ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SHELFIE AWARD WINNERS PRESENTED BY WISECODE!
Drum roll please…announcing the 2026 Shelfie Award WINNERS!
After sampling over 2,000 products – our 6th annual Shelfies Awards were our most competitive yet. Our judges worked tirelessly to select the 46 winners -with some categories offering such wild competition that we couldn’t settle on just one winner! We are continuously amazed by all of the innovation in this community, and we are so grateful to all of the powerful brands who applied. We are endlessly grateful for your participation in the community and the industry as a whole!
But first…MAJOR shoutout to our sponsors for making the 2026 Shelfies possible – and the prizes finalists and winners can expect from them!:
WISECODE™ SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
The 2026 Shelfie Awards are presented by WISEcode
WISEcode is the Food Intelligence Platform powered by 174 scientists at the NIH, USDA, and universities worldwide. Our intelligence goes ingredient by ingredient across the entire packaged food supply, giving emerging CPG brands the verification and visibility they need to win shelf space and earn shopper trust.
- Know exactly where your products stand on UPF
- Get verified and carry the signal shoppers are already looking for
- Turn ingredient quality into a competitive advantage on shelf
- Reach health-conscious consumers who are already scanning your products
Exclusive Prize for Non-UPF Category Shelfies Winner: Your full product portfolio verified as Non-UPF at no cost for 12 months, plus a co-produced brand documentary and a professional co-branded commercial shoot.
Exclusive Prize for Shelfies Non-UPF Category Finalists: Up to 10 SKUs verified as Non-UPF at no cost for 12 months, plus a featured social media video that puts your brand in front of the audience already looking for products like yours.
Exclusive Offer for All Other Shelfies Finalists: 1 SKU verified as Non-UPF at no cost for 12 months. Know where your product stands and carry the verification that gives shoppers a reason to choose you.
LIQUID DATA GO® SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
Official Syndicated Data Partner of The 2026 Shelfie Awards
Circana’s Liquid Data Go is a turnkey, affordable insights platform for emerging CPG brands, delivering actionable insights in under 24 hours. With 15% broader coverage across major U.S. retailers, it provides instant visibility into category performance, shoppers, pricing and competition, without the cost or complexity of traditional analytics.
- Win, grow and keep shelf space
- Know your category and consumer
- Find & target the right buyers
- Identify new growth levers
Exclusive Liquid Data Go Offer for Shelfies Winners: 25% off your first-year subscription, or a 25% off any additional report bundle if you’re already a Liquid Data Go customer.
Exclusive Liquid Data Go Offer for Shelfies Finalists: 10% off your first-year subscription, or a 10% off any additional report bundle if you’re already a Liquid Data Go customer.
Circana transforms complexity into clarity. It is a leader in providing technology, AI, and data to fast-moving consumer packaged goods companies, durables manufacturers, and retailers seeking to optimize their businesses.
RHO SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
Official Banking Partner of the 2026 Shelfie Awards
Rho is the all-in-one banking platform for startups and the accountants who support them. With banking set up in minutes, 2% cashback cards, and powerful tools for managing spend, paying bills, and closing the books, Rho helps high-growth startups move fast and stay focused – with support that goes to the ends of the earth to help customers win.
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners & Finalists:
Winners will receive
- $1600 Statement Credit
- Free Times Square billboard plus a free LED ad truck
- Featured shoutout on Linkedin amplified by the Rho team
Finalists will receive
- $1600 Statement Credit
- Free Times Square billboard
Terms & Conditions Apply for all items
Rho is a fintech company, not a bank. Checking and card services provided by Webster Bank, N.A., member FDIC; savings account services provided by American Deposit Management Co. and its partner banks. Investment management and advisory services provided by RBB Treasury LLC dba Rho Treasury, an SEC-registered investment adviser and subsidiary of Rho. See eligibility and complete Rho Cashback Rewards Program terms and conditions here.
CIN7 SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
Cin7 is a Startup CPG partner and the leading provider of inventory management software (IMS) to CPG brands. Designed for SMBs, Cin7 provides the benefits you typically see in an ERP but in an easy to implement and use, cost effective IMS solution. Cin7’s mission is to make it cheaper, faster, and easier for businesses to get their products into their customer’s hands.
Cin7 helps growing CPG brands:
- Manage suppliers, inventory, orders, and warehouses
- Connect to ecommerce and big box retail sale channels
- Optimize stock levels with advanced reporting & AI-powered forecasting
- Scale with zero-touch automations and native integrations to business-critical apps such as QuickBooks, Shopify, Amazon, and Square
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners: Will receive 3 months free of Cin7 Core, Forbes’ #1 Inventory Management Software for 2026. (Offer not available to current Cin7 Customers)
MINISOCIAL SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
minisocial is a fully-managed platform that connects brands with micro-influencers who share your product(s) with their audience AND create high-quality fully-licensed UGC for you to use across your own marketing channels, like in ads, emails, organic social, your website and beyond!
minisocial worked with over 1,000 CPG brands to help them create content for their marketing channels and get new eyes on their products.
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners: Brands selected as Shelfie Winners can redeem a free UGC and micro-influencer strategy call with the minisocial team, they’ll chat about your current strategy, ways to scale up working with creators, and where you should be using UGC. This offer is valid for use within six months.
Let them help you build a community of super fans around your product!
BEVSOURCE SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
BevSource is the strategic partner for beverage entrepreneurs, providing end-to-end development, production, and sourcing solutions. Through its specialized divisions—BevSource and AlcSource—BevSource offers the operational expertise and infrastructure needed to optimize supply chains and accelerate growth for emerging brands.
FBSG is so convinced pilot runs are a best practice for successful beverage brands that it wants to help founders experience the benefits firsthand. Pilot runs help:
- Fix Issues Early: Identify potential formulation or production hurdles before a full-scale run
- Optimize Production: Transition seamlessly to co-packers with detailed blend notes and data
- Impress Buyers: Showcase your beverage with commercial-grade prototypes for presentations and tastings
- Determine Shelf Life: Establish critical data required by retailers and for quality control
- Validate Your Product: Samples for consumer focus groups and trade shows
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners: $6,000 credit toward a first pilot production run, PLUS free standard QA packaging testing and accelerated shelf-life testing. (Valid for 12 months).
Plus Forty connects CPG founders with qualified, pre-vetted offshore talent, while handling the admin, compliance, and ongoing support behind the scenes. Plus Forty takes care of sourcing, vetting, contracts, payroll, benefits and more, so founders can offload execution and focus on growth.
Plus Forty places talent across:
- Operations, supply-chain and inventory management
- Marketing – influencer outreach, social media management, and more
- Customer service, admin, and executive support
- Sales support & account management
- Graphic design, video editing and all things creative
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners: Make your first offshore hire through Plus Forty and we’ll cover an entire month of their work. Plus 20% off your second placement invoice when you’re ready to scale.
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Finalists: Make your first offshore hire through Plus Forty and get 20 free hours from day one.
CALIFORNIA WALNUTS SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
The California Walnut Board (CWB) represents more than 3,700 California walnut growers and approximately 70 handlers, grown in multi-generational farmers’ family orchards. The CWB, established in 1948, promotes usage of walnuts in the United States through publicity and educational programs. The CWB also provides funding for walnut production, food safety, post-harvest research and food and beverage innovation.
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners: Shelfie Winners can schedule a 30-minute innovation strategy call. During this session, the team will review the brand’s current product line, explore how walnuts can be incorporated, and share tailored insights on relevant trends and product categories. The call must be scheduled within six months.
INSTACART SPONSOR & PRIZE ⭐
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase.
Exclusive Offer for Shelfie Winners:Prize: $1000 Ads Credit for Instacart AdsShelfies winners receive a $1,000 Instacart Ads credit to run a full-funnel campaign on Instacart — including Sponsored Products to reach high-intent search traffic, Display to tell their brand story to a targeted grocery-focused audience, and, where available, Recipe Ads and Video — designed to activate emerging brands across multiple formats from day one.
Terms & ConditionsAn advertiser account in good standing with Instacart Ads is required to redeem credits. Use of credits and ads products subject to Instacart Ads Terms and Conditions https://docs.instacart.com/ads_manager/instacart_ads_terms_and_conditions/Credits are redeemable for 6 months following the event or no later than March 31, 2027
Interested in becoming a sponsor for next year’s 2027 Shelfie Awards? Reach out to partnerships@startupcpg.com
⭐ ⭐ NOW, LET’S MEET THE 2026 WINNERS! ⭐
AND THE 2026 WINNERS ARE…
ALCOHOL
Original Henry Lambert’s Beer
Mid-Strength Lager
We’ve found a beer that does it all – tastes great, isn’t overwhelming, and sure is not underwhelming – it’s just right. Who knew a mid-strength beer was what we needed?
BABY/KIDS
Babylife Organics
Peach, Pear, Strawberry, Banana & Watermelon
We are in our adults eating baby food pouches era thanks to Babylife – these are baby, toddler, and adult approved – the design is simple, bright, and inviting, and the flavor combs are elite.
Baobab Superfruit Bites
Baobab & Raspberry
Baobab is here to stay! Our toddler tester couldn’t get enough of these, constantly asking for more. This had us questioning our decision to only send one product per SKU…you know, for research purposes.
BAKING
Oh So Easy!
Miso Caramel Brownie Mix
You have to get your hands on these. And keep them there, because once you share, these are going to magically disappear before your eyes. Sorry about it.
BEVERAGE
Banagua
Banana Water
We think Banagua is about to make banana water the next best ubiquitous hydration beverage – they are crushable, great-tasting, and very easy to get your friends hooked on. This is your hint to go try your first banana water if you haven’t already!
Purple Drop
Craft Brewed Purple Corn Peruvian Super Drink
This was our first experience with a RTD chica morada – and we will keep coming back to it. We’re so impressed by the true flavor coming out of Purple Drop – real ingredients shine through and are in full force – this is great for a cool down, an adventurous experience, or a red wine alternative if we do say so ourselves.
BEVERAGE WITH BENEFITS
Aayur Organic
Date Knight
Wow. Date Knight is so complex – it kept us wanting to take more sips – so much so that this was one of the beverages we argued about who got to finish the can!
Tart
Original Cherry
Tart is doing it, and doing it well. Bursting with flavor as a first, function as a nice attribute. Tart has our taste buds absolutely buzzing, and the combination of tart cherry and cranberry is beautifully balanced with mineral water makes for a mouthwatering experience.
BREAKFAST
Dawnbreaker Oats
Apple Cinnamon Protein Oatmeal
Nostalgia in a bowl. Really! One bite and we were transported to our childhood homes, only this time with a funky, gym-ready sunglasses-wearing dude ready to share a bowl with us. Oatmeal is anything but boring when Dawnbreaker is at the table.
Mama Knows
Broccoli Cheddar Waffle
SAVORY BREAKFAST IS SO IN. Our team agrees we’d trade a sweet breakfast for broccoli cheddar waffles any day…and guess what? Mama really does know best, doesn’t she?
CANDY
Pulpito Fruit Bites
Mmmm Mango Fruit Bars
Loved by kids and adults alike, and with branding that somehow made cartoon fruits both kid and adult-friendly – we know Pulpito has a secret sauce – and we hope you get to experience it for yourself ASAP.
CHOCOLATE
Honeymoon Chocolates
Chocolate Covered Raw Honeycomb
Decadent simplicity – that’s what comes to mind when we think of Honeymoon Chocolates – these truffles are a real treat and unlike other sweet treats you’ve had!
COFFEE
Esprizio
Blood Orange Espresso Spritz
This screams SUMMER to us – we picture ourselves waking up on the beach with an iced cold Esprizio in hand, ready to start the day. Or just stay put. That’s the thing – with a fresh product like this, you’ll get a fresh perspective – and you can choose to get to work or wind yourself down – it’s just that versatile.
COMPLEX FLAVOR – SAUCE
Hillside Harvest
Spicy Jamaican Jerk Marinade
This product is so layered, we made audible “wows” when testing this product – even hot sauce scaredy cats in our group were made into believers of the heat.
West Indies Peppa Sauce – WIPS
Yellow Scotch Bonnet Peppa Sauce
There is so much depth to this sauce – and it goes way beyond the bottle. We love the authenticity woven through the flavor, and we could just tell this was a sauce with a story – a 95 year old one at that!
DIPS & SPREADS
Cotto
Buffalo Whipped Cottage Cheese Dip
It’s giving skip the buffalo chicken dip and just grab one of these instead. Eat it straight up, dip it, put it in your fave wrap or sandwich – and bonus: you’ll get a protein fix in a fun way!
Food with Roots
Classic Southern Pimento Cheese
Ever had a dip made by a two-time James Beard Award winning chef? If your answer is no, let’s change that! This dip has family roots and traditions that run deep – and your tastebuds are going to keep that story alive and well.
FROZEN FOOD
The Bagelverse
Lil’ Roni Pizzabagels
Nostalgia strikes again! It’s pizzabagel time all the time with The Bagelverse – a better-for-you twist on the 80s/90s classic, only these are simply better all around!
FROZEN TREAT
TruCrumb
You will never guess these are gluten-free. Fluffy, flaky goodness is wrapped up in every bite – and if you see founder Sabrina around – you’ll always know it’s her – she’s adorned with biscuit jewelry and headwear, always! That’s commitment.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Lucille
Sure, these are made for seniors, but in our book – we’re taking these everywhere. Out the door, on the way to a workout, in our rideshares on the way to the airport, and much more. But we love these products because they’re waking up a category that’s been sleepy for decades, and in our eyes, they’ve done it perfectly.
HEALTHY SNACK
Gato Dates
Pistachio Butter Dark Chocolate Covered Dates
It was truly hard to pick a favorite flavor of Gato – and we can only imagine the other flavors are green with envy over our choice of the luscious, pistachio nut butter-filled, chocolate dipped dates. Luxury in every bite, ready for us all to put up a fight for the last one.
Jöey Nordic Seed Crisps
Rosemary & Black Pepper Seed Crisps
Once we starting munching on these, we have to stop ourselves – and that’s not easy to do. Delicious, crunchy, and good for you – these are perfect additions to charcuterie boards, topped on salads, or hidden in your favorite sandwich for a little surprise.
HOT SAUCE
Hook & Arrow
Blueberry Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
Yes, a blueberry-forward hot sauce. We love the sweetness of the berries married with the spiciness of the ghost pepper – a totally unique twist in the category!
HYDRATION
Short Story
Lemon Electrolyte Drink Mix
Electrolytes are livening up! This time, with no added sugat and no natural flavor – just totally dependent on real ingredients – and wouldn’t you know? That’s all you need!
Tuyyo Foods
Horchata Electrolyte Agua Fresca
Horchata but…in electrolyte form?! Our thoughts exactly. Authentic, delicious, and with a functional twist – you can’t beat this!
INTERNATIONAL FROZEN FOOD
Xinca Foods
Beans & Cheese Pupusas
Xinca is an example of a brand who has stayed persistent, consistent, and has committed to bringing their best to the market – we are so impressed by the Xinca glowup and have to give Cynthia and her team their flowers – these pupusas are excellent and authentic to Salvadoran tradition.
KITCHEN COMPANION
ONOIN
Original – Chopped Onions in 100% Olive Oil
You can cry in the club, but you better not cry in the kitchen! Onoin is a first-of-its-kind pre-chopped onion in olive oil that’s got a multitude of uses – we can’t be the only ones ditching our tears and trading them in for a jar of Onoin, right??
NON-UPF – PRESENTED BY WISECODE
Cozy Foods
Warm Cinnamon Butterbar
Refrigerated snacks are here to stay – Cozy Foods is helping lead the charge and spread that message – made with real, whole food ingredients like grass fed butter and dates, these bars are nourishing, filling, and totally delicious.
NON-ALCHOLIC
FABRIC
This hits. FABRIC is proving that low dose is highly effective. This was a fast favorite for our team – and we love that we can chill out, throw some back, get a little silly, and wake up completely hangover free – oh! and no added sugar or natural flavors? Sign us up.
PASTA & SAUCE
Pastacraft
Aglio E Olio Pasta Sauce Starter
Pasta is a tough category – but this sauce starter from Pastacraft blew us away – we felt it was unlike anything we’ve seen on shelves or tried at home. Super simple to use, but turns a regular pasta dish into restaurant quality almost instantly. Say less.
PERSONAL CARE
Naomi
Santal & Iris After-Cooking Hand Scrub
Gorgeous to look at, luxurious on the skin – Naomi is elevating our kitchens in ways we didn’t think were possible. We are no longer hiding our handcare in different bottles thanks to Naomi – they’ve thoughtfully designed this hand scrub just for you!
PET CARE
Archway Pet
Silver Carp Recipe Dog Food
We are so into what Archway’s doing – they’re taking an invasive fish species and feeding it to our cats and dogs – nourishing our pets while protecting our waterways – our resident pet judge, Freyja, says she thinks this is a win-win-win – for real!
PLANT-BASED ALTERNATIVE
Tezza Foods
Strawberry Greek-Style Soymilk Yogurt
We are confident Tezza will be the next leader in plant-based yogurt – delicious, versatile, protein-packed, and full of clean ingredients. It’s a yes.
PROTEIN
Boostcous
OG Pearled
Boostcous has elevated a super simple mealtime addition and transformed it into a protein-rich pantry staple – they’ve boosted their cous to give us Boostcous. No protein aftertaste or texture. Smooth, versatile, ready for you to get crafty. 2 thumbs up from us.
HOL Health Club
Salted Chocolate Bone Broth Protein Bar
Name another bar that will give you 20g of protein…without protein powder. We don’t think you can! HOL Health Club is truly revoltionizing the protein bar category with a bone broth base – and revolutionizing is not a word we just throw around.
Tuff Pops
Double Dutch Cocoa Soft & Creamy Frozen Protein Snack
We’ve seen a lot of brands putting protein in their frozen goods…but damn…it would be TUFF to beat the flavor and texture that Tuff Pops has achieved – once we tried these – our eyes just about popped out of our heads.
SAUCES & CONDIMENTS
Alchemy of Food
Creole Honey Mustard
Restaurants that don’t have honey mustard as a condiment offering should probably just shut down. But this…Creole Honey Mustard from Alchemy of Food…this might just put your favorite honey mustard to shame. We think so anyway!
Nan Yang Delight
Spicy Acar – Malaysian Pickled Vegetables
Okay maybe this is supposed to go on top of our favorite dish. But we found ourselves digging straight into the jar and becoming the star – it’s just that good!
SAVORY SNACK
Brisket Chips Co.
Mild Spicy Thin Crispy Beef Jerky
The jerky of all jerkies – this producy turned a jerky skeptic on our team into a jerky lover – with one bite!
Little Latke
Garlic Parm Potato Crisps
I know what I’m bringing to the family Hannukah party. Once the latkes run out, save the day and whip these out. Amaze your family members and your taste buds.
SKINCARE
Atelo
Amine Mask
Skip the medspa and go straight to Atelo – after one masking session, we were left feeling renewed and refreshed as if we just left the spa – but we were just girls in an Airbnb.
SWEET SNACK
Byte’m Brownie Bites
Cookies N’ Cream Brownie Bites
The glowup is SO REAL with Byte’m. Our team bit into these and immediately said “winner” – the formula is fantastic – just like homemade, but better. Fudgy, but light. Sweet, but not overpowering. One bite is purely satisfying.
SWEETENER
Honey Department
100% Raw Thick Honey
No one talks about honey like Noah Philips of Honey Department. And no one does honey like Noah Philips of Honey Department. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, don’t call the emergency line – call Honey Department – they’ll get you fixed up – with 100% raw, thick honey – in a tube!
TEA
Beck’s Broth
Protein Matcha Latte
Beck’s Broth is making it so simple to get some protein in with your morning cuppa – a matcha infused with bone broth? We’re sold. All the flavor of matcha, with all the benefits of bone broth – zero compromise on experience or texture. We’re in love.
Narra
Ube Vanilla Oat Milk Latte
Possibly the prettiest can you’ll find in the RTD tea set – this is quite the beverage experience – a unique flavor combo that pays homage to the founders’ heritage all while exciting today’s latte drinkers.
WOMEN’S HEALTH & WELLNESS
The Cycle
Pre-Period Comfort
All hail the people’s period princess! Founder Anastasia Sartan is not afraid to shy away from period talk – in fact, she flaunts it. It’s the bold approach to opening up a conversation that affects half of the world’s population that got her from concept and into cans – and now, onto shelves. The Pre-Period Comfort formula should be your new ritual in the luteal phase – we’ve found that it gives us relief, particularly with our mood.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!
Huge thank you to all brands that participated in this year’s awards – we encourage you to apply again next year – stay in the know via our newsletter, Slack, and social media where we will announce the opening of the 2027 Shelfie Awards next year!
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