Forty years ago, the US cottage cheese market was twice the size of the yogurt market. Today, yogurt (at $7.68bn) is seven times bigger in dollar terms than cottage cheese (down 1.7% to $1.1bn in retail sales in 2016 according to Nielsen data). So have...
Protein shows no sign of petering out in 2017 with many consumers still listing it as an “ideal attribute” for fortification across categories and an ever-growing list of sources from which manufacturers can choose, according to a product development...
Bolthouse Farms expands its footprint in the crowded dressing category with the launch of a new premium line that fills the whitespace in the unexpectedly bare overlap between organic and better-for-you options.
The dairy lobby is justifiably frustrated about the widespread use of dairy-terms (milk, cheese, yogurt) to describe plant-based products, but it also needs to focus on its own game to understand why sales of fluid dairy milk are declining, argues The...
The Dairy Pride Act, which seeks to crack down on the use of dairy-derived labels for plant-based products on the grounds shoppers are being misled, is a “solution looking for a problem,” claims the marketing boss of one of the leading players in the...
'Is your packaging visible, visceral, and memorable? If not, you don’t have a brand'
Whether you’re an established brand hiring a top agency to revamp your packaging, or a penniless entrepreneur with a blank canvas and a Photoshop license, you should always ask yourself three questions, says design guru Simon Thorneycroft.
The due date for the next Farm Bill may still be a year away, but stakeholders already are drawing up a laundry list of diverse requests that will require a “big tent approach” at a time when deeply divided political leaders appear unlikely to meet each...
You’ve got a great product, you’re bursting with entrepreneurial zeal, you’ve outgrown the space you’re renting in a commercial kitchen and you’re ready to look for a contract manufacturer/co-packer. Well steel yourself, says PartnerSlate founder and...
Once restricted to a handful of products, such as yogurt, probiotics are enjoying unprecedented popularity and are popping up in unexpected places with many bold health claims, but not everything consumers or manufacturers hear about probiotics is true.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Dahlicious – a brand best-known for its cultured dairy product, lassi – is moving into new territory this year with the launch of almondmilk-based yogurt and kefir.
High levels of added sugar should disqualify foods from being able to make health claims, or nutrient content claims such as ‘healthy’ or ‘high fiber,’ argues a citizen’s petition filed last week by the nonprofit advocacy group the Union of Concerned...
Days after President Trump signed an executive order that freezes some regulations and draft guidance documents, FDA offers to help food industry associations draft their own guidance documents to help “capture the best practices” and boost industry compliance...
The US dairy industry is continuing its fight against Canada’s policies, which they say are blocking American dairy imports into the country in violation of international agreements.
Taking advantage of butter’s current, albeit controversial, status as “back,” chefs and manufacturers are taking the ingredient to new levels with innovative flavors and formats.
Declaring that public health professionals are “losing the battle” against food borne illness, a former president of the International Association of Food Protection suggests food safety specialists over-rely on training, inspecting and testing and instead...
Billed as a “product sampling community” and influencer marketing company, Social Nature wants to take the time-honored and go-to strategy of in-store demonstrations into the digital age for a “better, cheaper and more direct way to target and acquire...
The Trump Administration’s regulatory freeze announced last week could significantly impact how the Nutrition Facts Label final rule and regulations related to the Food Safety Modernization Act are interpreted and enforced even though they passed well...
The Dairy Pride Act – a bill urging the FDA to prohibit the use of ‘almond milk,’ ‘vegan cheese’ and other such labels on plant-based products – is an “absurd” piece of legislation that “wastes government resources,” claims a new petition on change.org.
In a turbulent 2016 that has seen major political upheaval in Europe and the US no one could’ve failed to notice how trusted voices of reason have given way to a louder, more headline grabbing form of communication.
Even though a final USDA rule strengthening animal welfare standards squeaked into the Federal Register today before the new administration takes control of country, the rule may not be safe from repeal, like so many others finalized under Obama’s leadership.
MAIO, an indulgent tasting yet better-for-you alternative to conventional mayonnaise, is the latest test product to come out of C-Fresh's innovation team and its unique approach to incubating products on a small scale before expanding.
Two-thirds of shoppers plan to buy products online more in 2017 than last year, but this uptick may not materialize for companies that fail to offer strong web content beyond a checkout cart, suggests a study recently released by digital marketing provider...
The rumors are true: Former USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack will take the helm of the US Dairy Export Council Feb. 1 after serving the Obama Administration as one of the longest serving agriculture secretaries in history.
The US Department of Agriculture’s call today for public comment on the Organic Trade Association’s application to create an organic check-off program comes at a time when sales of organic products in the US are soaring but hampered by limited domestic...
Consumers have moved on since dairy standards of identity first hit the statute books, says Miyoko's Kitchen founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner, and it's time regulators did too.
While Americans are becoming more adventurous in what they eat, they often still need a lot of convincing to try something new – especially if they haven’t heard of it before and don’t know what it will taste like, how it will impact their health, how...
While growth in the US yogurt category fell into negative territory in 2016, Chobani's US operation notched up double-digit sales and volume growth last year, driven by a strong performances from Flip and the core cups range and a successful move...
'The process that we had for process discovery before was quite clunky and manual'
Easy-to-use online tools that enable busy category managers to rapidly identify and compare new products from smaller suppliers will gain traction as retailers try to stay ahead of the curve on product selection, predicts Ahold USA.
Ambitious sodium reduction targets for the next two and 10 years laid out by FDA in draft voluntary guidance released last summer not only could save lives, but they could generate huge cost savings based on new research published this week in The BMJ.
Farmers transitioning to organic soon could more easily sell their products at a premium even during the transition period before they are fully certified thanks to a new USDA program announced today.
Dairy can get a bad rap in debates on animal welfare and sustainability, but it’s time the conversation became more nuanced, says 100% grass-fed, organic and “unapologetically full-fat” dairy brand Maple Hill Creamery, which is now available in 6,000...
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released shipments of refined stevia from PureCircle coming in from China that had been held at the border based on allegations that they contained stevia produced using forced labor.
Healthcare concerns likely are behind the steep drop in Americans’ spending at restaurants in 2016 and the uptick in consumers who say they will cook at home more in the New Year, according to recent research.
The US Department of Agriculture’s recent selection of a diverse group of national and independent retailers to sell online groceries to Americans using food stamps not only potentially expands the retailers’ consumer base, but it could be a “lifeline”...
Ahold USA has joined a growing number of high-profile retailers – from Whole Foods to Target – that have signed up with online platform RangeMe to help streamline their product and supplier discovery process.
Sustainability wins another vote for the “most important” trend to watch in 2017, followed closely by plant-based protein, according to a small, but well-educated group of nutrition experts, surveyed by Ketchum’s Global Food and Beverage Practice and...
Despite a rising nationalism in the US born out of the contentious presidential election cycle, Americans remain open to global cuisine and as such, in 2017, international flavors and cultures will continue to heavily influence what’s hot and what’s not...
Ice cream cravings among shoppers on the online service Instacart are strong—the brand topped Instacart’s trending brands of 2016 list, with a 919% increase of searches year-over-year ending December 2016.
The FDA has attempted to clear up some of the confusion over defining and calculating added sugar, in new draft guidance designed to help firms get to grips with the key changes it is making to the Nutrition Facts panel.
For more and more consumers, buying and preparing food is no longer the chore it once was – rather, it is a means of entertainment and self-expression which brands can use to boost product sales, according to Acosta.
FoodFutureCo - a food business accelerator program targeting ‘purpose-driven’ companies in scale-up mode (on track to grossing more than $1 million annually) – will unveil its new cohort of 6-8 companies in early 2017.
General Mills experienced another lackluster quarter in Q2 2017, with a 9% decline in net sales in US retail, although operating profit in the division was up due to margin expansion initiatives.
Shifting 10% of promotional spending to media advertising would boost firms’ ROI on marketing spend by 10-25%, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI and global media company Turner.
What keeps food & beverage industry CEOs awake at night? Declining returns on promotional spending? Lackluster topline growth? An uninspiring innovation pipeline? Anxiety about how to tap into the e-commerce revolution?
There is no denying that vegan is on the rise with consumers looking for more plant-based options, and manufacturers eager to meet that demand with a wide variety of new products -- some of which even are aimed at and winning over carnivores and omnivores.
It’s a salad staple, and a refreshing addition to many cocktails, but it’s also appearing in some surprising applications, from potato chips and candy, to yogurts and dumplings, says flavors giant Firmenich, which has selected the cucumber as its flavor...
With each new year comes new trends in ingredients, cooking styles and eating patterns, but in 2017 the incoming presidential Administration could fundamentally change the way Americans eat by changing how food gets from farm to fork and the safety measures...
Consumer interest in healthy eating is at an all-time high, and in many ways food and beverage manufacturers are rising to meet this demand by cutting calories from across their portfolios and offering more better-for-you options -- but the Center for...
