Dive Brief:
- Though smaller companies producing healthier, less processed foods are snagging market share from larger processed foods brands, many of these smaller companies are taking the advice of the same industry veterans that helped the larger brands reach the top of their markets, as discussed at the New York Times' Food for Tomorrow conference.
- Because so many startups fail — including food, but across any industry — "new start-ups need industry veterans’ hard noses for profits and tricks of the trade. The only way to reshape the American diet, it may turn out, is by learning from the same tactics that got us where we are right now," according to The New York Times.
- A former Coca-Cola president has helped Campbell's Bolthouse Farms brand sell more carrots by positioning them as fun rather than healthy, and a former executive vice president for new products of pre-merger Kraft Foods has helped Hormel develop a better-for-you line of microwaveable meals that includes vegetables while containing less salt and fat.
Dive Insight:
If these strategies worked for companies that have become titans of the food and beverage industries, there's no reason why some shouldn't work for smaller natural and organic companies. However, smaller companies may be resistant to take this advice for fear of losing what makes them attractive to health-conscious consumers.
A similar trend in the industry has been acquisitions of these smaller companies by larger legacy companies. In turn, those larger companies impart knowledge and experience on the smaller brands to help them become more efficient or make contacts in the industry, such as the relationship between Mondelez and free-from foods company Enjoy Life Foods.