The Ones to Watch: KeHE Distributors Announces its Hotlist of 40 “Golden Ticket” Winners From its TrendFinder Event
Naperville, IL– February 14, 2022 – KeHE Distributors® (KeHE), one of the largest natural, organic, specialty, and fresh distributors in North America, has announced its list of 40 “Golden Ticket” winners during their 2022 TrendFinder Event.
Over 250 food suppliers were given the exciting opportunity to pitch their products one-on-one to KeHE’s Category Management team for a chance to have their brand join KeHE’s portfolio, receive significant promotional exposure, and the potential to be seen on the shelves of over 30,000 retail locations throughout the country. Winners of the competition were selected based on ingredients, innovation, taste, scalability, packaging, purpose, and passion.
“We’re excited to select our new and largest group of Golden Ticket recipients. There were so many creative and brilliant products presented—it was not an easy decision,” said Rachelle Radcliffe, Director of Brand Development at KeHE Distributors. “We look forward to watching these 40 Golden Ticket brands grow in the marketplace and cannot wait to uncover the next round of innovation at our upcoming TrendFinder event at Expo West.”
Below are a few Golden Ticket winners to watch. To see all 40 Golden Ticket brands, visit KeHE TrendFinder.
- Sauce Bae hot sauce: This vegan and gluten-free hot sauce is infused with pineapple habanero and made with turmeric, the anti-inflammatory super spice. The sauce is low in sodium with only 20 mg per teaspoon, made with real ingredients, and has no thickeners, or artificial preservatives added.
- Ancira Salsa authentic Texan salsa: Ancira Salsa products are created from a family recipe that showcases the zeal of Hispanic Texas Culture, along with the appeal of shop-local & artisanal food craft.
- Fresh Vintage Farms cold-pressed nut oil: Fresh Vintage Farms’ cooking oils are crafted locally in the Central Valley of California and are authentic, sustainable, and delicious.
- Otherworld plant-based baking mix: Otherworld addresses health through plant-based pancake and waffle mixes stacked with superfoods. The team has reimagined childhood classics with their superfood-packed, no sugar added, 100% plant-based mixes.
- Holy Hive dehydrated honey sweetener: This sweetener is created with dehydrated honey and is turned into a powder form. It’s gluten-free, kosher, keto-friendly, low in calories, and has no added sugar, artificial colors, or preservatives. It is also non-sticky and non-messy.
- Extra White Gold allergen-friendly flours & mixes: Their premium gluten-free and keto baking mixes and flours are free from 14 top major food allergens. This is a vegan, women-owned company, and only uses plant-based ingredients that are non-GMO with a special protein and fibers formula.
- Neuro Gum functional gum: Through their innovative gum and mint delivery system, Neuro Gum and Neuro Mints deliver energy, clarity, daily health, and focus anytime and anywhere.
- The Better Brand lung health products: Pharmacist founded in 2019, Better Brand sits at the intersection of innovation and authenticity and offers America’s safest and most efficacious Lung Health products.
- Feral Fungi mushroom extracts: The brand produces a triple extracted product known as a Spagyric Tincture. The extraction method yields strong tinctures and includes the purified mineral salts native to the mushrooms, giving each dose of the extracts inherent trace minerals that help with cell absorption.
- Ging-Ë-Lems ginger and lemon drops: Ging-Ë-Lems caters to a healthy clean diet, it is also great for those who are intermittent fasting or on keto, paleo, vegan or low-calorie diets. It’s also free of gluten, corn, soy and dairy and great for those who have a sugar/sweetener-free lifestyle.
The next TrendFinder event will be held live at Expo West on March 9, the first in-person KeHE TrendFinder event in the last several years. Like previous TrendFinder events, KeHE will host pitch sessions allowing brands to present their products directly to KeHE’s Category Management team, this time at one of the largest industry hubs for innovation and trends – Expo West.
For brands that wish to apply to pitch their products, click the application link here. To see a full list of previous TrendFinder winners and more information, visit KeHE TrendFinder.
About KeHE
KeHE Distributors®, LLC (KeHE) is the largest, pure-play distributor of natural & organic, specialty, and fresh products to more than 30,000 natural food stores, chain and independent grocery stores, e-commerce retailers, and other specialty products retailers throughout North America. With over 5,500 employee-owners, KeHE, a Certified B Corporation, drives its mission of serving to make lives better and bringing the next level of goodness, crazy GOOD™, throughout all aspects of its operation. For more about KeHE, visit KeHE.com or check out our social media channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter.