They May Have Started As Hippy Foods, But The Lure Of Big Bucks Was Too Strong

Many of the brands that consumers believe are the products of small, independent companies are actually owned by major food corporations. The brands may have started small, with hippy or countercultural or deeply committed founders, but are now produced and marketed by big companies. Odwalla juice was launched in a backyard shed, lasted 20 years as an independent, then was sold to Coca-Cola. Other examples? Kellogg sells the Kashi brand of breakfast cereals, but probably not on the same shelf as its Fruit Loops. General Mills owns Cascadian Farms and Count Chocula. And Annie’s Homegrown, which long lamented the fight to remain independent, was sold to General Mills last year.