Dairy-based ingredients

IRI: Stimulus changes threatened CPG industry with $3bn loss unless stakeholders better support SNAP shoppers

03-Nov-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

The CPG industry is facing a potential $3bn loss as temporary pandemic-related stimulus earmarked for groceries was phased out last month – despite the launch of a simultaneous permanent increase in monthly benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance...

Independent grocers prove resilient: 'The pandemic brought consumers back to independent grocers in record numbers'

01-Nov-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

While most of the grocery retail sector experienced record sales last year, independent and small regional grocers experienced a notable lift in sales despite increased costs of doing business and dealing with the same supply chain issues as many of its...

Keto-friendly Nick’s Ice Cream raises $100m, expands further into snacking segment

28-Oct-2021 By Elaine Watson

Swedish keto-friendly brand Nick’s – which entered the US in late 2019 with low carb light ice cream pints and has since expanded into ice cream sandwiches and keto snack bars – has raised $100m in a Series C round led by Kinnevik, Ambrosia Investments...

Rise of frozen snacking driven by consumers' desire for permissible indulgence

26-Oct-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Consumers have evolved their definition of what qualifies as a snack and are increasingly seeking out permissibly indulgent options, which has given rise to a new type of snacking behavior in the frozen set, Mintel consumer insights research suggests....

Food prices continue to climb twice as fast as all-items in September, bringing YOY increase to 4.6%

26-Oct-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food prices continue their steady climb, rising in the last month nearly as much as they did for all of 2019 before the pandemic wreaked havoc on supply chains and dramatically altered consumer demand, according to data released Oct. 25 from the US Department...

FoodBytes! Pitch final 15 focus on scalable, environmentally-friendly solutions to increase nutrition

26-Oct-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

With an eye towards identifying technologies and innovations that “exemplify the new food economy” by offering scalable solutions that increase nutrition with minimal environmental impact, FoodBytes! by Rabobank has winnowed down from 45 global startups...

Soup-To-Nuts podcast: Gerber examines parental pressures to better support kids in first 1,000 days

25-Oct-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Recognizing that what and how parents choose to feed their newborns and toddlers goes beyond just nutrition, Gerber undertook an ambitious investigation into the universal pressures that caregivers face with an eye towards better supporting them as they...

Danone talks alt dairy, from ‘exciting’ animal-free proteins to ‘dairy-like’ technology in Silk NextMilk

21-Oct-2021 By Elaine Watson

A leading player in plant-based dairy with its Silk and So Delicious brands, Danone North America has made significant strides in improving the taste and texture of plant-based cheese, yogurt, and milk over the past 12 months, says chief research &...

Introducing the 4th Food For Kids Summit: How are new guidelines, emerging research and evolving trends reshaping children’s diets and the marketplace?

20-Oct-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Beginning at conception and continuing through first bites to afterschool snacks and beyond, nutrition plays a pivotal role in children’s brain development, emotional lives, and long-term health – but all too often they aren’t getting all the nutrients...

How is Danone deploying ‘dairy-like’ technology in milk alternatives? Join us TODAY in part II of FoodNavigator-USA’s Disrupting the meat and dairy case broadcast series

13-Oct-2021 By Elaine Watson

Can we reverse engineer every dairy product and rebuild it with plants, molecule by molecule, or are there some applications such as yogurts or cheese where plants just don’t deliver the taste, functionality, or nutrition consumers are looking for?

Chocolate milk brand Slate raises additional $3.3m in seed round, expands distribution to 4,000 stores

04-Oct-2021 By Elaine Watson

Boston-based startup Slate Milk – maker of ultra-filtered, high-protein, lactose-free chocolate milk in shelf-stable cans - has raised an additional $3.3m in a seed round backed by the founders of RXBAR, Halo Top, Drizly, Yasso, and consumer-focused investment...

TurtleTree opens R&D center in California accelerating path to market for cell-based milk

01-Oct-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

TurtleTree, a biotech company using cell-based technologies to create dairy ingredients, has opened a new US-based research facility in Sacramento, California, accelerating its commercialization plans to bring its cell-based milk and dairy ingredients...

The Urgent Company and Perfect Day unveil 2nd animal-free dairy brand: Modern Kitchen cream cheese, as Perfect Day raises $350m, with an 'eye toward eventual strong public market performance'

30-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

The Urgent Company – best known for Brave Robot ‘animal-free’ ice cream– is moving into new territory with the launch of Modern Kitchen lactose-free cream cheese, its second brand featuring Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy proteins (made with microbes,...

GALLERY: Alternative protein startups to watch at the GFI Good Food Conference

29-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

From 'whole cuts' of seafood from fungi, to plant-based lamb, to highly functional proteins from brewers' spent grains, here's a quick snapshot of some of the alternative protein startups participating in a virtual pitch slam at last...

UNFI: ‘The supply chain is stressed right now,’ but ‘we’re uniquely positioned’ to offer retailers relief

29-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Shares of United Natural Foods skyrocketed yesterday after the natural and organic food wholesaler’s fourth quarter earnings beat industry expectations, and executives laid out an optimistic outlook for 2022 with concrete plans to make the best of lingering...

Animal-free dairy: Perfect Day moves into foodservice via tie-up with Villa Dolce on gelato, ready-to-bake dessert mixes

28-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

Berkeley-based startup Perfect Day – which makes dairy proteins using microbes instead of cows – has made its first move into the foodservice arena via a partnership with Villa Dolce to incorporate ‘animal-free’ whey into two new categories: gelato and...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Killer Creamery finds sweet-spot in sugar-free ice cream, frozen novelties

27-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Not many companies would be satisfied with or even strive to produce a food or beverage that tastes ‘normal,’ but the founder of the better-for-you frozen dessert company Killer Creamery couldn’t be happier that the taste of brand’s new ice cream sandwich...

News In Brief

Animal welfare, organic claims are increasing in the meat, dairy cases – bringing higher sales

27-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Animal-based meat and dairy manufacturers increasingly are addressing consumer demand for improved animal welfare and environmental impact – helping to defend and grow their sales in the face of encroaching competition from plant-based options.

Natural Products Expo East

Sales growth of natural, organic products slows, but still on track to surpass $300bn by 2023

24-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Demand for immunity-boosting products may have driven an initial double-digit surge of natural and organic product sales early in the pandemic, but many category newcomers have stayed – and more have flocked to the segment in 2021 – even as the threat...

Planet Oat captures share in competitive oat milk category with an all-inclusive, easy-access approach

21-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

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,...

Don’t have a cow? Perfect Day lifecycle assessment underscores sustainability benefits of animal-free dairy proteins

20-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

Berkeley-based startup Perfect Day has underscored its sustainability credentials with the release of an expanded lifecycle assessment suggesting its ‘non-animal’ whey protein - produced by microbes, not cows – has a dramatically lower environmental footprint...

NEW PRODUCTS GALLERY: From 'Oddly Good' plant-based yogurt to oatmeal in a ball and chickpea tofu

15-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

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...

Slower inflation growth in August sparks optimism, but likely won’t impact grocery prices soon

14-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

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.

Precision fermentation innovator Formo celebrates record funding round

13-Sep-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Berlin-based Formo is celebrating getting record funding from investors looking to capitalise on the growing market for environmentally friendly dairy alternatives.

FoodBytes! Pitch 2021 highlights sustainable supply chain solutions, enhanced nutrition & improved resource management

08-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

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...

Emmi buys top US feta producer from Lactalis

02-Sep-2021 By Jim Cornall

The Emmi Group has acquired Athenos, the leader in the US feta market.

Walmart boosts supply chain workforce with plans to hire 20,000 new employees

01-Sep-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

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...

'A step in the right direction...' Chobani unveils paper-based yogurt cups

26-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

In a first for a national dairy brand in the US, Chobani has unveiled a yogurt cup made with 80% paperboard that will hit the market later this year in its single-serve oat blend products, with a view to rolling out across a wider set of products over...

USDA predicts higher food prices on top of existing hikes – calling into question consumer reactions

26-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food prices across categories are predicted to rise low- to mid-single digits this year and again next year – adding on to already higher prices in 2020 fueled in part by the pandemic and raising questions about how consumers will react in the long term,...

WATCH: What are 'milk,' 'meat,' and 'eggs?' And what do we call animal products as they become decoupled from animals?

24-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Meat, egg, and dairy ‘alternatives’ usually come with qualifying language (plant-based eggs; meatless nuggets, oatmilk). But what should we call next generation products that are not simply mimicking the real thing, but in many cases, are the ‘real’ thing,...

Brick Meets Click: Online grocery shopping sales decline slightly in July

23-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Online grocery shopping sales declined by 2% to $6.7bn in the month of July compared to the previous month, but still remain well above pre-COVID sales levels, according to recent data from Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

General Mills explores ‘animal-free’ dairy segment via ‘development brand’ Renegade Creamery

23-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

General Mills is dipping its toes into the emerging ‘animal-free’ dairy category with a brand called Renegade Creamery developing cheeses utilizing dairy proteins made via microbial fermentation (without cows).

General Mills VP talks yogurt: ‘The biggest growth is in what we call simply better health… people are looking for really low sugar’

20-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

While the topline data from General Mills’ yogurt business has made for grim reading in recent years, prompting headlines such as ‘General Mills loses the yogurt wars,’ the company has staged a recovery in its core Yoplait original line and is seeing...

Good Culture evolves from clean-label cottage cheese brand to 'healing cultured foods company'

19-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Best known for renovating the cottage cheese category with a clean-label alternative free from additives and made with milk from pasture-raised dairy cows, Good Culture has its sights set far beyond the $1.2bn cottage cheese category to become a fermented...

From cows, to microbes, to plants… the brave new world of animal-free dairy: In conversation with Nobell Foods

19-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Dairy proteins used to come exclusively from cows. Today, people can program microbes or plants to produce them without our farmyard friends, or even deploy bovine mammary cells that ‘lactate’ outside of an animal. But which approach is the most scalable,...

Parents seek immunity-boosting, budget-friendly & convenient foods for kids heading back to school

17-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Grocery retailers and packaged food and beverage brands should brace for another significant shift in consumer shopping habits this month as many families with students returning to in-person school after a year or more of distance or hybrid learning...

McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams CEO: ‘Our closest competitors are all private equity owned and in the market share business; we're family owned, so we’re in the ‘We better be profitable’ business…’

09-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

The premium ice cream business can be pretty brutal – just ask Three Twins, Clemmy’s and Ample Hills – with regional brands now slugging it out with multinationals and a flurry of VC-backed startups in a market offering a bewildering array of options...

Lifeway Foods bolsters position in drinkable dairy space with new acquisition

06-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Lifeway Foods, best known for its kefir products, announced the intent to acquire certain assets of California-based GlenOaks Farms for $5.8m this week, expanding the company's position in the drinkable dairy space, says CEO Julie Smolyansky.

Kraft Heinz tracking ‘well above pre-pandemic levels’ gaining 2 million new households in two years, says CEO

04-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Closing out the first half of 2021 and using pre-pandemic 2019 as a measuring stick for its growth, Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio says it has made fundamental progress in its transformation agenda.

The a2 Milk Co US CEO: 'This is going to be a very significant segment of the dairy category...'

03-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

The a2 Milk Company – maker of ‘tummy-friendly’ milk containing only A2 beta-casein protein - is continuing to generate double-digit growth in the US market while overall US retail sales of dairy milk continue to decline, says the company, which is planning...

Milk does a body good: 12 startups featuring functional benefits of California dairy compete for $650,000 in prize funds

29-Jul-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

From immunity- and metabolism-boosting kefir to a sugar-free lassi that supports mental clarity to trendy boba lattes optimized for performance and recovery, the 12 semi-finalists in the Real California Milk Excelerator are reinforcing the old adage “milk...

Consumers feel the squeeze of inflation, over half have changed their purchasing behaviors

26-Jul-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

As many food and beverage companies face the pressure of increased costs to manufacture and transport their products, consumers have also reported feeling the impact inflation is having on their grocery bills.

Got milk? Fluid milk volumes continue to decline, despite covid retail bump, but it’s not terminal, insists MilkPep

26-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

The pandemic prompted the first positive growth in US retail volumes of fluid dairy milk for years (+2.1% in 2020). However, a corresponding drop in away-from-home consumption meant overall volumes were flat (-0.1%) in 2020 and are predicted to drop -4.5%...

Unilever steps up pricing as it continues to deliver strong underlying sales growth

22-Jul-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Entering into the second half of 2021, Unilever said it will accelerate pricing across its product portfolio to offset the rising costs of transportation and commodities such as soybean oil.

Coca-Cola Co. leverages ‘disciplined’ innovation, increases marketing to build on strong Q2 results

22-Jul-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Coca-Cola Co. plans to build on the strong momentum in its second quarter that allowed it to raise its full-year guidance by intensifying the amount and efficacy of promotions going forward and continuing to innovate with a ‘disciplined approach to...

‘Amazing taste and texture, and unmatched nutritionals…’ Keto-friendly Nick’s Ice Cream on course to triple US revenues this year, expand into new categories

19-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

Swedish keto-friendly brand Nick’s – which entered the US in late 2019 with low carb light ice cream pints – is on course to triple its US sales in 2021 (vs 2020) with continued growth in bricks & mortar retail, sharp growth in its fledgling direct...

Chobani files confidentially for IPO

07-Jul-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Chobani has filed a confidential draft registration statement for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The number of shares of common stock to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering...

Oatmilk or oat drink? House Appropriations Committee ‘encourages FDA to provide clarity around the labeling of plant-based foods’

02-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

Oatmilk or oat drink? Plant-based cheese or cultured nut product? A report from the House Committee on Appropriations “encourages the FDA to provide clarity around the labeling of plant-based foods that use traditional meat, dairy, and egg terminology,”...

Marketing shortfalls hold dairy back from seizing full potential offered by demand for functional products

02-Jul-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Packed with protein, shortfall nutrients, antioxidants and more, dairy is well-positioned to meet rising consumer demand for functional foods and beverages, but a seemingly blasé approach to marketing and on-pack claims is holding the category back from...

Skipping breakfast leads to clear nutritional gaps among adults, study finds

30-Jun-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Those who skip breakfast are more likely to miss out on several key nutrients considered to be “dietary components of public health concern” by the USDA’s latest dietary guidelines compared to those who reported eating breakfast, according to an analysis...