Joolies
Thermal, CAJoolies is a family-owned organic Medjool date company operating Kohl Family Farm in the Coachella Valley, California. The family has grown Medjool dates for …
Food
Alpen Fuel
Bozeman, MTAlpen Fuel is a small-batch, family-owned outdoor food company based in Bozeman, Montana. Founded by Shaun Sowell in 2018, the brand was created to solve a …
Ben & Jerry's built trust on Vermont roots and a social mission. Unilever bought it in 2000 for about $326 million. Today it sits inside The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
Bear Naked started as a small Connecticut granola company. Kellogg bought it through Kashi in 2007, closed its local operations, and Ferrero now owns WK Kellogg Co.
Kashi began as a La Jolla natural-foods company. Kellogg bought it in 2000, pushed it into the mainstream, and later settled over natural-label claims.
Naked Juice built trust with fruit-forward smoothies and natural-food-store credibility. PepsiCo bought it in 2007. The ownership changed, and the labeling battles followed.
Talenti built its name on Old World gelato, clear jars, and carefully sourced ingredients. Unilever bought it in 2014. The founder story stayed. The ownership changed.
Sir Kensington's built its name by challenging Big Ketchup with better ingredients and a fictional aristocrat. Unilever bought it in 2017. Then the flagship ketchup disappeared.
Annie's built trust with organic mac and cheese, a founder story, and Bernie the bunny. General Mills bought it for $820 million in 2014. Here's what changed, what didn't, and where to look instead.
Annie's Homegrown is owned by General Mills. Here are 4 truly independent clean food brands for families who want organic without the corporate parent.
Bear Naked granola is owned by Kellogg's (WK Kellogg Co). Here are 4 truly independent clean granola and snack brands.
Cascadian Farm is owned by General Mills. Here are 4 truly independent organic food brands for cereal, granola, and frozen produce.
Horizon Organic is owned by Danone, the multinational dairy conglomerate. Here are 5 truly independent clean dairy brands.
Larabar is owned by General Mills. Here are 4 truly independent clean snack bar brands with simple ingredients and no corporate parent.
Hu Kitchen built a cult following for its ultra-clean paleo chocolate. Then Mondelēz — the company behind Oreos and Cadbury — bought it in 2021. We investigate whether the chocolate is still worth eating.