A sharp increase in the Consumer Brands Association’s membership in 2020 underscores how the trade group’s “pro-consumer, pro-growth agenda” is helping it regain the trust and support of the CPG industry, including some companies that left the organization...
Before the pandemic, few Americans prepared lamb and those who did tended to reserve it for special occasions, but shortages of traditional proteins last spring pushed more people to try it for the first time, and now, nearly a year later sales of lamb...
After languishing for years, frozen food is emerging as a powerful growth driver for retailers and CPG brands in part because its long shelf life and convenience fit well with pandemic living, but also because companies like ConAgra have proactively reimagined...
'When these restaurant chains move, the entire food industry takes notice...'
In a clear signal that plant-based meat is hitting the mainstream, Beyond Meat has announced global partnerships with two of the biggest players in fast food: McDonald’s, and Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut), a month after striking a deal with...
The plant-based seafood market is pretty small fry in dollar terms right now, but is poised to grow significantly in the next couple of years, predict the entrepreneurs behind a new wave of brands seeking to take plant-based tuna, shrimp, crab cakes,...
The agriculture supply chain is long overdue for an overhaul, as illustrated by breakdowns early in the pandemic, the rising threat of climate change, and increasing pressure to feed a growing population, but the question of who will foot the bill remains...
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine urged the FDA to tackle sodium in processed foods. In 2016, the FDA proposed voluntary guidelines, setting two-year and 10-year goals for 158 food categories… but they were never finalized. So is 2021 – with a new administration...
Whether or not you believe in climate change or the food industry’s contribution to the greenhouse gasses wrapping the earth and changing weather patterns, plenty of consumers do, and they increasingly are buying products based on their environmental...
As coronavirus continues to thwart businesses' best-laid plans, New Hope has decided to take Expo West – its annual trade show in Anaheim, California – virtual this spring, in the wake of “government restrictions, anticipated timelines around re-opening...
Plant-based based ingredient supplier PURIS Holdings and LIVEKINDLY Collective have entered two joint ventures to create a path towards affordable and accessible plant-based food products.
San Jose-based Knowde – a b2b online marketplace for chemicals, ingredients and polymers - is moving into the food and nutrition industry, enabling R&D and procurement professionals to research and compare products, connect with suppliers, request...
Selling direct-to-consumer (DTC) online has emerged as a favorite go-to-market strategy for emerging brands launching during the pandemic, and while it can offer better margins, a more intimate connection with shoppers and flexibility around pricing and...
Consumer goods giant Unilever set out its stall for future growth last week when the company delivered a ‘strategy refresh’ alongside its full-year results. The outcome? An increased focus on ‘high growth segments’ including functional nutrition and plant-based...
Even though the coronavirus vaccine is slowly, albeit a bit unsteadily, rolling out, a recently published survey of dietitians predicts Americans in 2021 will continue to seek protection from COVID-19 and its rapidly spreading variants from food and beverages...
While consumers rate plant-based beef more favorably than its bovine counterpart on fiber, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol; they rate it less favorably on taste, protein, iron, and overall nutrition, according to survey data contained in a new report...
Tovala – a meal service paired with a multi-function smart oven – has closed a $30m in Series C funding led by New York-based investment group, Left Lane Capital, bringing the company’s funding total to over $50m.
Kraft Heinz is in talks to sell its Planters snack nuts business to Hormel Foods, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, with a deal valuing the brand at around $3bn that could be announced as soon as next week.
Plant-based brands have blasted the latest wave of bills proposing restrictions on the use of terms such as ‘milk’ and ‘meat’ in states including New York and Texas as “a solution in search of a problem,” but say more work is needed to persuade legislators...
Hot on the heels of price cuts to foodservice distributors, Impossible Foods is cutting prices to US grocery stores and supermarkets, taking suggested retail prices for two patty packs down 20% to $5.49, and 12oz bricks down to $6.99.
Rising consumer concern about the long-term detrimental impact on children’s health and palate development from baby food overly-sweetened or predominately packed with fruit is opening the door for a new cohort of entrepreneurs promoting vegetable- and...
Even through 2020 brought large CPG food and beverage companies record sales growth – often in the high double digits – over 2019 as consumers flocked to well-established, trusted brands, IRI research found smaller and extra-small consumer brands and...
In the next 12 to 18 months, cultivated meat could become available to the masses, according to some industry players raising funds to scale production of technological and scientific advances that will allow for lower production costs and a lower consumer...
Recognizing that breakthrough technologies that could transform the global food supply chain often originate in academia, Big Idea Ventures has launched a $125m fund to commercialize IP from some of the nation’s leading universities and fuel economic...
The Specialty Food Association (SFA) - which was forced to cancel the 2020 Summer Fancy Food Show and 2021 Winter Fancy Food Show due to the pandemic – will hold a ‘modified’ in-person trade show September 27-29 at the Javits Convention Center in New...
Ingredient supplier Kerry has introduced a web-based tool designed to help food and beverage manufacturers with their plant-based product formulation challenges.
Quantis is launching geoFootprint, a digital tool that the company describes as the ‘first’ to use satellite technology to map the environmental impact of food production on an interactive map. The innovation holds the key to ‘smarter, science-driven...
What are the primary purchase drivers for plant-based foods? Should humans drink cow’s milk? Why don’t the Dietary Guidelines address sustainability? And could tapping into consumer interest in the microbiome help make fiber the go-to functional ingredient...
Post Holdings has dipped its toes into the fast-growing plant-based meat category with an investment in St Louis-based startup Hungry Planet, which makes soy- and wheat-based beef, port, chicken, crab and chorizo for foodservice and retail markets.
PepsiCo and Beyond Meat will form The PLANeT Partnership to develop, produce and market beverages and snacks made from plant-based protein. PepsiCo says plant-based protein offers ‘a new frontier’ in its efforts to build a more sustainable food system,...
Spanish start-up Novameat has developed what it claims to be the biggest cell-based meat prototype in the world. FoodNavigator catches up with founder and CEO Giuseppe Scionti to talk R&D, investment, and collaborating with Michelin-starred Disfrutar.
Despite lingering uncertainty about the pandemic’s economic impact and the stickiness of new consumer habits developed in response to COVID-19 safety measures, new research from Deloitte finds most consumer product industry executives are optimistic about...
Grocery delivery firm Imperfect Foods has raised $95m in a Series D round led by Insight Partners and Norwest Venture Partners as it transitions from a regional delivery service focused on ‘ugly’ produce, to a national full-service grocer.
If high-tech reverse engineering has enabled a second generation of meat analogs that precisely mimic their animal-based counterparts, a third wave of plant-based innovation will meet demand for less processed, more culinary-inspired products featuring...
Unilever is trialling its first ‘nano factory’, which operates within a 40 foot sea container to deliver flexible production lines that can be moved all over the world. “This trial is assessing a de-centralised production model,” one of the engineers...
Vancouver, Canada-based Eat Beyond Global Holdings has completed an investment in Above Food Inc.– a distributor of plant-based ingredients and finished products – adding the company to its publicly-traded portfolio of emerging alternative protein companies.
Private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners has made a majority growth investment into Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods, which makes a range of frozen and refrigerated vegan and vegetarian burgers, sausages and nuggets, appetizers, and snacks.
Israeli start-up Redefine Meat has pulled off the ‘world’s largest’ blind taste test for its 3D printed meat alternative. The taste test targeted meat-eaters and the results are in. The company secured over a 90% acceptance rate.
Cell-based seafood startup BlueNalu – which is building a pilot plant, demo kitchen and new HQ at a 40,000 sq ft facility in San Diego – hopes to get its first product (mahi mahi) into a small number of US restaurants by the end of the year, assuming...
Checkout who is moving onwards and upwards in FoodNavigator-USA's latest new hires gallery, featuring high profile new hires at indoor farming startups AppHarvest and Plenty; a new management team at ZICO coconut water; and changes at Impossible...
Ajinomoto has defended the safety of flavor enhancer MSG against claims made in a citizen's petition filed by the nonprofit Truth in Labeling Campaign that urges the FDA to rescind the ingredient's GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status.
Consumer and regulatory pressure is mounting once again for the CPG industry to cut back on the use of single-use plastics, Styrofoam, and other non-recyclable packaging despite a temporary reprieve during the pandemic when safety and hygiene fears outweighed...
Plant-based meat and dairy products dominate our gallery of new launches, coupled with a wave of products highlighting immunity and digestive health, and a high-profile CBD beverage launch from Molson Coors.
Tyson Foods is investing $26m to expand production at its Wright Brand Bacon facility in Vernon, Texas. The expansion project is scheduled for completion in March 2021.
The trend of home cooking and kitchen creativity, which scores of households exhibited last year will stick around in 2021 solidifying the dining table as the centerpiece of family eating, says New York-based online grocery retailer FreshDirect which...
Matrix Meats – an Ohio-based startup developing customizable nanofiber scaffolds for cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated,’ ‘cell-based’) meat production – has completed a seed round to help expand its team and develop partnerships in the nascent industry.
Meal kits have gained fresh impetus during the coronavirus pandemic as consumers have embraced food e-commerce and looked for ways to recreate restaurant-quality meals at home. But will they retain their luster post-COVID-19, and what will distinguish...
