Clean eating is in, and is more than likely here to stay.
It’s no secret that healthy, mindful eating is on the rise. A 2017 report found that 54 percent of consumers were looking for foods with a short list of recognizable ingredients, and another 50 percent were looking for foods with little-to-no sugar. These statistics seem to indicate a continuing trend among consumers to seek out clean, safe, and organic options.
In the past few years, hundreds of food brands have emerged — many of which are replacing old, less nutritional foods with healthier swaps. Read on as we explore some inventive food brands redefining the food scene.
1. RightRice
Keith Belling, the founder of Popchips, launched his newest healthy venture in early 2019. RightRice, a shelf-stable vegetable rice grain, is the first of its kind on the market and aims to replace similar but far less nutritious rice sides. Each of the four flavor varieties is made from a blend of lentils, chickpeas, peas, and rice. The end result is a bowl with double the protein, five times the fiber, and 40 percent fewer net carbs than the average bowl of white rice. RightRice is already getting accolades from consumers, retailers, and the media for its flavorful, nutritious line of products — and is positioned for strong growth, leveraging accelerating health and wellness trends. The company is well funded and has assembled a small, talented management team along with a team of advisors and investors that includes successful entrepreneurs, industry veterans, and notable celebrities.
2. Magic Spoon
Cereal is a go-to breakfast for many that doesn’t have a great reputation for being very healthy — often packed with added sugars, preservatives, and empty carbs. The need for healthier versions of more classic cereals is what lead Gabi Lewis and Gregory Sewitz, former college roommates, to create Magic Spoon. The duo spent more than a year perfecting their formula. The end result is a snack with 12 grams of protein and only 3 grams of net carbs. Their four varieties are sweetened with a blend of monk fruit, stevia, and allulose (a natural sugar found in things like figs) — meaning that you can indulge without the guilt.
3. Stryve Biltong
Gabe Carmini was a first-round NFL draft pick before he changed career paths and became the founder and CEO of Stryve. Understanding the importance of healthy, protein-packed snack options, but not satisfied with anything on the market, Carmini developed his own: Beef Biltong. Packed with nine essential amino acids, zero grams of fat, and only 1 gram of sugar, Stryve is similar to jerky except that it’s air dried and never infused with sugar-loaded marinades or preservatives. With 50 percent more protein than traditional jerky, any of Stryve’s half-dozen flavors would make a perfect afternoon or post-workout snack.
4. Quinn Snacks
Packaged snack foods are one of the top sellers in the U.S., but nearly all of them are full of additives, plastics, and chemicals. Not so, at Quinn Snacks. This inventive healthy food brand is setting out to reinvent beloved snacks, one ingredient at a time. After the birth of her first child, Quinn’s founder Kristy Lewis decided to transform what we’re eating, and started whipping up pretzels and microwavable popcorn in her own kitchen. All of Quinn’s products are made with real, sustainable, and farm-sourced ingredients, and the team strives to be transparent with consumers about where everything comes from.
5. Banza
Blame the low-carb movement for quite literally putting pasta on the back burner. But Banza is setting out to change that. Made entirely of chickpeas, each serving has 25 grams of protein, 13 grams of fiber, and 40 percent fewer net carbs than a serving of traditional pasta. Launched in 2014, Banza has recently been picked up by Whole Foods, Target, and Jet.com making it much easier for the average diner to get their hands on a box. And that they are: Banza pasta is currently the best selling-pasta at Whole Foods and the second best selling pasta at Target. Gluten-free and non-GMO, Banza noodles taste just like regular pasta.
Interested in working at an innovative food company? Explore our FoodForce division.
Photo Credits: Facebook
