Upstart Food Brands has officially been in business for 8 years now. Happy birthday to us! One thing we’d like for our birthday this year is chocolate. But instead of a decadent bar with 8 candles in it, we’d love to find a chocolate startup to work with! We’ve worked with hundreds of companies in our 8 years. We’ve developed brands for businesses that make sauces, pickles, salsas, pesto, hot sauce, coffee, mushroom coffee, functional coffee creamer, honey from Africa and New Zealand, different types of spreads, desserts of all kinds, a range of snack foods, functional muffins, nut butters, sq ..read more

2022 has been a whirlwind year! Upstart Food Brands has cranked out a bunch of great work, featuring brand launches from Saucy Rebellion, Slide, Pantala, Cherish Green, Brewers & Shakers, System Upgrade, Cloudsplitter Coffee, Quirky Kin, United Grinds, Wise Moose Grinds, and more, and we’re really excited about the brands we’re developing now that are on tap to launch in 2023! We’re proud of the impact we’re making in the food and beverage industry, and especially during this holiday season it’s even more heartwarming to know that our contributions aren’t going unnoticed. After 7+ years, w ..read more

2020 is here, and with it, an opportunity for self-reflection, setting new goals, and beginning a fresh decade! Perhaps you’ve already hit the ground running personally with a new yoga class or you’re working to master the art of weekly meal prep. If you’re an entrepreneur or leader at a food company though, the “New Year, New You” mentality is as much about business growth and planning as it is personal resolutions. For food and beverage brands that have survived for more than a decade (some for several), this is a great time to reflect on your business to ensure that you’re staying ahead ..read more

Let’s face it – packing nutritious school lunches is challenging! And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Just Google “Nutritious School Lunch Ideas” and you’ll be greeted with around 6,710,000 results. Sure, I know not all of those 6-million results are actually relevant, but clicking through the sea of websites and blog posts offering recipes and ideas for school lunches (school lunches for picky eaters, gluten free school lunches for picky eaters, cold lunch box ideas, etc.) tells me I am not alone. Though my husband, Josh, humbly claims to do 97.25% of the food and drink prep in the hou ..read more

I’m sitting at a bar after day two of the 2019 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, reflecting on the day and decompressing a bit. It’s at these times when the insights you glean from the experience are the freshest, so I thought I’d take a quick moment to comment on one of the most poignant realizations that I’m left with today: not everyone’s having a good show. It’s so fun to see all of the up-and-coming food brands. There’s a buzz around the trendy ones that’s palpable when you pass by their crowded booths. Retailers are excited to find the next big thing; to bring their customers someth ..read more