Proteins

Insect protein buzz waning as patents slow

15-Nov-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

Insect protein’s predicted take off has been less than a flutter as market innovation stagnates, with worldwide patents sliding year-on-year again.

Tyson’s turnaround: ‘We have a fundamentally different and better chicken business’

13-Nov-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Tyson Foods’ chicken business is booming once again and investors are flocking back to the company, which has spent years reenvisioning its poultry business to focus more on fundamentals, value-added products and “operational improvements.”

PoLoPo seeks seed funding, partners with CSM Ingredients to crack egg on commercialization efforts

12-Nov-2024 By Ryan Daily

Israel-based alt-protein company PoLoPo is inching closer to commercialization of its molecular farming-derived ovalbumin powder, as the food-tech company raises seed funding for its US expansion and partners on product applications.

Nestlé plant-based patents down 50% as sector innovation slowed

11-Nov-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

New plant-based meat patent application figures have fallen globally for the first time in near a decade, with companies including Nestlé slashing numbers by almost 50%.

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.

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?

ELAVI’s Costco expansion highlights demand for better-for-you options, innovative packaging

30-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Better-for-you snack brand ELAVI doubled its Costco rotation to 30 Southern California stores in less than a year while addressing cocoa shortage and packaging changes.

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.

Dairy innovation and trends

Letter from the editor: Innovations, trends & startups reshaping the dairy category

25-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The dairy case is no longer a limited selection of fat-free, low-fat or whole milk in generic white bottles or a bare-bones choice between just “orange” or “white” cheese – rather an explosion of innovation in recent years has dramatically multiplied...

A new way to scale precision fermentation: Daisy Lab teams with dairies to produce bioidentical proteins

25-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Foodtech startup Daisy Lab is rethinking how to scale precision fermentation efficiently and economically to produce bioidentical dairy proteins without the cow by developing plug-and-play technology that can be dropped into existing, large-scale dairy...

11 startups disrupting dairy across categories from the farm to store shelf

25-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Dairy’s nutrient density and decadent eating experience create a powerful canvas for startups innovating across categories to offer better-for-you moments of permissible indulgence while simultaneously supporting the health of consumers, the planet and...

Unmet need in plant-based dairy revealed with rise of low-FODMAP diet

25-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The influx of plant-based milk in recent years could provide relief and stability for consumers suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, but there remains a significant unmet need for clean-label, allergen-free options, according to one registered dietitian...

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.

LanzaTech’s partnerships accelerate commercialization for proprietary protein production

23-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Biotech company LanzaTech is making strides in global microbial fermentation protein production with the launch of its proprietary LanzaTech Nutritional Protein (LNP), in collaboration with organizations like the US Navy to accelerate commercialization.

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...

Algae, fungi and insects as alternative protein sources: Review

17-Oct-2024 By Louisa Richards

Proteins from algae, fungi and edible insects are as high-quality as animal proteins and demonstrate significant potential as a sustainable source of bioactive peptides, according to a new study.

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...

REBBL bulks up protein offerings with 26-gram shake, featuring upcycled EverPro ingredient

15-Oct-2024 By Ryan Daily

Functional beverage brand REBBL is delivering on consumer demands for sustainability and enhanced macronutrient content with its new shakes that contain 26 grams of plant-based protein blend, including an upcycled barley.

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...

ADM: 83% of GLP-1 users are ‘very interested in products specifically marketed as supportive of their needs on these drugs’

09-Oct-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

A new platform designed by ADM to help food and beverage manufacturers better understand and meet the needs of weight-loss drug users brings together proprietary consumer research and science, a portfolio of targeted ingredients and more than 25 ready-to-go...

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.

USDA grants $11.04m for dairy producers, businesses to ‘spur innovation’ across the country

07-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

USDA funding allocated for the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives is supporting small and mid-sized dairy businesses and providing a pathway for market expansion and diversification, as the industry adopts innovative technologies around milk production

How food and drink is finally putting women's health before men

07-Oct-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Women’s health continues to grow as a hot food and drink topic, with brands exploiting the increasing NPD opportunities available

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.

EVERY patents hero protein in egg whites using precision fermentation to introduce ‘new class of product applications’

04-Oct-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Food-tech business The EVERY Company recently secured a patent for ovalbumin produced via precision fermentation, which has potential to introduce a “new class of product applications,” and “expand the size of the overall egg market,” CEO and Co-Founder...

Future Food-Tech 2024

Three hot start-ups designing and creating sector-challenging proteins

04-Oct-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

There are myriad ways to design and create proteins. We spoke to some of the key players in this varied space.

Future Food-Tech 2024

Mycoprotein’s finished being quiet and about to raise its game

03-Oct-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

The OG meat alternative mycoprotein is set to retake the spotlight in a sector rife with food start-ups bringing to market products through an increasing array of food-tech innovations.

Helaina prepares to launch human lactoferrin in CPG products following $45 million Series B fundraise

25-Sep-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Biotechnology company Helaina is taking the next step in its mission to transform nutrition with human equivalent bioactive proteins by bringing its flagship ingredient – effera Human Lactoferrin – to market in the coming quarter with the help of a $45...

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.

Leading meat alt maker Marlow Foods suffers profit landslide in tough market

25-Sep-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

Losses have continued for Quorn and Cauldron parent company Marlow Foods as the vegetarian and vegan mycoprotein food major suffers the shocks of the relentless meat-alternative market slowdown.

'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...

Nature’s Fynd’s fungi-based platform drives category expansion

19-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Nature’s Fynd is expanding into the dairy-free yogurt category with its proprietary Fy Protein to deliver nutritious solutions that meet consumer demand for plant-based alternatives that deliver taste and texture without compromise.

Fabalish leverages in-house production to expand its chickpea snacks & condiments

19-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Fabalish, maker of chickpea-forward snacks and condiments, leverages its self-manufacturing capabilities to explore new recipes and collaborations for plant-based options that cater to vegans, flexitarians and health-conscious consumers.

Pumpkin spice innovation to fall for: From Oreos to Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and everything in between

16-Sep-2024 By Gill Hyslop

As we dive into the world of new product development (NPD) in this seasonal segment, it's clear that pumpkin spice is more than just a fleeting trend.

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.

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...

Lantana Foods aligns with eco, health trends in hummus rebrand

11-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Lantana Foods’ hummus rebrand features a bolder label and fully recyclable packaging to align with health-forward and environmentally conscious consumers.

IFF’s weight management portfolio tailors nutrition with smaller portions

10-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Ingredient supplier IFF’s portfolio reflects evolving consumer demands and emerging trends in weight management , including proprietary proteins, natural flavors and fiber solutions to support satiety, enhance taste and promote overall wellness.

SPATE: Google, TikTok uncover emerging snack trends and sensory innovations

09-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

From spicy dill pickle chips to freeze-dried Skittles, today’s top snack trends reflect a growing demand for sensory overload coupled with nostalgic comforts, according to SPATE’s trend tracker with data from Google Search ending July 31 and hashtags...

F&B opportunity: Boosting protein intake earlier for elderly

09-Sep-2024 By Nicholas Robinson

Additional protein intake for older people should begin much earlier than most consumers think, providing food and drink manufacturers with a new market to profit from.

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...

David protein bars secure $10M backing, led by CPG veterans emphasizing nutrition over diet trends

05-Sep-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Protein bar brand David’s founders, including RXBAR Co-founder Peter Rahal, attracted investors with their industry experience and an emphasis on protein as a science-backed, enduring macronutrient over fleeting diet trends, Rahal told FoodNavigator-USA