Written byReviewed Staff
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We all remember the days when healthy eating meant a sad desk lunch of grilled chicken and rice choked down out of obligation. When exactly did that era end? Probably when hundreds of health food brands started experimenting with things like chickpea pasta, functional soda, and snack bars that taste more like dessert than a brick of protein powder
Everyone has their favorites, and we want to hear about yours during this round of the Readers’ Choice Awards. We narrowed the options down to 16 standout names in grocery stores, so cast your vote and tell us why you love it!
Voting period ends on Sept. 9, 2026. We’ll announce the winners on Sept. 17
Nominee #1: ALOHA Bars
Courtesy of ALOHA
Clean, plant-based ingredients are the foundation of ALOHA, which makes protein bars, mini-bars, powders, and drinks, promising to skip all the typical artificial additives. You’ll find flavors from Chocolate Fudge Brownie to Key Lime in their lineup. The mini-bars give shoppers a smaller, chocolate-forward option when a full-size bar feels like too much
It’s also a certified B Corp and employee-owned, which appealed to our reviewers as much as the taste did. Between the ingredient list and a flavor range wide enough to avoid snack fatigue, ALOHA earned its spot for making protein-forward eating something to actually look forward to
Nominee #2: Amy’s Kitchen
Courtesy of Amy’s Kitchen
Organic, vegetarian frozen meals have been the mission at Amy’s Kitchen since 1987, when founders Andy and Rachel Berliner started the company and named it after their newborn daughter. Their catalog has grown to more than 250 products, from pizza and enchiladas to burritos, soups, and bowls, with over 130 gluten-free options in the mix. Every item skips meat, eggs, GMOs, and hydrogenated oils, which has made Amy’s a reliable freezer-aisle pick for households juggling different dietary needs. That consistency, paired with genuine breadth across cuisines, is why our panel kept coming back to this one.
Nominee #3: Banza
Courtesy of Banza
Chickpea pasta put Banza on the map, launched in 2014 by brothers Scott and Brian Rudolph, and the brand has since expanded into rice, mac and cheese, and a chickpea-crust pizza. That surprisingly mouth-watering swap gives shoppers more protein and fiber than traditional wheat pasta without asking them to give up the format they already know
It’s grown into a nationally recognized brand, reaching tens of thousands of retail locations, and it’s kept a playful, high-energy marketing presence that’s helped chickpea pasta go from niche to shelf staple. Our panel pointed to that combination of category-defining product and consistent visibility as the reason it made the list
Nominee #4: Bob’s Red Mill
Courtesy of Bob’s Red Mill
Whole grains have been the focus at Bob’s Red Mill since 1978, when founder Bob Moore opened the business in Oregon, and in 2010 he transferred full ownership to his employees through an ESOP. Today the company makes more than 400 products, from flours and cereals to baking mixes, many of them stone-ground on the same quartz millstones the brand started with. That employee-ownership structure is part of what makes Bob’s stand out on a shelf full of private-equity-owned competitors, and it’s paired with a level of consistency that keeps bakers loyal.
Our reviewers noted both the ownership model and the product’s reliability as reasons this one belongs on the list.
Nominee #5: Bragg
Courtesy of Bragg
Apple cider vinegar is the product most shoppers know from Bragg, which has been part of the natural health conversation since 1912, when founder Paul Bragg started what the company calls a wellness movement in Santa Barbara, California. Their collection also includes olive oil, liquid aminos, nutritional yeast, and dressings
Where Bragg separates itself is by publishing wellness content and running a panel of health experts alongside its products, carrying forward Paul Bragg’s original approach of teaching, not just selling. Our panel cited that dual role as the reason Bragg has stayed relevant for over a century
Nominee #6: Chomps
Courtesy of Chomps
A pitch between friends at a poker game turned into Chomps in 2012, when Pete Maldonado brought the idea to Rashid Ali, and the two turned a bootstrapped, apartment-run side project into one of the fastest-growing snack brands in the country
The meat sticks are made from grass-fed and grass-finished beef or antibiotic-free turkey, with no added sugar, fillers, or artificial preservatives. That straightforward recipe, combined with rapid, largely self-funded growth and an active presence with health-conscious shoppers online, is exactly what our panel flagged when discussing this one. For anyone looking for a protein snack that reads clean on the label, Chomps has become a default choice
Nominee #7: Eden Foods
Courtesy of Eden Foods
A co-op grocery store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was the unlikely start of Eden Foods in 1969, before it shifted to a for-profit organic food company the following year. It’s grown into one of the country’s longest-running independent organic producers, known for a catalog that runs from beans and grains to soy milk and Japanese pantry staples like miso and tamari. The company uses BPA-free can linings for most products and has a track record of clean-testing ingredients, including a 1997 New York Times test where its soy milk came back free of GMO traces. Our reviewers pointed to that decades-long consistency as a reason shoppers can trust what’s on an Eden label.
Nominee #8: Food For Life
Food For Life Baking Co
Sprouted grain bread built a following for Food For Life, best known for its Ezekiel 4:9 line, made from minimally processed sprouted whole grains rather than refined flour. The company has extended that same approach into tortillas, burger buns, and cereals, giving shoppers a way to build an entire sprouted-grain pantry rather than just a single loaf
The brand’s pledge to minimal processing has held steady even as it’s expanded its product range, which is part of what keeps it a recognized name for anyone reading ingredient labels closely, and why it made our list
Nominee #9: Forager Project
Courtesy of Forager Project
Vague ingredient lists were the whole reason Forager Project exists, launched in 2012 when Stephen Williamson and JC Hanley set out to build plant-based dairy alternatives. The company makes cashew and oat milks, dairy-free yogurts, and kefirs, all USDA organic and produced in-house rather than through outside co-packers. Label transparency was baked into the products from day one, and you can find them now at retailers nationwide
Our expert panelists believe that that combination of clean sourcing and wide availability is the reason this family-founded brand still stands out in the plant-based aisle
Nominee #10: LesserEvil
Courtesy of LesserEvil
Organic popcorn and grain-free snacks, including avocado oil and coconut oil varieties, are the calling card of LesserEvil, aimed at shoppers who want a crunchy snack without seed oils or artificial ingredients. The brand’s popcorn and extruded snacks—think curls, puffs, and Krinkle Sticks—have earned a spot in nearly every major grocery chain. Under CEO Charles Coristine, who took over a struggling company and rebuilt it from the ground up, LesserEvil grew quickly enough to catch the attention of a much larger buyer: Hershey signed an agreement to acquire the brand in 2025.
The brand’s near-universal retail presence and delicious taste are why it belongs on this list
Nominee #11: Lundberg Family Farms
Courtesy of Lundberg Family Farms
Rice has grown in Richvale, California, under the Lundberg Family Farms name since 1937, when Albert and Frances Lundberg settled there after leaving Nebraska during the Great Depression. The family became the first in the U.S. to market a branded organic rice product, and today roughly 70% of its 14,000 acres is certified organic, with regenerative techniques like returning rice stalks to the soil dating back to Albert’s original methods. The farm also runs entirely on wind-energy offsets, a distinction that’s earned it recognition from the EPA.
Our experts called out that rare mix of multigenerational farming and genuine environmental follow-through as the reason Lundberg stands out on a crowded rice shelf
Nominee #12: Nature’s Path
Courtesy of Nature’s Path
A family business since 1985, Nature’s Path started when Arran and Ratana Stephens launched it as a vegetarian food company. It opened North America’s first organic cereal manufacturing facility in 1989 and has kept pushing further since, launching a Regenerative Organic Certified oat program in 2020 and getting all of its manufacturing facilities certified as zero-waste by 2017. The granolas and cereals remain the heart of the business, but it’s the sustainability commitments layered underneath them that our reviewers kept coming back to.
Nominee #13: OLIPOP
Courtesy of OLIPOP
A soda-style drink built on prebiotic fiber instead of sugar was the simple pitch behind OLIPOP when it launched in 2018. Founders Ben Goodwin and David Lester started small, with about 40 stores in Northern California, before the brand’s growth took off. It’s now in tens of thousands of retail locations nationwide. That trajectory makes OLIPOP one of the clearest examples of how fast the functional soda category has grown, and our panel noted both the product’s better-for-you formulation and its rapid, genuine mainstream adoption.
Nominee #14: Primal Kitchen
Courtesy of Primal Kitchen
Seed oils were the target when Primal Kitchen launched in 2015 under Mark Sisson and Morgan Buehler, who set out to rebuild pantry staples like mayo, dressings, and marinades using avocado oil instead. The lineup has grown to include dairy-free options and products sweetened with honey or monk fruit rather than refined sugar, giving you more ways to swap out a condiment without losing satisfying flavors. The brand’s ingredient-first approach was compelling enough to catch Kraft Heinz’s attention, which acquired the company in 2018.
That ingredient swap remaining solid today is exactly the practical change that earns Primal Kitchen a spot on our list
Nominee #15: Purely Elizabeth
Courtesy of Purely Elizabeth
Purely Elizabeth’s goal was to craft granola that tasted as good as it looked on the label. The brand started in 2009 under founder Elizabeth Stein, a holistic nutrition counselor. Her Ancient Grain Granola, built around whole grains, nuts, and seeds and sweetened with coconut sugar, has stayed largely unchanged since its 2011 debut, and the brand has since expanded into oatmeal and cereal. What began with a handful of New York retailers now sits on shelves at roughly 100,000 locations, including Whole Foods and Target. Reviewers on our panel nominated Purely Elizabeth for its steady ingredient formula from the early days through today.
Nominee #16: Simple Mills
Courtesy of Simple Mills
Almond and other seed flours replaced grains entirely at Simple Mills. Founded in 2013 by Katlin Smith to give gluten-sensitive shoppers a baking mix, cracker, and cookie lineup that doesn’t feel like a compromise. The almond flour crackers, introduced in 2016, have become one of the brand’s signature products, and its crunchy cookies have grown into one of the top-selling in the natural cookie category
Our Experts
BethEllen Clausen
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Clausen is a freelance writer with a heavy emphasis on art and culture. She is a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the LA Wine Writers, and she writes for Food, Wine and Travel Magazine, the Napa Valley Wine Academy, and Costco Connection. You can read more about Clausen’s experiences at her website, Organic Wine Travel
Susan Lanier-Graham
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Lanier-Graham is an award-winning food, wine, and travel writer with more than three decades of experience exploring destinations around the world. She has visited luxury resorts, boutique properties, and hidden gems across six continents, bringing a discerning eye to every stay. As publisher of Wander With Wonder, she leads an award-winning digital publication that inspires readers to discover exceptional travel experiences. Her work blends firsthand insight with a passion for storytelling, offering trusted recommendations on where to stay, dine, and explore. Susan’s expertise helps travelers confidently choose destinations that transform trips into unforgettable, experience-rich journeys.
Reviewed Editors & Experts
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Reviewed
Reviewed editors and experts have hard-earned insight from a broad range of backgrounds, and our nomination panel includes independent researchers, subject matter experts, and editorial team members. We provide unbiased, experiential editorial coverage on products, brands, and companies across the U.S
