independent retailers, who are seeking the hottest products in organic and natural foods, clean beauty and home products and supplements and ingredients.” Striving to meet their moment, consumer packaged goods companies are preparing to put on their best show, demonstrating how they’re meeting consumer demands with thoughtful innovations that support not only their own goals but also those of their existing and potential partners.
“Epicurean Butter hopes to increase the awareness of flavored butter and the different formats that are available,” said Chief Commercial Officer Niloy Phukan. “We will be showcasing some new flavors and additional sizes of some of our current formats. We want to educate retailers that flavored butter doesn’t just need to be merchandised in dairy as it [also] sells great in produce, meat/seafood and the deli.”
Buyers who are open to innovations in butter could benefit from reconsidering traditional ideas of where butter should reside in a store, he said. “Think about where flavored butter is best needed at their store or in their product,” Phukan advised. “We have seen growth in dairy, meat/seafood, produce and the deli. Our industrial partners are using our butters to add value to their meal kits, produce kits and meat/seafood kits.”
In the realm of frozen prepared foods, the Deep Indian Kitchen brand is also preparing to introduce its newest innovations, said Kiernan Laughlin, General Manager Deep Indian Kitchen and EVP Deep Foods. “As consumer demand for authentic global flavors and street foods continues to rise, the brand will be debuting its first line of frozen handheld products and a new frozen entrée flavor. Deep Indian Kitchen’s new Kati Street Wraps deliver a unique toasted texture and a vibrant, rich flavor experience—just like the Katis made famous by street carts in India and Indian restaurants in America. They’re the
first wraps to be made with handmade paratha that crisps in the microwave in just two minutes in an included crisping sleeve. Unlike wraps or burritos filled with rice and beans, each Kati Street Wrap is exclusively filled with the premium quality and flavor experience of Deep’s leading entrees, including Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Chicken Curry, Spinach Paneer, and Potato and Pea Samosa.”
Laughlin continued, “We’re also debuting our new Matar Paneer with Cumin Rice entree, which features paneer we make ourselves at our dairy plant in upstate New York. Matar Paneer has a savory flavor profile, with slight sweetness and less heat than some of our other entrees, for consumers who want to explore Indian cuisine at a milder spice level. The dish is tomato-based, creamy and features peas, to enhance its overall texture. We’re also always excited to talk about our differentiated, custom-manufactured quality and premium, authentic Indian food experience. We make our entrees the long way, like we do in our own kitchen, which requires simmering our sauces in multiple batches and infusing layers of freshly ground spices and ingredients over time. The whole process, which also includes marinating our proteins, requires 10+ hours per dish to do it right. Our samosas, naan and paratha—used for our Katis—are also handmade by artisans in India.”
The brand team is ready to connect and discuss new ideas and new opportunities to partner and test and learn, said Laughlin. “Frozen Indian cuisine is new to many consumers—and many more love Indian cuisine at restaurants but haven’t been able to replicate premium, authentic Indian cuisine at home yet. That’s why we’re eager to work with partners who share our desire to help elevate Indian food with our Deep Indian Kitchen products and increase access to the cuisine across America,” he said.
Expo West is also an opportune event for showcasing baked goods. “Sweet Sam's is looking to connect with the widest array of customers possible and expand beyond the traditional environments in which our baked goods
are found,” said Matthew Pinkett, Account Executive, Sweet Sam’s Baking Co. “We look forward to partnering with more natural foods-based accounts who look for high quality clean label products. This can include cafes, health food stores, c-stores, smoothie bars and restaurants.”
An ideal conversation with a retailer sounds like talking to an old friend who understands the product line and is open to exploring the possibility of taking the product into their operation and presenting it to their regular, loyal and new customers to try for themselves, said Pinkett. “In order to consider a show a success, for us, we need to speak with as many attendees as possible and find as many people/companies that are as excited about our products as we are,” he said. “We would then need to convert those leads into long term customers that will provide the ROI to make doing these industry events a profitable exercise for our company.”
Connecting with new and long-term customers are clearly a goal for many companies; for Laughlin, the event is also a chance to share passion and culture. “There’s nothing better than catching up and sharing food with friends who appreciate good food, and Expo attendees represent some of the most passionate foodies in the world,” he said. “Our brand and booth is designed to welcome everyone into our kitchen for a premium authentic experience of Indian culture, through food. We look forward to dialogue and feedback as we help attendees learn more about Indian cuisine across lunch, appetizer, entrée and on-the-go occasions. We’re also excited that our new Kati Street Wraps are a finalist for a NEXTY Award at Expo West. Being named a finalist is a huge honor and success, especially given the competitive field and 1,500+ entries submitted this year.”
Celebrating success looks different for various companies. “Expo is a success when we have new retailer leads, industrial/wholesale leads, foodservice leads and we have served delicious food featuring our flavored butter to thousands of potential consumers,” said Phukan.
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Through its history, Whole Foods’ carefully curated selection of grocery goods catered to a higher-income demographic that could afford to weigh issues like ingredient sourcing, sustainability and animal welfare in their household purchases, which generally came with higher price tags. The 2017 acquisition by Amazon came with speculation that the new owners would make organic and specialty diet foods more affordable for mass shoppers, and some efforts to reward Prime members have resulted in more accessibility. The piling on of other challenges including Covid in recent years, however, has left the direction and identity of the natural foods grocer somewhat adrift under the umbrella of the e-retailer. New leadership sees this as an opportunity to dig in its heels and recommit Whole Foods as not just a leader in grocery retail but a continued trailblazer in supporting new technology, sustainable solutions and waste reduction to ensure a robust food supply for both Whole Foods customers and citizens at large.
History
John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy opened a small natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, TX in 1978. Mackey and Lawson Hardy partnered with Craig Weller and Mark Skiles to then merge SaferWay and Clarksville Natural Grocery in 1980, creating the first Whole Foods in September of that year.
The brand started expanding beyond Austin in 1984 with store openings in Houston, Dallas and New Orleans. The first West Coast store opened in Palo Alto, CA in 1989. Store openings and acquisitions continued through the 90s and into the 21st century. Grocery brands that came under Whole Foods at this time included Wellspring Grocery of North Carolina, Bread & Circus of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Market in Los Angeles, Bread of Life and Food for Thought in Northern California, Fresh Fields Markets in the East Coast and Midwest, Florida Bread of Life, Merchant of Vino in Detroit, Nature’s Heartland in Boston, Harry’s Farmers Market stores in Atlanta.
Supplementary brands including Allegro Coffee, wellness company Amrion, which was renamed NatureSmart, and WholePeople.com also crossed paths with Whole Foods. Allegro Coffee has been a part of Whole Foods since 1997.
Whole Foods entered Canada in 2002 and then the UK in 2004 with the acquisition of seven Fresh & Wild stores.
The early 2000s saw stores opening in Hawaii along with the acquisition of seven Dominick’s Finer Foods in Chicago and a merger agreement with Wild Oats Markets.
In 2017, Whole Foods, with more than 460 stores in the US, Canada and UK, was acquired by Amazon.
“This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods’s shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers,” said Whole Foods Founder and CEO John Mackey.
Mackey stepped down from his role as CEO in 2022.
Leadership
Jason Buechel was named Mackey’s successor. Buechel had previously served as Chief Operations Officer beginning in 2019 before his promotion. He originally joined the Whole Foods company in 2013 as Global Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Prior to Whole Foods, Buechel served as the Managing Director/Partner within Accenture’s Retail Operations Practice.
Leandro Balbinot is Whole Foods’ Chief Technology Officer. He previously served for three years as Senior Vice President of Global Technology and Digital at McDonald’s. He has also held different leadership positions at Kraft Heinz Company as Senior Vice President of Digital Product Development and Engineering and at Heinz as Global Chief Information Officer.
Executive Vice President of Operations Bill Jordan came to the Whole Foods company through its acquisition of Mrs. Gooch’s in 1993. Jordan started with Mrs. Gooch’s as a courtesy clerk and achieved several promotions including that of Regional Vice President of Operations and Purchasing in the
Southern Pacific Region, a role he held for 16 years before becoming President of Whole Foods’s Rocky Mountain Region.
Christina Minardi is Executive Vice President Growth and Development for both Whole Foods and Amazon. She also came to Whole Foods via an acquisition—Minardi first came to work for Fresh Fields in 1995. She was named Vice President for the Northeast region in 2002 and became Regional President in 2005. Minardi became Executive Vice President of Operations in 2018 and helped lead the Amazon integration.
Last summer, CEO Buechel spoke at the Aspen Ideas Health Festival where he shared his thoughts on environmental stewardship and the company’s continued commitment to responsibly sourced products and climate supportive agriculture.
“Our higher purpose is to nourish people and the planet. The only way we can fulfill that is by making sure we can continue to provide our customers with the highest quality natural and organic products in the marketplace,” Buechel said. “That means making sure our topsoil is in a position for us to be able to support feeding this country now and for decades to come. We see it as our responsibility to support our suppliers who can support climate-friendly agriculture and champion ways that we serve our environment, a key stakeholder at Whole Foods.”
At the start of 2023, Buechel unveiled Whole Foods’s 10-year vision to lead the company into the future called Growing with Purpose, which is focused on enhancing the store experience, investing in employee growth and expanding the company’s reach to serve customers in new ways.
The company’s purpose and values are accounted for in its annual impact report; its 2023 report was released in July.
“Our Impact Report marks another exciting milestone as we demonstrate the progress we’ve made to drive our purpose to nourish people and the
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planet forward,” explained Buechel. “As we grow, we’re continuing to raise the bar on our commitment to sustainability and finding win-win solutions with all our partners—from our suppliers to the environment to the communities we serve.”
Highlights from the report include:
• Onboarded more than 2,300 new organic products in 2022 and now offer more than 37,000 active organic products across its stores.
• Awarded nearly $1.7 million to local suppliers last year through the Local Producer Loan Program and inducted nine new participants into its Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP) cohort.
• Funded 33,555 microloans by the Whole Planet Foundation; awarded 57 grants to community-led organizations across 39 cities by Whole Cities Foundation; and donated 506 gardens and 142 salad bars by Whole Kids Foundation.
“Whole Foods has a rich legacy of building a more sustainable food system, from our unparalleled quality standards to our responsible sourcing and environmental stewardship,” said Caitlin Leibert, Vice President of Sustainability at Whole Foods. “Building on the progress we made this past year, we look forward to what we will accomplish in the years ahead as we continue to find new and innovative ways to further our mission.”
Though leading with altruism, the practicalities of business that dictated the Whole Foods revisit its operational side and last April, industry media reported the company was letting go of ‘several hundred’ corporate employees which translated to about less than half a percent of the company’s global workforce.
Leadership wrote in a memo: “We often talk about how simplifying our work and improving how we operate is critical as we grow. We’ve made great progress in these areas through previous operational and organizational changes. As the grocery industry continues to rapidly evolve, and as we—like all retailers—have navigated challenges like the Covid pandemic and continued
economic uncertainty, it has become clear that we need to continue to build on these changes. With additional adjustments, we will be able to further simplify our operations, make processes easier and improve how we support our stores.”
As part of the changes, Whole Foods reduced operations from nine different regions to six regions. The company also had roughly 50 new stores in development, they said. The company also consolidated most buying to a corporate responsibility, from the regions.
The memo concluded: “As we simplify processes and improve how we operate, we will be able to quickly respond to evolving business needs, focus more on our most impactful work, and invest in new ways to serve all stakeholders. We are confident these changes will allow us to better support our stores, Team Members, and suppliers, elevate the customer experience, and position Whole Foods for continued growth. Most importantly, these changes will help ensure we deliver on our purpose to nourish people and the planet for decades to come.”
The grocery brand has been struggling with its post-Amazon acquisition identity, as Forbes reported last August on its ongoing efforts “to integrate businesses that have little in common and different corporate cultures.” Among such initiatives are the installation of lockers where Amazon Prime members could pick up their online orders, the lowering of prices for Prime members and more recently offering fresh food delivery to non-Prime members.
As Amazon flexes its muscle in online retail, Forbes sums up where Whole Foods appears to sit in the overall business structure: “Amazon didn’t buy Whole Foods to learn about the grocery business. Amazon, which is delving deeper into the world of brick-andmortar retail, with a focus on groceries, wanted a quick tutorial. Revenue at Amazon’s physical stores climbed 12 percent in the recent second quarter, while online sales dropped. That marks a change from the prior few years, when Amazon’s physical stores lagged its overall retail business.”
Accordingly, Whole Foods also continues its store expansion. Though in
the last two years the company made headlines in closing a half dozen stores for a variety of reasons, in 2024, the company has already announced openings in South Windsor, CT; Albuquerque, NM; and St. Petersburg, FL, as part of the aforementioned 50 new stores in development.
And to better tailor its offerings for more densely urban populations, Whole Foods announced in early March it was introducing a quick-shop store format ranging between 7,000 to 14,000 square feet, designed to provide customers in urban neighborhoods a quick, convenient shopping experience with easier access to the fresh, high-quality offerings they expect from a full-sized Whole Foods that typically sit around 40,000-square-feet.
The new format, called Whole Foods Daily Shop, is set to initially launch this year on the Upper East Side in Manhattan with additional locations in New York City to follow. Following the New York City launch, Whole Foods plans to bring the format to other cities across the country.
Though smaller, the stores will still offer Whole Foods favorites, including a selection of fresh, seasonal produce, meat and seafood, prepared foods like sandwiches and pre-packed meals, breads, alcohol and supplements, as well as a handpicked range of local specialties and the private label 365 by Whole Foods brand.
“We’re tailoring every square foot to the unique, fast-paced needs of urban lifestyles. We’re excited to introduce a new way for our customers to quickly pick up their Whole Foods favorites—from grab-and-go meals to that last-minute dinner ingredient—making the early morning or after work grocery trips more efficient and enjoyable,” said Minardi. “Expanding our footprint with Whole Foods Daily Shop is key to our growth, fostering deeper customer connections, and advancing our purpose to nourish people and the planet.”
The natural foods grocer is not waiting for others to assign it another nickname in this new era of Amazon ownership. Whole Foods is taking advantage of every available opportunity to redefine itself.
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• Suppliers are sharing messaging around sustainability with consumers
• Animal welfare efforts are contributing in a big way to producers sustainability efforts
• Transparency is improving around sustainability, both for industry partners and consumers
Producers within the meat case category continue to lead the space forward with sustainable practices and efforts that make a difference, especially in consumers’ minds. These companies have applied these practices to ensure that the impact their products have on the earth are as minimal as possible while providing clean label ingredients all the way down to the farm and source.
“Silver Fern Farms is a purpose-led global food business from Aotearoa/ New Zealand. We are focused on delivering on our purpose—creating goodness from the farms the world needs— and have placed enduring value at the heart of our business model,” said Kate Beddoe, Silver Fern Farms Chief Sustainability and Risk Officer. “For us, sustainability is a way of working that informs all the decisions we make and actions we take as a business. Through our Sustainability Action Plan—Good by Nature we have implemented industry-leading approaches to reduce and report emissions across out value chain, ensure the well-being of our people and communities and position our business as a leader in nature positive food production.”
Silver Fern Farms has been challenging consumers to expect and look for more from the companies they choose to purchase from and support. “Our approach is about empowering consumers to demand more from their food producers and retailers, while rewarding those who are brave enough to change,” Beddoe explained. “While US consumers are principally looking for taste, consistency, and nutritional benefits in their red meat, they are also looking for high animal welfare and the environmental upsides attached to the grass-fed production system which presents a bolder, beefier flavor. We are seeing the emergence of strong demand from a growing segment of consumers who expect more from their food—they
want to be assured about the environmental footprint of their food and are very conscious of the impact their purchasing choice has on the planet. Silver Fern Farms is confident that our unique New Zealand farming system where animals are raised on open grass pastures, grazing in balance with nature providing many of the attributes consumers are looking for. Our Net Carbon Zero by Nature products play a vital role in our plans for nature-positive food production. When consumers buy our Net Carbon Zero by Nature products, they’re incentivizing our farmers for their efforts to create farm environments that are better able to capture carbon, increase biodiversity, and support nature-positive food production—techniques that are vital to future food systems.”
Leaders in the meat case category continue to encourage consumers to try new things and exploring their product offerings. In a previous interview with Niman Ranch, the company outlined the various ways it drives category awareness and education. “The best way to feel comfortable trying something new is to taste it before you buy it," said Alicia LaPorte, Communications Director. "That’s why at Niman Ranch we love hosting in-store demos. This offers consumers the opportunity to taste our delicious proteins and learn more about Niman Ranch’s humane animal care and farming practices. We provide display materials (brochures, signage) at the full-service case to complement information provided by a meat counter associate, providing information about how our animals are raised and cared for by US independent family farmers and ranchers. They also have tips for preparing the perfect steak, burger and pork chop. Merchandising is a great way to encourage consumers to try a cut they wouldn’t normally. Recent research indicates consumers’ willingness to trade up their meat selections
when a price is reduced—they don’t need to wait for a special occasion to try an item. Helping consumers know how to cook cuts they trade up to is important too. We provide simple cooking tips materials for display at the full-service case to inspire consumers for a simple dish to make a premium cut the star of the show.”
Great Range Bison strives to provide proper care to everything it does from its animals to the moment the products are in the packaging and directly put into consumers' hands. “Here at Great Range Bison, we strive to do things correctly, as we always have,” said Cory Schmeling of Great Range Bison. “We know that when you put a quality product in a quality package the likelihood of a consumer buying that product again increases. Our mission is summed up with our trademark Best Fresh Bison, meaning proper animal handling, a focus on food safety and human safety coupled with premium quality product and excellent customer service. We will continue to grow the category and grow the industry. Our mission makes it easy to do the right thing. Every decision we make, we put these protocols front and center. Essentially, if we do the right thing at all stages, we will succeed.”
Alongside this, “We only use the most humane and sustainable practices with food safety and bison welfare in mind. Regenerative agriculture and holistic management practices help our ranchers preserve our planet’s water, soil and ecosystem, and be true stewards of the land. We take great pride in knowing that we are doing things ‘the right way," he said. .”
As the meat case continues to expand, consumers are utilizing companies’ educational and raised awareness to try new meat options. These companies are showcasing their sustainability efforts as it is a high priority for manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike.
• Responsible sourcing is a focus area for consumers
• Sustainability is in focus up and down the supply chain
• The National Pork Board is facilitating efforts throughout the industry to be more sustainable
Asmeat-based ingredients continue to be staples in the household, consumers are seeking out high-quality products that are responsibly sourced with clean or clear ingredient lists and labels and manufactured by reliable companies.
“Transparency and sustainability are huge consumer trends in the protein category that we don’t see going way. Consumers want to know the story behind their food and feel good about serving it to their family. Niman Ranch provides that assurance,” said Alicia LaPorte, Niman Ranch Communications Director. “The most important thing consumers and retailers need to understand about sustainability is that each farmer and each brand defines it differently. It’s important retailers are clear about what aspects of sustainability are most important to them and choose their supplier partners with that in mind. For instance, some brands define sustainability purely as how quickly and efficiently they can bring products to market. A large-scale entirely indoor intensive confinement hog barn raising thousands of animals at a time can claim sustainability. Niman Ranch’s approach is quite different; yes, efficiency is a consideration, but we are more interested in partnering with diversified, resilient farms incorporating many sustainability practices on their outdoor-based farm operations. Our sustainable farms look very different than the industrial scale model.”
For Pederson's sustainability is our whole approach,” said Ben Warren, Retail Marketing Manager with Pederson’s Natural Farms. “We want to make sure that our products are sustainable for our consumers and vendors by building a partnership so that our products will be on the shelf and check the boxes of claims and ingredients that both are looking for. Sustainable for our employ-
ees by creating a great place to work and the possibility for career growth. Sustainability for the planet by our farming and raising practices.”
The National Pork Board, which also operates Pork Checkoff, is a leading facilitator and partner for those who produce, process and sell pork products across the globe. The board consists of 15 members and helps fund the research surrounding the pork industry in regard to quality, safety, nutrition and more.
In January of 2024, the National Pork Board initiated a program that will aid and assist in the pork industry entering convenience stores with a higher quality meat option. According to the board’s website, “Collaborating closely with c-store partners, NPB is committed to developing new products, overcoming barriers, coordinating potential sales opportunities and moving more products in convenience stores. Convenience stores are looking for ways to retain and grow their customer traffic, relying on the innovative suggestions brought forth by NPB. These partnerships are crucial for both store ownership and the Pork Checkoff on behalf of producers, all aiming to boost consumer pork purchases.”
Niman Ranch suggested that customers see for themselves how products are made, especially when it comes to sustainability practices. “Greenwashing certainly is a chief concern,” said LaPorte. “I always recommend that procurement teams visit farms to see sustainable practices first-hand. Commitments for change with deadlines decades in the future are all well and good, but it’s imperative that buyers are comfortable with their supplier operations today.”
“Natural and humanely raised pork is a minute amount of the overall pork supply in this country, but customer
views are changing and things like [California] Prop 12 and [Massachusetts] Question 3 are proof that changes are coming. We continue to grow our farms and advance humane farming,” Warren said.
“The proof is there in the third-party auditing of our farms and continual improvement of our processes and ingredients. However, we also believe there is room in this business for other companies doing other great things towards sustainability and we commend them for that,” he continued. “We are continuing to get new farms online with our stringent raising practices and we constantly strive to work towards our pork being 100 percent GAP certified.”
“We are looking forward to growing our Regenerative Agriculture Grant programs for our farmers, providing much needed capital support to help catalyze investments in sustainable farming practices on the land,” LaPorte said. “Past recipients have used these $10,000 grants to set up new composting systems for their livestock manure, fencing for grazing cattle, native plant seed mixes for supporting pollinator habitat and much more. What’s especially exciting about this program is the opportunity these farmers have to share their learnings and case studies implementing the programs with their fellow Niman Ranch producers creating a culture of education and experimentation surrounding sustainability.”
As the sustainability trend has paved the way for several initiatives and practices to come into fruition, leaders in the pork industry continue to ensure their efforts to provide high-quality meat options with a limited ingredient list. These companies have recognized how important it is for their consumers that they adopt sustainable practices as it encourages consumers to support these companies.
• Focus on consumer engagement, exciting flavors and clean ingredients
• Old categories are new again, with innovation in pretzels at the forefront
• Better for you continues to shine, with vegan and clean label ingredients leading the way
Leading snack manufacturers are checking all the boxes when it comes to engaging with consumers and driving basket rings. Tantalizing flavor profiles, clean ingredients, satisfying textures and the ability to snack on the run are all factors that connect with households, and these manufacturers are in-step with consumers and delivering on these attributes. Companies that are attuned to what consumers are asking for and expecting from snacking solutions are at the forefront of the category. Influencing both the direction and trajectory of the snacking segment means for these companies to continuously remain alert and attuned to their audience and bring ideas to the space to keep it relevant.
"I’ll tell you about everybody at Rudolph Foods, is everybody loves pork rinds," said Mark Singleton, VP of Sales and Marketing. "Everybody loves our consumers, we are our consumers, we have plants all over America, and the fact that we can get 800 people to care that much everyday about putting a great product in every single bag, that’s how come we’re OK. I tell buyers we are the run-flat tire of the snack industry. You won’t hear from us. Your stuff will show up and it will taste good and it will move off the shelf. We want to be the run-flat tire. How we do it, we are just lucky. We’ve got great people that care a lot about making a great product. And we’ve got family ownership that just loves coming out with where else can we sell it, how else can we sell it. It's still funny as heck to me how much fun you can have educating people about pork rinds. We just had Pork Rind Appreciation Day and 70 million people heard us Thursday before the big game talking about pork rinds. That’s how we stay in front and how we keep innovating is really listening to our customers."
“Any success we have is because the
buyers were courageous enough to take a chance on us—an unknown brand in an unestablished segment!” said Froozeballs Founder Cherie Jackson. “I am tremendously grateful for the partnerships we have formed. What company or leadership qualities do you attribute to your success? Creating a safe enough space for your team to make mistakes is essential. You need to be able to test, fail, learn and repeat. A former colleague of mine, Eckhard Kemmerer, has these wise words to ponder, 'If you wait until you can spot sufficient movement to call a trend, you will never be able to catch it. The trend already started some time ago, because somewhere, somehow, someone changed something. Trends start with coincidence and accidents and observations and thoughts and questions and experiments.' I love this sentiment because it makes space for risk, creativity and original thinking.”
“We have been in the food and beverage industry for decades, it's our passion,” explained Jason Cohen, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of 7 Mile Brands. “We have forged many relationships built on trust in all areas of the food business." For the last 25 years, Cohen has been starting, acquiring, investing and growing partnership brands namely creating Sensible Portions and Veggies Straws, investing in partnership brands such as SkinnyPop and Core Water. During his career, Cohen has executed more than eight strategic exits. "Through those many years of hard work and experiences alongside best-in-class founders and teammates, we’ve learned a few things along the way on how to successfully create a brand people love and a company that people love to work for," he said. "Sammy and I know that success is all about the team you put in place. We are nurturing and supportive leaders that use our decades of experience to help and empower others on their own
exciting career journeys. We love speaking with industry leaders and strategize what is missing and from there we build a vehicle that they can ultimately fly.”
"As a low-carb snack, we get a good boost right out of the gate with more purposeful eating with New Year’s resolutions and a lot of football parties, a lot of play-off games," Singleton said. "We do a huge push for: ‘don’t eat a pretzel at a pigskin party,’ all through football season from opening day all the way to the Super Bowl. It culminates with [Rudolph Foods’] Pork Rind Appreciation Day, so the 10 days leading up to Super Bowl we have really good sales because millions of people are hearing us talk about it everywhere."
“We’re preparing for an exciting year at 7 Mile Brands,” said Sammy Kestenbaum, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of 7 Mile Brands. “Before we continue to move the snacking category forward, we always research areas of the market where we can bring creative innovation that consumers really, really want. By watching trends across the entire food industry from food service to retail, we’ve learned that folks are pretzel obsessed. We know that everything tastes better as a pretzel and we’re gearing up to reinvigorate the pretzel category with what we do best: transformation innovation. We’re working with the same amazing team we’ve revolutionized the popcorn, chip and cookie aisles with to now disrupt the pretzel category. Our next creative, tasty mass brand will be launching nationwide next month.”
Snacking manufacturers are reinvigorating classic snacking options with bold twists and flavor combinations that make them new. Enticing flavors and clean ingredients continue to prove to be a great place to start to engage with consumers and encourage trial. Snacking has evolved to include betterfor-you ingredient and vegan choices.
1. The Inspired Home Show
March 17-19, 2024
McCormick Place Chicago, IL www.theinspiredhomeshow.com
2. Annual Meat Conference
March 18-20, 2024
Gaylord Opryland Nashville, TN www.meatconference.com
3. The Sweets & Snacks Expo
May 14-16, 2024
Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, IN www.sweetsandsnacks.com
4. IDDBA 2024
June 9-11, 2024
George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, TX www.iddba@iddba.org
5. Summer Fancy Food Show
June 23-25, 2024
Javits Center New York City, NY www.specialtyfood.com
6. Natural Products—Newtopia Now Aug. 25-28, 2024
Colorado Convention Center Denver, CO www.newhope.com
7. NFRA Convention Oct. 5-8, 2024
Gaylord National Harbor National Harbor, MD www.nfraweb.org
