The FDA has signaled its intent to “modernize certain standards of identity” in its 2018 strategic roadmap, suggesting that it might, after all, weigh into the plant-based ‘milk’ and ‘cheese’ debate in 2018, although it has not clarified which standards...
Startup Triton Algae Innovations is betting on a whole-cell protein positioning for an algae species that has been researched for years for its nutraceutical and pharmaceutical ingredient production potential.
The US market for low FODMAP foods aimed at helping IBS sufferers is still small and consumer awareness is low, but companies large and small are targeting a category that could be bigger than gluten-free.
An estimated 70% of purchasers of the plant-based Beyond Burger are flexitarians - meat eaters that are cutting down on meat – as opposed to hardcore vegans or vegetarians, validating the initially controversial decision to merchandise the product in...
A high fat diet may not sound like a logical way to shed extra pounds, but consumers are flocking to the controversial ketogenics diet as a way to manage their weight and in doing so are creating a new market ripe for innovation but not necessarily longevity,...
Nestlé is now working with the first round of start-ups selected through its partnership platform, Henri. We asked its global innovation director how the biggest food company in the world ensures a peer-to-peer relationship between David and Goliath.
What are the emerging flavors and ingredients food and beverage manufacturers should watch in 2018 as they formulate new products, and refresh existing ones? Kerry has put together some charts to help firms explore new possibilities in sweet, savory,...
Aquafaba – the viscous liquid left over from cooking chickpeas and the #2 ingredient in Sir Kensington’s Fabanaise mayo – is one of the vegan community’s best-kept secrets. But Faba Butter, a new plant-based ‘butter’ debuting at the Winter Fancy Food...
North Carolina-based start-up Glean is appealing to health-conscious shoppers and consumers on specialty diets (Paleo, gluten-free, keto) with a novel range of vegetable flours made from 'ugly' produce that doesn't meet retail specifications....
In an era when consumers prize “buying local,” regional brands looking to expand and national companies seeking a toehold in area markets must carefully craft partnerships that will spur growth without alienating consumers who are attracted to homegrown...
Catering to consumer demand for “experiences,” food and beverage manufacturers in 2018 will make their products more “tactile” in a way that goes beyond Instagramable unicorn colors and unexpected black, predicts Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert.
Food and beverage companies must do more than just follow the money as consumers shift spending away from eating at home and towards eating out – they also must consider the eating occasion and experience on a meal-by-meal basis to excel, new research...
Does the world need another packaging seal? Real estate on most food labels is limited, acknowledge the backers of the new ‘High Pressure Certified’ seal, but an independently-verified logo will help ensure the integrity of high pressure processing (HPP)...
Marshmallow snack brand SMASHMALLOW has raised $10m from Sonoma Brands and VMG Partners and brought in David Lacy – who previously held finance roles at Plum Organics, KRAVE and personalized nutrition service Habit – as its new CEO as it carves out its...
Despite US adults spending more than three hours a day online, print is not dead – at least when it comes to advertising fast-moving consumer goods like groceries, according to a recent Nielsen research.
‘This is a breakthrough product that could ultimately make sugar obsolete'
The term ‘game-changer’ is bandied around with wearying regularity by food start-ups, but HEYLO – a patented combination of acacia fiber and stevia promising to blow rivals out of the water in the sugar replacement stakes – may actually warrant this moniker,...
A move announced yesterday by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to allow federal prosecutors to pursue marijuana enforcement cases further unsettles the regulatory underpinning for those companies seeking to use hemp derivatives for nutritional products.
Achieving sustained profitability is a basic business goal that has eluded many in the highly competitive meal kit category, but a top executive of Home Chef says the company may be the first to achieve it in 2018 in part by following the lead of the...
Almondmilk-fueled brand Kite Hill is still looking for a replacement for CEO Matthew Sade, who departed in April after nearly four years at the helm to cofound kids’ food start-up Freeli Foods.
Kite Hill has defended its decision to use the term ‘almond milk yogurt’ on labels after being singled out by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in a New Year salvo aimed at re-igniting the debate over the labeling of plant-based dairy alternatives....
Dieting has become a dirty word in food marketing, says Atkins
Weight management brand Atkins Nutritionals has deployed movie star Rob Lowe – it’s first male brand ambassador – to front a new campaign focusing on living a healthy lifestyle, rather than ‘dieting,’ as it reaches out to the ‘tens of millions’ of Americans...
Food manufacturers targeted in a recent wave of lawsuits over added sugar have urged the courts to dismiss the ‘absurd’ cases on the grounds that consumers are not being deceived, and that brands’ first amendment rights are being threatened – a new line...
Plant-based food manufacturer Tofurky’s stubborn status as an independent, family-owned company focused on “purpose over profits” could give it a competitive edge over other players in the space that were recently acquired by parent companies that might...
Vegetarian and vegan diets – actively recast in recent years by stakeholders as ‘plant-based’ in a bid to shake off negative baggage – are quickly gaining traction among America’s youngest consumers and are predicted to become a breakout trend in 2018,...
With “Mother Nature’s help,” production of California almonds is expected to rise from an estimated 2.25bn lbs in 2017 to 3bn lbs in 2021, in order to meet growing demand for the tree nuts in everything from plant-based yogurts and cheese to cold-brew...
2017 has been a rollercoaster ride for the food industry, with Amazon coughing up a cool $13.7bn for Whole Foods, a flurry of M&A activity from Nestlé, Hershey, Campbell Soup and Kellogg, and an exodus from the industry’s biggest trade association,...
Bay area start-up Finless Foods – one of a new wave of cellular agriculture companies producing meat by culturing cells (without raising or slaughtering animals) – has slashed production costs by 50% since September and is aiming to achieve price parity...
Whole Foods’ 365 Everyday Value private label range has already generated an estimated $10m in sales via Amazon in just over three months, reveals a new report from e-commerce data firm One Click Retail, which "can pretty much guarantee that Whole...
National dietary guidelines in the US and the UK to restrict fat intakes, and saturated fat in particular, are not supported by scientific evidence, and should be re-examined, says a new meta-analysis and systematic review that again questions if saturated...
Should oat hull fiber be classified as a dietary fiber? It depends, according to Grain Millers, which claims that its unique, mechanical milling process ensures that its oat hull fiber is the only one on the market that meets the FDA’s definition of ‘intrinsic...
What’s your brand story? And if you don’t have one, how can you find one?
Some foods and beverages are unique. But most are not the culinary equivalent of the iPhone or Tesla, which is why developing a brand story that goes beyond product attributes is essential. But how can start-ups build a narrative that really engages today’s...
From entrepreneurs pioneering new farming methods and food technologies, to big brands adjusting to the changing landscape, FOOD VISION USA 2017 brought together a wide cross-section of industry players to explore how the industry is facing the challenges...
New York-based smoothie delivery brand Daily Harvest - one of a new breed of online operators targeting time poor consumers prepared to pay for a service that makes healthy eating convenient and easy by delivering customized products to their doorsteps...
The cycle of high demand, low supply, and therefore surging vanilla prices looks to be coming to an end, but challenges remain and there is unlikely to be a price collapse in the near term.
Animal-free dairy offers nutrition and functionality of milk without industrial animal farming
Berkeley-based Perfect Day – which is creating ‘vegan’ dairy proteins without cows – is in talks with food industry partners about scaling up production in order to introduce dairy ingredients that vegans, vegetarians and dairy lovers alike can enjoy...
Beyond Sausage - the latest innovation from plant-based brand Beyond Meat – is made with pea protein isolate, fava bean protein, rice protein, potato starch, coconut oil and beet juice “to deliver on the juicy, satisfying taste and texture of pork sausage,...
With hindsight, we can all pretend we saw it coming, but in reality, Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market – announced on June 16 – caught most of the industry by surprise, says Rabobank, which polled 200+ food execs from entrepreneurs to CEOs of...
Many people know Chicago has a vibrant restaurant culture and is home to some of America’s biggest food companies, but they may not know about the start-up culturing blossoming in the shadow of the city’s skyscrapers, with success stories like RXBar and...
'Live cultures are not all probiotic, although all probiotics are live cultures...'
US consumers are increasingly interested in the relationship between intestinal bacteria and overall health, says CHR Hansen, but there is some confusion about which foods and beverages contain probiotics: live microorganisms that, when administered in...
Unilever has received a binding offer from US buyout fund KKR to purchase its global spreads business for €6.825bn ($8bn) following an auction in which it saw off competing bids from CVC Capital Partners, Apollo Global Management, Clayton Dubilier &...
The industry is evolving – “and so is GMA” says the Grocery Manufacturers Association after two more big names (Unilever and Tyson Foods) told Politico they would not be renewing their membership in 2018, following similar announcements from Campbell...
The baby food aisle is undergoing a renaissance with new packaging, processing and flavor combinations aimed at presenting better-for-you options that promise to help children grow up healthy – and yet, childhood obesity remains a huge problem in the...
Most ‘banana’ ice cream or frozen dessert brands start with a dairy/coconut/nutmilk base, and then add sugar, and banana, or banana flavor. Hakuna Banana reverses this dynamic and starts with mashed bananas as the #1 ingredient.
Chickpea-fueled pasta brand Banza is now in 8,000+ locations after striking deals with Kroger and Ahold that have added 2,000+ stores to its footprint, but remains laser focused on velocity as part of its bid to be the “most productive pasta in the set”...
Ecommerce may account for only a small portion of food and beverage sales for now, but that is changing quickly and manufacturers and retailers need to develop a game plan now for how they will leverage the change to their advantage, suggests an analyst...
Target’s $550m plan to acquire Shipt - which like Instacart, deploys hordes of personal shoppers to pick online orders from stores and deliver them directly to customers in their own vehicles – is a logical move that will help it capture a larger slice...
Increasingly savvy shoppers who are well-versed in food production and nutrition are turning the tables on the farm-to-fork marketing model that once educated them and influenced what they consumed to create a fork-to-farm model that requires producers,...
When Anne Laraway takes the reins of the fastest growing baby food brand in the country in January as the new CEO of Happy Family Organics, she plans to expand its reach into new markets with new products while remaining “laser focused on our mission...
A legal dispute that threatened to derail Campbell Soup’s acquisition of Pacific Foods has been “amicably resolved,” enabling the $700m deal to go through.
