In recent years, sugar has replaced fat and sodium as public enemy No. 1 in the nation’s fight against obesity and diabetes – prompting consumers to shun the ingredient and manufacturers to seek alternative sweeteners.
The baking and snacks industry must explore innovations in grains to meet the challenges of a growing population, according to PepsiCo's global R&D head.
Armed with little more than her neighbors’ accolades for her homemade granola and a business book recommended on Oprah Winfrey’s website, Viki Sater dove head first into the competitive cereal market.
When it comes to evaluating the naturalness of food products, very few consumers consider on pack ingredient information, finds Unilever commissioned research.
As the high-protein trend matures from niche to mainstream, innovative manufacturers are tapping into the still-significant growth opportunity by adding the ingredient to a broader range of platforms, including baked goods, snacks and beverages, according...
Looking at pictures of food through advertisements, social media and cookery programmes, offers the viewer a substitute source of pleasure – but could it also be fuelling obesity?
Although bread making has been practised for millennia, the fundamental understanding of the relations between dough microstructure and rheology is still surprisingly limited, say researchers.
Only a small fraction of food and beverage brands launched each year survive, let alone reach the $1 billion in sales mark – but those that do have three main factors in common, according to brand and strategy developers at The Coca-Cola Company.
60-second interview: Robert Cruz, director marketing, Dr Schär USA Inc
The #1 gluten-free brand in Europe, Schär entered the US market in 2007 and set up a manufacturing facility in New Jersey in 2012, and is now the #2 player in the US gluten-free bread market behind Udi’s Gluten-Free. FoodNavigator-USA (FNU) caught up...
From savory yogurt and coffee fruit infusions, to switchel – apple cider vinegar-based concoctions that offer a modern twist on a centuries-old tradition - Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) highlights 10 culinary trends it predicts will inspire packaged foods...
By Steve Osborn, Principal Consultant, Food and Beverage, The Aurora Ceres Partnership, Banamex Mexico City, Mexico
What are the hottest trends in food and beverage in Latin America? Steve Osborn, principal consultant, food and beverage, at The Aurora Ceres Partnership, headed to the Food Tech Expo and Summit in Mexico City to find out...
Finding the right partners to guarantee long term supply is the key to success in the super foods game, said the executive of a bulk chia and quinoa supplier based on Florida.
Nestlé Health Science (NHS) is investing $70m in a product technology center in Bridgewater, New Jersey, that will become its new US HQ and research hub.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is suing the FDA in a bid to compel it to respond to a 2005 petition requesting that it revoke the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of salt and treat it as a food additive under the law.
Can a bunch of food-tech start-ups really ‘fix the broken food system’, feed 9bn people by 2050 and ‘disrupt’ the food industry with a killer app? Maybe, but they might be better off focusing on more tangible goals, according to investment experts gathered...
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) will go to court on Thursday (Oct 8) in a last-ditch attempt to convince judges that a GMO labeling law due to come into effect in Vermont next year should be blocked until litigation over the legislation is...
While ditching ‘artificial’ ingredients may not transform the fortunes of flagging legacy brands, consumer survey data from Instantly suggests it may give consumers a warmer and fuzzier feeling about them, and convey the impression (deservedly or otherwise)...
Consumer purchases of packaged food and beverages in key major categories are down substantially from a year ago due partly to demographic shifts, but mostly because of “self-inflicted wounds” by retailers and manufacturers, according to the third annual...
The use of biomimicry to form nature-inspired oleogels could help manufacturers to better structure unsaturated fats to replace trans fats, say researchers.
How are the top 100 CPG brands performing? Not very well, say Catalina, TABS Group
If you needed further proof that bigger does not correlate with better in the CPG market, a new report from digital marketing expert Catalina reveals that the top 100 brands are underperforming in most of the categories in which they operate.
While cynics observe that biodynamic cane sugar is still sugar, and gourmet Himalayan pink salt is still good old sodium chloride, it’s a fact that trends which might seem to have niche appeal are increasingly heading to the mainstream, and that a small,...
For years the nutrition bar category was mostly limited to sweet flavors, but now that is changing, thanks in part to Mediterra – a pioneer in making savory snack bars.
Seaweed snacks are riding a rising tide in the U.S. with sales swelling between $250 million and $500 million in 2014, according to an industry trends expert.
‘Challenger’ brands – anarchic, agile brands which disrupt established categories – are Davids outmaneuvering industry Goliaths. And Chobani is probably the perfect example, going from zero to a billion dollars in less than a decade. But what happens...
Retailers that initially warned Enjoy Life Foods not to enter the baking mix segment are now clamoring to stock the manufacturer’s new line of five ready-to-use mixes in large part because they go beyond the convenience of competitors to include hot functional...
Hemp and sacha inchi – two ‘ancient yet modern’ sources of protein from seeds – are gaining traction in the burgeoning plant-based protein set, although their premium price tag means they are unlikely to become as big as rice or pea protein – at least...
High protein, easy-to-eat foods are no longer limited to bars and shakes – now they can also be found in familiar baked goods that appeal to carb-loving consumers, thanks to companies like Flapjacked.
Sales of organic are skyrocketing in the U.S. with demand often outstripping supply, but the Organic Trade Association has a plan to bring into balance by 2030 the market growth, acreage growth and farming profitability of organic.
Archer Daniels Midland is set to open first facility built under the aegis of its new WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. The new facility in Cranbury, NJ, will provide flavor and applications expertise to customers in the thriving...
60-second interview: Vicky Fligel, business development manager, Glanbia Nutritionals
Glanbia Nutritionals has expanded beyond its dairy roots to add pea, chia and flax protein concentrates to its portfolio to meet growing demand for vegan protein, says business development manager Vicky Fligel, who caught up with us for our special edition...
Ancient grains continue to gain traction in the US food retail and foodservice market, with quinoa leading the pack. However, lesser-known grains such as teff, amaranth and freekeh are starting to picking up some steam as well, according to a new report*...
PepsiCo has struck a legal settlement with The Center for Environmental Health in which it has agreed to keep levels of 4-mei (4-Methylimidazole) – an impurity generated during the production of caramel colors III and IV – below an agreed limit in Pepsi...
Ingredion has submitted a health claim petition to the FDA for its Hi-Maize high-amylose corn resistant starch and reduction of risk for type 2 diabetes.
Scientists have identified a genetic defect in oil palms, called bad karma, which reduces yields – a finding that could save industry both time and money, they say.
Food manufacturers can feel secure knowing that most consumers eat breakfast at or from home, but fast food chains are a competitive threat that cannot be ignored, new research from Instantly suggests.
All eyes are now on Cargill and Evolva as they prepare for the 2016 launch of fermentation-derived steviol glycosides Reb D+M. However, Vancouver-based GLG Life Tech Corporation says it is confident it will ultimately be capable of breeding stevia plants...
In an era of shorter consumer attention spans and heightened suspicion about food science, the packaged food and beverage industry can take a page from the world of pop culture and bring food science down to earth with humor and proactive transparency.
New sources of protein from edible insects to hemp are being incorporated into a growing number of products from bars to beverages. But does microalgae have what it takes to become a serious player in the so-called ‘alternative proteins’ market?
Indulgence dominates the August edition of Instantly's shelf score ranking of new products, with Oreo Thins (mint) and Pepperidge Farms butter rum cookies notching up the strongest purchase intent scores.
Flowers Foods – which has just snapped up Dave’s Killer Bread for $275m – has made another move into the fast-growing organic bakery category with a $120m deal to acquire Alpine Valley Bread Company.
While supporters of Rep. Mike Pompeo’s Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (HR1599) welcome its proposal to create a national standard for non-GMO claims, the Non-GMO Project says this would confuse shoppers by creating a competing label underpinned by...
Ongoing consumer interest in gluten-free foods has opened a door for less common ancient grains to step into the limelight that wheat, rye and barley have dominated for so long. But at the same time, lingering consumer confusion about the exact definition...
Preserving and strengthening the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which sets school lunch standards and makes free and reduced meals available to children, could lower the healthcare costs in the US and improve the country’s economic competitiveness and...
More consumers are choosing whole grains regularly thanks in part to more sophisticated formulating techniques that better balance flavor and health benefits, according to a survey conducted by the non-profit Oldways Whole Grains Council.
Unilever is searching for radical new ways to understand what consumers really want, Kraft Heinz is looking for novel sources of sustainable oils, and Mondelez is on a mission to find ‘label friendly’ natural mold inhibitors and low-cost ways to tackle...
Many consumers are cautiously optimistic that their financial situation is improving, but they continue to buy groceries based primarily on price and value – creating friction between manufacturers and retailers, IRI research reveals.
Three class-action lawsuits claiming grocers fooled shoppers into believing bread was freshly made in stores were dismissed by a United States District Court judge last week.
