We are a Fresh Idea for the Food and Beverage Community.
We are a Cluster with a Purpose…
Food’NBev Connect was designed to save entrepreneurs and CEOs time and help bring more success to the region’s start-up and emerging brands. We are forging a strong network for innovation and sharing between large and small firms, and bringing on-going education and training to help executives and employees at our food and beverage brands gain knowledge about our industry and become more valuable employees and leaders. Food’NBev Connect is specifically for food and beverage brands and food tech and software firms seeking to improve and grow their capability and knowledge.
Our company members are focused on better food and beverage choices for you and your family – healthier ingredients, simpler recipes, no preservatives and sustainable processes. That’s the Food and Beverage future and we are creating a cluster for this new market opportunity.
OUR REGION NEEDS TO BE MORE PROMINENT
The Northeast, particularly Connecticut and Fairfield County, has a strong history of starting and building new food and beverage brands – and we also have a number of key players in distribution, retail and grocery and related businesses. The food and beverage sectors are also growing from NYC north up to Boston and across the country, as consumers look for fresh, simpler, natural ingredients and recipes, and new to market, authentic brands.
Processed ingredients and formulaic marketing are passé…fresh and simple is in. This consumer driven mandate is driving changes at all levels — manufacturing and production, distribution and grocery — even as
direct-to-consumer distribution and food kits and other e-commerce based distribution is exploding.
Our region has all the resources, but making easy and fast connections and getting the right training and education to improve product concepts, distribution effectiveness and funding, as well as marketing, merchandising, packaging and other digital strategies is one of the big benefits we can bring as a cluster to our growth companies and to help our established brands innovate.
Our Brand Members
Brand Buzz . . .
Summer 2024 — Real Cookies has expanded nationwide in CVS stores and has added all Sprouts stores to its nationwide availability…more expansion coming soon!
Winter 2025 — Did you catch Doosra at one of the fantastic booths at this year’s Bryant Park holiday fare? As part of a Bank of America award, Doosra was on prime display as thousands of holiday shoppers and tourists moved through the fair and exceeded their sales plan by 100%!
Winter 2025 — Maia Yogurt’s, the leader in low sugar – grass fed, creamy and great tasting yogurt keeps expanding and is now in Stop N Shop shelves across the region! A great win and continues the sales momentum.
Winter 2025 — Stew Leonard’s is seeing the power of our brands – Horman’s Pickles has been setting sales records at their Yonkers store and seeing their expanded line of pickled red onions, specialty pickle flavors and standards reinvigorate the whole category!
Winter 2025 — Stew Leonard’s is seeing the power of our brands – Seed and Shell, one of our newest brands featuring pistachio nut butter, is expanding rapidly in the grocery channel and is proud to be added to the line-up at Whole Foods Markets in the Northeast starting in May. This follows on-boarding at Mom’s Organic this coming February and adds to a ShopRite presence already underway!
