With venture capitalists betting big on food startups right now, there is no shortage of new players to back. Rising consumer interest in organic, sustainable options has contributed to an uptick in food innovation—as has "foodie" culture in general.
Thanks to the also-hot crowdsourcing trend, a number of sites, Kickstarter chief among them, have made it easier for consumers to find the startups they'd like to fund. These sites also have potential to help VCs identify consumer interest in products that could very well be the next big thing in grocery aisles. There has arguably never been a time when so many promising ventures were right at investors' fingertips.
Below, you'll see 10 aspiring food product startups that caught our eyes recently with their pitches on Kickstarter. Some have already met their funding goals and are now working to raise even more cash, while others are just getting started, but they all have potential for widespread consumer appeal.
1. NAKED SEA SALT
Desired funding: $10,000 ($50,000-$250,000 stretch goals added)
Marketed as “The Healthiest Salt on the Planet,” Naked Sea Salt—founded by Ari Fruchter of Tel Aviv, Israel—comes directly from the Dead Sea. The all-natural, low-sodium, traditionally and sustainabily harvested, gourmet cooking salt is purported to have ”the richest mineral content in existence.” It’s also organic, and comes in 15 different herb- and spice-infused flavors that range from Mediterranean garlic “Mediterra” to the chili and black pepper “Vulcan.”
2. REAL GOOD GUM
Desired funding: $15,000
Austin, Texas’ Real Good Inc. says its Real Good Gum is the first to be 100% organic. The gluten free, vegan and biodegradable product has been researched and tested for around two years and contains none of the artificial ingredients that some consumers would fear feeding their kids—like the petroleum distillate- and coal tar-derived Red #3. Real Good Gum instead gets its coloring from organic plant sources like beets, kale, blueberries and carrots, and the flavors—which includeFruit Fazer, Minty Mayhem and Bubble Blaster—come from organic fruits and mints. Plus, it comes in colorful, luchador-mask-adorned packaging.
3. CAKE CHIPS
Desired funding: $2,000 ($5,000 stretch goal added after original goal met)
With recipes learned from their mom, Dajelyn and Dakelyn Diaz are showing consumers that chips and cake are two great things that go great together. Baked from scratch and thought up as a simpler alternative to cake, CakeChips pack the flavor of a cake in the form of a chip. The duo have even developed a selection of accompanying homemade dips in dulce de leche, guava and pineapple flavors. The chips have even been featured on the websites of the Cooking Channel and HLN. One serving is 15 chips, and a small bag contains 1-2 servings while a large back packs 8-10.
4. KOA ORGANIC WATER
Desired funding: $50,000
Koa, the world’s first organic water, is actually made from a blend of nine juices. “Organic water” is ultimately just the term that the people behind Koa came up with to describe the zero sugar, zero calories, colorless and tasteless juice product that Koa actually is, since it’s still 100% juice. Thus, it also contains 19 essential vitamins and minerals from the juices used to create it—which come from pomegranates, oranges, amla fruit, annatto, guava, holy basil, Red Sea lettuce, heirloom carrots and lemon. The Dallas, Texas-based company’s campaign hopes to produce “Koa Blackboxes” so the product can be made locally in towns across the U.S.
5. FLUFF IT! MARSHMALLOWS
Desired funding: $5,500 (Amount reached, stretch goal of $10,000 added)
Tricia Medina, owner of Fluff It! Bakery in Chandler, Ariz., says her handcrafted marshmallows are the biggest and fluffiest available—and possibly even the new cupcake. Her Kickstarter is aimed at growing her snack business beyond the kitchen, and her innovative marshmallow treats definitely look different from a lot of the snacks that are out there. Her range of marshmallow confections includes coconut, naked pineapple, naked lime, half & half vanilla & cocoa, strawberry, and cookie-infused options like peanut butter and lemon bar. Showcasing her ability to innovate, Medina even created exclusive flavors for backers, including booze-infused options like strawberry daiquiri, lime margarita and pink lemon drop.
6. DOOR 86 VEGAN CHEESE
Desired funding: $7,000
Driven by her love of dairy cheese, but turned off by the treatment of dairy animals and the antibiotics, hormones and other substances that end up in dairy products, Daphne Medina started making vegan cheese to eat at home. Eventually, she began experimenting with a variety of ingredients, recipes and techniques and decided to start selling her vegan cheeses. Forming Door 86, she began to attend vegan supper clubs, wine tastings and other markets as a vendor before launching a Facebook page and receiving requests from places like Ireland and England. Her plan, should she receive enough support, is to purchase more ingredients and supplies, and to ultimately get the cheeses into groceries nationwide. Among her flavors are sriracha cheddar, fresh Brie style cheese, stilton with blueberries and pistachio crusted chevre.
7. DAYDREAM DELIGHTS
Desired funding: $10,000
Based on Turkish Delights, Laura Sparrow-Hood’s Daydream Delights are the result of a year spent developing a recipe under a master chef’s guidance. Each batch takes six steps over the course of three weeks, and Sparrow-Hood is looking to purchase large capacity cooking equipment and bulk supplies so she can expand her confection to a national level via an established website. Available flavors include German chocolate cake, cinnamon crumb cake, piña colada, mai tai and apple martini. There’s even a Kickstarter-exclusive limited edition cappuccino flavor in celebration of Prince William & Kate’s royal baby.
8. SALAMANDER SAUCE COMPANY
Desired funding: $22,000
Unable to find any commercial hot sauces to his liking, Timothy Kavarnos of Brooklyn, N.Y., decided to create his own. Setting out to find the perfect balance of flavor and fire, Kavarnos created Salamander Sauce Company. His sauces have since been picked up by a friend’s restaurant. Flavors include Original, Tropical and Strawberry, and the campaign seeks to put the sauces into production for purchase—which includes the cost of the first round, insurance, UPC codes, small pieces of kitchen equipment and labels.
9. EXO
Desired funding: $20,000
Another Brooklyn company hoping to crowdfund its products, Exo makes protein bars that use cricket flour as a protein source. According to the campaign page, the bars supply 10 grams of protein, are all-natural and have no gluten, grain, soy or dairy. Plus, it says, the cricket flour—which is made from slow roasted and milled crickets—is an all-natural and nutritious source of protein. The bars also include organic raw cacao, dates, almond butter and coconut, as well as a substantial amount of omega 3 fatty acids, iron and calcium. The $20,000 Exo seeks is intended for ingredients, packaging, production, kitchen rental and legal costs.
10. GATHERER'S GOURMET GRANOLA
Desired funding: $15,000
Founded by jazz musicians, Gatherer’s Gourmet Granola combines locally sourced ingredients, unique flavor profiles and artisan quality baking to create a certified gluten-free and non-GMO granola. Its Kickstarter campaign is meant to help facilitate the launch of three new flavors by crowdfunding bag printing costs and getting the products gluten-free and non-GMO certified. Existing flavors include Chipmunk’s Choice (peanut butter, almond and maple syrup), Squirrel Bait (pecan, maple syrup and coconut) and Fox’s Fancy (apples, spices and honey).
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