With a new name and a new fund, Loft Growth Partners – formerly known as 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners for the past 20 years – is looking to invest $60m in six or seven emerging brands that solve complex problems, are led by ‘pathological optimists’...
Following a nutrient-dense plant-based or pescatarian diet could protect against severe COVID-19, according to researchers who found healthcare workers at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus were less likely to experience severe infections if they...
Egglife Foods has taken on the lofty goal of disrupting the $4bn tortilla category with an egg-white based tortilla that CEO David Kroll says delivers everything consumers expect from a traditional flour tortilla but with a greater degree of versatility...
Mondelēz is doubling down on digital marketing and increased distribution across channels as it continues its transformation from a 'margin-centric' business to a more 'consumer-centric' company, according to CEO Dirk Van De Put.
Brands with heavy, bulky and perishable products that are difficult or expensive to ship direct-to-consumer need not write-off e-commerce as cost prohibitive or lag behind competitors in other consumer categories when it comes to online sales penetration,...
The Swiss food giant has confirmed it will update its nutrition and health strategy after British newspaper the Financial Times published leaked internal documents acknowledging that nearly 70% of its main food and drinks products, making up about half...
With nearly one in five Americans now following some type of specialty diet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the extent to which products appeal to different food tribes can heavily influence sales – but not all diets are...
While freshly vaccinated food and beverage execs may be tentatively emerging from their homes to attend face-to-face meetings and events in the coming months, the last year has proven that virtual meetings – done right – can be just as effective, and...
CPG brands that invest in restoring healthy farmland can earn more than the goodwill of consumers who increasingly care about sustainability – they also could cash-in on the surge of ESG-earmarked funding and secure high-value assets that will support...
Despite significant unmet demand for convenient keto products across categories, consumers who follow the diet are becoming more selective and less willing to settle for options that use low-quality or unhealthy ingredients to meet the diet’s strict macro...
As consumers adopt a more flexible and holistic approach to ‘dieting,’ brands have more room to innovate at the ingredient-level through “mindful omissions and swaps” to create products that appeal to shoppers’ lifestyles, according to new research from...
‘Why is it that at a time when people have never known more about health and nutrition, they have never been more obese?’ asks Jack Bobo in the intro to his new book.
While most Americans know dairy milk can help growing children build strong bones and healthy bodies, they may not realize it also can help athletes and everyday people of all ages perform better and recover faster – something the California Milk Advisory...
Consumer shifts in cooking and eating habits during the pandemic more than doubled the growth rate of organic sales in 2020 compared to before the coronavirus outbreak, helping to drive up retail sales of organic products 12.4% to $61.9bn, according to...
As inflation threatens to crest double digits for CPGs by the end of the year, consumer price sensitivity also is increasing while volume consumption is decreasing – creating an “uncertain, idiosyncratic and uneven” market in which manufacturers must...
Consumers are awakening to the idea that their dietary choices impact climate change, and while some already consider environmental sustainability when selecting products many more say they would if they had more information – creating a unique marketing...
Food and beverage brands hoping to capitalize on growing consumer interest in health and wellness may be better served by promoting what is in their products versus what isn’t based on new research from the International Food Nutrition Council.
The FDA has responded with a letter of no objection to Cargill’s GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) notification for EpiCor – a ‘postbiotic’ ingredient claimed to have immune, digestive, and respiratory health benefits.
Terviva – a California-based firm commercializing ingredients from low-input, high-yielding Pongamia trees – has raised $54m in equity capital,* with an additional $24m in equity and debt capital to follow this quarter, and announced a collaboration with...
Despite an uptick in snacking and consumption of indulgent foods and beverages during the pandemic, the number of Americans dieting last year held steady compared to previous years – but their approaches and motivations shifted to reflect changing pressures...
Clif Bar & Company is moving forward with its “next stage of purpose-driven growth and expansion” with today’s launch of a fully integrated marketing campaign that reaches beyond the company’s typical consumer base of ultra-athletes to appeal to active...
Amid the steady stream of plant-based meat and dairy launches, new innovations hitting shelves this quarter include zero sugar dairy milk from Maple Hill Creamery, yerba mate from Honest Tea, and rice cooked in bone broth, ready-to-eat in 60-seconds,...
After more than a year of requiring shoppers to wear masks and stepping up in-store safety measure, Southeastern US retailer Publix along with several other retailers said it will no longer require fully-vaccinated customers to wear face coverings, unless...
The long-awaited end of the pandemic may be nearing in the US as vaccine distribution expands and new government guidance rolls back some mask and social distancing requirements, but for the CPG industry, some of the challenges that arose and accelerated...
A sweeping collection of convenient and accessible new products from Del Monte Foods rolling out this summer takes the company into new categories and channels to meet the rising consumer demand for plant-based products, purposeful snacks and time-saving,...
On May 6, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a scientific opinion concluding that titanium dioxide (E171), a whitening pigment used to color everything from gum to sauces, “can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.” So what does...
Carbon labeling for food and beverage may be coming faster than originally predicted, and soon may hold more sway with consumers than other popular certifications as the ongoing pandemic accelerates consumer interest in sustainable diets, predict industry...
B&G Foods -- parent company to household name brands including Ortega, Green Giant, and Crisco -- has appointed Kenneth C. “Casey” Keller as its next president and CEO, effective June 14, 2021, replacing B&G Foods’ interim president and CEO, David...
The unprecedented shift to ecommerce during the pandemic and predictions that many consumers will continue to buy groceries online even after it is safe to return to retail stores has elevated the importance of an omnichannel strategy – but according...
An infusion of $10.5m in seed funding will accelerate the consumer life sciences company GEM’s mission to overhaul the $140.3b supplement market by replacing “reductionist” pills, tablets and candies with whole food bites designed to improve the health...
With demand for rare sugar allulose currently exceeding supply, Tate & Lyle has informed some partners that it is withholding supplies of the sweetener until further notice, FoodNavigator-USA understands.
Despite historically enjoying rapid gains during economically challenging periods, like the pandemic, private label growth fell behind branded products in all but a few niche food and beverage categories during the past year – a role reversal that hasn’t...
Ingredion – already a key player in the stevia sweeteners market through its 2020 deal to acquire PureCircle – has teamed up with synthetic biology specialist Amyris to expand into a new segment of the market: steviol glycosides produced via fermentation.
Industry-supported efforts to update organic food standards could finally move forward after being held at a standstill for years by the US Department of Agriculture if bipartisan legislation introduced in the House late last week becomes law.
After a surge of consumer trust in the food and beverage industry during the early days of the pandemic when stakeholders risked their health to keep store shelves stocked and supply chains moving, consumer trust in the industry globally fell a staggering...
TerViva – a California-based firm seeking to commercialize ingredients from low-input, high-yielding Pongamia trees – aims to have commercial quantities of 'golden buttery' oil available by mid-2022, with ‘highly soluble’ protein isolates to...
Mondelēz International is continuing to see healthy demand for its core snacking brands, proving that industry-wide sales spikes for packaged, shelf-stable products were more than just a COVID-inspired blip, said chairman and CEO Dirk Van De Put.
Recognizing that risings costs are squeezing food and beverage margins as the pandemic continues, Albertsons will accept – to an extent – price increases that several large CPG players have warned in recent weeks are coming down the pike.
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) is “proving to be confusing as well as onerous for food manufacturers,” says FoodChain ID, which has just launched a compliance service* to help firms get their ducks in a row ahead of the January...
Taste and smell are fundamental to how consumers experience food and beverages, but most tools for understanding and measuring these senses – including a highly trained human nose – are subjective, imprecise, and expensive making it difficult to cost-effectively...
As consumers looked to keep kitchens stocked between fewer grocery trips during the early days of the pandemic, frozen foods emerged as a breakout winner that continues to outperform overall edible sales even as restaurants begin to reopen and shoppers...
Despite strong organic sales growth and market share gains in the first quarter, Nestlé’s CEO warned market analysts yesterday against “excessive margin growth expectations,” and cautioned the company could raise prices later this year or early next to...
The Climate Pledge, which was launched two years ago by e-commerce giant Amazon and Global Optimism, has now attracted 105 signatories, with PepsiCo, Quorn Foods, Sainsbury’s and Heineken among the latest cohort.
The US Department of Agriculture is asking for help conducting a “top to bottom assessment” of the US food system in an effort to avoid the empty store shelves, food waste at farms and destruction for animals due to broken supply chains experienced in...
The shift in food consumption towards the home in the early weeks and months of the coronavirus pandemic has been well-documented, with many packaged food products experiencing a noticeable uplift. But have things since returned to 'normal,'...
Bay area startup Clara Foods has teamed up with ZX Ventures, the innovation arm of the world’s largest brewer AB InBev - which knows a thing or two about large-scale fermentation - to help realize its dream of making ‘animal-free’ egg proteins using microbes...
For many consumers a freshly toasted bagel is a source of joy, comfort – and guilt, but thanks to food-tech startup Better Brand Inc.’s proprietary Grain-changing Technology, Americans can soon enjoy a clean label option that tastes and functions like...
Despite the interruption in civil litigation prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, “more new class action lawsuits were filed against the food and beverage industry—220* cases [+23% vs 2019]—than in any other year of the past decade,” according to an analysis...
