The controversy surrounding genetic engineering may feel deafening at times with each side prolifically and loudly debating its pros and cons, but the vast majority of consumers remain unfamiliar GMOs and unclear if they pose a risk, according to a recent...
Despite the intense focus in recent year on providing on-the-go food for time-crunched consumers, the vast majority of Americans still sit down together for dinner at least once a week, if not more often, according to a recent Harris Poll.
New research from market intelligence company CivicScience suggests changing consumer attitudes about healthy eating could mean manufacturers can shed their years-old “stealth health” approach to product reformulation without fear that sodium-, sugar-...
The added sugars portion of the newly revamped nutrition facts labels for food products will provide a significant opportunity for purveyors of alternative sweeteners, an industry expert says.
'Creating a little niche called ‘meat-alternatives’ is not helpful and it’s not progressive'
Sweet Earth Natural Foods – a fast-growing plant-based food brand run by former Burger King and PepsiCo execs Brian and Kelly Swette - is on course to generate revenues of $20m in 2016, just five years after the couple acquired the trademark and set about...
Walmart will pilot a delivery service utilizing drivers at Uber, Lyft and Deliv to transport groceries ordered online from Walmart stores direct to customers’ doors.
Sales of plant-based alternatives to animal products are booming, thanks in large part to improved sensory qualities, expanded availability and increased consumer access to information about their health and environmental impacts, according to category...
US retail sales of sugar substitutes are declining 3-4% year on year as artificial sweeteners continue to lose ground, although products with a more ‘natural’ positioning are growing 4-6%. But will the FDA’s move to include ‘added sugars’ on the Nutrition...
The Hemp Industries Association and the Kentucky Hemp Industry Council have filed a petition with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to remove industrial hemp plants from its list of controlled substances.
In an effort to prevent upwards of 500,000 premature deaths from heart attacks and strokes in the next 10 years, FDA has set ambitious sodium reduction targets for food manufacturers and restaurants across nearly 150 food categories to be met in the next...
From purple cereal and jackfruit-based meat analogs to chickpeas in a new guise, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) selects nine natural food trends it predicts could inspire packaged foods and foodservice menus in 2016 and beyond.
Millennials may have an estimated $200 billion in annual buying power, but as a group that experienced the Great Recession at an impressionable early age, most take a “practical and cost-conscious approach to buying,” new research reveals.
Nutrition bar and powder specialist Nellson is expanding its production capacity at one of its Canadian plants and its consolidating the management of its Canadian operations.
'FDA is no longer recommending that this ingredient be labeled as dried cane syrup'
The ingredient known as ‘evaporated cane juice’ should instead be declared as ‘sugar’ on food labels, says the FDA in new guidance that attorneys predict will unleash a wave of civil litigation as ECJ-related false advertising cases that had been put...
Unlike many start-ups vying for attention in the increasingly crowded meal delivery space, Barley + Oats has a clearly defined target audience of highly motivated consumers at a point in their lives where diet takes on a completely new dimension, says...
Want to start the day with a nutritious smoothie but got nothing in the fridge except some soggy greens and a couple of bananas? Or perhaps you’d really like one, but not quite enough to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual to grab one on the way to work...
Bacon and eggs and toast may be called breakfast food, but a new report by Packaged Facts found that the number of Americans who go all out to prepare breakfast continues to decline.
First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the long-awaited new Nutrition Facts label as a “landmark achievement” that serves as a capstone to her dedicated efforts to improve the health of America’s youngest generations.
Kite Hill - a San Francisco-based brand on a mission to disrupt the dairy case with its cultured nut milk products – has closed an $18m fundraising round led by 301 INC (General Mills’ business development and venturing unit) and CAVU Venture Partners.
A team of young Italian entrepreneurs wants to bring lesser-known classic Italian goods, made by small producers for generations, to the US for the first time.
While going from zero to a forecasted $100m in revenues in fiscal 2017 largely under your own steam (it sold a minority stake to VMG Partners in 2013) is no mean feat, tying the knot with Hormel will propel Justin’s nut butter into CPG’s major league,...
US sales of organic food and drink surged 10.6% to $39.8bn in 2015, significantly ahead of the 3% growth in the overall food market, with some segments up more than 30% year-on-year, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA).
Hormel Foods – which owns the Skippy peanut butter brand – has struck a deal to buy Boulder-based nut butter brand Justin’s in a $286m deal that will help Hormel attract a "younger, more health conscious on-the-go millennial consumer."
Kashi has launched a breakfast cereal using wheat grown under a new initiative supporting farmers transitioning fields from conventional to organic crops.
US retail sales of packaged salads rose 8% to $3.7bn in the year to April 2, 2016, with a weak performance from the biggest segment, salad blends (-1%) offset by strong growth in the second and third largest segments, salad kits (+31%) and organic salads...
From a remedy to busy schedules to a guilt-free (but satiating) afternoon snack, many trends pointed to the potential success of Keurig-machine brewed soup. But consumers weren’t buying it (literally), and Campbell discontinued its K-Cup soup in April.
With one in 13 children diagnosed with a food allergy in the US*, ‘allergy-friendly’ foods are now infiltrating every category in grocery. But right now, it still makes sense for most retailers to merchandise them in a dedicated set rather than spreading...
Thrive culinary algae oil has proved a hit with shoppers at upmarket grocer Gelson's Market in southern California, and is now rolling out to "hundreds of stores on the west coast," says brand owner TerraVia.
There were more twists and turns this week in the controversy surrounding the IOI group, which was suspended by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) last month.
Is Paleo a trend or a fad? And are 'plant-based foods' just a sexier term for meat & dairy alternatives, or the start of a new food movement? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Blake Mitchell, president of food packaging and branding design...
Natural and organic are gaining momentum and driving sales across retail channels, but to capitalize fully on their potential stores and manufactures must work together to improve product assortment and integration throughout the store, according to an...
An infusion of $5 million will help vegan meal kit delivery service Purple Carrot refine its branding and expand consumer awareness of the benefits of a plant-based diet, according to the company’s CEO.
Nestlé is cutting ties with palm oil supplier IOI. No new contracts will be awarded to the Malaysian firm and all existing ones will be “phased out” by the end of August, explained senior corporate spokesperson Nina Caren Kruchten in an email to FoodNavigator.
Partially hydrogenated oils are being phased out by many margarine and spreads brands, but many shoppers still see them as ‘highly processed’ and less 'natural' than butter, and sales are going backwards. MELT Organic, by contrast, is still...
Refrigerated babyfood presents merchandising challenges for retailers, but has the potential to create a new super-premium subsegment in a category in need of fresh thinking, says Ashley Rossi, founder of organic baby food brand OrgaNums, which debuted...
Marketers of meat-alternatives like to talk a lot about sustainable protein, and how we’re going to feed the world in 2050. But are these things really primary purchase drivers today? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Quorn Foods at the Healthy & Natural...
The comment period for the FDA’s probe into ‘natural’ claims has closed, leaving the agency with the unenviable task of sifting through a mammoth pile of submissions from thousands of stakeholders weighing in on the most contentious word in food marketing....
A new app that lets consumers order ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat dinners from grocery stores is helping retailers and the brands they carry recapture sales currently lost to fast food, restaurants and increasingly popular meal kits delivered to consumers’...
Nestlé is preparing to adjust its global portfolio in a bid to help consumers eat significantly less salt – as well stay one step ahead of any forthcoming regulatory measures.
Centralizing the purchasing of non-perishables will ultimately make Whole Foods a lot easier to deal with, said chief operating officer AC Gallo during the retailer’s second quarter earnings call last week.
By Kristen E. Polovoy, Esquire, of counsel, Montgomery McCracken
‘Fat-free,’ ‘non-dairy,’ ‘all-natural’, ‘sugar-free’, ‘gluten-free’ . . . are all in recent history’s hit parade of terms perceived by many consumers as a sign that that a product is somehow ‘better’ or ‘healthier.’ The most recent term to join this...
Target is trialing endcap coolers in the baby food aisle in 65 stores in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Dallas in partnership with new brand Once Upon a Farm to test consumer demand for refrigerated, HPP (high pressure processed) babyfood.
The FDA has submitted final rules for updating the Nutrition Facts panel and serving sizes to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a regulatory impact analysis.
Millennials may be the generation with the most spending power for now, but Gen Z is catching up fast and how they engage with brands and respond to marketing is very different than their predecessors, according to new research from CivicScience.
RangeMe, an online marketplace that connects retailers with products and suppliers and streamlines the product discovery process, has raised $4m in a funding round led by Simon Equity Partners, Freestyle Capital and Transmedia Capital.
Visiting the Healthy & Natural Show and looking for the new and innovative foods and beverages? We round-up the products to check out in the food and beverage aisles.
