Food Dive series examines how 3 Black-owned businesses created companies where consumer packaged goods giants didn’t look

As protests against systemic racism started to pop up across the country over the last few months, the food and beverage industry has faced increased scrutiny and criticism for its long-held lack of diversity.

From changing racist imagery on packaging to pledging to hire more people of color, many in the CPG space are starting to look more seriously at these equity issues. When Food Dive saw the shift in the industry, we wanted to talk to more Black-owned food businesses to hear what they thought of this moment as more people committed to buying Black-owned brands and what they believed the future held.

From these conversations, it was evident that a homogeneous C-suite can lead to a lack of diversity of thought and missed opportunities, which can impact the potential for sales.

To look at this closely, Food Dive launched a series Monday, featuring three growing companies, Iya Foods , Partake Foods and A Dozen Cousins , who fought to amplify their voices and the foods that many consumer packaged goods companies have overlooked. Each companys founder spoke about the spike in sales they've seen recently and how they hope this movement will lead to more tangible change this time around.

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