Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact their food and beverage choices have on their bodies and the planet. Food and beverage companies are responding to this trend by reformulating their products to incorporate healthier and more sustainable ingredients. This includes using organic foods, reducing the use of artificial additives and preservatives, sourcing ingredients locally or from sustainable suppliers, and adopting environmentally friendly packaging.
This article highlights top healthy food companies committed to making food and beverage products that are better for both people and the world. These companies demonstrate innovation, a focus on health, and a dedication to sustainability.
Companies Leading the Way in Healthy Food
Here are some of the companies that stand out in the healthy food sector: Magic Spoon, Mosh, Chomps, Over Easy, B.T.R. Nation, Rootless, and Táche.
1. Magic Spoon: Reinventing Cereal for Health-Conscious Consumers
Magic Spoon is committed to bringing back the flavors and joys of our favorite childhood breakfast cereals and treats, while upgrading the experience for today’s health-minded consumers. All products are high in protein and low in sugar. Flavors include fruity, cocoa, birthday cake, blueberry muffin, peanut butter, frosted, cinnamon roll and chocolate chip cookie. In 2023, the brand launched its wildly popular Magic Spoon Treats, crispy bars based on their breakfast cereals.
Cofounders Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewis met during college and launched Magic Spoon in 2019. They began the business as direct-to-consumer, successfully acquiring over a million customers with their savvy online strategy before expanding into retail. They have since moved onto Amazon as well as into Target, Walmart, Albertsons/Safeway, Sprouts and other stores. And they have raised over $100 million in funding with celebrity investors including Shakira, Halsey, The Chainsmokers, Amy Schumer, and Odell Beckham Jr. Prior to cofounding Magic Spoon, Gabi Lewis cofounded Exo, the company that pioneered insect protein as a sustainable food source.
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One of Magic Spoon’s company values is, “Don’t be afraid to spill a little milk,” which is an obvious cereal reference. Lewis also feels it is a good mentality to live by, especially when thinking about embarking on something new. “You have to be willing to take a risk. If you have a big idea, it’s probably worth doing, even if a little milk is spilled along the way. A lot of growth comes from making mistakes and handling the unexpected.”
2. MOSH: Brain Health-Boosting Protein Bars
Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger are the mother-son duo behind MOSH, which makes no added sugar protein bars boosted with seven brain health-enhancing nutrients. When launched during Covid, the brand sold out of six months worth of product within the first week. Not only are the bars beneficial to your health, but proceeds from each purchase are donated to the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, the non-profit Shriver founded to help fund gender-based brain health research.
Shriver became involved in Alzheimer’s after her father was diagnosed with the disease in 2003. In 2010, she discovered that two-thirds of all Alzheimer’s patients are women. Shortly thereafter, she founded the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM). In 2023, Shriver took her concerns about women’s health research to First Lady Jill Biden, which led to the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. MOSH makes it easy for brain health to be top of mind for everyone who needs a snack on the go, Shriver points out. The company’s goals is to make products that are good for your brain and also fund brain health research and help find a cure for Alzheimer’s.
To aspiring entrepreneurs, Shriver offers this advice: “Bet on yourself. And just keep going. There will be days when you think it’s over. When you think you don’t have the money, you don’t have the supplies, you don’t have the team, and you just have to get up and do it again the next day. It hasn’t gotten easier, but I have a very clear vision, as does everybody on the team. I’m so lucky and grateful that my son did this with me. I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own.”
3. Chomps: Healthy Jerky Sticks with a Regenerative Agriculture Focus
Chomps makes better for you and the planet beef, turkey and venison jerky sticks with no added sugar or harmful chemicals. Bootstrapped with just $6,500 a little over a decade ago, the company accepted outside capital for the first time in January 2022 - an $80 million minority investment from private equity firm Stride Consumer Partners. The primary reason why cofounders Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali took on venture capital financing is because of their desire to promote regenerative agriculture - one of the most popular food and beverage trends of the past five years. Chomps sources its beef and venison solely from farmers who practice regenerative agriculture methods such as rotational grazing.
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Maldonado started Chomps as a side hustle after filing for bankruptcy at the tender age of 27. In one of the greatest challenges he has faced in his life, he found himself millions of dollars in debt as a real estate investor when the housing market crashed in 2008. So, he went back to personal training. And it was this work with clients that inspired him to found Chomps.
The company quickly evolved into Maldonado’s life purpose, however, when he became a father. “As a parent, I realized the importance of giving our children the food they need to fuel their bodies. I saw how major food manufacturers market products meant for kids by slapping cute cartoon characters and healthy-sounding buzzwords on the labels, when in fact these products are loaded with hidden, harmful ingredients. It was then my conviction with Chomps truly came to fruition, and I made it my mission to change the way people snack,” he says.
The number one piece of advice Maldonado has for aspiring entrepreneurs is to lose the ego. “You don’t know everything, and you’re never going to know everything. You should push yourself to learn something new every day. If you aren’t learning, you aren’t growing. Surround yourself with people who are more experienced than you, who specialize in areas where you lack knowledge, or who have made costly mistakes that you can learn from. It’s a blessing and an advantage to get to learn from other’s ‘scar tissue’ rather than suffer through the trial-and-error yourself,” he says.
4. Over Easy: Nutritious Breakfast Bars for Busy Mornings
Over Easy makes simple, nutritious, and better-for-you breakfast bars in four morning-inspired flavors - apple cinnamon, banana nut, peanut butter, and vanilla matcha. Simple ingredients include organic oats, nut butter, and cage-free egg whites. The bars are currently sold on Amazon and at retailers including Whole Foods, as well as online.
Kyle Maggard is the CEO and founder of Over Easy. A West Point graduate, former Army captain, and father, he started creating breakfast bar recipes in his kitchen in 2018 while an MBA student at Harvard Business School because he was tired of the dense protein bars he relied on in the military and frustrated that most convenient breakfast foods were packed with sugar. He also knew that nearly 75% of consumers now snack in the morning, as opposed to sitting down for a meal.
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The greatest challenge Maggard has faced in building a startup is the uncertainty for his family. “Before that, I was fortunate enough to have a stable, well-paying career. I’ve found my purpose with Over Easy, but my family has given up a lot for it in the short term,” he says. That said, Maggard is grateful for the unity he feels with his life purpose in running Over Easy. “When your purpose becomes your identity, it’s beyond liberating,” he says. “You no longer have two sides of your life - personal and professional. They become one.”
Maggard says that people shouldn’t expect their life purpose to fall into their lap. “You have to go out there and find it,” he advises. “Sure, some people knew they wanted to be a doctor or artist from the time they were a kid, but it doesn't come that easy for the vast majority of us. It takes a lot of self-reflection, research, and trial and error. And even when you do find it, it can be daunting to take that leap of faith. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never second-guessed my decision to leave Harvard, especially early on. But life is short, and it’d be a shame if you never gave yourself the chance to be who you were truly meant to be.”
5. B.T.R. Nation: High-Protein, Low-Sugar Snacks with a Mission
B.T.R. Nation creates high protein, low sugar bars and chocolate snacks that are vegan, gluten-free, and free from harmful chemical additives. CEO Ashley Nickelsen was inspired to start the company as a tribute to her parents, both of whom passed away from rare forms of cancer. B.T.R. stands for their mantra: “Be bold, tenacious and resilient.”
B.T.R. Nation is a tribute to Nickelsen’s parents. “Day in and day out, it helps me stay connected to them and pass on their legacy. It's been years, yet I still feel this massive hole in my heart. Running this company and being able to speak about them gives me some sense of peace, knowing they would be proud of what I'm doing,” she says
Nickelsen advises aspiring entrepreneurs to always come back to your why. “Everyone says building a business isn't easy. Constant problems to solve. Constant questions to answer. A constant need to grow and evolve for your community,” she explains. “When you’re fundamentally rooted in your why, nothing can stop you. Know your why and communicate that with the world. People want to know.”
6. Rootless: Seaweed Bites for Hormone Balance and Gut Health
Rootless makes daily seaweed bites designed to help balance hormones, relieve chronic gut issues and combat chronic fatigue. Aside from being high in hormone-balancing and gut-healthy nutrients, seaweed is one of the most beneficial plants for the environment. It actually sequesters CO2 from the environment, improves water quality, and provides food and a haven for marine animals. And it can be sustainably cultivated.
Founder and CEO Sachi Singh has spent 13 years working on international climate and oceans issues before founding Rootless. She started Rootless as a way to get more people to eat and grow sustainable seaweed. Building a new company that is innovating across the value chain (first-of-its-kind product, setting up a truly regenerative seaweed supply chain, telling a “new” health story) is full of daily challenges, Singh says. They were able to spin up not one but two seaweed supply chains, including an international one, in just two months.
To aspiring entrepreneurs, Signh advises, “This experience, and many others over the last 3.5 years, has taught me that any hard or soft skill is learnable. I did not come into this job with any experience in CPG, fundraising, startups, operations or food. So don’t let your ‘lack of experience or qualifications’ stop you from building your dream company. Everything is learnable! Put your head down and just build!”
7. Táche: Pistachio Milk for a Sustainable Alternative
Táche makes pistachio milk and latte products that incorporate the milk. Pistachios require significantly less water to grow than do almonds, resulting in a lower environmental footprint.
Social Media Engagement and Marketing Strategies in the Healthy Food Industry
In addition to product innovation and commitment to health and sustainability, successful healthy food companies also excel in social media engagement and marketing. Several key strategies have emerged as particularly effective in reaching and resonating with consumers.
The Power of Collaboration
Everybody loves when two of their favorite brands or flavors come together, which is why creative collabs continued to trend for healthy food brands on social media this year. RIND Snacks ranked 12th overall thanks in part to successfully teaming up with brands like Sweet Nothings. This Reel announcing their partnership on a limited-edition flavor of their popular Nut Butter Bites earned a 2.28% engagement rate on Instagram and 42.5K estimated impressions. Collabs didn’t always have to be food-themed to earn strong engagement rates for healthy food brands on social.
Recipe Freebies and Value for Followers
Speaking of offering value to followers, many food brands were all about the recipe freebies this year on social. This Instagram Reel from yogurt brand Chobani helped the brand rank 7th on Instagram with its delicious ideas for edible cookie dough made with its yogurt as a base. The Reel earned a 30.4% engagement rate and nearly 60K (!) engagements by offering a new spin on a popular fave for free to followers. We’re not saying easy dessert ideas are the only recipes healthy food brands should be offering to their followers on social media, but we’re also not not saying that.
Giveaways and Contests
From epic swag packages to sneak peeks at new products, healthy food brand fans were eager to drop a like or follow in exchange for a chance to win big. In a world of famous founders increasingly serving as the face for the brands, GT Dave’s regular presence on GT’s social channels goes a long way towards personalizing the brand. This contest tweet from Caulipower reminds us that giveaways don’t always have to have enormous prize packages attached to find purchase.
Instagram Performance and Benchmarks
Healthy food brands earned a 0.24% engagement rate on Instagram this year, which is about 33% lower than last year’s Instagram engagement rate for this industry. Congrats to Birch Benders for grabbing the Instagram gold this year, and to Van Leeuwen and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams for earning the silver and bronze respectively. Spindrift rocked a 0.87% engagement rate by follower on Instagram, which is about 3.6x higher than the median healthy food brand on Instagram. Spindrift posted 3.92 posts per week on Instagram, which is about every other day.
Creative Campaigns and Product Launches
Spindrift wasn’t afraid to get in touch with its crunchier side during Earth month with posts like this giveaway. Any healthy food brand can give away product, but the chance to win a one-of-a-kind art piece made from recycled Spindrift cans encouraged fans to jump into the comments of a seriously successful Spindrift Reel. The post rocked a 43.4% engagement rate by follower, reminding us that giveaways are always a good idea, and brands shouldn’t shy away from getting creative about what they can offer fans in exchange for social engagement. Fans ate up the fun post to the tune of a 5.27% engagement rate, which is a 21x increase over the healthy foods brand Instagram median of 0.24%. Releasing new products is always a strong bet for healthy food brands, but the success of posts like this one from Spindrift about the return of Cranberry Raspberry and Spiced Apple Cider sparkling water is a major point in favor of bringing back old faves. Fans were stoked about these limited releases to the tune of a 3.08% engagement rate, which is a 12x increase from the industry median.
Humorous Content and Meme Marketing
Many brands and creators jumped on the trend for a chance to show off their products in a humorous way, and Unreal Snacks managed a 6.29% engagement rate thanks to a little help from the meme. This quick carousel of Unreal’s products next to celebs dressed in outfits that look an awful lot like the brand’s packaging cracked fans up to the tune of a 7.55% engagement rate by view.
Celebrating Achievements and Product Line Expansion
Beyond received a number of awards this year and weren’t afraid to take to their social feeds to share the big news with followers. This post about being the first plant-based meat product to earn some love from Good Housekeeping earned a 0.82% engagement rate and more than 3,700 engagements from excited followers. Plant-based ground beef is so yesterday-offerings like Popcorn Chicken and Beyond Steak are increasingly all the rage as Beyond pushes, well, beyond their flagship product. This post touting the rest of Beyond’s Product line gave followers a helpful hint on where to find them in their home stores, earning a 1.31% engagement rate and nearly 6K engagements. With millions turning to plant-based meat for health reasons, Beyond offered a visual comparison for shoppers who might be on the fence about their offerings. This quick at-a-glance case for plant-based meat earned a killer 3.66% engagement rate, which is more than 183x the healthy foods median this year. It’s worth noting that we pulled this engagement rate from only engaged brands, and that the overall median for the group of healthy food brands we studied was actually 0.0%. Why are we reporting on both numbers?
Leveraging Influencer Partnerships
Almost all the healthy soda brand’s top tweets mentioned or referenced Cabello, and fans couldn’t get enough. OLIPOP rocked a 2.61% engagement rate and more than 36K engagements. If it works, work it: this retweet of a fan sharing with OLIPOP that the reason they started drinking their stuff was because of their partnership with Camila earned a 17.3% engagement rate by follower. OLIPOP’s loving relationship with Cabello is no secret, so why not shout it from the rooftops? The brand was just as likely to tweet as they were to reply, demonstrating a serious commitment to their community and keeping up the convos they started. This tweet asking fans to guess their latest favor earned an 8.3% engagement rate and more than 400 engagements. Over a quarter of those engagements were replies, many of which earned additional attention thanks to replies from the brand itself.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams: A Social Media Powerhouse
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams dominated again on social this year, earning top ten finishes on all four channels for the overall gold. Fans ate up collabs and new products this year like Jeni’s Lonely Ghost or Ted Lasso limited edition flavors and the launch of the Bombastix Sundae Cone. Many of Jeni’s top-ranking posts were all about their epic collab with Apple TV just in time for the third season of popular soccer-themed show Ted Lasso. The video rocked an 9.5% engagement rate by view by being silly, irreverent, stylized, and more than a little of the moment. Fans ate up Jeni’s colorful and creative collabs, like this tweet announcing the brand’s partnership with cult favorite Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. The tweet earned a 0.49% engagement rate by follower and more than 74K estimated impressions thanks to a promise of deliciousness to come alongside a heavy dose of nostalgia. Speaking of collabs, Jeni’s wasn’t afraid to partner with non-food brands and influencers, like this limited-edition flavor with lifestyle brand Lonely Ghost. Jeni’s took the collab way beyond the scoop shop, with merch and in-person events to add even more to the hype. The photo post earned an 8.91% engagement rate by follower on Instagram, which is more than 37x the engagement rate for the median healthy food brand on Instagram.