The long-term imperative driving meat alternatives is clear: We only have one planet, with a growing population and finite resources, and raising animals to feed them all just takes up too many of them, says Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer at...
Knowing entrepreneurs often dramatically underestimate the time it takes to validate their business models, are more likely to lose money or break even than make a profit and face abysmal failure rates, one successful founder is offering a helping hand...
What is a snack? A treat, a mini-meal, a mid-afternoon pick me up? What do consumers look for – and avoid - on labels, and how has the pandemic influenced eating habits and snacking behaviors?
Wicked Kitchen – a plant-powered brand with a distinct culinary bent developed by chefs Derek and Chad Sarno – has acquired plant-based seafood brand Good Catch (also founded by the Sarno brothers), which CEO Pete Speranza says is “100% accretive” and...
Forsea Foods has developed cell-cultured fish leveraging its patented organoid technology. FoodNavigator hears how this novel approach is simplifying the process of growing animal cells in bioreactors and assembling them into whole cuts and fillets.
“I see all these emails going around saying once the [2018] Farm Bill passes, CBD is legal in all 50 states… and that’s just not true,” observed one attorney in December 2018. Four years later, while a lot has changed, the FDA maintains that CBD is not...
Have we reached peak alt-meat? Or is the weakening performance in US retail merely reflective of inflationary pressures (plant-based meat is more expensive than conventional, although the gap is narrowing) and well-publicized issues at some of the publicly-listed...
From Reishi to Lion’s Mane, medicinal mushrooms are gaining traction in foods, beverages and supplements, buoyed by interest in ingredients that may support immunity, mood and cognition. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with California-based organic mushroom...
Sacred Serve, a Chicago startup making non-dairy gelato using upcycled coconut meat as its star ingredient, is expanding to Whole Foods stores nationwide where it aims to set a new standard for the category.
Every day Americans drink an estimated 517 million cups of coffee, according to the most recent consumer research from the National Coffee Association, which found that while nearly one in five savor a classic black cup with no adornments, the percentage...
Offering great value for money and some sustainability bona fides (low food waste/easy recycling), the canned food aisle has obvious attractions, especially if you're on a tight budget. But it’s not exactly the place you go to discover exciting new...
Hain Celestial had a tough fiscal 2022 year but has a positive outlook on its North American business as supply chain disruptions abate and consumers remain loyal to the natural and organic segment.
While weakening retail sales and grim quarterly earnings from some publicly listed players have prompted intense debate about the future of meat alternatives, the “crisis of confidence” this has prompted has overshadowed the fact that amid all this noise,...
Coca-Cola has named Jennifer Mann as the new president of the company's North America operating unit, replacing Alfredo Rivera, who will be stepping down on Dec. 31.
A new study – published a month after the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded a cautionary note about the long-term effects of zero-calorie sweeteners such as sucralose and saccharin – suggests some diet sweeteners are not inert and can alter the...
Still a niche segment within the plant-based food category, plant-based yogurt is poised to become a much larger piece of the chilled dairy set as consumers find products that can closely mimic the taste and mouthfeel of its conventional dairy counterparts,...
The acute health threat of COVID-19 may be ebbing for most Americans, but the desire it instilled in many to bolster their physical and mental wellbeing continues to push consumers to seek food as medicine, according to industry insiders.
The “huge bet” SunOpta has placed on oatmilk through an aggressive series of investments in production capacity “has absolutely paid off,” says CEO Joe Ennen as the firm gears up to open a new aseptic production facility in Midlothian, Texas and expand...
It’s easy to see the grim P&L figures at Beyond Meat and Oatly and the recent lackluster performance of some refrigerated meat alternatives in US retail as proof that the entire ‘alt protein’ space is a busted flush, but the real picture is more nuanced,...
As the average retail price of chicken eggs has surged 51% in the past year, JUST Egg has reduced pricing for its 12-ounce plant-based liquid egg product by 41%, reaching cost parity with premium chicken egg competitors, according to recent data from...
Notoriously thin operating margins in the food supply chain will likely keep manufacturers and retailers from incrementally lowering prices even as input costs begin to come down – preferring instead to wait until the economic landscape stabilizes and...
In the face of an unrelenting inflationary environment, zero sugar soda brand Zevia is reporting continued growth and consumer adoption of its products, especially in the club channel.
Microbes can produce a host of ingredients traditionally made by plants or animals more sustainably and efficiently. But if you want to make complex plant-based ingredients such as coffee or cocoa, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria...
While overall inflation in the US cooled slightly in July, giving hope to some economists that financial pressures may be peaking, food prices continue to climb at their fastest rate in more than 40 years – suggesting the economic recovery still has a...
The popularity of condiments soared during the pandemic as consumers used the products as an easy way to elevate an otherwise bland meal made at home, notes Mintel, which says that condiment brands must engage with younger consumers to ensure future long-term...
A lawsuit* recently filed by former co-packer Don Lee Farms accusing Beyond Meat of “grossly” overstating the protein in its products is motivated by “personal vendetta" and should be seen as a “transparent attempt to gain leverage” on the eve of...
Fresh off closing a $3.9m seed funding round* led by Unovis Asset Management, Paragon Pure is debuting its OléPBM alternative fat technology made from rice bran oil, which it claims outperforms palm and coconut oils in plant-based meat products.
Sustainability “is probably on slide two or three of every customer presentation now,” notes Ingredion, but how can consumers cut through the PR noise to make meaningful comparisons between brands? Checkout our final gallery of trends at IFT FIRST exploring...
Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown faced another grilling from analysts on the firm’s Q2 earnings call Thursday after posting a $97.1m net loss on net sales of $147m, lowering guidance for the full year from $560-$620m to $470m-$520m, and cutting 4% of its global...
Boston-based food tech firm Motif FoodWorks has promoted its CTO Dr Michael Leonard to the role of CEO, effective immediately, as current CEO Jonathan McIntyre moves to an advisory role in the company.
Revol Greens, the largest greenhouse lettuce grower in North America, is growing from 30 to nearly 50 acres of indoor farming space with the opening of a new facility in Texas and plans to double operations at its three other existing facilities to eventually...
Sugar reduction is still top of mind for most US consumers, but their motivations for purchasing low- and no-sugar beverages have shifted from weight management and dieting pursuits to achieving a sense of general wellbeing, claims Howard Telford, head...
Despite the difficult economic reset underway in the capital markets and lingering supply chain challenges, rising inflation and the growing threat of a recession, investors are still interested in the food and beverage space, according to one investment...
As consumer interest in ‘plant-based’ products has grown in recent years, so too have products proudly proclaiming their status as such – but what does the term actually mean, and how influential is it really?
The family feud over who should lead Illinois-based kefir maker Lifeway Foods and how it should be run has moved into a calmer phase, with an agreement between the company and key shareholders Edward and Ludmila Smolyansky that will keep CEO Julie Smolyansky...
The past two years have been a rollercoaster for many food and beverage companies, who have had to deal with everything from a global pandemic to rocketing inflation, labor shortages, and massive disruption across their supply chains. So what does all...
According to a new draft guideline from the World Health Organization (WHO), non-nutritive sweetener consumption is associated with metabolic syndrome, something proponents of diet sweeteners say shows correlation, not causation, and merely reflects the...
Unilever isn’t worried about losing market share or volume as it pushes through aggressive price hikes to offset inflation and build reserves that it can use to invest in advertising, R&D and capital expenditure for long-term gains, according to company...
Bay area startup Zero Acre Farms - which is deploying microbial fermentation to produce oils and fats it claims can outperform rivals in the nutrition and sustainability stakes – has launched direct to consumer with a ‘cultured’ cooking oil boasting a...
Illinois-based kefir company Lifeway Foods, which has been the subject of inner family feuding related to its leadership*, reported +16.7% net sales growth for the full year ending December 31, 2021 compared to 2020.
So-called ‘alternative proteins’ – from upcycled barley and canola protein to animal-free whey made in fermentation tanks using genetically engineered microbes – were a hot topic at IFT First in Chicago. But with US retail sales of some meat alternatives...
Boulder-based Meati Foods – which is seeking to differentiate itself in the increasingly crowded meat-alternative space with a fungi-based platform capable of producing ‘steaks’ and other whole cuts – has raised $150m in a Series C round led by Revolution...
Facing sharp criticism in the media that FDA’s approach to food safety is “broken,” “Byzantine” and a “ridiculous joke,” the agency is undertaking a “top to bottom” review of the “structure, function, funding and leadership” of its food program, agency...
Frustrated with FDA’s “inefficient decision making,” reliance on “inexperienced and undertrained” inspectors and “split and siloed” approach to food safety and oversight, the Consumer Brands Association this morning reiterated its call for the agency...
“The NASA food system used on the International Space Station is more than adequate,” delegates at IFT First were told in a packed education session last Tuesday. “But a mission to Mars won't allow the resupplying of food and the crew won't...
From more efficient production of rare sugars tagatose and allulose (and intriguing new possibilities with D-allose), to ‘enhanced’ sugars, and a mystery disaccharide that behaves like sugar, but is metabolized very differently, check out part one of...
In the battle against food waste, most industry players are only addressing part of the problem, claims Aidan Mouat, CEO and co-founder of Chicago-based Hazel Technologies, who says through the company's proprietary shelf-life extension technology,...
