Landec Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., changed the name of its food business from Apio, Inc. to Curation Foods, Inc., Guadalupe, Calif., to signify the completion of its strategic transition from a fresh packaged vegetable company to a branded, natural foods company. Curation Foods will serve as the corporate umbrella for a portfolio of natural food brands, including Eat Smart packaged fresh vegetables and salad kits, Now Planting pure-plant meal solutions and Yucatan and Cabo Fresh authentic guacamole and avocado products, among others.

“The mission of Curation Foods is to provide access to fresh, delicious, plant-based foods made from 100% clean ingredients to as many people as possible in a way that preserves and protects our planet,” says Molly Hemmeter, president and CEO. “The Curation Foods name represents a vision and a set of values that are shared across all of our brands and throughout our entire company. Our employees have worked diligently over the last several years to expand our portfolio of natural products and build an efficient, fresh food supply chain that all of the brands can leverage to ensure high-quality, 100% clean products reach the consumer in their freshest state possible.”

Over the past two years, Landec has moved to become a branded natural foods company. The first step was to ensure all products within the Eat Smart brand contained only 100% clean ingredients. In 2017, the company committed to reformulating all Eat Smart products, including salad toppings, dressings, sauces and dips, by the end of 2018.

In October 2018, Landec introduced the Now Planting brand to specifically target the plant-based consumer with fresh, pure-plant, refrigerated soups.

Most recently, in December 2018, the company acquired Yucatan Foods, Los Angeles, adding Yucatan and Cabo Fresh authentic guacamole and avocado products to the portfolio. Uniting all of the brands under the Curation Foods corporate identity is the final step in the company’s strategic transformation.

The Curation Foods name reflects the thoughtful culture of the company that is focused on carefully selecting only all-natural, premium ingredients to create a collection of on-trend products. Today, the Curation Foods portfolio of 100% clean ingredient, plant-based foods are sold throughout North America, including in all club stores, 73% of all retail stores and a variety of foodservice operators.   

“We are reimagining the way fresh, plant-based foods are grown, prepared, delivered and ultimately brought to the table,” says Hemmeter. “Curation Foods is uniquely qualified to deliver innovative, plant-based products for consumers throughout North America with a unified team of talented and passionate employees and a unique set of capabilities that has been cultivated over an extended period of time.”