Members of the Brazilian Cocoa, Chocolate, Peanut, and Candies Manufacturers Association will be making stops in the US to further the country’s stateside business initiatives, including the upcoming Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago.
When Nick Robinson joined Quest Nutrition in January 2011, it had just sold its first protein bar. “The world didn't know who we were,” he says. “But they were about to.” Five years later, Quest is valued at more than a billion dollars, and Robinson...
Hain Celestial has launched a new venture unit, Cultivate Ventures, that will invest in small, high-performing brands in the health and wellness arena.
Growth rates in the US gluten-free market are slowing, but the category is still generating significant double-digit growth, says allergy-friendly brand Enjoy Life Foods.
If your product contains even trace levels of pesticide residue, and you are calling it '100% natural', are you at risk of a false advertising lawsuit? Complaints filed vs Quaker Oats on Friday suggest the answer is yes, although legal experts...
In final guidance released April 29, FDA once again pushes back the compliance date for the long-delayed menu labeling final rule and clarifies when grab-and-go, deli-counter and bulk-bin items sold at grocery stores and other establishments must include...
After suffering scorn for years from carb-counters, wheat-haters and consumers embracing a gluten-free diet, pasta is coming back in style with a vengeance, suggests analysis of Google searches.
While some people plan a grocery shopping trip like a military campaign, many others are not thinking much beyond what’s for dinner tonight, says Mike Savage, VP Non Perishables at Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, and retailers are not making things easy for...
A paragraph on page 34 of the 206-page 2017 House Agricultural Appropriations Bill - spotted by Hampton Creek’s eagle-eyed new VP of policy Tiny May yesterday - proposes to exempt industry-funded commodity research and promotion programs such as the American...
Companies from Chipotle to Costco are creatively coming up with ways to keep their organic supplies steady, but mid-sized, natural category veterans are concerned about the big fish jumping into a small and shrinking pond.
The “loose structure” and voluntary process for companies to self-determine if new ingredients are “generally recognized as safe” without required input from FDA undermines the agency’s ability to ensure the US food supply is safe and should be strengthened,...
If you visited Expo West, you probably noticed that a large number of the exhibitors were touting snacks or beverages. Frozen meals? Not so much. But while the world probably doesn’t need another nutrition bar or cold pressed juice brand, busy parents...
Consumer demand for healthier foods that don’t sacrifice taste has led to a spike in interest in Asian cuisine, but so far home cooks have not embraced this trend fully in part because they are intimidated by its obscure ingredients, complicated flavor...
Organic infant formula products from high-profile brands Earth’s Best (Hain Celestial) and The Honest Co contain a “spectacular array” of ingredients that are prohibited under the Organic Food Production Act, according to lawsuits filed by The Organic...
Whether it’s choosing a car, or deciding what to wear, Millennials display a “pronounced proclivity for bold and confident individualism,” according to Packaged Facts. But how does this impact their food choices, and how can manufacturers, retailers and...
Tortilla and corn flour supplier Gruma – owner of brands including Mission and Guerrero – has reported a 17% year on year hike in net sales in the first quarter of 2016.
US specialty food sales* topped $120bn in 2015, are growing four times faster than the rest of the food market, and now account for 14.1% of all food sales (retail & foodservice), according to a new report from the Specialty Food Association (SFA).
What would a reasonable consumer define as 'non-GMO'?
An order from a Florida judge in a lawsuit vs Chipotle should serve a warning to all food marketers that they could be sued if they make non-GMO claims about foods containing dairy or meat from animals fed GE feed, legal experts have warned.
Eating alone is the new normal, says Hartman Group in an article exploring the changing dynamics of meal times as Americans increasingly abandon sit-down ‘family meals’ in favor of more ad hoc eating behavior and continuous snacking.
“Exciting and high-end attributes” mark out new products that made the biggest splash in CPG (consumer packaged goods) last year, according to the 2015 New Product Pacesetters report from Chicago-based market researcher IRI.
FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is plowing ahead with an ambitious and wide-ranging agenda for the remainder of 2016 without pause after knocking out five final or proposed rules related to food safety and nutrition in just as many...
Not so long ago, says Columbus Manufacturing, Inc CEO Joe Ennen, ‘premium’ was just about taste and texture. Today’s consumers – Millennials in particular – have a somewhat broader definition, which encompasses how their food was made, who made it, how...
McCormick has boosted its presence in the store perimeter with the acquisition of Australian company Botanical Food Company, which manufactures the Gourmet Garden brand of packaged herbs, for 150 million Australian dollars ($114m) in cash.
America is in the middle of a “home cooking revolution” with more people cooking in their kitchens more often than in the recent past as a way to eat healthier and more affordably, but also as a form of entertainment and adventure, says a senior editor...
Milk could be followed by yogurt, creamers, cheeses, protein powders and shakes
Ripple – a plant-based ‘milk’ claimed to blow both dairy milk and existing milk alternatives out of the water in the taste, nutrition and sustainability stakes – is rolling out nationwide at Whole Foods in April, and Target stores in July, with other...
America is on the “cusp of a market-revolution” to replace animal products with plant-based alternatives, but consumers need more choices that are convenient, affordable and tasty in order for long-term diet changes to take root, according to an expert...
11th hour reprieve from the courts or from Congress increasingly unlikely
Private litigants, or so-called ‘bounty hunters’, may start targeting food manufacturers over alleged violations of Vermont’s new GMO labeling law from day one (July 1), lawyers at Hogan Lovells have warned.
Volumes of pulses (defined as leguminous crops - beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils - harvested for dry grains) surged 8% in the US in 2015, while overall volumes of fresh food (retail, foodservice, institutional channels combined) grew by a more modest...
The FDA has given the green light to the voluntary fortification of corn masa flour, allowing manufacturers to add up to 0.7mg per pound, which is consistent with fortification levels approved for enriched cereal grains.
Parents’ lack of knowledge about how much and what to feed children as they transition from baby food to more solid foods means most toddlers in America eat too much sugar and sodium and not enough whole grains and vegetables, new research reveals.
A high-protein diet can help obese older adults lose weight and improve physical function compared with a regular weight loss regimen, according to a new study.
If the edible insect movement is to meaningfully impact the protein market (and the planet) by displacing less sustainable animal-derived protein sources (beef, poultry, dairy), cricket companies will have to move beyond snacks into the center of the...
Tiny Farms – which has spent the past three years researching feed formulation, habitat engineering, farm automation and management software to drive scale and lower costs in insect production – has finally completed work on its own pilot bug farm in...
While interest in many food trends tends to ebb and flow, consumer demand for ‘local’ food – which taps into many other movements, from organic to specialty – continues to rise. But what does ‘local’ really mean, which consumers are most interested in...
Islam was the fastest growing religion in America from 2000 to 2010
By Jeanne Cullen and Furqan Mohammed, Perkins Coie LLP
A growing segment of US consumers is scrutinizing animal treatment and slaughter from an Islamic lens, while halal food consumption among the nation's fast-growing Muslim population has become a ballooning enterprise in the United States and is now...
The first 365 by Whole Foods Market store is set to open in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 25, with a second to follow in July in Lake Oswego, Oregon, a third in September in Bellevue Square in Washington State, and up to 10 more nationwide...
Today’s consumers claim to want bold, authentic flavors, but many still shy away from unrecognizable foods – giving manufacturers the difficult task of presenting new products or flavors in a familiar way that still respects their authenticity.
Ditching deep discounts on Banquet is a "recipe for disaster," warns CPG analytics expert
ConAgra is adopting a “zero loss mindset” when it comes to analyzing trade spending, CEO Sean Connolly told analysts on the firm’s Q3 earnings call on Thursday, much of which was devoted to ensuring that not a single dollar is wasted on promotions that...
Anyone who has shopped with children knows they heavily influence grocery purchases, but with advertising directly to kids frowned upon by many adults, children’s food and beverage manufacturers must embrace less direct strategies that balance what parents...
A frequent lightening-rod for political debates about nutrition, school meals are in the middle of another storm – this time about whether processed meat should have a place on the plate.
2015 was a difficult year for some in the embryonic edible insect ingredients business, with Big Cricket Farms suspending activities due to water supply problems and All Things Bugs facing significant challenges. However, Ontario, Canada-based Entomo...
New data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals a 12% increase in US certified organic operations between 2014 and 2015, while the total retail market for organic products is now valued at more than $39bn in the US and $75bn+ worldwide.
An infusion of $1.5 million will help vegan meal delivery startup Veestro fully take advantage of growing consumer demand for organic, plant-based food and ready-to-eat meals delivered to their doors.
Salt provokes fatty food eating, and can even trigger increased food intake among people who have a preference for less fatty foods, Australian researchers have found.
It is only a matter of time before microalgae becomes a mainstream food ingredient, predict the founders of TerraBrands, a new partnership between private equity firm VMG Partners and microalgae specialist TerraVia (formerly known as Solazyme).
As the nascent bone-broth category comes into its own, early pioneers in the space are rebranding with professionally polished packaging that communicates their products’ benefits and points of differentiation to better take advantage of the segment’s...
