Author Archives: Lars Hem

Later this week, many in the food and beverage ecosystem will gather in Anaheim, California for the annual Natural Products Expo West trade show. From humble beginnings in the 1980s when 3,000 people attended the first show, Expo West has grown to an expected 67,000 attendees this year with over 3,500 companies exhibiting.  The scale […]

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What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, the plant-based meat (PBM) category was riding high.  Impossible Foods was about to announce a new $500 million financing round amid record revenue growth, and public company bellwether Beyond Meat was trading at about $100 per share, or about 14x revenue. Today, the PBM […]

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Coca-Cola’s recent announcement that it will discontinue its Honest Tea brand at the end of 2022 sent shockwaves through the food & beverage industry.  Honest Tea was a beloved brand that pioneered the organic, low sugar beverage movement in the early 2000s, and founder Seth Goldman is an industry icon who lives the values of […]

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Last week’s announcement that Olipop, a low-sugar, functional soda, had raised $30 million of growth equity was the latest funding news for a low/no sugar food & beverage brand. Consumers are increasingly seeking out products that are low in sugar.  This rising demand reflects the growing awareness among consumers of the importance of metabolic health. […]

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