Urban Remedy – a brand specializing in ‘ultra-fresh’ organic ready-to-eat meals, snacks, and cold pressed juices – grew sales by nearly 100% vs the previous quarter in the first quarter of 2018, driven by the rapid expansion of its ‘store within a store’...
The plant-based milk segment was already pretty crowded by the time Jeff Richards quit the day job to launch Mooala in 2016. But the fact that buyers at the likes of Whole Foods, Safeway, H.E.B., Costco, and Wegmans, were willing to give him a shot this...
Tea Drops – which specializes in bagless, organic, pressed tea ‘drops’ that ‘disintegrate in your cup’ - has closed a $1.9m seed round led by New York-based early stage venture fund AccelFoods and supported by Halogen Ventures and Cue Ball Capital.
For Crop One Holdings the sky isn’t the limit – it is just the next stopover – thanks a $40 million joint venture with Emirates Flight Catering that will more than double the vertical farm’s daily production of leafy greens and expand the Massachusetts-based...
PepsiCo Venture Group is on the lookout for emerging brands offering premium, functional products that also offer consumers benefits that they can easily understand and “feel” – two key indicators of long-term success, according to a company executive.
A month after being hit with a lawsuit alleging it made false and misleading representations about its light ice cream, Halo Top has been targeted again, this time with a proposed class action alleging it routinely under-fills its pints, “and has been...
Finless Foods – one of a new wave of start-ups in the rapidly heating-up cultured fish* arena - has raised $3.5m in a seed round that cofounder and CEO Mike Selden says will “bring us to the end of our initial R&D phase, meaning we’ll have the tools...
‘We tell you what’s on the inside on the outside’ protein bar brand RXBAR has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit* by the same law firms challenging the minimalist ingredients declarations of fellow bar brand That’s It.**
Colorado startup FoodMaven has an ambitious goal to reclaim some of the estimated $200 billion of revenue lost annually in America due to food waste by redirecting oversupplied food from manufacturers and producers to restaurants and institutions through...
At the intersection of the crowded cold-brew coffee category and the highly competitive energy drink segment, the founders of startup Bold Brew Coffee saw an opportunity to bring something new to each space.
Urban greenhouse developer and local produce grower Gotham Greens closed $29m in Series C equity funding last month from existing investors including the Silverman Group along with a new investment from global, family-run private equity firm Creadev.
Frozen kids food brand Kidfresh has carved out a solid spot for itself in the frozen foods aisle, an area that’s re-heating with consumer interest after years of flat growth.
After more than a decade of explosive overall growth, year-over-year sales of gluten-free products are starting to slow, according to some consumer data, but industry insiders suggest manufacturers could breathe new life into the segment by pairing gluten-free...
Beyond Meat has struck a deal with A&W - Canada’s fastest growing national burger chain – to add its plant-based Beyond Burgers to the menu at 925 outlets, boosting its overall distribution in the foodservice sector to 10,000+ restaurants, hotels,...
General Mills has led a funding round that poured $12 million into Boulder,CO-based functional food firm NextFoods and its GoodBelly brand via its venture investing arm 301 Inc.
One in every five dollars spent at online natural and organic membership club Thrive Market is likely to be on private label products by the end of the year, predicts merchandising chief Jeremiah McElwee. “But we’re definitely not trying to be an online...
Snack delivery firm SnackNation has acquired EdgiLife, the consumer insights and data analytics company behind Love With Food, one of the nation's largest direct-to-consumer snack subscription services, for an undisclosed sum.
Following a strong backlash from consumers and industry on a proposal to label sugars on the label of a jar of honey or pure maple syrup as 'added sugars', the US FDA has announced it will “swiftly formulate a revised approach”.
Kantar Worldpanel highlights Sprite as a ‘top performer’ in its global rankings of the most chosen consumer brands, on the basis of its worldwide penetration and number of interactions with consumers. So what has Sprite done right in a shaky market for...
Following on from the success of its French-style yogurt Oui, General Mills has unveiled YQ by Yoplait, a 99% lactose-free yogurt made with ultra-filtered milk (milk filtered to concentrate the protein and reduce the lactose/milk sugar) that “delivers...
FORTO Coffee Shots, a two-ounce, single-serve coffee drink brand, is migrating from check-out counters populated by other energy shot brands and into the coffee aisles of 3,700 Walmart stores beginning this month.
For many consumers the idea of instant tea evokes nose-wrinkling rejection due to its extensive processing, long ingredient lists and a flavor unlike a freshly brewed cup, but startup Cusa Tea wants to change this with a version made in an all-new way...
When it comes to marketing on social media it is easy for companies to spread themselves too thin by trying to be everywhere and reach everyone, which is why the public relations experts at Konnect Agency recommend that firms pick one or two platforms...
For all the enthusiasm surrounding cold-pressed juice, the category faces significant challenges, including high sugar content and a substantial amount of food waste generated during production – two problems that startup Origin Almond says its new line...
Another start-up in the burgeoning cultured meat arena has emerged from stealth mode this month in the form of San Diego-based BlueNalu, which aims to make a splash in the cellular aquaculture field with cell-cultured seafood products after raising an...
With a clutch of start-ups getting closer to commercialization of cell-cultured meat (aka ‘clean meat’) the FDA has announced a public meeting to give stakeholders the chance to comment on the technology and the terminology used to describe it, and suggested...
US packaged food companies have been “frantically buying up new challenger brands at escalating deal multiples to offset the weakening sales trends in their core businesses,” says a new report from Bernstein. But success rates have been hit and miss,...
No matter how fast entrepreneurs hustle or how good their products are, all companies inevitably hit plateaus that threaten to stall or even kill their businesses, and how quickly they can push through depends in large part on the strength of their branding.
Long-awaited guidance from the FDA spelling out which isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates it believes should be classified as ‘dietary fiber’ on the Nutrition Facts panel brings to an end a period of extended uncertainty for companies supplying...
While the US beverage industry is “fundamentally strong” with double-digit sales growth in the last five years, it also is experiencing “big swings” that are reordering the leaderboard as consumers revamp their daily routines to focus more on their health...
Wanting everything to be perfect when launching a new brand is understandable – but it is also a huge detriment that can delay the initial takeoff or hold back a product or company from reaching its full potential long-term, according to the CEO of ice...
Chobani’s mission to deliver better food to more people is about more than creating finished goods that are more nutritious and more accessible – it also is about making those products in a better way, which is one reason why it is adding a Food Tech...
Rising consumer interest in the high-fat ketogenic diet, and the subsequent frustration many feel trying to adhere to the restrictive approach, could prompt a new wave of people to turn to the low-carb Atkins diet as a more flexible option that shares...
Which cooking oils are growing most strongly and why? Is ghee trending and has coconut oil lost some of its luster? Is butter outperforming vegetable-oil-based spreads?
“Much needed” federal funding for organic research, education and outreach could double in the next two years if measures in the Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft farm bill released June 8 make it into the final farm bill.
FDA proposals that the sugars in a jar of honey or pure maple syrup should be listed as 'added sugars' on food labels (albeit with an explanatory note) is “absolutely ridiculous,” according to the vast majority of stakeholders commenting on...
Food and beverage manufacturers and suppliers must actively reassure their partners abroad that they are reliable even as the US pulls out of key international trade arrangements and negotiations around the North American Free Trade Agreement hit the...
'Hummus is gaining momentum globally as a delicious feel good-food'
The nation’s leading hummus brand – Sabra - has appointed Strauss Coffee CEO Tomer Harpaz as its new CEO, replacing Shali Shalit-Shoval, who recently returned home to family overseas after five years with the company.
Organic iced tea specialist Steaz – which debuted in 2002 with a new-to-the-market carbonated green tea – has generated double-digit sales increases over the past 12 months, and is working on additional product platforms that will take it into new territory...
Chris Hood, currently president of Kellogg Europe, has been named president of the firm’s North America business. He will be replaced by Dave Lawlor, currently VP at the European cereal business.
New York based organic pasta maker Sfoglini has completed a $2.5m financing round led by Almanac Insights, an investment fund created by David Barber, co-owner of award-winning farm-to-table restaurants Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Dr Lustig: 'Despite the food industry's propaganda, people now understand that 'a calorie is not a calorie...'
Dr Robert Lustig’s mantra – that not all calories were created equal - appears to be resonating with more US consumers, with one third (33%) of Americans believing that sugars are the ‘source of calories most likely to cause weight gain’ compared with...
Tyson Foods is selling its Sara Lee frozen bakery and Van’s businesses to private equity firm Kohlberg & Company for an undisclosed sum to focus more on its protein-enriched products.
Smucker on course to double net sales of Uncrustables to $500m+ in five years
Initial demand for JM Smucker’s new premium coffee brand 1850 has been stronger than expected, with research suggesting sales could be “highly incremental,” company execs told analysts this week in a Q4 earnings call dominated by questions about the lackluster...
Big institutions (schools, hospitals, colleges) buy processed meat products such as chicken nuggets because they’re familiar, convenient and affordable, says Seattle Food Tech So if you can offer a plant-based alternative that tastes the same, looks the...
'It’s more about a lifestyle and philosophy of eating ...'
If some of the trends Soozy’s is tapping into – Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free – lack universal appeal, its broader philosophy of “clean eating,” minimally processed foods with “ingredients you can pronounce” and no “fillers, stabilizers and additives,”...
Clif Bar has hit back at allegations made in a recent lawsuit* that it is duping consumers by presenting bars that are “loaded with sugar” as wholesome and nutritious, and urged the judge to toss the “absurd” and “implausible” case.
Not technically an herbal tea and not a soda, Petal identifies itself as sparkling botanical blend carving out a new space for itself in the world of better-for-you beverages.
