10 Most Innovative Food Companies

PepsiCo secured the No. 1 spot for its ambitions nutrition R&D. The company recently opened a clinical research center charged with making its products healthier by reducing fat, sugar and sodium by as much as 25 percent over the next10 years without compromising taste.

Trader Joes was honored for its commitment to stock about 4,000 specialty products compared to typical grocery stores large inventories. The smaller inventory allows the stores to sell $1,750 per square foot, which is twice as much as Whole Foods.

Madécasse made the list for building a bean-to-bar chocolate company in one of the poorest countries in the world. Seventy percent of the world's cocoa comes from West Africa, but less than 1% of the world's chocolate is made there. Tim McCollum and Brett Beach founded Madécasse in 2008 to keep more economic benefit within the island nation.

Cargill secured the No. 4 spot for perfecting a process to grow and refine sweet leaf extracts from stevia that is eco-aware and health-friendly.

Foodhub was spotlighted for creating an online tool to connect local food producers to food buyers big and small. Wholesale food buyers log on to access thousands of small and regional producers, as well as info on varietals sold, minimum orders, insurance, and delivery options. Hundreds of Portland restaurants, grocery stores and businesses now participate in the program.

Current Energy made the list for greening restaurants. The Dallas-based energy firm's smart sensors help fast food restaurants cut their energy use. The sensors can ping restaurant managers with text messages if a walk-in refrigerator is left ajar for too long, or coordinate pizza-oven temperatures based on real-time sales.

Chipotle gained a spot on the list for its in-house advertising that included replacing wacky promotions with on-message marketing. The companys "Boo-rito" giveaways for Halloween were replaced this year by a campaign to promote how truly scary other fast food is, with sales of discounted meals going to support Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

McDonald's ranked No. 8 for investing $2.4 billion in changing consumer perception about the fast food giant. McDonald's is launching first total makeover campaign since the Carter administration, redoing at least 400 domestic outposts, refurbishing 1,600 restaurants abroad and building another 1,000.

Bolthouse Farms secured the No. 9 for its goal to double the $1 billion baby-carrot business by using snack food marketing tactics. The move propelled baby carrots from a flat industry to a hotly marketed snack food, from adrenaline-fueled ads to snazzy grab-and-go bags.

Max Burger rounds out the list for being the first carbon-footprint fast-food chain. Max Burger prints the carbon emissions of each sandwich on the menu.