In June, plant-based food and beverage brand New Barn Organics was acquired by national egg producer NestFresh in a move that promised to allow both companies to provide a broader range of products and give the brand a new runway for growth. Nearly three months later, that promise is taking shape.
Prior to the postponement of Natural Products Expo West 2020 on Monday, as much as 60% of attendees said they planned to skip this week’s event. But many others — including early stage entrepreneurs — were surprised by the late decision. For many, the news came after they had already arrived in Anaheim, and for some mid-flight.
Following a year plagued by out-of-stock issues and high shipping costs, plant-based food and beverage brand New Barn is scaling back retail distribution for its product portfolio to service only the West Coast as it focuses on integrating an omnichannel strategy in 2020.
In the second and final part of our Natural Products Expo East 2018 recap, BevNET covers news emerging from the Organic Trade Association meeting and takes a look at some of the new products and developments in plant-based dairy, kombucha, functional waters and other categories.
After highlighting a handful of new drinks in our show preview last week, check out the following gallery for a look at some of the other new and forthcoming innovations we saw at Natural Products Expo East 2018.
New Barn, Inc., maker of a line of almond milks and almond-based ice cream alternatives, has raised $3.75 million in a Series A round led by New Food SPV, an investment company created to serve as a funding arm for the company.
While soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk and other non-dairy alternatives have already established a presence on retail shelves, the category still has plenty of room to grow. And in retail coffee shops both big and small, brands have found a valuable opportunity to get more of their product into consumers hands, or cups.
Expo West 2017 saw several dairy alternative brands getting in on the ground floor of a new trend — plant-based coffee creamers. Califia Farms, Ripple, MALK, and more all debuted new products and flavors for vegan and lactose-intolerant consumers.
With strong growth comes strong innovation, and there was no shortage of new dairy alternative products showing off the category’s ingenuity at Natural Products Expo West 2017. Trending at this year’s show were nut milk-based creamers, with multiple companies rolling out offerings for dairy-free consumers seeking better ways to thicken their morning coffee.
