Nominate the people and products shaping packaged food! Nosh's annual Best Of awards honor companies, brands, individuals, products, ideas and trends from across the dynamic and ever-changing packaged food landscape. Submitting a nomination guarantees the brand, product, or person will be considered by our selection committee and included on the published list of nominees. The deadline to submit is this Friday, October 31. Submit your Nosh Best of 2025 award nominations

Gerardo Galvan has spent nearly his entire career in beverage from a start at Coca-Cola Mexico right out of college, to later building the Topo Chico brand in the U.S. and assisting it through its eventual 2018 acquisition and integration into Coke’s system. 

But five years after its acquisition, Galvan moved on, now setting his sights on the snack set with the start of his entrepreneurial journey via Casa Arte Sano.

“I love to eat snacks and grab a beer – peanuts, chips and those things, but there’s always this thing in your mind that this is not good [for you] because they're so delicious,” Galvan told me.

Galvan is now working to build Casa Arte Sano’s debut brand – corn and nopal cactus-based Nopalli Tortilla Chips – in natural channel stores, first by way of Sprouts and Central Market, and next by way of Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme and H-E-B. 

This month, the better-for-you, heritage-inspired brand expanded deeper into the clean label arena with the launch of a second line, Nopalli Baked, as it ramps up its presence across the natural channel. Nopalli chips are flavored with purees and powders and do not contain any artificial inputs, Galvan emphasized, adding that both lines are also high in fiber, derived from the nopal cactus flour and the addition of chia, flaxseed and sesame.

“We are very committed to the product, to the ingredients, and then created the process,” he explained. “I wanted [to make] a product that, when you open it, it smells like jalapeno, tastes like jalapeno, is as spicy as jalapeno. So you need to put jalapeno in it.”

Those ingredient and nutrition facts are Nopalli’s point of differentiation in the crowded, nearly $9 billion tortilla chip category, Galvan said. The category remains largely under the control of PepsiCo and Frito-Lay-owned brands with Doritos and Tostitos leading sales, per Circana data from September, followed by Utz-backed On the Border, Campbell’s-owned Late July and Pepsi’s latest snack buy, Siete Foods. 

While the brand also faces a long list of middle market, better-for-you competition as well, including Tacombi offshoot Vista Hermosa, regenerative corn-based El Nacho and recently rebranded Xochitl, Galvan believes the cactus-derived fiber content will help the brand stand out. 

Read the full story on Nosh. 

At Nosh Live on Dec. 4+5 in L.A., operators, investors, and brand builders will cut through the noise to talk about what’s actually working (and what’s not) in packaged food today.

From managing shelf economics to building sustainable growth in a cost-crunched market, the sessions are candid, specific, and shaped by firsthand experience. You’ll leave with ideas you can apply and a sharper read on where things are headed in 2026. On stage this December:

• Winning in Walmart – Katie Wilson (BelliWelli) and Kristin Piper (Walmart U.S.) share how brands can win at mass retail while staying true to their mission. Learn what Walmart’s wellness shopper wants and how to build a scalable channel strategy.
• Building a Breakthrough Brand – Hailey Swartz (Actual Veggies), Laurel Orley (Daily Crunch), and Eugene Kang (Archer) reveal the pivotal moves that fueled their growth — from standing out on shelf to sustaining momentum after launch.
• Beating Uncertainty with Experience – Jeni Britton (Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams & Floura) shares how she’s approaching leadership, risk in a shifting market, and what she’s doing differently the second time around.

⏩ Early registration ends this Friday, Oct. 24. Get your tickets today. 

The ongoing government shutdown has placed Unilever’s planned business spinoff, which will eventually to be known as The Magnum Ice Cream Company, on ice.

• The SEC is currently unable to declare the registration statement effective, which is required for TMICC shares to begin trading on the NYSE. 
• Unilever has yet to share a revised timeline, but said it “remains committed” to completing the “demerger” by the end of this year. 

Read the full story on Nosh.

Shareholders of Beyond (which recently dropped the “Meat” from its name) are likely cheering for the first time in years as the company’s stock has jumped over 600% this week. 

• Trading at $6.30 per share this morning, the plant-based meat company is climbing back after closing last Friday around $0.65 per share.
• While the company’s announcement it had launched two SKUs into 2,000 Walmart stores can’t hurt, it appears trader interest goes Beyond distribution news.
• What’s behind the rally? Beyond (BYND) was added to Roundhill Investments meme ETF (MEME).
• Shares began to plummet last week when Beyond announced an early settlement of an exchange offer with bondholders to help reduce its debt.

Catch up on Beyond’s latest results.

Mission Foods’ parent company is suing tortilla makers Mission Foods Corp. and Tortillas Missions LLC for trademark infringement.

• Gruma Corp., doing business as Mission Foods, accused the two companies of using the Mission name and logo when selling tortillas online. 
• The complaint states the use of these marks could confuse and deceive consumers “as to defendants Mission Foods Corp.'s and Tortillas Mission LLC's affiliation, connection, and association with plaintiff.”

Related Reading: Smucker Sues Trader Joe’s Over Alleged ‘Copycat’ Crustless PB&J Sandwiches

It’s Hump Day! Here’s a taste of the new drops and activations from the first half of the week.

🍳 Dorot Gardens launched a holiday campaign to highlight its flash-frozen, pre-portioned garlic and herbs cubes for home cooking convenience.

🍪 Chips Ahoy! and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” will host a pop-up experience in New York and Atlanta on Oct. 25 featuring an arcade-inspired claw machine packed with co-branded prizes. 

🍗 Maple Leaf Foods unveiled Musafir, a new brand of high-protein, South Asian-inspired meals and snacks, including Butter Chicken Bites, Popcorn Paneer, Masala Omelette Bites and more.

🍒 ALOHA released its first dark chocolate-coated fruit bar, Chocolate Cherry, with 14 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber.

🍩 Quest Nutrition expanded its indulgent protein offerings with the addition of Quest Bake Shop Chocolate Frosted Donuts, with 14 grams of protein, 13 grams of fiber and less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.

Check out more of the latest product launches.

Brain health is emerging as one of the biggest functional trends in food and beverage, as consumers look for ways to support focus, clarity, and long-term cognitive function through what they eat and drink. 

In this episode, Sephora Noormand of MOSH, Katie Emerson of Kyowa Hakko (maker of Cognizin), Austin Holt of MacroCap Labs, and Josh Schall of J. Schall Consulting discuss how brands are leveraging science-backed ingredients like Cognizin to build credibility and consumer trust, the role of clinical research in substantiating functional claims, and how innovation in brain-boosting foods, beverages, and supplements is reshaping the future of functional formulation.  

Tune in here. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This episode is a paid collaboration with Cognizin.