Pandemic Propels Startup Growth

Not all pandemic business news is negative. For some food and beverage entrepreneurs, COVID-19 was a growth catalyst.

Indeed, as the pandemic spread, Americans stayed home to eat and investigated new products and brands, even as they also stocked up on traditional comfort foods. E-commerce sales exploded. Many consumers clustered purchases around specific functional or nutritional benefits such as hydration and immunity.

In Illinois alone, headquarters for food and beverage companies increased to…