Health and nutritional ingredients

‘Swicy’ flavors take the spotlight in ad campaigns

31-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Sweet and spicy (swicy) play into consumers’ ongoing pursuit of diverse, globally inspired taste experiences, and are reflected in recent brand ad campaigns.

Startup Spotlight

Insights from a solopreneur: How bayjoo’s founder navigates the RTD landscape

30-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

While bayjoo’s founder Ana Bautista Lee embarked on the solopreneur path to bring bayjoo, a traditional Caribbean beverage, to the United States, she relies on a vast network of other founders and experts to help her navigate the competitive and complex...

Sweet Loren’s expands portfolio with gluten-free puff pastry, pizza, pie doughs

30-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Better-for-you snack brand Sweet Loren’s is expanding its product portfolio with a series of ready-to-use pizza, pastry and pie doughs as the company taps into demands for clean-label treats and ready-to-use foods, company CEO and Founder Loren Castle...

Sweets & Snacks Expo

Smart Sweets unveils new formula across portfolio at Sweets & Snacks

30-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Better-for-you gummy maker, Smart Sweets, launched its new and improved formula across its portfolio, including five new SKUs, catering to consumers seeking healthier candy for nearly any type of occasion, Katrina Hahn, Smart Sweets’ co-CEO, told FoodNavigator-USA...

CVS’s expanded, rebranded private label snack line blends functional, fun & flavor

30-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

CVS is putting the ‘fun’ in functional food with the launch of more than 40 snacks, beverages and grocery items with trendy flavors and ingredients consumers want, including probiotics, fiber, protein and superfoods like turmeric and goji berries under...

Food-as-medicine case study: Ahold Delhaize USA shares multi-discipline approach for successful programs

28-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Blending health, nutrition, merchandising and IT expertise, Ahold Delhaize USA launched numerous successful food-as-medicine programs as part of its overarching Foodcare strategy, a panel representing the grocery retailer or banner shared during a session...

Creating an inclusive food-as-medicine movement that respects consumers, communities, cultures

24-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

The food-as-medicine movement is gaining momentum across industries, as health and nutrition advocates attempt to reverse worsening obesity, heart disease and diabetes trends by providing accessible, nutritious and culturally relevant foods, experts shared...

Sweets & Snacks Expo

Protein snacks ride the healthy indulgence line with familiar flavors

22-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Consumers increasingly are seeking convenient and flavorful ways to integrate protein into their diets, particularly as snacking replaces traditional meals among younger demographics, which gives snack makers an opportunity to develop protein-rich snack...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Organic advocates ask legislators for funding, market data and research support as Farm Bill negotiations continue

20-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

More than 100 organic industry stakeholders converged on Capitol Hill in Washington last week to lobby for increased funding, continuous improvement for certification standards, access to additional market data and improved coordination for research and...

Organic Trade Association's Organic Week Summit

Organic sales ‘bounce back to a higher growth rate’ to reach nearly $70bn in 2023

16-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

New data from the Organic Trade Association shows organic sales “bouncing back” after a post-pandemic and inflation-induced slowdown in incremental grown in recent years, with research from SPINS suggesting the products best positioned to seize this growth...

Rural, urban divide plays out in food claims, agriculture concerns, Purdue University finds

15-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Despite overall satisfaction with their diets, rural and urban consumers are divided on agriculture's role in climate change and the health attributes of various products like plant-based milk, Purdue University shared in its latest research.

How do consumers perceive ‘gut health’ products?

15-May-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Products targeting ‘gut health’ have a range of benefits, yet these are not always clear in marketing. How do consumers understand gut health, and is this understanding congruent with reality?

Feeling the squeeze? How juice brands are dealing with an orange shortage

14-May-2024 By Rachel Arthur

The world’s top orange production regions are struggling: putting pressure on the global supply of oranges for the juice industry. Beverage brands are finding innovative ways to deal with high costs and shortages.

Developing Ozempic-era foods, beverages: Mattson shares research on what GLP-1 users crave

14-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

CPG companies offering nutrient-dense, portion-controlled food and beverages could tap into emerging needs of consumers on weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic and WeGovy, consulting firm Mattson shared in a recent webinar.

Bobo’s Strawberry Lemonade Oat Bite blends existing flavors into new product

14-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Better-for-you oat bar brand Bobo's develop its new Strawberry Lemonade Oat Bite flavor by leveraging existing favorites, like Strawberry Stuff'd and Lemon Poppyseed, with innovation accelerated by its state-of-the-art bakery completed in 2022.

C.A. Fortune’s Build Tank winners garner praise from national retailers for compelling branding, packaging

13-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Walnut snack company Unbound Snacks took home the gold at C.A. Fortune's Build Tank event in Chicago, for its category innovations and eye-catching packaging, while other brands impressed buyers through unique products and branding.

Voyage Foods CEO on where brand goes after $52m raise: 'Retail products were always really a steppingstone'

10-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Food-tech company Voyage Foods raised $52m in its Series A+ funding round to grow its ingredient business as it prepares to open a second facility later this year.

Meati raises $100m in funding, adds 2,000 retail locations

09-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Mycelium food maker Meati raised more than $100 million in Series C-1 funding "to help meet the growing demand for its products," and support its expansion into 2,000 Kroger Family Stores last month, bringing its retail footprint to more than...

Laird Superfood perks up morning cup of coffee with protein-rich creamer

09-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Laird Superfood is giving the best part of waking up – coffee – a functional boost with the release of its new protein-rich creamer, the brand’s VP of Marketing Martha Opela told FoodNavigator-USA.

Beyond the jingle: How brands are reaching consumers with authenticity and quality

08-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Bush’s Baked Beans, Clif Bar and SkinnyPop are building brand loyalty through multi-channel marketing that highlight each brand’s voice and commitment to values that resonate with their target audience.

TruFood Manufacturing, Bar Bakers merge to scale nutritional snacks operations

08-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Recently merged co-manufacturers TruFood Manufacturing and Bar Bakers plan to scale operations to expand access to healthy and nutritious snacks.

mio’s brand refresh highlights simplicity in the energy drink category

07-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Mio liquid water enhancers’ brand refresh blends flavor and function to provide a simple solution for consumers with multiple beverage needs, as well as bright packaging that communicates wellness, Samantha Mills, director of brand communications for...

Sorghum’s inclusion in WIC program reflects ‘changing cultural makeup’ in U.S.

07-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Sorghum’s addition to USDA’s finalized updates to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a win for the nutrient-rich grain in contributing towards “global foodways,” Lanier Dabruzzi, director of nutrition and...

Exclusive: FedUp Foods expands manufacturing capabilities with Wilmington plant, prepares to move into cold-brew coffee

06-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private-label beverage manufacturer FedUp Foods is opening a new facility in Wilmington, N.C. later this summer, which will add cold-brew coffee capabilities, two company executives shared with FoodNavigator-USA.

Olipop benefits from social media buzz following accidental early launch of Barbie-inspired flavor

01-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Olipop commemorates Barbie’s 65th birthday with a new Peaches & Cream flavor of its gut-friendly soda, as the brand expands into the convenience and gas channel, Steven Vigilante, the company’s director of growth and partnerships, told FoodNavigator-USA....

Choppy! blends animal, plant-based ingredients to bridge alternative protein taste gap

01-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Choppy!, an alternative meat brand that combines textured plant protein with animal byproducts like collagen, beef tallow and bone broth, provides consumers with "the sensory experience of meat" in its hybrid product with the long-term goal...

Supergut rolls out nationwide in GNC stores as part of GLP-1 nutritional support section

30-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Supergut is expanding nationwide as part of GNC’s new section dedicated to GLP-1 nutritional support, as the brand has quadrupled its sales in the last two quarters due to consumer interest in gut health and products to alleviate symptoms from drugs like...

KEY unlocks potential of ketones in energy-drink category with help of $4m investment

29-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

KEY is providing consumers an alternative to sugar-laden energy drinks through ketones, as it seeks to deploy $4m in funding to grow its brand.

Join FoodNavigator-USA at a free editorial Webinar exploring plant-based protein

Plant-based 3.0: Industry insiders share strategies for pushing alternative proteins forward

29-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

After a challenging few years in which falling sales and units dragged plant-based protein into the trough of disillusionment, stakeholders are finding ways up the other side of the Gartner Hype Cycle by leveraging emerging technologies, novel ingredients...

NPD Trend Tracker: The functional beverage edition

29-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

This week’s new product development round-up is celebrating all things functionality in the beverage category. From mushrooms to adaptogens and CBD, we profile the latest drinks and ingredients promising much more than hydration.

Moving beyond finger-pointing: Creating healthier products that deliver on taste, indulgence

26-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Packaged food, especially ultra-processed, is a popular scapegoat for the ongoing struggle with diet-related chronic disease in America, where 70% of adults are overweight or obese, 50% have diabetes or prediabetes and 50% have heart disease – but what...

Snacks from the Sea readies Kelpie Chips for retail push with new packaging, formulation

25-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Snacks from the Sea is moving beyond e-commerce with the help of new packaging and product formulations to make kelp’s health and sustainability more widely appreciated in the US, brand founder Jennifer Murphy told FoodNavigator-USA.

Natural Products Expo West

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Functional beverages trends from gut health to energy to low-sugar & high-protein

22-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers increasingly are weary of “drinking empty calories,” and are instead looking for less sugar and more functional benefits from their beverages – be it enhanced hydration, gut-health support, mood and mental health management or permissible indulgence...

From air to rail: Kate’s Real Food finds opportunity to expand across travel channel

22-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Organic snack-bar brand Kate’s Real Food is pushing into the travel channel with a deal to sell its product in Amtrak cars in the coming months, as it delivers on demand for high protein with a new product line.

Future Food-Tech

At Future Food-Tech's event, explore strategies for future-proofing the alternative proteins sector through diverse solutions, next-stage investments, and public-private partnerships

22-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Despite declining sales and investment in the alternative protein industry in recent years, the segment is seeing early green shoots that suggest category stakeholders may be clawing their way out of the trough of disillusionment and up the other side...

Game on: Arla Foods Ingredients introduces RTD energy-drink concept for gamers

19-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Dairy company Arla Foods Ingredients wants to attract the attention of CPG companies making products for gamers with its new energy drink concept that provides an elevated protein content and better-for-you ingredients.

MyMuse launches its influencer-focused functional soda with singer Dixie D’Amelio

18-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Beverage brand MyMuse worked closely with social media personality and singer Dixie D'Amelio to develop a new caffeine-free, passionfruit-flavored functional soda and enhance the company's symbiotic influencer marketing strategy as “a brand...

Consumers are dedicated to improving health and wellness, grapple with cost of better-for-you products, Nutiani finds

16-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

The premium price associated with better-for-you products might be a purchase barrier for consumers, almost half (41%) of whom say these products cost too much, according to data from Nutiani's global trend report.

PLANTSTRONG Foods finds whitespace for fortified plant-based milk, launches product in Whole Foods

10-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

PLANTSTRONG Foods is creating plant-based milk with fortified nutrients to differentiate in the category as the company aggressively grows its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel.

Hain Celestial sells Thinsters to J&J Snacks, downplays further divestitures

10-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Hain Celestial sold cookie brand Thinsters to J&J Snack Foods for an undisclosed amount in an all-cash deal announced this week as part of the its overarching growth strategy.

USDA finalizes modern WIC program, secures additional $1bn in funding

10-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

A wider range of packaged foods, including canned fish, canned beans and some plant-based dairy, could qualify for reimbursement under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) following an update by the US Department...

NPD Trend Tracker: From PepsiCo snacks to collagen tea

08-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

The collagen trend is on an upwards trajectory, particularly in food and drink. In our latest new product development round-up, we look at a new tea inspired by collagen (it contains collagen peptides). Elsewhere, plant-based continues to trend and UK...

Natural Products Expo West

[Video] Working with KeHE: What brands should know about securing a distribution deal

05-Apr-2024 By Ryan Daily

Through its TRENDfinder events and ELEVATE program, KeHE is helping CPG brands achieve their retail goals, but startups seeking a distribution deal must first ensure that they meet specific requirements, Tabitha Sewell, director of category management...

Nourished on how to communicate the potential of personalised nutrition to consumers

05-Apr-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Personalised nutrition has immense potential for extremely bespoke nutritional benefits to consumers. But for such a niche category, how does a company communicate this potential?

Comet continues on growth trajectory in booming prebiotic fiber market

04-Apr-2024 By Asia Sherman

Canadian ingredient manufacturer Comet now converts an annual four million kilograms of agricultural waste harvested from Danish farmlands into dietary fibers for use in supplements, foods and beverages.

Food as medicine: Could a healthy diet improve diabetes?

03-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Diabetes affects around 422 million people worldwide but could diet help to improve the condition and, if yes, how effective is it?

Natural Products Expo West

Emotional Utility Beverage focuses on optimizing brain health

01-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Emotional Utility Beverage sparkling functional drinks were developed to provide a functional, healthy tool to support consumers’ evolving emotional and cognitive states, Charles Gores, chairman and owner of Emotional Utility Beverage, explained to FoodNavigator-USA...

Natural Products Expo West

Public-private partnerships are key to bring more organic, regeneratively farmed food to market, Daily Harvest exec

29-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers increasingly want food that is not only good for them, but also good for the planet and those who work the land, which is why Daily Harvest is teaming with industry leaders and USDA to help more farmers – including small-scale BIPOC farmers...

Startup Spotlight

‘Back end’ logistics may not be as ‘sexy & fun’ as consumer branding, but they are key to securing shelf space, says Pretty Tasty Tea exec

28-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Bovine collagen infused Pretty Tasty Tea may be new to the functional beverage space, after launching in February, but the team behind the beauty-from-within brand includes industry veterans with deep expertise in distribution strategy and retail management...

Natural Products Expo West

Uncle Matt’s turns to teas, workout shots amid continuing citrus sourcing challenges

28-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Uncle Matt's is innovating outside orange juice – including in teas and workout wellness shots - to grow its brand as citrus greening continues to pressure supply chains and a cure for the tree disease might remain years away.