Each day at 5 p.m. we collect the five top food and supplement headlines of the day, making it easy for you to catch up on today's most important natural products industry news.

April 4, 2018

2 Min Read
5@5: New funding for New Barn | When gluten free isn't actually gluten free

New Barn to launch into plant-based products with $3.8M funding

Seeking to grow its lineup of alternative dairy products and expand into other categories, New Barn has raised a Series A round of funding from family, small groups and CEO Ted Robb, who set up a special purpose investment vehicle to serve as the funding arm for the alt-dairy company. The company will be “stepping out in a big way” in 2018, Robb said. Read more at just-food…

 

When going gluten-free is not enough: New tests detect hidden exposure

Even careful avoiders of gluten can experience mishaps—take the Cheerios that were marketed as gluten free but actually weren’t, or Chobani’s Flip Key Lime Crumble yogurt that was labeled gluten-free but contained gluten. But a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition raises concern that even those who follow a “gluten-free” diet may still be regularly exposed to an amount of gluten that can cause damage in people with celiac disease. At-home bowel and urine tests are now available from a company called Glutenostics to help those with celiac understand if they are being exposed to cross-contact. Read more at The Salt…

 

Packaging that appeals to pet owners

Pet food packaging is adapting to the changing face of retail in many ways. Some packages are stackable or enable use of vertical retail space. As more retailers move to LED shelf lighting, manufacturers are also able to use more clear packaging that reflects transparency. Processing innovations in the pet food category are pushing packaging into new areas, too. Read more at IFT…

 

Q&A: Xlear CEO Nate Jones on managing rapid growth

Xlear didn’t set out to be a natural products company. It developed a xylitol-based nasal spray for the medical world, but natural products retailers picked up on it first, CEO Nate Jones explains. Then it moved into mass market. But it’s approach to marketing hasn’t changed. “The core of our marketing is still going to doctors and educating them as to what it is and why it works.” Read more at Chief Executive…

 

82 Labs raises $8M to create a better hangover recovery drink

Sisun Lee was inspired to create Morning Recovery Drink by popular herbal hangover drinks discovered in Korea. It turns out, no one had really commercialized such products in the U.S. The drink is based on a flavonoid component called DHM, which is mixed with vitamins, electrolytes, milk thistle and other detoxifying ingredients. The startup making it, 82 Labs, raised more than $250,000 from an Indiegogo campaign and $8 million from Silicon Valley investors. Read more at TechCrunch…

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