SKU

After walking thousands of steps every day and sampling more than our share of foods and beverages, a number of trends emerged at Expo West. The list could have been a mile long, but here are nine that caught our eye. 1. Protein Packed: It's in everything from candy to beverages to pasta. 2. Mix and Match: Brand collaborations are everywhere. 3. Fungi Frenzy: Mushrooms are taking over. 4. Women's sexual health goes mainstream. 5. Hot off the Hive: Honey is the sweetest trend. 6. Kelp Craze: Superfood making waves! 7. Buzzing about Coffee! 8. Global Flavors: International foods are heating up! 9. Sober Sips: Raise your glass to non-alc beverages! Michelle Breyer Buff Greebe Brooke Wilson Adrien Petersen Maddie S. #expowest #expowest25 #hottrends #foodandbeverage #mushrooms #nonalcbeverages #protein #proteinpacked #coffee #internationalfoods #nuts #snacks #healthysnacks #functionalbeverages #kelp #kelpfoods #cpg #cpgs #consumerpackagedgoods #emergingbrands #startups #cpgstartups

You may soon find Heather's Choice in all national parks! It is an ideal channel for the brand's lightweight, packable meals and snacks. Michelle Breyer Heather Kelly Brooke Wilson Adrien Petersen Buff Greebe #channelstrategy #packablemeals #preparedfoods #hiking #hikingfood

Congrats on the launch of this exciting initiative!

SXSW is in full swing and we were so glad to get out to the Willpower Wellness House at Other Racquet Social Club. Thank you Bill Murphy for putting together this wonderful gathering of CPG brand founders, leaders and investors. The day was packed with powerful panels on such topics as Building Brand Loyalty Through Community & Content, The Blueprint for Retail Success and Starting & Scaling CPG brands. It was fun to run into SKU alums Caroline Brain from Kif & co and Maddie M. from Peace Love Hormones. Some words of wisdom from the founders: Justin Mares, co-founder of Kettle & Fire on the drawbacks of raising money : "A lot of founders think they have to raise money and spend it to grow. How you get money affects how you can grow. When you raise money, it puts you on a treadmill." Miki Agrawal, founder of TUSHY - hellotushy.com on the three biggest considerations when starting a business: "1. I look at look at what sucks in my world. 2. Does it suck for a lot of people? 3. Can I be passionate about this for a long time. Jack Savage, founder of Daily Dose: "When you're writing copy, write it like you're texting your best friends. It comes across as more authentic." Michelle Breyer Buff Greebe Adrien Petersen Maddie S. Brooke Wilson #sxsw25 #sxsw #cpg #consumerproducts #emergingbrands #dtc #dtcbrands #marketing #digitalmarket #contentmarketing #sportsmarketing

Happy International Women's Day from the SKU Crew! Today - and everyday - we recognize the achievements of women worldwide.acknowledges the challenges that still exist, such as the gender pay gap, unequal opportunities, and discrimination. We celebrate the vital role women play in shaping the consumer-product industry as entrepreneurs, executives, innovators, and consumers. Michelle Breyer Adrien Petersen Brooke Wilson Buff Greebe #internationalwomensday #womensday #femaleequality #genderequality #femalefounders #femalefoundedbrands

Great exposure for SKU alum Crated with Love!

Thanks for helping us kick off Spring ‘25 in style Julie Steinhagen and Katie Kravit.

Expo West '25 is in the books and it exceeded all expectations. We came, we saw, we tasted. It was a wonderful chance to see so many of our mentors and founders and an opportunity to meet new people interested in joining the SKU community. We discovered new product innnovations (and many not-so-new!) Standout trends included plant-based eggs (the timing couldn't be better), a new generation of functional beverages, products loaded with ingredients like tallow, honey and avocado oil, women's sexual health offerings, and products PACKED WITH PROTEIN - everything from beverages to pretzels to pasta. Some attendees were lucky enough to load their samples into the highly coveted pink quilted bags, although we weren't willing to wait in line. (A security guard had to be hired to prevent people from stealing them!) Despite the cold rain showers (our bags moonlighted as rain hats), it was a celebratory atmosphere that showcased the camaraderie of this amazing industry and the year's must-attend conference for everyone passionate about the future of natural products. Michelle Breyer Buff Greebe Brooke Wilson Adrien Petersen Maddie S. #expowest #expowest25 #naturalproducts #naturalproductsshow #cpgaccelerator #accelerator #cpg #cpgs #products #betterforyou #foodandbeverage #wellness #wellnessproducts #beauty

Congratulations to SKU Spring ‘25 founder Nathan Ruff-Williams!! We’ll be voting for you!

?? Nabbed the NEXTY! ?? Thank you New Hope Network for honoring Foraged & Found’s Kelp Pickles! We were one of 34 winners out of over 1,000 submissions. We’re grateful for the recognition of all of the hours spent hanging off the edge of a boat in Southeast Alaska, building a supply chain to bring American-grown kelp into the US food system, and consistently iterating and improving our product to bring aquatic plants into the mainstream. We believe in eating kelp the way Mother Nature intended — in a whole food format with minimal processing. We also understand that Americans don't know how to incorporate kelp into their diets, and there are many misconceptions about its flavor. That's why Foraged & Found exists — to create products with formats and flavor profiles that make kelp accessible and exciting for American consumers. We have more exciting changes on the horizon, so stay tuned! ? Thank you to my awesome mentors for the Expo West meetups and connections Jeff Lovering, Tiffany Putland, Michelle Opel Bernhard, Kristen Deshaies, and Julia Knott. And huge thanks to the amazing ladies at SKU for a killer celebration dinner Brooke Wilson, Michelle Breyer and Adrien Petersen. So happy my fellow AK badass food entrepreneur Heather Kelly of Heather's Choice could celebrate as well!