Flour, grains, rice, beans, pasta, oils, nut butter, bread, broth, spices, salt, sweeteners, condiments, snacks, cereal
Looks independent, isn't
Annie's — owned by General Mills since 2014
Cascadian Farm — owned by General Mills
Muir Glen — owned by General Mills
Larabar — owned by General Mills
Kashi, Bear Naked — owned by Ferrero (via WK Kellogg) since 2025
source Purely Elizabeth — owned by Ferrero (announced Aug 2026, $850M; previously backed by General Mills' venture arm and two PE firms) since 2026
source RXBAR, Pringles, Cheez-It, Eggo, Pop-Tarts, MorningStar — owned by Mars (via Kellanova) since 2025
source Clif Bar — owned by Mondelez since 2022
Perfect Bar — owned by Mondelez since 2019
Hu — owned by Mondelez since 2021
Tate's — owned by Mondelez since 2018
Enjoy Life — owned by Mondelez since 2015
Green & Black's — owned by Mondelez
Kind — owned by Mars since 2020
Dagoba — owned by Hershey
SkinnyPop — owned by Hershey since 2017
Justin's — owned by Hormel since 2016
Skippy — owned by Hormel
Applegate — owned by Hormel since 2015
Pacific Foods — owned by Campbell since 2017
Rao's — owned by Campbell since 2023
Late July, Kettle Brand, Cape Cod, Snyder's — owned by Campbell since 2018
Prego, Swanson, Pepperidge Farm — owned by Campbell
Imagine, Earth's Best, Celestial Seasonings, Garden of Eatin', Terra, Arrowhead Mills, Spectrum, MaraNatha, Westbrae — owned by Hain Celestial
Dave's Killer Bread — owned by Flowers Foods since 2015
Simple Mills — owned by Flowers Foods since 2025
Nature's Own, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse — owned by Flowers Foods
Siete — owned by PepsiCo since 2025
Bare, Off the Eaten Path, Quaker, Near East — owned by PepsiCo
Sir Kensington's — owned by Unilever since 2017
Hellmann's, Knorr — owned by Unilever
Primal Kitchen — owned by Kraft Heinz since 2018
Classico, Grey Poupon — owned by Kraft Heinz
Bragg — owned by Private equity + celebrity investors since 2019
Boom Chicka Pop — owned by Conagra since 2017
Gardein, Alexia, Hunt's, Ro-Tel — owned by Conagra
Boulder Canyon — owned by Utz since 2020
Mary's Gone Crackers — owned by Kameda Seika (Japan) since 2012
Barbara's, Erewhon, Uncle Sam, Grape-Nuts — owned by Post Holdings
Rumford, Clabber Girl — owned by B&G Foods since 2019
Fleischmann's yeast — owned by AB Mauri (Associated British Foods)
Wholesome sweeteners — owned by Whole Earth Brands
Filippo Berio — owned by Salov (Bright Food, China)
Bertolli olive oil — owned by Deoleo
Napa Valley Naturals, Stonewall Kitchen — owned by Private equity
Duke's — owned by Sauer Brands (Falfurrias, private equity)
Frank's RedHot, French's, Cholula, Old Bay, Lawry's, Zatarain's — owned by McCormick
Sara Lee, Oroweat, Arnold, Thomas', Entenmann's — owned by Bimbo
Jif, Adams, Laura Scudder's, Santa Cruz Organic, Smucker's — owned by J.M. Smucker
Uncle Ben's / Ben's Original, Seeds of Change — owned by Mars
Mahatma, Rice Select — owned by Riviana (Ebro Foods)
Progresso — owned by General Mills
Morton — owned by K+S
Diamond Crystal — owned by Cargill
Alter Eco — owned by NextWorld Evergreen (private equity, funded by the Carrefour family) since 2017
source Nutiva — owned by Lion Capital & Hummingbird (private equity) 2016–2024, then sold to an undisclosed "international strategic buyer" since 2024
source On the fence
Barilla — Family-owned, single focus — but Gate 3 flag from 2013 CEO comments. Your call.
Eden Foods — Independent — Gate 3 flag (contraception coverage lawsuit). Your call.
Goya — Family-owned — Gate 3 flags on CEO conduct. Your call.
Chobani — Founder-owned — but bought La Colombe in 2023, now two aisles. Borderline on the rule.
McCormick — Public, mostly one aisle. Passes Gate 1 on the rule. Not yet checked further.
Red Star yeast (Lesaffre) — Family-owned (France) but very large and multi-line. Borderline.
Domino, C&H (ASR Group) — Owned by Florida Crystals + growers co-op. Sugar labor record needs checking.
Tony's Chocolonely — Majority-owned (64% of voting rights) by Verlinvest, the investment company of the family behind AB InBev, since 2023. Has a legal "Mission Lock" with independent guardians. Not a buyout, but not independent either. Your call.
record California Olive Ranch — Owned by private equity for over a decade (AgIS Capital from 2014, then Solum Partners), then sold in early 2026 for $173.5M to Cobram Estate Olives, an Australian public company. Cobram only makes olive oil, so it passes the one-aisle rule on paper. It's a subsidiary now, not independent. Your call.
record Kettle & Fire — Founded by the Mares brothers; in 2025 Colter Ventures led a $43M secondary buyout described as a minority stake, and Colter's founder became CEO in 2026. Founders "remain involved." Control unclear. Your call.
record Truff — SKKY Partners, a private equity firm, took a significant minority stake in November 2023 (reported around $80M). Founders still run it; the cap table no longer looks independent.
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