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...
The Jackfruit Company has developed a ready-to-eat pulled pork imitation that it hopes should propel growth, drawing interest from meat eaters considering plant-based alternatives for health and environmental reasons.
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.
The FDA has ruled in favor of a citizen petition requesting dietary fiber status for MGP Ingredients' Fibersym RW and FiberRiteRW -- both resistant starches 4 (RS4) -- with the agency stating that it will propose that cross-linked phosphorylated...
Gluten-free frozen pizza brand Caulipower is on track to generate revenues of $100m in 2019, after just two years in business, with a mission to revolutionize America's relationship with vegetables, says founder Gail Becker.
Emerging and new-to-market brands are all vying for precious shelf space at retail, so where should founders focus their time and energy to secure a spot in their desired store area?
While terms such as a 'natural' and 'clean label' may not have a regulated definition attached to them, these particular descriptors do motivate over half of US shoppers to purchase a product, a new survey of 1,000 adults conducted...
Chloe's has made its first line extensions with "permissibly indulgent" chocolate dipped pops and a kids line in partnership with Nickelodeon since launching five years ago.
How brick-and-mortar retailers merchandise and present their fresh produce selection plays an important role in driving sales, shares the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in its 2019 Power of Produce report.
Not long ago, high protein content call-outs were reserved for ready-to-drink milkshakes and protein bars. Today, everything from snacks to pasta to frozen food boast high protein content on their packaging. What’s sustaining the protein fortification...
In the past five years, online grocery retailer Thrive Market has grown its business to 500,000 paid members shopping its 6,000+ products, allowing the company to dive head first into new projects around regenerative agriculture, and "dramatically"...
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...
While most new plant-based brands debut in the natural channel, the trend is becoming so red hot that Alpha Foods – which has just raised $7m in a round co-led by New Crop Capital and AccelFoods – started by knocking on Walmart’s door… and found it open,...
Scientific and technology advances, coupled with the increased consumer interest, means that there is a need to update and harmonize the recommendations for protein intakes around the globe, says the head of the International Protein Board.
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...
Synthesized analogs of botanical ingredients, and ingredients of wholly artificial origin, could have a place in the dietary supplement industry. But if they do, full transparency would argue that they be labeled as such.
Mondelēz International has made an investment in The Hatchery, a Chicago-based non-profit food business accelerator, as part of the CPG company's SnackFutures innovation and venture hub.
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...
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.
Fermentation: A pathway to 'superior cannabinoids at significantly reduced cost'?
CBD (cannabidiol) produced via fermentation could hit the market early next year following a partnership between synthetic biology expert Amyris, and LAVVAN, Inc., a newly-formed company committed to “providing the market with superior cannabinoids at...
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.
Revive Kombucha is taking a direct shot at the center aisle carbonated soft drink (CSD) consumer with a shelf-stable sparkling kombucha in 12-ounce cans that contains less sugar (5g) and lower calories (20 calories) than its raw refrigerated kombucha....
While US household penetration of hummus has soared over the past decade, there is still a significant opportunity to increase consumption through new usage occasions, says Jason Levine, who has joined the nation’s leading hummus brand Sabra as chief...
Mondelēz International is already a powerhouse in snacking (parent company to Ritz, Wheat Thins, Triscuit, and allergen-friendly brand, Enjoy Life Foods). In November 2018, however, the company decided to pour more efforts into its snack business strategy...
Cargill will have commercial quantities of Non GMO corn protein available by 2022 as it seeks to capitalize on growing demand for plant-based proteins.
Since launching exclusively at the Whole Foods Market Pearl Street store in Boulder, Colorado, in late 2017, Beyond Meat's Beyond Sausage has expanded its distribution to over 4,000 grocery stores, restaurants, and sports stadiums across the US....
Chosen Foods -- which was acquired by Mexico-based specialty oils and ingredients producer Sesajal S.A de C.V. in 2017 -- processed over 300 million avocados last year used mainly for avocado oil sold across 40,000 stores in the US.
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.
Emerging brands in the plant-based frozen food space are plentiful, but not many have proven their value in international markets as Strong Roots has in the UK and its home base of Ireland.
Growpacker Inc., a contract manufacturer of THC- and CBD-infused edibles and beverages based in Canada with a presence in the US market, has launched a brand incubator and accelerator program designed to fast-track CBD and THC brands sold in California.
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.
Following the lead of many other established food & beverage players, Mars, Incorporated is launching a new accelerator to help early stage food-focused companies fast-track growth in exchange for access to the energy and ground-level market insights...
Over half (61%) of Americans following an exclusion diet (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, keto) believe that following a restrictive diet means having to pay more for food and nearly half (47%) say that it takes a toll on their social life, according...
Outer Aisle is doubling down on its grain-free, low-carbohydrate mission with redesigned packaging and three new 'bread-like' cauliflower products, all while ramping up for a national and global launch with Whole Foods.
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...
Consumers are making fewer unplanned, impulse snack purchases than they did five years ago, according to Euromonitor International's "Meeting the Needs of the New Age Snacker" webinar held last week.
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...
Mondelēz International has taken a minority investment in Uplift Food, a startup focusing on prebiotic functional foods, marking the first investment of Snack Futures, the snacking giant's independent innovation and venture hub.
The frequency with which food and beverage startups in the US secure multi-million dollar investments in early fundraising rounds might lead some entrepreneurs to believe earning capital is easy – but the founder of the moringa company Kuli Kuli says...
Brooklyn-born Square Roots, an urban indoor vertical farming startup, is taking its ultra-scalable, modular model to new markets through an exclusive partnership with Gordon Food Service (GFS).
The advocates for the reformation of the regulation of hemp derivatives in nutritional products were clinging to the hope that the abrupt resignation of FDA Commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb will not mean the initiative will be stillborn.
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.
Plants undergo a lot of early environmental stressors pre- and post-harvest and a solution by AgroFresh can block the elements that take a toll on plants.
