At the intersection of consumers’ growing interest in bold, spicy flavors, health and a desire to expand their horizons through food, fermented foods have re-entered the spotlight owing to their deep flavors and health halo as a longtime form of food...
FDA proposals that would require the pre-approval of certain fiber ingredients before the agency will count them as ‘dietary fibers’ on the Nutrition Facts panel are illogical and unfair, claim industry commentators.
How clean is your label, and who decides - plaintiff's attorneys or Whole Foods Market? Are ‘all-natural’ claims still resonating with consumers or are other on-pack cues more important? And do shoppers understand the difference between natural and...
Natural claims on food and beverage products appear to be leveling off, according to recent product launch data from market research firms Datamonitor and Mintel.
Pure Via labels will be amended, but 'natural' claim will stay
10 months after Cargill agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it was misleading shoppers by marketing consumer products under the Truvia brand as ‘natural’, the firms behind rival stevia brand Pure Via have agreed to settle a similar lawsuit.
Nearly twice as many Americans say they are actively trying to avoid fat in their diet (56%) as those who say they’re actively avoiding carbohydrates (29%), according to a Gallup Consumption survey of 1,013 adults conducted last month. Still, fewer Americans...
Given the recent concerns surrounding safe supply of chia seed coupled with rising consumer demand for minimally processed ingredients, Anne Brown, general manager of Glanbia Nutritionals’ Next Generation Grains processor, says manufacturers can’t underestimate...
A new patent application that covers the efficient and sustainable production of sweeteners including Rebaudioside M (Reb M) using fermentation technology has been published by Evolva and Cargill.
Survata is 'democratizing' consumer insights, says CEO
Until pretty recently, food marketers looking to test new product ideas, brand names or pack designs could look to friends, family, and colleagues for cheap - though notoriously unreliable - feedback, or expect to spend serious time and money on hiring...
Retailers that offer an attractive packaged salad range are more likely to attract high-spending ‘foodies’ to their stores, says Packaged Facts, citing data showing that bagged salad shoppers are much more likely to pay extra for healthier products, try...
Selling everything from coffee flour to ‘Chimp Food’, egg white chips, artichoke water and kids’ tea, here's FoodNavigator-USA's latest pick of entrepreneurs to watch in the US food and beverage market.
It’s been a busy summer for Hampton Creek. After just six months on the market and $30mn raised in funding from the likes of Bill Gates and Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang, its plant-based mayonnaise brand Just Mayo is the No. 1 selling mayo at Whole Foods...
Vermont AG: 'Natural' labels do not belong on foods made with GMOs
Vermont’s new GMO labeling law (Act 120) does not violate the First Amendment because the disclosures it mandates are “purely factual” and the law “does not require manufacturers to state a particular viewpoint, such as whether GE foods are good or bad”,...
Retailers are going to reduce the space given to legacy brands
Leading CPG companies are like huge ships that cannot change course quickly enough to address evolving consumer trends, claims the boss of Boulder Brands (which owns the Udi’s Gluten-Free, Earth Balance and EVOL brands). But unless they make some bold...
New labels would highlights calories, include 'added sugars'
UPDATED: Significant changes to the Nutrition Facts panel on foods & beverages have been proposed in the US and Canada, with the plan to include ‘added sugars’ tweak rules on dietary fiber labeling, and update the reference values used to calculate...
Once best known to consumers as a curly green garnish on restaurant dinner plates, nutrition powerhouse kale took the US market by storm in recent years. Can supply of this leafy green cousin to cauliflower and cabbage keep up? And can anything overtake...
There are lessons to be learned from Coca-Cola’s abortive attempt to introduce a new ‘natural’ sweetening system to selected Vitaminwater products, say formulation experts. But they are not necessarily about stevia.
The FDA’s overhaul of the Nutrition Facts panel misses a public health opportunity by prohibiting firms from evening highlighting long chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA on the panel on a voluntary basis, says GOED, the Global Organization for EPA...
Sugar is sugar, say bakers, our bodies don't distinguish between 'naturally occurring' and 'added' varieties
A row is brewing over the merits of including ‘added sugars’ on the Nutrition Facts panel, with critics arguing that our bodies don’t distinguish between ‘naturally occurring’ and ‘added’ sugar - and neither should food labels - and supporters saying...
5-Hour Energy has hit back at a sports science researcher who says there is ‘chasm’ between the claims made by America’s top-selling energy shot and the scientific evidence for its effectiveness.
Whether it’s designated “gluten-free”, “no gluten”, “without gluten”, “free of gluten”, tomorrow (Aug. 5) is the deadline for manufacturers to ensure they meet the Food and Drug Administration’s definition of a gluten-free food.
Public, private, religious, managed, self-operated, primary, secondary, university, trade school. Food manufacturers eyeing the massive school foodservice landscape have to first understand the animal they’re dealing with, according to the latest data...
Flash cooking process helps retain vibrant color, taste & nutrients
A new entrant to the aseptic fruit & veg puree market is hoping to disrupt the category by using a proprietary rapid steam infusion process it claims can produce products of unparalleled quality that retain the color, flavor and nutrient levels of...
FoodNavigator-USA takes you through the latest and greatest in new product launches, from coconut water for kids to Stonyfield's sweet cream that's neither Greek nor yogurt, to Campbell's 200-strong new product portfolio and Jimmy Dean's...
Kraft: 'We have to unlearn what we believed to work in the past'
Trade spending is not delivering in the way that it used to, and if the food industry wants to deliver profitable growth, it needs to reallocate resources into bigger and better innovations and brand-building - which “requires discipline”, says Kraft...
Launching big is not the definitive way to sustainable growth
How many consumer packaged goods that launch in the US today will still be around in two years’ time? The answer is a miserable 15%, according to Nielsen data.
Big Interview: Chris Licata, CEO of Blake's All Natural Foods
The success of the frozen section hinges on the continued trend toward prepared meals with cleaner ingredient decks and accessible price points, says Chris Licata, CEO of natural and organic frozen meals line Blake’s All Natural Foods.
First there was juice, then there were smoothies, now there is, er, Chimp Food, the brainchild of Florida-based entrepreneur Scott Joseph, who lost 100lbs after eating like a chimp (he ditched meat, dairy & grains and ate nothing but fruits, vegetables,...
Added sugars account for 14.1% of total energy intakes for Americans
While we tend to assume that fast food outlets (the bottomless soda cup) contribute a disproportionate amount of added sugar to the US diet compared with store-bought groceries, new data shows that the reverse is actually true.
Big Interview: Maggie Radzwiller, Maggie's Conscious Vegan Cuisine
A chef and caterer was motivated by her special diets customers to launch a vegan, gluten-free line of globally inspired meals with no added sodium or oil to provide clean, flavorful meal solutions for everybody.
We have become a nation of fitness and nutrition go-getters, as evidenced by the skyrocketing number of fitness and nutrition apps and the mainstreaming of the sports nutrition market.
A new mobile app enabling CPG companies to get instant feedback on new product concepts from target consumers while they are grocery shopping will slash the time and money spent on testing new ideas, claims consumer insights expert uSamp.
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi says the company is positioning itself as the highest growth food and beverage manufacturer in a ‘relatively low growth’ US retail landscape where fresh food is trending strongly.
Memory, attention and focus, development, mood; there are numerous ways that a nutrient or ingredient can affect cognitive health. But which have the most science, how do they work, and how are they performing in the market. Check out our gallery of the...
A mechanical engineer with a keen interest in semi-conductors, ips All Natural co-founder Sean Olson is not your typical food entrepreneur. But don’t let his résumé fool you. With an unusual product that taps into the protein trend, Olson reckons his...
Vermont has serious concerns over cost of defending GMO labeling law, claim CFS/VPIRG
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) and anti-GMO activist group the Center for Food Safety (CFS) have formally asked for permission to help the state of Vermont defend its new GMO labeling law in the wake of a legal challenge from food...
Policy efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption across the developed world have resulted in modest gains and increased awareness (most notably among children), yet largely they’ve fallen short in impacting long-term consumption behavior, according...
The FDA’s proposed label changes would draw attention to a lot of issues worrying public health officials—from calories and added sugar to serving sizes and vitamin D. But one nutrient that won’t be mandated on labels, in spite of growing concern over...
Obviously taste rules when it comes to any food or beverage. But many consumers are also looking for indications that what they’re eating has been minimally “messed with”—hence the growing incidence of “all natural” and related terms on product labels.
The vast majority of sodium reduction activity in the US food industry is now being conducted by ‘stealth’ in order to avoid alienating shoppers, according to Tate & Lyle.
US retail sales of gluten-free products surged 47% in 2013, with a significant chunk of the growth coming from snacks, according to flour milling giant Ardent Mills.
While food & beverage manufacturers have been fortifying their wares with omega-3 fatty acids EPA + DHA for years, few have been able to include anywhere close to the efficacious doses contained in many supplements without running into technical or...