Live-stream shopping is emerging as a new frontier for food and beverage brands as homebound consumers during the pandemic looked for safe ways to discover products and stock their pantries and brands seek novel ways to tell their stories and drive trial...
As consumers become vaccinated and more comfortable venturing out of their home after months of lockdowns, their health remains front of mind, but their priorities are expanding from a laser-focus on immunity to include weight management and their state...
Comet Bio – a startup developing functional fibers and sweeteners from upcycled ingredients – has closed a $22m Series C round led by private equity firm Open Prairie, with support from Louis Dreyfus Company, BDC Capital, and existing investor Sofinnova...
Canadian startup Noblegen has opened a CAD$500m Series C capital raise as it seeks to commercialize a suite of products from the ‘ancient microorganism’ euglena gracilis, which can produce everything from proteins that behave like animal proteins, to...
Wicked Kitchen – a plant-based brand developed by chefs and mushroom enthusiasts Derek and Chad Sarno that has been a hit in the UK – is hoping to make a bigger splash this side of the Atlantic after securing $14m in a Series A round co-led by Unovis...
In FoodNavigator-USA's latest roundup of new product launches, we include Clif Bar's first foray into boxed cereals, PeaTos' fiber- and protein-fueled take on Doritos, RXBARS's new plant-based bars, and a wave of products focusing...
As legislators continue to negotiate an infrastructure deal, the Consumer Brands Association urges democratic leaders to include the creation of a federal Office of Supply Chain Resiliency to address ongoing challenges exposed and magnified by the pandemic...
Citing “abusive actions by monopolies,” including “big ag,” that “lead to mass layoffs, higher prices, [and] fewer options for workers and consumers,” President Joe Biden Friday signed a sweeping executive order that tasks more than a dozen agencies with...
Tate & Lyle has struck a $1.3bn deal to sell a controlling stake in its 'Primary Products' industrial sweeteners and starches business in the Americas to private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, as it focuses on specialty sweeteners, fibers,...
Wellmune – a branded beta glucan ingredient claimed to ‘prime’ the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against invasion by pathogens – is attracting growing interest from food and beverage brands as well as supplement products as immunity...
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) wants Congress to once again delay stricter sodium targets and roll back whole grain requirements for school meals out of fear that students will reject the changes and drop out of feeding programs, many of which...
New data from Placer.ai tracking foot traffic at America’s leading food retailers shows that traffic at Whole Foods – while rebounding - remains lower than it was in 2019, while many rival grocers have staged a stronger recovery.
Chobani has filed a confidential draft registration statement for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The number of shares of common stock to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering...
By Abby Meyer, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP; and Dr. Sara Dastgheib-Vinarov, Tate & Lyle
In the food industry, a special recipe or product formulation can distinguish a company from competitors and form the basis of a brand. Companies may spend significant R&D dollars to get the recipe just right, so how can they protect this investment...
Online personalized shopping platform, Sifter, is hoping to make label reading a thing of the past with a tool that instantly tells consumers which products fit their dietary needs and lifestyle.
Oatmilk or oat drink? Plant-based cheese or cultured nut product? A report from the House Committee on Appropriations “encourages the FDA to provide clarity around the labeling of plant-based foods that use traditional meat, dairy, and egg terminology,”...
The Federal Trade Commission has issued its final ‘Made in the USA’ rule about how companies can make this claim on their packaging and in advertising.
Packed with protein, shortfall nutrients, antioxidants and more, dairy is well-positioned to meet rising consumer demand for functional foods and beverages, but a seemingly blasé approach to marketing and on-pack claims is holding the category back from...
Harmless Harvest and majority stakeholder Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV) are exploring opportunities to take the organic coconut water into international markets, says CEO Ben Mand, who says the San Francisco-based brand also has the potential to stretch...
“Inflation has been dramatic in the locust bean gum market and we do believe the situation is now at a tipping point for customers,” says CP Kelco, a leading supplier of hydrocolloids and other texturizing ingredients.
In the near term at least, we can expect to see continued elevated demand for food at home vs pre-pandemic levels as consumers spend more time working from home, cooking and baking, says General Mills, which is currently engaged in a significant round...
Those who skip breakfast are more likely to miss out on several key nutrients considered to be “dietary components of public health concern” by the USDA’s latest dietary guidelines compared to those who reported eating breakfast, according to an analysis...
The FDA is aiming to release long-awaited voluntary sodium reduction goals and draft guidance on the labeling of plant-based milk alternatives in the next 12 months.
While most consumers are cautiously optimistic that life will return to ‘normal’ this year after the coronavirus outbreak uprooted most aspects of everyday life last year, many remain concerned about the long-term economic impact of the pandemic and are...
A global consumer study* funded by ‘animal-free’ dairy startup Formo (previously LegenDairy) suggests consumers are surprisingly open to trying and buying cheese featuring dairy proteins made via microbes instead of cows after reading a detailed description...
Global food giants Nestle and Tyson Foods have joined supermarkets and food and environmental scientists to form a new non-profit organisation that will issue front-of-pack environmental scores on food products throughout Europe.
Now a few years on the mainstream diet scene, the keto market continues to grow with an uptick in new product launches in the past year, according to Mintel data.
A combination of supply chain disruptions and surging demand for sugar alternatives has created a very tight market for selected specialty sweeteners - notably erythritol and crystalline allulose – with some firms reporting shortages, longer lead times,...
The price of locust bean gum – a clean-label thickener and stabilizer from carob seeds used in everything from Philadelphia cream cheese to Planet Oat oatmilk – has more than doubled over the past year, as demand continues to exceed supply, prompting...
New research revealing that nearly nine out of ten participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, struggle to maintain healthy diets suggests the method for how aid is determined is outdated and reveals...
While several major baby food and infant formula manufacturers have pulled back or altered their advertising and lobbying practices significantly in recent years to reduce the risk of discouraging breastfeeding, many companies continue to fall woefully...
Unilever experienced an “explosion” in the growth of non-dairy ice cream when it introduced products through mainstream brands such as Ben & Jerry's and Magnum, according to global ice cream EVP Matt Close. But getting plant-based proteins to...
Nature’s Fynd has received a coveted 'no questions’ letter from the FDA in response to its GRAS safety determination for its ‘Fy’ fungi ingredient (Fusarium strain flavolapis*), a protein-packed naturally-occurring micro-organism with origins in...
A California court has allowed a proposed class action lawsuit over ‘No Antibiotics’ claims on Sargento cheese to proceed, with some caveats, finding that “there is a factual dispute as to what a reasonable consumer would understand” by this claim.
What is on the inside is what matters to most consumers when it comes to food and beverages, according to research from the International Food Information Council released yesterday that found Americans are paying more attention to ingredient lists than...
Danone North America is refreshing its Oikos Greek yogurt blended line in a bid to revitalize flagging sales and appeal to a younger demographic, adding 50% more fruit, deploying new cultures for a creamier taste, and replacing its signature blue packaging...
Mars is backing a new coalition that aims to support climate action through global supply chains. Kevin Rabinovitch, VP Global Sustainability, tells us that procurement is one of the most powerful tools in the company’s arsenal in the fight against climate...
Motif FoodWorks – a Boston-based startup focused on high-impact ingredients that can be added to plant- based meat and dairy formulations in small quantities but make a significant difference to the eating experience – has raised $226m in Series B* funding,...
San Francisco-based Change Foods – one of a new breed of startups making 'animal-free' dairy ingredients using microbes instead of cows – has closed an oversubscribed $2.1m seed funding round,* and plans to launch its first consumer products...
Even in the face of rising inflation and ostensibly competing financial priorities, Mondelez’s multi-year shopping spree shows no sign of slowing as executives last week touted the steady “high-single digit” returns from recent acquisitions that are part...
As the G7 summit draws to its end and groundwork commences for COP 26, world leaders have been urged to look at the food system to deliver progress on COVID-19, economic security, climate change and health.
Chobani has launched an industry first – a nationally-distributed line of dairy yogurts with zero grams of sugar – to meet growing demand from consumers that want to reduce sugar without feeling like they’re eating ‘diet’ products or compromising on taste...
“Global and local” dairy companies have approached Imagindairy - one of a clutch of startups using microbes (not cows) to produce milk proteins – about developing ‘animal-free’ dairy milks and other products, says the Israeli company, which lags some...
Despite recent rapid growth in non-dairy options, dairy consumers are still more frequently opting for dairy products over their plant-based counterparts, with plant-based cheese facing the biggest consumer acceptance challenges among dairy buyers, according...
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...
Plant-based milk has captured 15% of the US fluid milk market. Plant-based cheese - which has been around for just as long - has captured less than 2%* of the market, because it's much more technically challenging to formulate, and consumers are...
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...
