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...
Visitors to BioMilk’s website are asked a simple question: ‘What is milk?’ a question that - until relatively recently - had a pretty obvious answer: the white stuff lactating mammals produce. Today, however, there’s plant-based milk; there are products...
While fluid milk consumption has been declining since the 1970s, US retail sales rose 7.1% last year (52-weeks ending Jan 2, 2021, according to NielsenIQ Total U.S. xAOC data). However, is this trend indicative of an actual revitalization of the $15.1bn...
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,'...
Oatly posted a net loss of $60m in 2020 on sales up 106.5% year-on-year to $421.4m, reflecting its continued investment as it ramps up production and aggressively expands into new markets, according to a prospectus published ahead of its initial public...
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...
Berkeley-based startup Perfect Day has underscored its sustainability credentials with the release of a lifecycle assessment suggesting its ‘non-animal’ whey protein - produced by microbes - produces up to 97% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than...
Buyers on online discovery platform RangeMe - which is used by retailers from Whole Foods to Walmart to identify new products and suppliers - are increasingly using it as a tool to identify brands that align with corporate social responsibility goals,...
Compliance with the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) – which requires firms with annual sales of >$2.5m to label ‘bioengineered’ foods, beverages, and supplements – is mandatory from January 1, 2022. So is the industry up to...
This year promises to be a “blockbuster year” for snacking innovation after 2020 saw drastically fewer new products hit stores than previous years, but of those that did launch the best sellers catered to Americans’ pandemic-influenced demands – portending...
Applications are now open for Rabobank’s FoodBytes! Pitch 2021 program, which is seeking emerging CPG, food tech, and ag tech brands to pitch their innovations and network (virtually) with corporate leaders and investors.
With VC-backed food tech startups deploying molecular biologists and astrophysicists now competing for shelf space in the red-hot meat and dairy alternatives market with equally deep-pocketed multinational meat and CPG companies, where do independent...
The Plant Based Foods Association has slammed bills proposing restrictions on the use of terms such as ‘milk’ and ‘meat’ on food labels and restaurant menus in Wisconsin, while state lawmakers insist they are urgently required to prevent consumer confusion....
Immunity claims on new product launches have surged during the pandemic as companies sprinkle in everything from vitamin C and D to zinc, probiotics, postbiotics, elderberry and Cordyceps to their wares to tap into the trend. But what else is in the immune...
Ag-food tech company Moolec Science is expanding its alternative protein platform to cater to plant-based bakery and beverage categories. “Moving into egg and dairy alternatives was a natural next step for our roadmap,” explained CEO and co-founder Gastón...
Sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products - including meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, condiments and meals containing plant-based alternatives - grew by 27% to $7bn in measured channels in the year to December 27, 2020, according to...
As more consumers adopt a “research-online-buy-offline” approach, providing accurate, consistent product information across channels and on packaging is essential for driving discovery, initial trial and repeat purchases – and yet, most manufacturers...
Years before the coronavirus pandemic shined a harsh light on the fragility of long, global supply chains dominated by a handful of multinational companies, Kim Bryden founded Cureate to connect local food and beverage manufactures with large institutional...
Recognizing “time is not on our side when it comes to climate change” and that “what is good for the planet is good for our brand,” Horizon Organic is bringing consumers along on its ambitious five-year journey to become the first carbon positive dairy...
Unilever has some ambitious goals on food waste. The multinational wants to halve waste from its direct operations by 2025 and is working with suppliers and customers to reduce waste across the food chain. It also hopes to tackle one of the trickiest...
Despite a double-digit increase in retail sales during the pandemic, most grocery retailers continue to grapple with tight profit margins which could be squeezed further as restaurants and the foodservice industry reopen but many coronavirus-related expenses...
A new early-stage venture capital fund sees significant upside for financing food and beverage startups that may be too small for many other VC investors, but which in a few years could help meet “pent up demand” for innovation from large CPG players...
No longer seen as the budget option by consumers, private label brands are continuing to differentiate themselves from national brands in quality and innovation, according to private label market research firm Daymon.
US retail sales of plant-based milk surged 21.9% to $2.542bn in measured channels in the year to Jan. 24, 2021, while sales of plant-based cheese and yogurt (far smaller categories) were up 43.6% to $233.9m and 16.4% to $346.2m respectively in the year...
The coronavirus outbreak fundamentally changed how food and beverage brands are connecting with consumers – from abruptly halting live sampling and in-store promotions to altering the types of messaging consumers want to hear.
The Organic Trade Association is optimistic it could reach a “potential amicable resolution” in its ongoing lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture for the withdrawal of the widely popular Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule during...
“By 2035, every tenth portion of meat, eggs, and dairy eaten around the globe is very likely to be alternative,” says a new report from Boston Consulting Group and Blue Horizon Corporation predicting alternative proteins could account for 11% ($290bn)...
As part of a “moonshot” to end hunger and eliminate food waste, The Kroger Co.’s Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation and seed stage funder Village Capital are offering $2.5 million in collective grants and development programming to 10 innovative startups...
Armies of microscopic single-celled microbial food factories (yeast, bacteria, fungi, algae) are now routinely deployed to produce high-value food ingredients more efficiently than plants or animals. But next-generation ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing processes...
When it comes to feeding children, caregivers have a wealth of nutritional information at their fingertips that they say they understand, and yet most children fall short of the recommended intakes of fruit, vegetables and whole grains and consume too...
From keto-friendly ice cream, cereals, and snacks, to plant-based dairy and functional beverages, check out what's new on shelf in our spring gallery of new launches.
Even as more Americans are vaccinated and some local economies begin to reopen, recent consumer research suggests many of the shopping changes consumers adopted during the pandemic are here to stay, including a heightened focus on safety, financial health...
Product availability and lower prices will edge out customer safety as top priorities for most grocery shoppers after the threat of COVID-19 subsides thanks to increased access to coronavirus vaccinations and heard immunity, suggests new research from...
Starting this month, PepsiCo will distribute selected Chobani products including the new high-protein lactose-free line Chobani Complete to convenience stores, colleges and universities in the northeastern part of the US through its chilled direct-to-store...
Innovation still drives the food landscape even though “treasure hunting” may look different now than before the pandemic sidelined casual in-store consumer browsing and retailers and brands rationalized SKUs to focus on best-sellers to alleviate supply...
Dairy-free cheeses featuring a novel bacterial protein could hit the market by the end of the year, adding an intriguing new dimension to the burgeoning dairy-alternative space, says microbial fermentation specialist Superbrewed Food (formerly known as...
Plant-based foods manufacturer Nabati Foods (part of the Eat Beyond Holdings portfolio) has closed over $7.7m in an oversubscribed funding round with plans to pursue a public listing on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE).
Since the pandemic began, food insecurity in America has increased exponentially, and stakeholders across the value chain are stepping up to provide relief, including Simply Organic, which is giving $150,000 to five organizations that not only help put...
It’s milk, but not as we know it, Jim… To be precise, GoodSport is dairy milk, but with the protein and fat removed via ultra-filtration, leaving a clear sugary fluid loaded with electrolytes and vitamins. But does this upcycled elixir (better known as...
With the pandemic’s impact on the economy and food insecurity in America expected to outlast the threat of the current coronavirus, stakeholders are calling on legislators to rethink how food and funds through nutrition programs are disbursed – changes...
Market projections for meat and dairy alternatives vary wildly, with Impossible Foods’ CEO predicting animal agriculture could hit a ‘death spiral’ by 2035, while Wells Fargo reckons plant-based meat will account for a rather more modest 4% of the US...
Santiago-based food tech company NotCo has been granted a first-of-its kind US patent for its AI technology, which it claims gives it a clear edge in the race to reverse engineer animal foods and put them back together - molecule by molecule - with plants,...
The food industry has a ‘critical and urgent’ role to play to resolve the food waste crisis, according to Unilever’s president of foods and refreshment, Hanneke Faber.