For US-based Indian street snack maker The Chaat Co, $1 million in seed funding including investment from India’s Jain Farm Fresh Foods is about more than just the money -- it is also about securing a supply line for authentic ingredients to make its...
Much of the punditry immediately following the Amazon/Whole Foods announcement focused on how the tie up might impact Whole Foods stores. Will they become test beds for Amazon Go-style technology and fulfilment centers for Amazon's broader grocery...
While it's probably still best known for its iconic condensed soup, Campbell Soup has been quietly re-engineering its portfolio in recent years via a series of strategic acquisitions and investments spanning everything from hummus and dips to organic...
Looks may not be everything, but they matter a lot – especially in the produce section, which can be a pivotal driver for foot traffic and subsequent sales throughout the entire store, according to new research from the Food Marketing Institute.
Seeing a looming opportunity, dietary ingredients supplier Ethical Naturals has brought a new monk fruit sweetener ingredient to market that it says uses the same technology that it applies to its botanical extracts.
San Diego-based Chosen Foods – best known for its avocado oils and mayo – is considering a move into refrigerated plant-based protein foods and high-protein snacks as it sits down with its new owner, Mexican specialty oils and seeds supplier Sesajal,...
Only 9% of US consumers currently buy groceries online, but the Amazon/Whole Foods deal already is generating incremental interest in buying egroceries, according to a new consumer survey.
Amazon is not a threat to brick-and-mortar retailers but an opportunity to be put in front of countless new consumers, says Bob Moran, CEO of GNC in a recent earnings call.
Daiya Foods has carved out an enviable slice of the fast-growing plant-based foods market since its 2008 launch, but did not attract the valuation it was looking for when it first explored a sale in 2014/15. Fast forward to 2017, however, and its value...
As a percentage of the overall grocery retail market, Amazon’s $420m in Q2 grocery sales in the US is pretty small fry. But its 50% year-on-year growth is making the whole industry pay attention, says e-commerce data firm One Click Retail.
“Lidl will be a very real threat for small scale grocers that lack differentiation or operational efficiencies," predict analysts at Bernstein. However, its success in the US “is by no means a foregone conclusion,” they caution.
Is Lidl’s ‘Preferred Selection’ private label “confusingly similar” to Kroger’s ‘Private Selection’? Or is Kroger’s recent trademark infringement lawsuit against Lidl merely an opportunistic bid to derail a rival’s US market entry?
‘Hold the green beans but pass the sweet sizzlin’ ones.’ Using indulgent words to describe vegetables makes people eat more of them – even if there is no difference in the way they are prepared, say Stanford scientists.
Using a novel nutrition rating system, such as Guiding Stars, could give retailers and food service chains a competitive edge by creating the perception they offer more of the healthy, fresh foods that today’s consumers increasingly want, new research...
The ready meal category in the US is set to explode in part as a natural evolution of the meal kit craze that taught consumers how to cook healthy, fresh food at home, but which still ultimately takes more time than many people have daily, according to...
Flavor innovation is usually seen as a key component of food product development and of less concern for supplements. But as sports nutrition brands seek competitive advantages and to bring in fringe, lifestyle-type consumers, flavors are taking center...
As recently as two years ago, bone broth was virtually unheard of by the masses, but now it is seemingly everywhere with newcomers crowding the category and pushing early players such as Bonafide Provisions to innovate to stay ahead of the competition.
Amazon's increased penetration into the grocery sphere will mean computer wizards, molecular biologists and sustainability experts will be developing ultra-intelligent grocerants of the future, predicts 'supermarket guru' Phil Lempert.
Investment capital continues to flow into the personalized nutrition space with the announcement of another infusion of cash into Orig3n, a company that offers genetic testing kits.
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands have a tough road ahead with the boom in grocerants, but they can survive with some clever collaboration and product re-thinks, says 'supermarket guru' Phil Lempert.
The long-raging debate over whether cutting carbs or cutting fat is a better way lose weight is a false dichotomy, according to new research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found successfully shedding pounds is less about...
By Jay W. Connolly, Edward F. Maluf and Owen Wolfe, attorneys, Seyfarth Shaw
One of the hottest topics in the food, beverage and dietary supplement industries, for both producers and advertisers, remains the disclosure of genetically modified organisms, or ‘GMOs,’ in these products.
General Mills said it will focus on growing its cereal venture with Nestlé, unlocking growth opportunities and investing in NPDs to overturn the company’s historical decline in quarter-on-quarter revenues.
Nutrition-packed, environmentally sustainable and already notoriously well-known – although partly for the wrong reasons – hemp is well positioned to become one of the next big superfood superstars in the US.
Competition in the roasted chickpea snack segment is heating up as more players enter the field, including newcomer Lebby Snacks, which stands apart from the others by offering a soft and chewy – but still roasted – version of the legume rather than the...
The Amazon/Whole Foods deal has “absolutely rattled food retailing and CPG markets in a way I have never seen in my life,” says the founder of organic meal-kit company Green Chef, who says he has been approached by multiple ‘strategic’ suitors as the...
Growing demand for products that support gut health is fueling rapid growth in sales of fermented beverages, but for kombucha to hold on to its pole position in the category and reach its full market potential, manufacturers must improve labeling compliance...
A whopping 65% of a representative sample of Brazilian consumers, representing the world’s fifth most populous country, said they wanted to have less sugar in their diets.
A comparison between Lidl stores in Europe and the first wave of US stores suggests the retailer is moving “away from the hard discount model as we know it in Europe,” according to an analysis by Bernstein.
Which ingredients should be classified as dietary fibers and why? Elaine Watson caught up with Dr Dennis Gordon from North Dakota State University (NDSU) at the IFT show in Las Vegas as the FDA considers petitions from suppliers of everything from inulin...
While the $700m price tag is sizeable for a company generating trailing 12-month revenues of $218m, Campbell Soup’s acquisition of Pacific Foods – best known for its shelf-stable plant-based beverages and organic broths and soups – makes strategic sense...
With unemployment rates approaching 14% after two years of recession, Brazil’s economy is projected to grow by less than 0.5% in 2017, while the president has become embroiled in a corruption scandal some commentators fear could endanger an economic recovery....
To many consumers, ‘processed food’ is just another term for ‘junk food.’ It’s hard to define, but we know it when we see it (Twinkies). But do we know a ‘highly processed’ ingredient when we see it, and how much processing is too much? Elaine Watson...
Canadian bug powder supplier Entomo Farms is still doing most of its business with snack food companies, but VP Darren Goldin – chatting with FoodNavigator-USA at the IFT show - envisions a future where frozen raw insects (as well as the roasted and milled...
As the new CEO of Beanfields Snacks, industry veteran Mark Rampolla hopes to do for the better-for-you snack company what he did for the better-for-you beverage industry when he founded Zico Coconut Water and in doing so also help Los Angeles-based non-profit...
What new tools are brands using to get products to market more quickly, and build consumer insights into the process at every stage? Are traditional focus groups becoming passé?
The UK fresh prepared food market – in which Bakkavor is a leading player - is dominated by private label products, but there is a clear opportunity for national brands to carve out a significant slice of the rapidly-growing chilled food pie in the US,...
One product that generated quite a buzz at the IFT show this year was NuBana green banana flour from International Agriculture Group (IAG). Elaine Watson caught up with VP marketing and business development (and resistant starch guru) Rhonda Witwer to...
An expert panel convened by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) has updated the definition of “prebiotics” to take into account advances in sequencing technology and the expansion in the use of the ingredients...
When industry vet and trained sports nutritionist and food scientist Juan Salinas created P-nuff Crunch baked peanut snacks he wanted to make a product that wasn’t just “better-for-you” but actually good for you without compromising on taste.
In what could be seen as another step in the trend of pressure on the margins of big CPG brands, Kellogg Company is stretching out payment schedules with retailers, according to an analyst’s report.
Hain Celestial’s Cultivate Ventures arm has acquired Portland, OR-based The Better Bean Company - which makes prepared beans and bean dips in chilled deli tubs – for an undisclosed sum.
Between 1 to 3 million people in the United States follow the paleo diet, and yet relatively few packaged products comply with the regime – making it a market brimming with potential that once tapped could quickly drive brand awareness and sales, according...
Premium coffee and brain-boosting nootropics are big business in the US and by combining the two Kimera Koffee is cashing in on the trends while also offering consumers significant savings.
Acting responsibly and creating a positive social impact is no longer optional for companies – it is now a basic requirement for success based on the increasing weight consumers place on corporations' ethical and moral actions when making their purchasing...
As the tenacious gluten-free trend continues to grow and mature into a market behemoth in the US, it is paving the way for the emergence of two trends that both claim to reduce the risk of inflammation and offer increased nutrient density despite opposing...
Certifying a product as approved by the popular Whole30 diet is a “pretty intensive” process, according to the diet’s co-creator, but for the few and proud that make the cut, the licensing deal can provide exposure to a fiercely loyal consumer base, boost...
‘Functional fruit flours’ from starchy unripe bananas – which are low in sugar and in some cases high in RS2 resistant starch – could open new doors for formulators looking to clean up labels and reduce sugar, says the firm behind the NuBana green banana...
