5@5: Thrive Market makes 'a big push around breakfast' | A conversation with a probiotics pioneer

Thrive Market to launch its own brand of breakfast products and single-ingredient non-dairy milks

It always seemed crazy to Thrive cofounder and CEO Gunnar Lovelace that food made with chemicals and processing was cheaper than food without it. That’s why, when he started Thrive, he wanted to make healthier and more responsibly sourced products available at a discount. The retailer recently launched a line of baby products and cleaning products that it says are more environmentally friendly than conventional. Next up is “a big push around breakfast,” Lovelace says, including cereals made from fair trade coconut flakes and sprouted nuts. Read more at Food & Wine…

Women in business Q&A: Natasha Trenev, founder, Natren

When she was a child, Natasha Trenev’s father ran a natural yogurt business. That’s how she learned about things like L. acidophilus, and what sparked her passion for friendly bacteria. She went on to become a developmental scientist and founded Natren in 1982 with her husband. Through her research and her company, she has played an important role in the evolution of the probiotics space. Read more at Huffington Post…

The man who sold his supermarket to Whole Foods talks about the future of grocery stores

Fresh Fields Market was a 22-store Maryland-based natural foods chain that merged with Whole Foods Market in 1996. Founder Mark Ordan, who’s now a turnaround specialist in food retail, went on to become CEO of the gourmet food chain Balducci’s. He explained the efficiencies Whole Foods will gain from Amazon will allow it to drop prices further. Now Amazon has a hold of a supermarket that enjoys the wealthiest demographics of any company in retail,” he says. “Amazon has the know-how to make shopping a better experience.” Read more at The Washington Post…

Consumer claims Alexia potato products have xanthan gum and cannot be labeled as ‘all natural’

Use of the synthetic thickener makes Alexia’s sweet potato fries not natural, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Read more at Legal NewsLine… 

What is ‘fruit concentrate,’ anyway? And is it good for you?

Fruit concentrate, an ingredient that appears on food labels everywhere, is essentially fruit with the water removed, so that it retains its sugar but loses the volume and fiber. Despite its natural-sounding name, nutritionists say it should still be viewed as an added sugar. Read more at NPR…