2025 Private Label Hall of Fame: Jeannine Buscher of FedUp Foods
Nine leaders from the private label world are the newest members of the Private Label Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies were held during the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Members of the Class of 2025 are a combination of leaders with a history of growing store brand products, along with those who continue to impact the current-day marketplace.
Created in 2006 to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the global private brand industry, this year’s event featured retail and product supplier honorees in three categories: Lifetime Achievement, Private Brand Champion, and Private Brand Innovator.
“Our nine-member Class of 2025 represents the best-of-the-best thought leaders and changemakers,” said Peggy Davies, president of PLMA. “Their commitment and dedication to private label is an inspiration to all.”
Jeannine Buscher
Co-Founder/EVP
FedUp Foods
Jeannine Buscher is not just innovating in the world of private label, she’s redefining it. As co-founder and executive vice president of Innovation at FedUp Foods, Buscher is the driving force behind groundbreaking advancements in fermented functional beverages and cold brew coffee that have raised the bar for private brands. Curious, collaborative, and relentlessly determined, Buscher blends deep scientific insight with an ability to connect ideas and people.
Her approach is grounded in rigorous research and guided by a deep commitment to ethics and integrity. She embraces the unknown and constantly reaches for perfection, traits that have helped FedUp Foods develop new craft fermentation and precision cold brew methods.
Her breakthrough came during the 2010 “Kombucha Crisis,” a pivotal moment for the fermented beverage industry. As regulatory scrutiny increased, many brands struggled to ensure compliance without sacrificing quality. Buscher’s innovative fermentation methodology enabled FedUp Foods to consistently produce compliant, raw, unpasteurized kombucha, establishing a new industry benchmark. That advancement opened the door to the creation of the first nationally distributed private label kombucha, which now stands as the third-largest player in the market.
Before Buscher and FedUp Foods stepped onto the scene, private label kombucha was a niche offering, largely confined to regional grocery chains. Thanks to her pioneering work, kombucha and other functional beverages have found their way onto the shelves of major national retailers under their own brands, broadening access to health-forward options for more consumers than ever.
But Buscher isn’t stopping there. Her latest achievement — a Regenerative Organic Certified private label cold brew coffee — is the first of its kind and underscores her commitment to sustainability, quality, and innovation. By merging traditional brewing practices with cutting-edge technology, she’s once again transforming a category and proving that private label can lead, not just follow.