Running a startup can be thrilling… and an energy-sapping trial by ordeal. But mentors and judges at Rabobank’s Foodbytes! pitch competition in San Francisco last month were at hand to offer tips, help entrepreneurs ask investors the right questions,...
By 2050, the Earth’s population is predicted to reach upwards of 10 billion people who will require significantly more food than is produced today, which many predict is not feasible without drastic changes in the way food is produced, transported and...
Private label continues to give national brands a run for their money with over half of consumers saying they shop a store specifically for its private brand, according to a report by Daymon, a private brand innovation and development firm.
Effective branding traditionally has empowered, inspired and informed consumers, but in the current era of distrust and heightened anxiety branding needs to evolve to account for consumers’ rising self-reliance, increasingly rational approach and their...
In response to the public’s growing aversion to sugar, manufacturers across categories have reformulated and launched products made with alternative sweeteners, but increasingly consumers don’t want those either – but they also can’t as easily identify...
While the food and beverage industry is virtually oozing with innovation as entrepreneurs launch category-breaking and -making ideas at a rapid-fire clip, the full potential of many new products and companies is held back by lackluster branding that a...
Ultra-filtered milk brand fairlife (backed by Coca-Cola) is increasing its production and distribution capacity with plans to build a $200m, 300,000-square-foot facility in a suburb outside of Phoenix, Arizona. The new facility is slated to be operational...
The options available to those with a lactose intolerance have expanded with the boom of non-dairy alternatives to lactose-free milk products, but until now, there hadn't been a premium lactose-free ice cream made with dairy ingredients and free...
Using tactics such as “sin taxes” and a new bold-faced call-out for added sugar on the revised Nutrition Facts panel, public health advocates and regulators have targeted sugar as a primary caloric contributor in the ongoing obesity epidemic in the US...
Evolv Ventures, the $100m venture fund backed by Kraft Heinz, has made its first investment in fast-growing GrubMarket, a startup that connects local farmers directly with restaurants and businesses to sell their wares.
FDA will push forward with its Nutrition Innovation Strategy despite the departure this month of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb who championed the initiative as a way to reduce the burden of chronic disease through improved nutrition, according to an...
After losing several high profile members and suffering a backlash over controversial policy positions, the Grocery Manufacturers Association is trying to regain the industry’s – and consumers’ – trust by rebuilding its mission around four main pillars...
Chr. Hansen’s latest enzyme for cheesemakers, the CHY-MAX Supreme, is ‘a game changer’ in the production of cheddar, continental and mozzarella cheeses, the Danish bioscience company told FoodNavigator when we caught up last month.
What are the key elements of a great pitch, and what might send potential investors running for the hills? FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine Watson headed to San Francisco to ask judges and mentors at Rabobank's FoodBytes! pitch competition what they're...
Shaka Tea, Bushel, and Toast Ale scooped the top prizes at FoodBytes! San Francisco 2019, Rabobank’s 15th global pitch competition for food and ag startups, after wowing judges with their innovative products and business models.
If areas of the grocery store were to be placed in a figurative bracket based on annual volume growth over a three year period (2015-2018), which departments would come out on top? According to Nielsen's "Total Store Bracket" ranking 16...
As consumers learn more about digestive health and all the implications that it has for the wellbeing of their bodies and minds, they are looking for products that go beyond probiotics – creating a booming digestive health category that is ripe for innovation....
Despite efforts by the largest food and beverage manufacturers in the United States to tackle obesity and diet-related disease in the market, nearly 40% of adults and 18.5% of children in the US are obese – putting them at risk of Type 2 diabetes, high...
Consumers want more natural, less processed, ‘clean’ foods. But do they give certain brands – and categories – a pass? And what cues are they looking for? Checkout what our consumer and legal experts had to say in the opening session of our Natural and...
In order to feed a nutritious, sustainable diet to the predicted 10 billion people who will populate Earth by 2050, environmental advocates and food & beverage industry stakeholders must work together rather than apart from – or even at times against...
Food and beverage brands targeting kids often promote their low sugar content, or highlight calcium for bones and protein for growing bodies. But what about the nutrients kids need to support the development of arguably their most important asset: the...
Reimagining base brands, cultivating the M&A pipeline, and developing new innovation models
Will big food companies increasingly buy in innovation and serve simply as scale up platforms for smaller, more 'authentic' brands they didn’t create, or can they come up with their own cool stuff that will resonate with new generations of consumers?...
If harnessed appropriately, rapid advances in digital technology could offer much-needed solutions to some of the unintentional negative diet- and nutrition-related consequences from otherwise positive Industrial Revolution era developments, according...
The splits in the organic movement have given birth to a new initiative to regain the soul of the concept, according to an executive with a major retailer.
For some time, Amazon has been the dominant player in online grocery, but that lead may be starting to slip as brick-and-mortar retailers have been steadily winning back share in the competitive ecommerce race, says Nielsen.
Bulletproof360, Inc. (maker of Bulletproof Coffee) has named Cameron Kinloch (former CFO at Ripple Foods) as CFO, and Brian Watkins as the company's VP of ecommerce, reporting to Bulletproof president and COO, Anna Collins.
Are we approaching ‘peak plant milk’? Will ‘designer proteins’ created via synthetic biology catch on? And should dairy milk serve as the nutritional benchmark for plant-based ‘milk’? Elaine Watson caught up with Ripple Foods cofounder Adam Lowry at the...
While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, says German startup Harvest Moon, its founder was not amused when he saw the packaging of Chobani’s new coconut-based non dairy range, which he claims is the “spitting image” of his coconut dairy...
CBD far and away stole the show as the hot new ingredient at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim last week, but it wasn’t the only notable trend with promising market potential or significant recent development.
Clio Snacks, which makes chilled Greek yogurt bars dipped in chocolate, sees itself as supplementing a declining Greek yogurt category by expanding usage occasions and answering the consumer call for a permissibly indulgent snack.
As Tillamook County Creamery Association marks its 110th anniversary, the farmer-owned cooperative is growing faster than ever with new products, a fresh look and rapidly expanding distribution.
In recent years the idea of doing well by doing good has grown beyond a few niche brands with pet projects to become a must-have for startups and established companies alike as consumers increasingly shop based on their values.
We clocked a number of brands using terms from 'clean candy' to 'clean protein' on the showfloor at Expo West, but what does 'clean eating' mean, is 'clean' a term that brands should use on product labels, and where...
While snacking has become more acceptable, many consumers still bring some baggage to the trend – usually in the form of guilt – but a new ad campaign for Whisps cheese crisps wants to relieve shoppers of this burden.
Checkout who is moving onwards and upwards in FoodNavigator-USA's latest new hires gallery, featuring PepsiCo, Tyson, Nestle Waters North America, The Jackfruit Co, KIND Snacks, ROAR Organic, PureCircle, Icelandic Provisions, Litehouse, BrightFarms,...
'What we're wrestling with is whether CBD is an ingredient play, or something huge brands can be built around'
The fact that CBD is not a legal ingredient in foods and supplements - at least not yet - did not deter scores of exhibitors at Expo West, who added it to everything from soda to protein bars (absent any claims), with some opting for isolates, but most...
With newcomers launching practically every day in the food and beverage industry, the pressure is on for legacy brands to up their innovation game – and according to industry giant Unilever the best way to do this is to start with modern consumers’ core...
Stakeholders from the dietary supplements and food industries have been reacting to the resignation of Scott Gottlieb, MD, with many pushing for the Agency to follow through on the key initiatives started during his leadership.
The number of class action filings against food and beverage companies rose 9% to 158 in 2018, with firms vulnerable to legal action on a host of fronts, from slack fill to natural claims, says law firm Perkins Coie.
Kite Hill – a leading player in the fast-growing plant-based dairy category utilizing cultured almondmilk to create cream cheeses, yogurts and filled pastas – will be unveiling a new logo, package design and strapline (‘plant based artisans’) at the Natural...
Coconut Collaborative has expanded distribution to more than 1,000 stores since launching in the US last year, and according to co-founder Edward Averdieck, the brand is hitting its stride just as the plant-based yogurt market is showing signs of becoming...
Nitro cold brew company RISE Brewing Co. is hoping the same strategies it used to successfully carve out a niche in the highly competitive ready-to-drink-coffee segment will help it win again, but this time in the increasingly crowded oat milk category.
Tests from Florida-based lab Beta Analytic prove that the allegations in a recent lawsuit challenging LaCroix’s all natural claims are “false and devoid of legal and factual merit,” claims LaCroix brand owner National Beverage Corporation (NBC).
If Amazon is planning to launch a new retail offer with lower prices than Whole Foods, it would lend credence to the idea that “well-designed, well-located brick-and-mortar stores have an important role to play in the years ahead, even as e-commerce continues...
Whether through multi-million dollar investments in startups or high dollar mergers and acquisitions of larger, established companies, the food and beverage industry currently is being flooded with funding, and with it many opportunities as well as challenges.
Chr. Hansen is tapping into the growing demand for plant-based dairy products with the launch of nu-trish LGG DA, a version of its Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG strain designed for fermented plant-based dairy.
The food industry is gearing up for the Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim. But what is a 'natural' product? How are definitions of natural & clean label evolving, and is food tech changing the game? (Is the Impossible Burger ‘natural,’...
A Bay area-based start-up founded by two food industry veterans is injecting functionality as well as fun into the kids’ yogurt segment - one of the few bright spots in an otherwise sluggish category – with the launch of Brainiac Kids: whole milk yogurts,...
Good Culture has closed an $8m funding round led by CAVU Venture Partners that will help the cottage cheese brand become an even stronger force in the cultured dairy aisle where the company has experienced +100% year-over-year growth in velocity across...
