Prohibiting the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages and other “unhealthy” foods and beverages with SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, likely would not discourage their consumption, but would be costly and difficult for retailers to implement,...
When the Arctic Apple hits select store shelves this month as one of the first products genetically modified for consumers’ benefit, it will serve as a line in the sand for the tug of war between the non-GMO movement and the future of food innovation.
Meal kit co Sun Basket raises $15m in Series C financing round
San Francisco-based Sun Basket, one of the fastest-growing players in the burgeoning meal kit delivery market, has raised $15m in a Series C funding round that will enable it to complete work on a third distribution center that will give it access to...
C-Fresh sales down 8% in Q2 driven by lower sales of carrots, Bolthouse Farms refrig beverages, Garden Fresh Gourmet
Packaged fresh food is bang on trend as consumers seek more convenient fresh and healthy options, says Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison. But it’s taking longer than expected for the company’s brands in this segment to deliver a positive impact on the...
From restaurants’ fixation with ghost peppers to the presence of sriracha on dining tables across the country and chili pepper in everything from snack chips to hot chocolate, it is probably safe to say that America is obsessed with all things spicy.
Around 80% of La Colombe’s Draft Latte product is milk, so why not place it in the dairy section? That’s what ran through the mind of EVP of sales Kyle O’Brien, and retailers are going with it.
The trend towards continuous grazing throughout the day will create new ‘multi-temperature’ snacking opportunities for manufacturers as a ‘tapas-style’ approach to eating gains momentum, predicted panelists at the FoodNavigator-USA/BakeryandSnacks snacking...
The bone broth category (shelf-stable and refrigerated) is pretty small in the scheme of things, but it’s growing rapidly, with US retail sales more than tripling to $19.7m in the 52 weeks to Jan 22,* fueled by a small but highly engaged set of health...
Legislation aimed at redirecting food that would be wasted to hungry Americans would make it easier for stakeholders to donate food and reduce the risk that consumers prematurely throw away food that they erroneously believe has spoiled.
Pea protein-fueled brand Ripple has weighed into plant-based ‘milk’ debate with a provocative new media campaign that challenges the nutritional and environmental credentials of dairy milk, but also brands almond milk a ‘sham,’ and argues that when it...
Packaged in the fashion of traditional deli meats—paper wrappers with a sticker label—No Evil Foods is stepping away from the tech-oriented positioning and branding that many non-animal ‘meat-like’ proteins are going for.
Yogurt manufacturers continue to expand and evolve their portfolios with healthier and more convenient options that meet consumers’ growing demand for products that are lower in sugar, high in flavor and easy to eat.
Typically considered smooth and creamy, the idea for most Americans that ice cream also could be chewy might seem like a stretch – and it is. Literally.
Kevin Klock: ‘Now we have created a real brand identity’
Talking Rain Beverage Co has unveiled a $37m national ad campaign that president Kevin Klock says will give Sparkling ICE a stronger brand identity – something it has historically lacked, despite its meteoric growth (estimated retail sales have surged...
Manufacturers and brands will need to be more flexible in their approach to packaging in 2017 to better reflect the previously unexpected blending of ingredients, flavors and usage occasions that are emerging to ensure the products deliver the best experience,...
Sales of natural and organic products may be steadily increasing – and even outpacing that of the overall food industry – but three main barriers continue to hold them back from their full potential, suggest new research.
Artisanal vegan cheese maker Miyoko’s Kitchen has completed a $6m series B financing round led by JMK Consumer Growth Partners and supported by Obvious Ventures, Stray Dog Capital, and CircleUp’s internally-managed fund.
A new ability to don an unqualified “please, recycle” claim on cartons elevates the packaging’s already strong sustainability story and gives brands that use the containers another tool with which to woo environmentally-conscious consumers.
As the concept of clean label continues to evolve and transition from an industry term to one consumers understand and seek, companies should take a more sophisticated approach to the trend by accounting for how different generations prioritize and interpret...
Incredible Foods – the firm behind allergy-friendly Perfectly Free frozen coconut bites – is gearing up for the 2018 launch of what it claims is a completely new form of snack: refrigerated bites with a 'grape-like' skin made from fruit and...
Product recall insurance: Are you to speed? Lessons from Heinz v Starr
Grupo Bimbo is expected to maintain growth after the death of the Mexican bakery magnate Don Lorenzo Servitje Sendra, who founded the company in the 1940s, says an analyst.
Every year more people wake up to coffee or use it to fuel them day, but according to a comprehensive report recently published by the Climate Institute, this early morning ritual, and everything that goes into making it possible, face significant threats...
Forty years ago, the US cottage cheese market was twice the size of the yogurt market. Today, yogurt (at $7.68bn) is seven times bigger in dollar terms than cottage cheese (down 1.7% to $1.1bn in retail sales in 2016 according to Nielsen data). So have...
Pasta Chips, Bow Ties, on course to generate revenues of $15m in 2017
Snack brands that want to break through the $2-3m revenue barrier have to appeal to mainstream shoppers as well as trend-setters in New York or L.A. says serial snacking entrepreneur and CPG veteran Jerry Bello, who says his latest innovations – Pasta...
Protein shows no sign of petering out in 2017 with many consumers still listing it as an “ideal attribute” for fortification across categories and an ever-growing list of sources from which manufacturers can choose, according to a product development...
Bolthouse Farms expands its footprint in the crowded dressing category with the launch of a new premium line that fills the whitespace in the unexpectedly bare overlap between organic and better-for-you options.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
When KRAVE burst onto the scene in 2010, its all-natural credentials, premium packaging and gourmet flavors gave it a unique point of difference in the sluggish meat snacks market. Since then, however, scores of new entrants have started muscling in on...
The dairy lobby is justifiably frustrated about the widespread use of dairy-terms (milk, cheese, yogurt) to describe plant-based products, but it also needs to focus on its own game to understand why sales of fluid dairy milk are declining, argues The...
Perhaps not surprising, but disappointing nonetheless to environmental, health and nutrition advocates is new research that ranks the US dead last, or very near the bottom, out of 25 countries on a long list of food sustainability indicators, including...
Food and beverage brands of all sizes and across categories are scrambling to reduce sugar in their products before FDA regulations mandating they indicate added and total sugar on the Nutrition Facts panel goes into effect in July 2018, according to...
The Dairy Pride Act, which seeks to crack down on the use of dairy-derived labels for plant-based products on the grounds shoppers are being misled, is a “solution looking for a problem,” claims the marketing boss of one of the leading players in the...
While most Americans remain unfamiliar with drinking vinegar, the category is gaining traction and could be the next kombucha if manufacturers work together to promote its many benefits and uses, according to one segment player.
With the new administration comes new opportunities for the food and beverage industry, from agriculture and scientists to manufacturers and public health advocates, to make their priorities heard by collectively raising their voices, stakeholders argued...
'Is your packaging visible, visceral, and memorable? If not, you don’t have a brand'
Whether you’re an established brand hiring a top agency to revamp your packaging, or a penniless entrepreneur with a blank canvas and a Photoshop license, you should always ask yourself three questions, says design guru Simon Thorneycroft.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
If pulse-based snacks (made with beans, peas, chickpeas, or lentils) were seen as niche, ‘natural,’ products a few years ago, they are firmly in the mainstream in 2017, says the CEO of one firm on a mission to make beans “accessible, delicious and affordable.”
If 50% of eating occasions are now snacks,* do we have to rethink what a snack is? An occasional treat or an everyday healthy indulgence? A fresh mini-meal? A quick energy boost? And when it comes to snacks, what new formats, flavors, label claims and...
Pulse-based snacks are enjoying an “unprecedented popularity” thanks in part to a year-long marketing campaign spearheaded by the United Nations, but they still have a long way to go to catch-up with other alternative-ingredient snacks, according to Packaged...
The due date for the next Farm Bill may still be a year away, but stakeholders already are drawing up a laundry list of diverse requests that will require a “big tent approach” at a time when deeply divided political leaders appear unlikely to meet each...
Trump supporters are calling for a boycott of Budweiser following the beer giant’s Super Bowl ad - which depicts Anheuser-Busch co-founder Adolphus Busch’s arrival in America from Germany - interpreting it as a political statement against the President's...
Reese’s and Cookie Layer Crunch will be major investment focuses when Hershey’s next CEO Michele Buck takes office in March, 2017, according to the company’s Q4 earnings conference call.
You’ve got a great product, you’re bursting with entrepreneurial zeal, you’ve outgrown the space you’re renting in a commercial kitchen and you’re ready to look for a contract manufacturer/co-packer. Well steel yourself, says PartnerSlate founder and...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Once restricted to a handful of products, such as yogurt, probiotics are enjoying unprecedented popularity and are popping up in unexpected places with many bold health claims, but not everything consumers or manufacturers hear about probiotics is true.
If the novelty factor surrounding edible insects has worn off somewhat, consumer interest in protein – particularly where there is a sustainability story to tell – continues to grow, says Denver-based start-up Lithic Nutrition, which packs 15g of protein...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Cauliflower rice is now available in the frozen and chilled sections of some retailers, but British brand Cauli-Rice is hoping to carve out new territory in the emerging category with a shelf-stable, microwaveable product with a more ‘al dente’ texture...
