Supply chain challenges exacerbated by the pandemic have bolstered consumer interest in buying local to better support farmers, ensure product quality and reduce environmental impact, but many do not want to sacrifice the savings or year-around variety...
Plant based meat brand Tofurky has teamed up with San Diego-based Triton Algae Innovations to commercialize new ‘algae-based meat innovations’ featuring Triton’s protein-rich Non-GMO ‘essential red' algae for retail launch in Q1, 2022.
While many parents say that their family has eaten more healthily since the start of the pandemic, one in five parents reports relying more heavily on fast food as a quick fix family meal option, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott...
As the popularity of oat milk continues to rise in the US, so too do the number of players – but by taking an “oat milk for all approach,” that includes a lower average price point, more inclusive distribution strategy and aggressive sampling program,...
Venture capital firm Lever VC has completed final close of Lever VC Fund I, with $80m raised to back early stage plant-based and cell-cultured meat and dairy companies around the world.
Eat Just’s cell-cultured meat division GOOD Meat has secured an additional $97m on top of the $170m announced in May, bringing its overall fundraise to $267m, the largest to date in the nascent sector.
A keen empathy for consumers, a deep commitment to innovation and an open-door approach to collaboration helped the founder of Nissin Foods not only capture the hearts of billions of people when he invented instant noodles, but also helped build and sustain...
PepsiCo has unveiled a new data platform dubbed ‘pepviz’ enabling it to collaborate with retail partners to develop a more granular, targeted, and ‘hyperlocal’ approach to product assortment, digital marketing and inventory management that has already...
Sophie’s Kitchen has secured a $5.6m investment led by venture capital firm Billy Goat Brands to help it expand its plant-based seafood empire, which now extends into multiple categories including ‘toona,’ crab cakes, fish filets, smoked salmon, and shrimp....
While pantry stocking and increased consumer demand for food consumed at home pushed up same store sales 15.8% for most food retailers in 2020, margins remained tight as new pandemic-related expenses and higher credit/debit card, healthcare and new technology...
For the co-founders of the better-for-you Asian American food startup immi, the most exciting part of closing their seed fundraise wasn’t the $3.8m that will help them relaunch an improved version of their low-carb, high-protein, plant-based instant ramen...
Interested in meat, dairy, and seafood alternatives? Is all the hype - and the wads of cash - truly justified? Are some formulations (think plant-based cheese and yogurt) really ready for prime time? Are the purchase drivers for plant-based seafood the...
PepsiCo’s new SodaStream Professional platform will expand into functional beverages and new markets as part of PepsiCo’s company-wide pep+ program: a ‘strategic end-to-end transformation with sustainability at the center’.
Sales of herbal supplements in the US grew by a record-breaking 17.3% in 2020, with elderberry supplements surging to almost $320 million in the combined mainstream and natural channels.
Mondelez International and a union representing more than 1,000 Nabisco employees have reached a tentative agreement that could end a strike at three bakeries and three sales distribution facilities across the country that began early last month.
US federal regulatory agencies have issued warnings on the availability of delta-8 THC, saying reports of almost 150 recent emergency room visits have mentioned the substance.
Full Sail IP Partners, a Warburg Pincus-backed investment firm set up to acquire brands, has bought the Odwalla juice and smoothie brand from Coca-Cola - which discontinued it last year - for an undisclosed sum.
In FoodNavigator-USA's latest roundup of new product launches, we include an eclectic mix of new products, from Chobani's first foray into peanut butter, to Hershey's new 'Oat Made' bars, an interesting new twist on tofu, and...
With soup sales beginning to cool closer to pre-pandemic levels in the last quarter of fiscal 2021, Campbell Soup Co. is heating up the category, literally and figuratively, with innovations across its Pacific, Well Yes! and namesake soup brands to maintain...
While inflation in August was still more than double the Federal Reserve’s 2% long-term target, its growth rate slowed for the first time in eight months – sparking optimism in some policy makers that the economy is healing.
Outer Aisle Gourmet – which makes sandwich thins, pizza crusts, and wraps using fresh cauliflower as the #1 ingredient – is gearing up to open its third manufacturing facility to meet growing demand for its grain-free, low-carb products.
By Hannah Crum, president, Kombucha Brewers International
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on the US economy, but one industry that has continued to see growth-- and even increased demand, with the renewed interest in health brought on by the crisis-- is kombucha.
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced 12 winners of a challenge aimed at increasing supply chain transparency and traceability for ingredients and whole foods.
Walmart is making it even easier for consumers to buy groceries online by simplifying its retail app and fulfillment process, and teaming with the multi-media company Meredith Corporation to leverage artificial intelligence and shoppable recipes for a...
The California Legislature has passed a bipartisan bill to establish rules for the production and marketing of CBD/hemp products. Proponents expect Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the bill into law before the Oct. 10 deadline.
Unlike many other retailers, Dollar General does not plan to pass through to consumers price increases to offset inflation, rather executives said the banner is more likely to change its product mix – a strategy that shifts the onus for cost management...
When it comes to packaging, is it always clear which is the most environmentally-friendly choice? Mixed material packaging combining high levels of paperboard, for example, is often touted as a greener choice than plastic, but if most of it ends up in...
Retailers struggling with labor shortages are offering higher pay and better benefits to fill vacancies – but according to one industry player they also should embrace automation to ease the burden on and maximize the efficiency of existing staff to maintain...
Despite “more inflation than we’ve seen in really in a decade,” General Mills has successfully offset increases with little detriment to sales or retailer and consumer relationships, but managing labor constraints and supply chain challenges hasn’t been...
While investors and journalists are pretty excited about a new wave of startups growing food in fermentation tanks, it’s easy to forget that we’ve been eating a filamentous fungus grown in big metal vats (a.k.a. ‘mycoprotein’) since the 1980s, says the...
Like many CPG players, Kraft Heinz has leaned heavily on pricing to offset inflationary pressures, and is willing to do so again, but it is not the only weapon in the company’s arsenal to protect its margins and balance consumers’ needs, executives said...
“Avolution” leader and maker of avocado-based oil and kitchen staples, Chosen Foods, joins Los Angeles-based private equity firm Butterfly’s fast-growing portfolio of better-for-you brands as it pursues global expansion and the chance to improve more...
From plant-based and nutritionally enhanced products to improved sustainability and packaging innovations, the 45 startups participating in FoodBytes! by Rabobank’s Pitch 2021 competition announced today hit on some of the hottest trends and biggest challenges...
Impossible Foods will start rolling out plant-based Impossible Chicken nuggets to the frozen aisle at grocery chains including Walmart, Safeway and Kroger later this month, with a view to reaching 10,000 stores by the year end, while restaurants nationwide...
The Gardein plant-based meat brand notched up retail sales of $170m in measured channels* in the year to July 25, up 33.5% versus two years ago, says brand owner Conagra Brands, which says it's particularly encouraged by the 'growth that is...
Over the next three years, Kellogg Company wants to invest $45m to boost production of and better position for long-term success its ready-to-eat cereal business, which has bumped up against capacity restraints in recent months as consumer demand has...
Local Bounti is playing to win in the CEA (controlled environment agriculture) sector with a hybrid approach to growing its leafy greens that combines the best of vertical and horizontal greenhouse farming, which founder and CEO Craig Hurlbert says offers...
Kraft Heinz will pay $62m to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it improperly inflated earnings for years by manipulating expenses to appear lower and failing to implement sufficient internal controls, the CPG giant announced Friday.
Israeli startup Seebo may be best-known for helping food and beverage companies, like Barilla, Nestle, Mondelez and PepsiCo, predict and prevent food waste, but its Process-Based Artificial Intelligence technology also can help companies navigate one...
Ongoing labor challenges are a double-edged sword for Hormel Foods Corporation, which struggled to fully meet consumer demand in its third quarter due to staffing shortages, but which also saw its food service business rebound significantly thanks to...
For a company with an over 90-year history, Ocean Spray is still in its early days of tapping into the kids beverage category with its Growing Goodness line, a functional line of kids juice products with no added sugar.
Feeling good about where Campbell Soup Co landed in fiscal 2021 “amidst the difficult environment,” company executives anticipate fiscal 2022 “will be a complicated transitional year” as inflation, labor shortages and other supply chain challenges persist....
Kellogg is bracing for at least another six to nine months of volatility as it continues to grapple with supply chain constraints, inflation and labor shortages, but it also is optimistic about upcoming innovations and opportunities embedded in new consumer...
Ari Raz - who helped introduce Americans to fresh baby food via the Once Upon a Farm brand – has taken the helm at The Coconut Cult, another California-based startup attempting to carve out a new category in grocery.
While many retailers and CPG manufacturers are implementing price increases to their product assortments, online fresh food retailer FreshDirect said it will be rolling out price savings to consumers on a wide variety of its products.
To keep up with its robust year-over-year growth and prevent disruptions to its supply chain network, Walmart has announced that it will be hiring 20,000 new supply chain associates to work across its distribution centers, fulfillment centers, and transportation...
Climate change, labor shortages, inflation and strained supply chains threaten manufacturers’ and suppliers’ ability to ethically source, safely produce and efficiently deliver the foods consumers want at prices they can afford -- but what if there was...
B&G Foods is selling its Portland, Maine, manufacturing facility to the Institute for Digital Engineering and Life Sciences to cut costs and boost efficiencies at a time when the overall food and beverage industry is struggling with inflation and...