Founded in 2019 by two Yankee transplants in North Carolina, Chapel Hill-based Hatteras Foods develops and markets handmade, ready-to-heat meals and other fresh-prepared foods for grocery and convenience stores. The company sells its own EAT’N GOOD brand while helping clients create private-label products, taking ideas from recipe development through commercialization with the guidance of a veteran food-industry executive and a classically trained chef.
Heavenly HARVST FoundationFounded in New York City in 2015 by former Waldorf Astoria executive chef John Doherty, Heavenly HARVST Foundation produces and provides chef-curated, shelf-stable meals to hunger-relief programs. Its ready-to-eat meals are made without preservatives or artificial flavorings, designed to offer substantial nutrition and dignity to families who may lack reliable access to food or a full kitchen. The 501(c)(3) says it has distributed more than 500,000 meals nationwide, including through disaster-relief and children’s programs.MANHATTAN, NY
Private Label FoodsPrivate Label Foods began in 1989, when Bonnie Lavorato hand-bottled her BBQ sauce in a Rochester home kitchen. The company has kept that kitchen-table character while growing into a 125,000-square-foot, SQF-certified facility that helps brands bring recipes from early development into dependable production. It works with grocery programs, foodservice operators, and emerging brands that need a consistent manufacturing partner.ROCHESTER, NY
Redefine MealsFounded in 2016 by Matthew Riss and Mark Ciaburri, Long Island-based Redefine Meals prepares fresh, chef-cooked meals that are ready to heat and eat in two to three minutes. Its 65-plus-meal menu is available through home delivery and a network of more than 25 grab-and-go locations across Long Island, New York City, and Westchester. Redefine also uses advance ordering to minimize food waste and recyclable packaging, including #5 plastic containers and boxes made from recycled cardboard.RONKONKOMA, NY
Baxters North America, IncBaxters North America develops and contract-manufactures convenient, nutritious foods for store brands, specialized nutrition programs, and military and humanitarian use. The company combines culinary and nutritional expertise with end-to-end production and commercialization, including shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, and frozen formats. Family-owned for more than 150 years, Baxters traces its heritage to 1868 and now operates East and West Coast facilities.BLUE ASH, OH