Meat, fish and savory ingredients

Deli-licious: Prepared deli shows ‘consistent growth’ as inflation eases

19-Nov-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Grocery’s foodservice segment addresses high consumer demand for value-added convenience even though retailers must shoulder more cost increases even as inflation eases.

Beef, prepared deli sales soar as consumers embrace convenience, quality

18-Nov-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Despite 96% of shoppers expressing concern about an economic recession in the coming months, fresh foods remain a top priority, with many willing to pay a premium for high-quality options, according to a recent Circana webinar.

Gopuff integrates SNAP, expands private label & fresh food offerings

13-Nov-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Gopuff’s Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) integration for its e-grocery platform will also include its recently introduced Basically Premium private label line, reaching millions of eligible households.

Cultivated freshwater eel tech opens new opportunities in Japanese market

13-Nov-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

A cultivated seafood tech business has developed a system of cell cultivation to allow for commercial freshwater eel farming.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: What does USDA’s stricter definition for ‘pasture-raised’ chicken mean for industry?

11-Nov-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

A broadly-supported new definition for “pasture-raised” poultry proposed by USDA this fall could help level the playing field for small, independent farms and brands competing in the increasingly important, crowded and confusing humanely-raised chicken...

USDA funds $6m to boost healthy food access in underserved communities

07-Nov-2024 By Deniz Ataman

USDA, in partnership with the Reinvestment Fund, has allocated nearly $6 million to improve access to nutritious foods in underserved communities across the country, reinforcing the trend toward healthy diets and potentially reshaping how brands and retailers...

FDA’s Human Foods 2025 goals: Microbiological safety, food chemical safety & nutrition

05-Nov-2024 By Deniz Ataman

FDA’s fiscal year 2025 priority deliverables for the Human Foods Program emphasize transparency and accountability amid state funding cuts and resource constraints.

Is the Nordic Diet the next major food trend?

04-Nov-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Health trends are big business for food and beverage brands. So, will the new Nordic Diet take the industry by storm or be a foodie flash in the pan?

Organic sales hit record as regenerative organic sees growth, investment

31-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Industry leaders are emphasizing the integration of regenerative agriculture alongside established organic practices, as demand for sustainable food and beverage products continues to rise.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic set to shake the global food industry

31-Oct-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Originally intended as a treatment for diabetes, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic could be set to turn the food and drink industry upside down.

Can plant-based overcome UPF links to avoid future trust issues?

31-Oct-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Plant-based diets remain popular, but associations with UPF and low-quality ingredients has shaken consumer trust in alt meat, fish and dairy brands. So, what can the sector do to restore public opinion?

Kraft Heinz snips full-year forecast as demand drags

30-Oct-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

Kraft Heinz has cut its full-year 2024 forecast following a third-quarter net sales slump, as price hikes worked against the food major by dampening consumer demand.

How can alternative proteins and regenerative agriculture work together?

30-Oct-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Despite both being sustainability-focused, regenerative agriculture and protein diversification have not always got along. How can the two sectors work together?

Brand Alchemy

How F&B brands can boost their ROI with a diversified media strategy

29-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Today’s marketing strategies need flexible adjustments and a blend of channels to keep pace with rapid shifts in media consumption, unlike the fixed annual media plans of yesteryear.

How to identify and engage with your target market

28-Oct-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Creating and building brand awareness, with potential customers, is essential to success. Here’s how to recognise and connect with your target market.

NOVA reform: The flawed UPF classification system requires change

28-Oct-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Some nutritious foods under the current NOVA system could be demonised alongside unhealthy variants. Industry's calling for reform, but what would the next generation look like?

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

How would eliminating ultra-processed foods and products high in sugar, fat impact diet, health?

25-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Diets that exclude foods high in added sugar and saturated fat, like sugary drinks, snacks and processed meat, still provide sufficient levels of essential nutrients, like vitamins, minerals and fiber, according to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

Startup Spotlight

Fishwife reels in bold flavors, creative branding to revive canned fish category

24-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Tinned fish brand Fishwife launched in response to the lack of innovation and bold branding in the multi-billion-dollar canned fish category, with a strategic focus on culinary-inspired flavors and artistically-driven packaging, CEO and Co-Founder, Becca...

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

DGAC recommends more repeated exposure to healthy foods for kids

23-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommended introducing a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains at appropriate ages does not adversely impact growth or increase obesity risk in young children.

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

Nutrition experts reveal Healthy US-style dietary pattern – but is it flexible enough?

22-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommends consolidating various dietary patterns into a single, inclusive Healthy US-Style Dietary Pattern that includes nutrient-dense, plant-based foods and which is accessible for all Americans.

Listeria outbreak impacts deli meat market, grab-and-go options, Circana finds

21-Oct-2024 By Ryan Daily

An outbreak of listeria is hitting the lunchmeat category — driving down dollars and volume sales — as consumers still rely on the deli department for quick meals and globally inspired flavors, as shared in a recent International Dairy Deli Bakery Association...

2024 US presidential election

How Trump's trade, tax policies could impact food industry

17-Oct-2024 By Ryan Daily

Donald Trump's election as the 47th US president signals a sea change in economic and trade policies from the Biden Administration, as the president-elect is expected to raise tariffs, which can kick start inflation again and complicate stressed...

Seafood rides tides of inflation, deflation with some long-awaited signs of demand recovery

16-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Shellfish sales underwent a sea change in September with lower prices, Labor Day celebrations and stock-ups ahead of back-to-back hurricanes in the Southeast and strikes at major points in early October helping to buoy volumes, according to data from...

Will alternative meats thrive in frozen? Circana shows growth

15-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Meat alternative sales dropped in the last four years, but all is not lost for the segment which has opportunity to thrive in the frozen department with a particular focus on convenience, value, ingredient quality, diverse formats and new flavors, Circana...

Why shoppers are turning towards costly organic food and drink

14-Oct-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

More consumers are buying pricier organic food and drink, despite continuing cost-of-living pressures, with sales expected to rocket as governments push to make organic farming central to future sustainability strategies.

FDA pushes for progress in sodium reduction target, aims to cut average intake to 2,750 mg/day

11-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The FDA's phase two draft guidance on sodium reduction, released on August 15, sets new voluntary targets for food manufacturers to reduce average consumption to 2,750 milligrams per day by 2024, as nearly three-quarters of Americans' sodium...

Why PepsiCo is backing the $2bn Kamala Harris-led effort to empower women in agriculture

11-Oct-2024 By Gill Hyslop

The snacking giant – along with other global giants – has committed to a $2bn initiative aimed at advancing gender equality and sustainability in agricultural supply chains. But can this ambitious collaboration truly reshape the future of agriculture...

DGAC: Diets high in plant-based foods are moderately linked towards reducing illness

10-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Although the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) did not find strong evidence between dietary patterns and disease risk, some age-related cognitive health issues and breast cancer are moderately linked to diet.

UPSIDE Foods & Institute for Justice gain support from industry trade group on Florida lawsuit

09-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Association of Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation (AMPS), a non-profit organization representing the cell-cultured industry, expressed its support for cultivated meat producer UPSIDE Foods and non-profit Institute for Justice on the lawsuit filed...

Novonesis develops ‘cleaner ingredient deck’ for plant-based meat with biosolution technology

08-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Biotech company, Novonesis, addresses core taste, texture and nutritional challenges in plant-based meat and dairy with its biosolution technologies, potentially reducing the ingredient label deck.

Policymakers call on Coca-Cola, General Mills, PepsiCo to address pricing practices

07-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Letters sent by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.) to the CEOs of Coca-Cola, General Mills and PepsiCo express concern over pricing and tax practices that, according to the policy makers, “squeeze profits out...

Funding alt-protein: Investors shift to supply chains, startups eye govt grants

04-Oct-2024 By Ryan Daily

Venture capitalists are focusing further down the alt-protein supply chain when investing, as startups partner up and use government grants to survive and thrive in a challenging funding environment.

Conagra seeks acquisitions, considers divesting low growth businesses amid sales slump

03-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Conagra Brands executives warned investors earlier this year that its fiscal 2025 would start with “plenty of noise,” and it did – including not just anomalies for which the maker of Slim Jim and Healthy Choice planned, but also unexpected dynamics that...

Unsaturated vs saturated fats, Dietary Guidelines on dairy, meat & plant-based oils

02-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) determined the relationships between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the roles of dairy, red meat and plant-based oils with findings from last week’s meeting indicating benefits of reducing...

Texas district court greenlights plant-based labeling lawsuit

30-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The United States District Court of the Western District of Texas will allow to proceed a lawsuit filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Good Food Institute on behalf of Tofurky that challenges a 2023 Texas law that imposes additional labeling...

From ‘crookies’ to sushi: What Gen Z consumers want out of bakery, deli options

30-Sep-2024 By Ryan Daily

Deli counters and bakeries boost sales by meeting Gen Z demand for global and convenient cuisine — from sushi to street foods — Circana representatives shared during a recent IDDBA webinar.

Rebellyous Foods deploys Mock 2 system to lower plant-based meat costs with continuous production

25-Sep-2024 By Ryan Daily

Rebellyous Foods launched its much-anticipated Mock 2 plant-based meat production system with RMS Foods following delays of its launch in Dec. 2023 after plans with an initial co-manufacturer fell through.

USDA concludes final round of funding to boost farmer support, lower grocery prices

25-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The final installment of funding from the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) is expected to give independent US farmers and ranchers in rural communities a competitive advantage and lower grocery costs, according to USDA.

Consumers shop digital channels more amid grocery price concerns, Ibotta reports

24-Sep-2024 By Ryan Daily

Despite more optimism in the economy, consumers remain vigilant on grocery spending, scrutinizing the price of discretionary foods more and leveraging digital channels for discounts, according to marketing platform company Ibotta’s latest report on consumer...

'Sustainable products have to win the health battle,' Mintel on environmental trends in food, beverage

23-Sep-2024 By Ryan Daily

As greenwashing leads to "greenhushing," consumers are focusing on sustainable food and beverage claims that tap into their sense of health and self-preservation, with air quality and water conservation attributes set to take off in the US,...

Rising wellness trends: Zero-proof is ‘the next wave of beverages,’ foods for anxiety relief see ‘varied results’

20-Sep-2024 By Ryan Daily

Zero-proof beverages are gaining market traction as health-conscious consumers moderate their alcohol consumption while many shoppers also seek out functional foods to combat stress and anxiety, market research company Circana shared in a recent webinar...

How climate change is impacting food commodities

13-Sep-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

How is the food and beverage industry responding to the need to make its supply chains more sustainable? Find out at Climate Smart Food 2024.

Startup Spotlight

Ayo Foods’ expansion reflects a growing ‘cultural movement’ among consumers and retail

12-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

West African frozen meal and sauce brand Ayo Foods’ expanded from 200 retail doors to more than 20 retailers nationwide through a combination of cold calling and working with brokers to land shelf space.

Letter from the editor: How is rising demand for global flavors influencing innovation & ingredient sourcing?

12-Sep-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Long gone are the days when salt and pepper were sufficient seasonings for most Americans – now US consumers want bold flavors that will take their tastebuds on a global adventure, giving rise to a new class of frozen meals, sauces, spice blends and even...

USDA certification for meat, poultry flavors from T. Hasegawa helps meet demand for complex, authentic & clean-label options

12-Sep-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers are less willing to settle for basic flavor profiles, such as “beef” or “chicken,” and instead want increasingly complex and authentic options – like braised short rib or barbecued wings, according to flavor giant T. Hasegawa, which now can...

Tyson Foods' ‘multi-protein, multi-channel strategy’ pays off, amid consumers trading down

09-Sep-2024 By Ryan Daily

Tyson Foods touted the benefits of its multi-pronged protein strategy at the 2024 Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference as the company continues shuffling its manufacturing capacity, closing and opening facilities.

USDA survey underscores critical role of federal program in reducing US food insecurity

06-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Despite a majority (86.5%) of US households reporting they felt food secure for the entirety of 2023, government food assistance programs are critical to ensure the remaining 13.5% (18 million) households have access to healthy foods, according to a USDA...

AI helps companies navigate critical regulatory alerts, policy shifts ahead of 2024 election

04-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Companies must navigate a more fragmented and complex regulatory environment, increasing the need for proactive compliance planning and advanced monitoring tools, like AI, according to Caroline Shleifer, CEO and founder of RegASK.

Business giants pile on pressure to cut antibiotics in global food chain

03-Sep-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

Food and drink suppliers will face increased scrutiny as 80 of the world’s biggest investors today join forces to pressure global leaders into tackling the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis or risk a worldwide financial meltdown.

USDA encourages third-party certification for animal-raising claims after finding widespread misleading negative antibiotics claims in cattle

30-Aug-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

USDA is strengthening substantiation requirements for animal-raising claims on meat and dairy labels and promises to crackdown on false or misleading negative antibiotic claims after finding antibiotic residues in approximately one in five cattle marketed...