PureCircle has developed a new family of stevia-based sweeteners designed to shine in low to zero-calorie formulations, an application area that has proved particularly challenging as formulators seek to retain a ‘clean, sugar-like’ taste at higher dosage...
Automatic drip coffee is regaining favor with consumers who increasingly are turning their backs on single-serve pods, which some perceive as convenient but a lower quality and more wasteful than manually- or automatic drip-made coffee, according to an...
Industry consultant Curtis Vreeland considers the recipes for success in the US bean-to-bar chocolate market with analysis from craft chocolatiers such as TCHO and Dandelion Chocolate.
Social media often is a dominant – and sometimes the only – component of most food and beverage companies' marketing strategies, but as platforms continue to proliferate, advertisers must understand to whom each application appeals to maximize their...
Juice in focus at BevNET Live: From V8 to Evolution Fresh, Suja & Bolthouse Farms
Brands, like celebrities and artists, have to stay true to their core essence to retain their integrity, but must also “change and shed personas” from time to time to stay relevant, says Campbell Soup’s beverage VP Kelli McCusker.
“Local” is a hot marketing term that can drive sales – especially for startups hoping to capitalize on home court advantage – but it also can restrict expansion if it is defined too narrowly, says the founder of Dona Chai.
A new on-pack label could be the best way to quickly reduce the use of antibiotics in the livestock industry, according to a major new report for the UK government.
For Undone Chocolate, what is in a name is not as important as what is in its gourmet bars, which is why the startup is dropping individual product names in favor of umbrella branding and highlighting key ingredients.
America’s love affair with spicy flavors will continue in 2016, but with an evolutionary twist that also will open the door for more multicultural flavors, predicts McCormick & Co. in it is annual flavor forecast.
After struggling with slumping stock prices, increased competition and consumer complaints, Keurig Green Mountain stockholders received some good news for a change Dec. 7 when an investor group led by JAB Holdings acquired the single-serve coffee pod...
A lawsuit brought by a group of US consumers is trying to block Anheuser-Busch InBev’s planned acquisition of SABMiller, saying it could mean higher prices and fewer beer choices - claims AB InBev rejects.
Discount brands have more to gain from marketing their sustainability credentials than premium ones, but they’ll have a much harder time convincing consumers their claims aren’t just greenwash.
A self-proclaimed “sugar-fighter,” the founder and CEO of The Right Cup is taking on America’s addiction to sweetened beverages with the upcoming launch of a scented cup that tricks the brain into thinking plain water is a fruit-flavored beverage.
The shift towards cleaner, more nutrient dense foods will continue to spread in the US in the coming year with parents increasingly looking for healthy options for the whole family – including picky children, who in generations past might have been served...
Seaweed, full-fat dairy, floral flavors and mushrooms will all gain traction in 2016, according to the Specialty Food Association (SFA), which has released a list of 10 trends to watch in US food culture next year:
Each year as many as 600 million, or almost one in 10 people in the world, fall ill after consuming contaminated food, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The US Dairy Export Council expects another challenging year for the dairy market in 2016 as Russia and China continue to reduce their reliance on imports.
For startup Tru, Inc., a successful Kickstarter campaign is about more than raising funds to launch its TRUEnergy sports shot – it is about proving to retailers and future investors that the product concept is viable and will sell, said CEO and Founder...
Sharwood’s wants to become the No. 1 brand in the US for pre-made Indian sauces and accompaniments, just like it is in the U.K., by instituting Thursday as “curry night,” according to the food brand’s maker Premier Foods.
From NatureBox to VEGA Coffee, BeanGenius, and LoveWithFood, new online subscription services targeting snack lovers, coffee aficionados, and foodies are popping up almost every week. But what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this market?
Cocoa farmers operate in a chocolate supply chain that perpetuates poverty and bear the bulk of the risk, claims Cacao for Change as it proposes an alternative model.
Small batch roaster Cameron’s Handcrafted Coffee believes in drinking coffee from a cup – not brewing from one, which is one of the many reasons its single serve coffee brews in a filter instead of the ubiquitous plastic cup made popular by Keurig.
Long-anchored in the conventional channel’s center-store with iconic brands such as Hungry Man and Wishbone, Pinnacle Foods’ $975 million acquisition of Boulder Brands gives it a better foothold in the fast-growing refrigerated and health food segments.
Chocolate makers can draw on coffee industry grading standards to develop a common quality system for cocoa, says Lutheran World Relief’s manager of coffee and cocoa.
CEO: 'The center of the store is not generating the kind of performance that we would like'
The Fresh Market can be fixed, but it’s going to have to cut prices of key-value-items (KVIs), and “reinvent” the center of the store, says its new president and CEO Rick Anicetti, who has spent his first few weeks at the helm “looking under the hood”...
Food and beverage manufacturers and suppliers are rising to meet the increasing consumer demand for humanely produced animal products – a trend which the American Humane Association celebrated last week on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The egg industry is undergoing a “renaissance” as consumers increasingly turn their backs to conventional eggs from caged hens and reach instead for those from chickens raised with space to move and access to outdoors, claims the co-owner of Handsome...
NBTY recorded $3.23 billion in net sales in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2015. That total represented a razor-thin gain from the previous, disappointing year but nevertheless was a result that management said it was “generally pleased” with.
Not so long ago, pundits were predicting that the high-purity stevia extracts market would be worth a billion dollars as manufacturers ditched artificial sweeteners and embraced ‘all-natural’ alternatives.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Transparent advertising is essential for reaching modern consumers, but as the maker of Element [Shrub] discovered – knowing which facts to emphasize first is key to driving initial trial.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Heinz Tomato Ketchup has been an iconic staple in American diners and homes for more than 130 years, but Washington, DC-area startup ’Chups believes the condiment is long overdue for an update and that it is just the company to do it.
Unit sales of diet soda are still falling at an alarming rate in the US retail market, with the latest Nielsen data (all channels including grocery, drug, mass, and c-stores) showing an 8.2% decline in the four weeks to October 31 vs the same period a...
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Fermented foods and beverages are growing in popularity as consumers learn more about their health benefits – in turn opening the door for entrepreneurs like The Sweet Farm, which sells fresh sauerkraut and is developing a line of cultured sodas and probiotic...
'Tis the season for giving and La Brea Bakery is getting into the spirit (and onto consumers’ radars) with two campaigns focused on feeding those in need and those who serve their communities.
Just weeks after announcing its intention to sell its private label business to TreeHouse Foods, ConAgra Foods has unveiled plans to re-engineer itself again, this time by separating into independent public companies: one comprising its consumer brands...
Award winning Australian olive oil manufacturer Cobram Estate in February will extend its reach into the competitive US market, which it says suffers a dearth of high quality, extra virgin olive oils.
Consumers are increasingly enthusiastic about discovering ‘small-batch’ foods from artisanal producers, while growing numbers of small producers are looking for other avenues beyond traditional retailers to get their wares to market. Hatchery – an online...
General Mills coughed up a cool $820m to buy Annie’s last year. But it has also signaled its intention to invest in brands at an earlier stage in their development via its 301 Inc venturing arm and a recent tie up with equity crowdfunding site CircleUp....
In an effort to maintain the current Dietary Guideline recommendation to restrict cholesterol intake, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Nutrition has launched an aggressive public health campaign against eggs, which it says are the primary source...
Online retail of food and beverage may be small now, but it is slowly gaining traction in the US – providing start-ups struggling to get their foot in the door another option for reaching consumers, according to the CEO of online subscription snack service...
Clear windows on packaged foods and beverages seem to be all the rage right now as manufacturers try to literally meet consumer desire for transparency and authenticity – but a well-placed photograph sometimes is a more effective marketing tool, branding...
Becoming non-GMO certified can help brands attract new consumers and boost sales, but it also could alienate existing shoppers if manufacturers are not careful, cautions Asian sauce maker San-J.
While only a small portion of people currently buy food online, the expansion of digital shopping is eroding consumer loyalty to retailers – forcing them to rethink how best to approach consumers, according to an industry consultant.
