Proteins

Soup To Nuts Podcast

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: How can stakeholders overcome challenges facing plant-based innovation?

17-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Sales of plant-based alternatives to animal products may be growing fast, but the road ahead for the industry is far from smooth with several substantial hurdles threatening to hold back the industry, according to key stakeholders. 

One Hop Kitchen expands edible insects beyond baked goods into pasta sauce

16-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

The nascent edible insect category is growing quickly, but finished product manufacturers have mainly focused on baked goods made from insect flour – until now. 

Paleo diet linked to faster weight loss, but also lower intake of key micronutrients, study finds

13-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

New research supports the controversial but long-held belief that the paleo diet, which encourages the consumption of lean meats, healthy fats and no grains, is a more effective way to lose weight quickly compared to a more typically balanced diet of...

Yasso nails everyday indulgence: ‘We are a bright spot in the frozen novelties category’

08-Jun-2016 By Elaine Watson

Five-year-old Yasso – which scored an industry first in spring 2011 with the launch of the first frozen Greek yogurt bars – continues to outpace its deeper-pocketed competitors in the frozen novelties category, driven by a new wave of 'ice-cream-centric'...

Atkins’ expands beyond dieters to fitness enthusiasts with launch of Lift bars, drinks

07-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Iconic low-carb diet brand manufacturer Atkins Nutritionals is expanding beyond its core weight loss and management consumer to reach the growing number of fitness enthusiasts and “protein-seekers” with the launch of Lift protein bars and drinks. 

“Stealth health” could be strategy of the past as consumers embrace healthy reformulations

07-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

New research from market intelligence company CivicScience suggests changing consumer attitudes about healthy eating could mean manufacturers can shed their years-old “stealth health” approach to product reformulation without fear that sodium-, sugar-...

Soylent debuts on Amazon Launchpad: 'We are growing very rapidly'

07-Jun-2016 By Elaine Watson

Soylent will debut this week on Amazon Launchpad as the Los Angeles-based start-up seeks to expand the audience for its ‘neutral-tasting’ but ‘nutritionally complete’ beverages and explore moves into a broader range of products.

'Creating a little niche called ‘meat-alternatives’ is not helpful and it’s not progressive'

Sweet Earth Natural Foods forecasts $20m revenues in 2016: ‘We’re selling delicious food… that happens to contain no meat’

06-Jun-2016 By Elaine Watson

Sweet Earth Natural Foods – a fast-growing plant-based food brand run by former Burger King and PepsiCo execs Brian and Kelly Swette - is on course to generate revenues of $20m in 2016, just five years after the couple acquired the trademark and set about...

DiGiorno rises to meet challenges facing the frozen pizza category

06-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

The frozen pizza category has been on ice the past few years with slipping sales attributed in part to the category’s image as highly processed and unhealthy, as well as a recovering economy that has allowed consumers to go out more for “fresh” pizza. 

FoodNavigator-USA's Soup to Nuts Podcast

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: What is driving the booming sales growth of plant-based products?

03-Jun-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Sales of plant-based alternatives to animal products are booming, thanks in large part to improved sensory qualities, expanded availability and increased consumer access to information about their health and environmental impacts, according to category...

Coca-Cola acquires AdeS soy-based beverage business

02-Jun-2016 By Rachel Arthur

The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola FEMSA will acquire Unilever’s AdeS soy-based beverage business for $575m.

HIA petitions DEA to remove industrial hemp from controlled substance list: ‘It has no potential whatsoever for drug abuse’

02-Jun-2016 By Elaine Watson

The Hemp Industries Association and the Kentucky Hemp Industry Council have filed a petition with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to remove industrial hemp plants from its list of controlled substances.

From beneficial bugs and avocado mania to green chickpeas: Nine natural food trends for 2016

01-Jun-2016 By Elaine WATSON

From purple cereal and jackfruit-based meat analogs to chickpeas in a new guise, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) selects nine natural food trends it predicts could inspire packaged foods and foodservice menus in 2016 and beyond.

The Good Bean rides bean-based snacking wave in the Year of the Pulse

31-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

The Good Bean – a Berkeley-based snack brand built around the garbanzo bean (chickpea) - more than doubled its sales in 2015 and expects to do so again in 2016 as pulse-based snacking (beans, peas, lentils) gains momentum. 

Mars Food teams with Partnership for a Healthier America to improve nutrition, transparency in 5 years

27-May-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

To help fight the good fight against the ongoing obesity epidemic in America, Mars Food is teaming with the Partnership for a Healthier America to offer more nutritious foods and increase access to dietary information as part of its aptly named global...

Nellson adds bar manufacturing capacity in Canada

26-May-2016 By Hank Schultz

Nutrition bar and powder specialist Nellson is expanding its production capacity at one of its Canadian plants and its consolidating the management of its Canadian operations.

Bug food makers join forces to create North American Edible Insects Coalition

26-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

A new trade organization devoted to expanding the use of insects in food and feed will meet for the first time this week as bug enthusiasts gather for a three-day conference on edible bugs in Detroit.

Barley + Oats meal delivery service targets pregnant & breastfeeding women: '75-80% of women change their diet when they find out they are expecting'

25-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

Unlike many start-ups vying for attention in the increasingly crowded meal delivery space, Barley + Oats has a clearly defined target audience of highly motivated consumers at a point in their lives where diet takes on a completely new dimension, says...

Dannon grows as it fulfills promise to improve its products’ nutrition, fund healthy eating research

25-May-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

As The Dannon Company nears the finish line for fulfilling its promise to improve the nutrition of its products that it made three years ago to the Partnership for a Healthier America, the company also is demonstrating that what is good for Americans’...

The best smoothie you never made? Daily Harvest smoothie delivery service now available in 32 states

24-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

Want to start the day with a nutritious smoothie but got nothing in the fridge except some soggy greens and a couple of bananas? Or perhaps you’d really like one, but not quite enough to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual to grab one on the way to work...

Kite Hill closes $18m funding round led by Gen Mills 301 Inc & CAVU: 'We are growing very aggressively'

20-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

Kite Hill - a San Francisco-based brand on a mission to disrupt the dairy case with its cultured nut milk products – has closed an $18m fundraising round led by 301 INC (General Mills’ business development and venturing unit) and CAVU Venture Partners.

Four lessons from animals and nature that helped propel EPIC Provisions’ rapid rise

19-May-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

The inclination for most when they see a storm brewing on the horizon is to run the other way and take shelter – but not bison, and not the co-founders of EPIC Provisions who attribute the meteoric growth of their meat bars in part to their decision not...

US organic food & beverage sales rose 10.6% to $39.8bn in 2015, says OTA

19-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

US sales of organic food and drink surged 10.6% to $39.8bn in 2015, significantly ahead of the 3% growth in the overall food market, with some segments up more than 30% year-on-year, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA).

sweets & snacks expo 2016

Snacking NPD: Gallery of new products on show at Sweets & Snacks Expo

18-May-2016 By Vince Bamford

A selection of new products being exhibited by manufacturers in the New Product Showcase at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago next week

NAS GM crops report will 'provide fodder for friends and foes of GE,' says plant scientist

17-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

There is no evidence that foods from genetically engineered (GE) crops are less safe to eat than their 'conventional' counterparts, according to a new report from The National Academies of Sciences, which will "provide fodder for friends...

Bare Bones: ‘We want to be the most convenient bone broth on the market’

16-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

The bone broth market is still in its infancy, with manufacturers and retailers alike still trying to work out how to merchandise it, but having a packaging format that makes it easy to understand and prepare could help brands really punch above their...

Clean ingredient lists & functional benefits drive high-end juice category, Bolthouse Farms VP says

13-May-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumer demand for high-protein products and high-end juices seem insatiable, and to help meet this demand Bolthouse Farms is launching several new products that also tap into consumers’ desire for bold flavors and clean ingredients. 

Chicago-based RXBAR differentiates itself with egg whites

12-May-2016 By Adi Menayang

Entering a crowded category, Chicago-based RXBAR is confident that its flavour and ingredient combinations, intentionally different from most bars out there, can win spots on more shelves.

Summer promises new frozen desserts with function, bold flavors and admirable missions

11-May-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Summer is around the corner, which means retailers are stocking up on the latest innovations in frozen desserts to help shoppers stay cool. Here is a selection of new flavors and initiatives from some key players in the category. 

Fungi-based protein can give soy and pea a run for their money, says Quorn

11-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

Marketers of meat-alternatives like to talk a lot about sustainable protein, and how we’re going to feed the world in 2050. But are these things really primary purchase drivers today? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Quorn Foods at the Healthy & Natural...

Canadian marketing guru's research drills down to the very words that motivate consumers

06-May-2016 By Hank Schultz

Words are powerful, and finding out what words consumers use to describe natural and organic products is one of the insights provided by Canadian marketing guru Ryan Benn on Thursday.

Quest Nutrition invites die-hard fans to invent the future at Quest Labs

05-May-2016 By Elaine Watson

When Nick Robinson joined Quest Nutrition in January 2011, it had just sold its first protein bar. “The world didn't know who we were,” he says. “But they were about to.” Five years later, Quest is valued at more than a billion dollars, and Robinson...

NutriScience Innovations offers new spray-dried form of lactoferrin

03-May-2016 By Hank Schultz

Connecticut-based NutriScience Innovations has launched a new spray-dried version of lactoferrin for supplements, foods and beverages.

5 food trends revealed by top Google searches

02-May-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

After suffering scorn for years from carb-counters, wheat-haters and consumers embracing a gluten-free diet, pasta is coming back in style with a vengeance, suggests analysis of Google searches. 

Hampton Creek smells a rat in ag appropriations bill over FOIA requests

29-Apr-2016 By Elaine Watson

A paragraph on page 34 of the 206-page 2017 House Agricultural Appropriations Bill - spotted by Hampton Creek’s eagle-eyed new VP of policy Tiny May yesterday - proposes to exempt industry-funded commodity research and promotion programs such as the American...

Online snack company NatureBox expands to brick-and-mortar with Target launch

29-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Online subscription snack service NatureBox crosses over to the physical realm with the launch of eight products in 900 Target stores nationwide this week with the hope of reaching consumers who still prefer to buy food in brick-and-mortar stores rather...

Sophie’s Kitchen sees opportunity in plant-based seafood alternatives

29-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

The global market for plant-based meat alternatives is growing fast, but most players in the space are focused on replacing land animals – leaving the potential for seafood alternatives wide open for innovative entrepreneurs to seize.

Friday taste test: Ripple plant-based ‘milk’

29-Apr-2016 By Elaine Watson

Ripple is a new plant-based ‘milk’ made with yellow pea protein that promises to blow dairy milk and current milk alternatives out of the water in the taste, nutrition and sustainability stakes. But did it impress members of Carpe Diem, a Santa Barbara-based...

Addition of peanut flour to some Kellogg’s snacks “outrages” consumers, prompts petition

28-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kellogg’s efforts to appease consumers who asked it not to add peanut flour to several previously allergy-safe snacks has backfired on the manufacturer – further aggravating parents of children who are allergic to the ground nut and tarnishing the brand’s...

GRAS process for evaluating ingredient safety threatens FDA’s mission, Sen. Markey argues

27-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

The “loose structure” and voluntary process for companies to self-determine if new ingredients are “generally recognized as safe” without required input from FDA undermines the agency’s ability to ensure the US food supply is safe and should be strengthened,...

Icons communicate claims faster to on-the-go shoppers than words, Vermont Smoke & Cure exec says

26-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Few shoppers in today’s on-the-go culture have time to read lengthy descriptions or claims on packages, which is one reason why Vermont Smoke & Cure recently switched to recognizable icons and color-coding as part of a massive rebranding for its “consciously”...

Nearly three-quarters of families make an effort to buy organic food, OTA survey reveals

25-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Buying organic is a top priority for many American parents, especially when it comes to the food they feed their children, according to new research form the Organic Trade Association. 

Earth-friendly strategies help capture consumers’ attention

22-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

Environmentally friendly practices can do more than help the Earth – they can also help product sales and increase brand value as more consumers care about sustainable practices and how their food is made and transported.

1000 Holland & Barrett franchise stores to open in India

21-Apr-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Health and nutrition retailer Holland & Barrett has secured a £20m (€25.44m) deal with Indian hospital chain Apollo Hospitals, an agreement which will see 1000 franchise stores open across India over the next five years.

Vegan meal replacement makers want to reach underserved populations by using hip hop tie-in

20-Apr-2016 By Hank Schultz

VeganSmart, a plant-based line of meal replacements, is penetrating areas plagued with malnutrition via a unique marketing vehicle—the power of hip hop.

FDA’s 2016 food agenda prioritizes FSMA, product labeling, GRAS, GMOs

20-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is plowing ahead with an ambitious and wide-ranging agenda for the remainder of 2016 without pause after knocking out five final or proposed rules related to food safety and nutrition in just as many...

Consumers are redefining what a premium brand is

Columbus Foods CEO: 'We’re trying to do for the meat business what craft beer did for the beer industry'

20-Apr-2016 By Elaine Watson

Not so long ago, says Columbus Manufacturing, Inc CEO Joe Ennen, ‘premium’ was just about taste and texture. Today’s consumers – Millennials in particular – have a somewhat broader definition, which encompasses how their food was made, who made it, how...

Milk could be followed by yogurt, creamers, cheeses, protein powders and shakes

Game-changing plant-based ‘milk’ Ripple to roll out at Whole Foods, Target stores nationwide

18-Apr-2016 By Elaine Watson

Ripple – a plant-based ‘milk’ claimed to blow both dairy milk and existing milk alternatives out of the water in the taste, nutrition and sustainability stakes  – is rolling out nationwide at Whole Foods in April, and Target stores in July, with other...

Almond milk sales continue to surge, as dairy milk contracts, Nielsen data shows

15-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

With plant-based diets all the rage in the US currently, milk alternatives – and particularly those from almonds – are seeing strong sales growth and increased innovation, while sales of dairy milk are contracting. 

More plant-based products are needed to fuel a “market-revolution” away from animals, expert says

15-Apr-2016 By Elizabeth Crawford

America is on the “cusp of a market-revolution” to replace animal products with plant-based alternatives, but consumers need more choices that are convenient, affordable and tasty in order for long-term diet changes to take root, according to an expert...