The latest consumer price index reveals food prices have climbed 3.4% over the past year, reflecting a slow but steady month over month increase that likely won’t stop any time soon as ingredient, material and labor shortages continue.
The cost of containerized freight has reached an all-time high, says a new report from Mintec, which says its global shipping composite index (based on 11 east-west trade routes) reached a monthly average of $8,796 per 40-foot container in June, up +24%...
Don Lee Farms has filed a motion to compel Beyond Meat to share text messages from CEO Ethan Brown in the latest installment of an increasingly acrimonious legal dispute* between the plant-based meat firm and former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms triggered...
As the pandemic drags on and consumers feel more confident in the kitchen they are relying less on well-known, iconic brands for comfort as they did in the months immediately following the coronavirus outbreak and are more willing to try new brands and...
Meat, egg, and dairy ‘alternatives’ usually come with qualifying language (plant-based eggs; meatless nuggets, oatmilk). But what should we call next generation products that are not simply mimicking the real thing, but in many cases, are the ‘real’ thing,...
Online grocery shopping sales declined by 2% to $6.7bn in the month of July compared to the previous month, but still remain well above pre-COVID sales levels, according to recent data from Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.
Pandemic-related limitations on key resources, from essential ingredients to packaging to labor, continue to challenge food and beverage manufacturers, and while pressures may ease in one area they simultaneously increase in another – elevating the need...
Walmart is capturing “strong” market share gains in grocery as it continues to hold down prices at a time when other retailers are more aggressively passing through to consumers rising costs due to inflation – making it a formidable competitor but also...
Unit and dollar sales of frozen food continue to outpace those of total food and beverage as consumers first gravitated to the category during the pandemic for long-lasting options between less frequent store trips, but as mobility increases many continue...
Grocery retailers and packaged food and beverage brands should brace for another significant shift in consumer shopping habits this month as many families with students returning to in-person school after a year or more of distance or hybrid learning...
For the first time in decades other than for inflation, the US Department of Agriculture is increasing the basis for which it calculates food assistance benefits allotted under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – a move that will help more...
Beyond Meat’s filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reveal the broad scope of the company’s innovation pipeline, with trademark applications over the past couple of years spanning everything from Beyond Milk and Beyond Eggs...
Join Noblegen, Plantible Foods, Superbrewed Food, Mattson and Lever VC to discuss the future of protein
Plant-based proteins such as soy and pea continue to dominate the so-called ‘alternative protein’ category, but they’re not the only game in town. New options are now emerging from ‘animal-free’ collagen and whey to a novel set of proteins produced naturally...
While following a climatarian diet that prioritizes foods and beverages made in a way that protects and restores the planet’s health may still be niche, the trend is gaining traction quickly with some researchers and brands predicting environmental sustainability...
If the cultivated meat industry were to set the ambitious target of supplying 10% of the global meat market, how much product would be required? How many factories, containing how many bioreactors, would need to be built? And where?
Worried that biotechnologies, such as those used to create non-browning mushrooms, are inadequately regulated or could be unfairly shunned by the public, a coalition of non-governmental organizations this week published a six-point framework for the “responsible...
Just as the term “all-natural” has lost much of its healthy-image luster over the years, the claim of “plant-based” also may be at risk of losing some of its better-for-you significance with consumers, according to Mintel research.
Closing out the first half of 2021, HelloFresh reported a year-over-year 83.7% increase in the number of active customers using the meal delivery service worldwide, as well as the continued global expansion of its business in new and existing markets.
Impossible Sausage made from plants – a soy-based ground sausage product in savory and spicy variants – will make its retail debut this month and should be in 13,000 stores by the year end, says Impossible Foods, which says retailers have been encouraged...
“Current data indicates that neither food nor food packaging is a pathway for the spread of viruses causing respiratory illnesses, including SARS-CoV-2,” according to a new guidance document from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization...
Pizza Hut and Beyond Meat are trialing Beyond Pepperoni Pizza, a plant-based version of Pizza Hut’s #1 selling pizza topping, in nearly 70 locations across five US markets for a limited time.
Impossible Foods has appointed former San Francisco Giants' chief people officer, Leilani Gayles, as the company’s new chief people officer and technology industry veteran, David Borecky, as its chief financial officer.
Beyond Meat is predicting a drop in revenues in the third quarter ($120-140m) vs the second quarter ($149.4m) reflecting some recent distribution losses in foodservice, labor issues at some partners, and uncertainty as the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads....
The Food Labeling Modernization Act - an updated version of a bill first introduced in 2018 that was designed to help consumers make more informed purchases – has been introduced to the House and the Senate.
As the Delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the US, Tyson Foods said Tuesday that it would require its 120,000 US workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November – making it the first major meat packer and largest food company so far to...
Meal kit company Blue Apron has lost some of its steam in customer retention, losing 21,000 customers in Q2 2021 compared to the same period last year, but says other key performance metrics including average order value and average revenue per customer...
To better help early stage CPG, food tech and ag tech companies build more financially successful and appealing businesses, navigate the fundraising process and connect with investors focused on the natural products space, the networking platform Brandjectory...
By Rob Guite, Abby Meyer, and Abby Miles, Sheppard Mullin
President Biden’s recent executive order, ‘Ensuring the Future is made in all of America by all of America’s Workers,’ may encourage food & beverage companies to highlight their all-American credentials on-pack. However, claims about a product’s origin...
For many women, eating and cooking at home every day during the pandemic has been a double-edged sword that offered them more time with family and control over their diet, but also added a burden that left many women feeling unsatisfied – opening the...
From San Diego-based Debut Biotech, which is developing a range of high-value ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, to Virginia-based Bonumose, which has patented technology it claims could enable the “mass market adoption” of...
Planterra Foods, the plant-based division of meat giant JBS - which debuted in the refrigerated aisle last summer under the OZO brand – has moved into the frozen aisle, expanded its relationship with Boulder-based fungi tech co MycoTechnology, and is...
Albertsons is willing to entertain a second round of price increases “where warranted and legitimate” as several CPG brands continue to struggle with mounting inflationary pressures that have exceeded their expectations and outstripped any cushion introduced...
Fine chemicals co DIC has teamed up with San Diego-based startup Debut Biotech to develop color ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, which it claims could enable the biosynthesis of colors that are “hard to find or even inaccessible...
Redefine Meat, which makes plant-based meat alternatives using 3D printing and is preparing to launch in Europe after announcing a $29m fundraise at the start of the year, says the ‘huge strides’ achieved in its technology have allowed it to launch five...
If you look at the ingredients lists of most plant-based burgers, they’re not wildly different – a combination of extruded plant proteins, hard and liquid fats, natural flavors, yeast, methylcellulose, starch, seasonings and perhaps added vitamins and...
While the alternative protein category is far from saturated and there is plenty of runway for innovation, investors predict a shaking out of players is on the horizon, and they say the companies that remain in the game will be those that move beyond...
Santiago-based food tech company NotCo has raised $235m in a Series D round led by Tiger Global and supported by DFJ Growth Fund, ZOMA Lab, athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, and musician and DJ Questlove, taking its cumulative funding to $350m...
As many food and beverage companies face the pressure of increased costs to manufacture and transport their products, consumers have also reported feeling the impact inflation is having on their grocery bills.
Sourdough bread and stretchy pants may have been all the rage during the early days of the pandemic, but as vaccines become more prevalent and US consumers begin to reemerge from lockdowns, they increasing are turning to keto-bread and other low-carb...
The emotional and physical toll taken by the pandemic has reshaped Americans’ palates – pushing them to try more adventurous flavor profiles, including more floral and earthy botanicals that were once niche in the US, embrace yuzu and step-up their heat...
Consumers’ intense focus on healthy eating and immunity-boosting foods is beginning to wane as more people become vaccinated, creating space for more indulgence and a back-to-basics approach to food, according to Mintel data.
Research published in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology claims to provide an enlightening but worrying insight into the world of chemicals that are intentionally added to plastics.
Growing biltong brand Stryve, which also owns Kalahari Snacks, making it the #1 air-dried meat snack brand in the US, has completed a business combination with Andina Acquisition Corp III, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
In the days and months immediately following the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic, consumer interest in immunity boosting foods and beverages tripled and brands moved fast to launch products to meet this heightened demand – but as vaccines become...
With an infusion of $10m in series A funds announced today the biotech and data science company Aromyx soon will be able to help more food and beverage brands quickly measure consumer perceptions more accurately than traditional taste test panels, which...
Nature’s Fynd - a Chicago-based startup growing protein-packed food from microbes with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat or dairy – has raised $350m in a Series C round (taking its total financing to >$500m) as it gears up to launch...
Sensient Technologies has acquired the assets of New Jersey-based Flavor Solutions, a custom product and flavor development company serving the food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Israeli firm NextFerm Technologies – one of a flurry of players developing new protein sources from microbes - is gearing up for the 2022 commercial launch of ProteVin, a vegan, non-GMO, yeast-based protein, following successful testing at pilot scale...
Live-stream shopping is emerging as a new frontier for food and beverage brands as homebound consumers during the pandemic looked for safe ways to discover products and stock their pantries and brands seek novel ways to tell their stories and drive trial...
