From boutique bakeries and best-selling ice cream pints, to gift basket creations and beer exploration apps, 2017 was a busy and buzzy year in the high growth food and beverage world.
Boston-based software company Repsly compiled a ranking of the top 100 fastest growing ‘buzziest’ brands. Their metric for measuring? Social media activity, marketing campaign creativity, and charitable contributions made over the past six months.
Repsly organized Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 5000” list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States into a ranking of the top 100 leading companies across the following categories: food brands, alcoholic beverage brands, non-alcoholic beverage brands, food service organizations, equipment providers, service providers, online retailers, and distributors.
So who got all the buzz?
The buzziest food brand of 2017, according to Repsly, was ARCTIC ZERO, a SoCal-based non-dairy ice cream company that churns out creamy pints to 14,000 retailers. Not bad for a startup.
New Glarus Brewing was named the top alcoholic beverage brand of 2017. The Wisconsin-based beer company produces six annual beers, plus seasonal varieties.
Nuun & Company led the non-alcoholic beverage category with their sugar-free, gluten-free, and carb-less, electrolyte-enhanced dissolvable drink tablets. Their healthy movement is captured in their active (pun intended) social media users who follow #nuunlife.
New York City’s iconic Magnolia Bakery, made famous in part thanks to HBO’s wildly popular Sex and the City television series, was named the year’s top food service organization.
For more highlights, check out the top 20 companies below and click here to see the full list.
Rank | Name | Category |
---|---|---|
1 | ARCTIC ZERO | Food Brand |
2 | Magnolia Bakery | Food Service |
3 | Halo Top Creamery | Food Brand |
4 | Nothing Bundt Cakes | Food Service |
5 | Nuun & Company | Non-Alcoholic Beverage Brand |
6 | Kona Ice | Food Service |
7 | Chosen Foods | Food Brand |
8 | MOD Pizza | Food Service |
9 | Melt Bar and Grilled | Food Service |
10 | Chef’s Cut Real Jerky | Food Brand |
11 | Katom Restaurant Supply | Equipment |
12 | LIFEAID Beverage Company | Non-Alcoholic Beverage Brand |
13 | The FruitGuys | Distributor |
14 | GiftBasketsOverseas.com | Online Retailer |
15 | Pete and Gerry’s Organics | Food Brand |
16 | Studio Movie Grill | Food Service |
17 | New Glarus Brewing Co. | Alcoholic Beverage Brand |
18 | Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants | Alcoholic Beverage Brand |
19 | Nulo | Food Brand |
20 | Caroline’s Cakes | Online Retailer |