Old-world know-how, updated

For our NEXTY Editors' Choice award, one Food and Beverages category winner simply wouldn't do. With so many incredible innovators on the food front, we had to have two. Bravo, Farmhouse Culture!   

Winner | Foods + Beverages

Farmhouse Culture is a perfect example of how our past foodways can inform and enhance our future. The company’s kraut is crunchy—not the mushy vinegary mess that American consumers are used to—because it’s raw. Farmhouse Culture makes kraut they way it’s been done in Germany for hundreds of years—barrel fermented and unpasteurized. The result is a kraut that not only tastes amazing but is loaded with healthful probiotics.

We also love that Farmhouse Culture takes inspiration from the California food scene to develop its inventive regional flavors. Options such as Smoked Jalapeño truly update this old-world classic for the American palate.

Then there’s the packaging. At Expo West 2013, the company debuted a BPA-free pouch with a special valve to release off-gasses from the fermented product. We imagine it’s not long before similar fermented brands follow suit. For pairing old-world know-how with today’s packaging and flavor innovations, Farmhouse Culture is not only defining its category but leading the less-is-more concept in packaged foods.

To learn more about or to purchase the NEXT Forecast 2014, visit www.nextforecast.com.

Check out our other Editors' Choice award winners