Unilever has introduced a premium, light, probiotic ice cream brand called Culture Republick containing three billion live cultures per pint from the patented strain GanedenBC30.
The plant-based protein market continues to evolve and diversify with companies cultivating novel sources, such as California-based Plantible Foods that's working with the aquatic plant Lemna (also known as duckweed) that it says offers benefits...
Instacart has raised $600m in a financing round led by D1 Capital Partners, bringing its total funding raised – in Iess than one year – to $1.6bn, raising the e-commerce company’s valuation to $7.6bn.
While available year-round, apple sales typically peak around the harvest season running from late August through early October. However, this year, dollar sales have contracted 5% over the last 52 weeks (ending Sept. 15, 2018), according to Nielsen data.
Swedish company Oatly will open its first US production plant in New Jersey next spring to support demand for its dairy-free oat-based products in the US.
As the laws legalizing recreational use of cannabis shift in North America, consumer interest and readiness to try cannabis-infused products is also evolving, recent research by A.T. Kearney revealed.
Appalled at the amount of produce wasted every year while many people struggle with food insecurity, Kroger will launch a new brand that prizes oddly shaped and discolored fruits and vegetables that previously would have been rejected by the retail chain.
Treasure8 – a San Francisco-based firm on a mission to tackle food waste and food insecurity – has emerged from stealth mode with the launch of “delicate” fruit & veggie chips “that crunch like a potato chip, without oil," the first in a series...
Just Add Cooking (JAC), a meal kit company founded in Boston in 2013, is looking for an extra boost of funding launching a WeFunder campaign with a $300,000 fundraising goal.
Being a picky eater as a child may not have to do just with taste and familiarity, but also the way food is presented and arranged on a plate, recent research from Future Consumers Lab showed.
After honing its direct-to-consumer online model since launching in 2015, FBOMB macadamia nut butters and oils have expanded distribution into thousands of retail locations in specialty and grocery channels, targeting three-tiers of consumers.
Instant coffee sales in the US have been lukewarm at best, but Ian Bernal, founder of Santo Cubes – a startup making compressed cubes out of Colombian Coffee and raw cane sugar– believes that’s because the category hasn’t seen much innovation in terms...
For many Americans, canned tomatoes are a commodity that they regularly use in their home kitchens, but rarely think about beyond price and convenience – but Mutti, the number 1 selling tomato brand in Italy, wants to change that through a new multi-media...
'Ignorance is amok... not even the investors are asking the right questions. It’s total anarchy'
If you ask the FDA or the DEA if CBD (cannabidiol) is permitted in foods, beverages and supplements, the answer is a pretty unequivocal NO. If you ask the scores of companies currently selling it in everything from CBD-infused soda to smoothie kits, the...
Following Kroger's acquisition of Home Chef and months spent scaling up production capabilities, Home Chef meal kits have rolled out to 225 Midwest Kroger retail locations.
Once Upon a Farm – a fresh baby, toddler, and kids food brand on a mission to transform the category – has closed a $20m Series B financing round led by CAVU Venture Partners.
Natural Products Expo West in March may seem far in the future, but now is the time for entrepreneurs to start preparing if they want to launch a new businesses, brand or product at the show, according to the co-founders of the condiment startup Kumana.
Most bricks & mortar retailers have yet to carve out a ‘keto’ set in the bar category, but it’s only a matter of time, predicts Dang Foods founder Vincent Kitirattragarn, who says his new plant-based Dang Bars – with 14-15g fat, 9-10g protein, 6-7g...
Demand for meat alternatives continues to be on the rise with a third of US consumers planning to buy more vegetarian/plant-based food products in the next year, according to Mintel's Better-For-You Eating Trends survey from August 2018, polling...
Known as a pricey and somewhat elusive spice, the delicate ruby red saffron threads can be intimidating to many consumers. Socially conscious Rumi Spice is looking to change that perception and drive demand for its single-origin saffron, which will be...
Lamb may be a niche product in the US for now, but an increase of the ingredient on fast-casual menus and the shopping carts of millennials suggests that the protein is at the cusp of a “resurgence,” according to players in the American lamb segment.
As the desire to attain a healthier, longer life through diet expands beyond niche groups focused on wellness into the mainstream population, consumers increasingly are looking for functional ingredients they recognize across categories – including in...
Vertically integrated and socially-conscious tea company, Vahdam Teas, secured $2.5m in its Series B funding round led by Fireside Ventures to ramp up its customer acquisition rate and fuel its direct-to-consumer business in the US.
Consumer attention to health and wellness when making food and beverage purchases has impacted specific areas of the grocery store, specifically the rise in sales of no sugar added products and items that contain stevia or monk fruit, Nielsen data found.
Fat is back in the dairy aisles, if the recent proliferation of products touting their whole milk (c. 3.5% milk fat) credentials is anything to go by. But San Francisco-based start-up Peak Yogurt is taking the trend one step further in a bid to carve...
The old strategies of reaping reliable returns by relying on consumer loyalty, incremental investments in established brands, and large-scale distribution and manufacturing are no longer advantageous – making this one of the most challenging times for...
Kraft Heinz has committed $100m to launch the venture capital fund Evolv Ventures that will be focused on investing in emerging technologies in the food industry.
After setting up its head offices and production facility in Manhattan Beach, California, in June, plant-based yogurt and dessert brand The Coconut Collaborative has confirmed listings with several West Coast retailers and will appear on those store shelves...
With juice caught in the war on sugar’s crossfire, the Juice Products Association has launched a new educational campaign and website touting science-backed health and nutritional benefits of the category in an effort to salvage sales and regain consumers’...
MUSH founders, Ashley Thompson and Kat Thomas, spotted the need for a fresh, on-the-go, clean label food option that wasn't a cold-pressed juice, Greek yogurt, or protein bar, and created a line of ready-to-eat, chilled overnight oats soaked in almond...
What’s new in the snacking world and how are consumers fitting snacks into their day? Is the trend of ‘fresh snacking’ the future, or are pantry items still the bread and butter of the category?
The future of subscription based meal kit delivery remains bright for players with a differentiated offering and an efficient supply chain, claims the CEO of Purple Carrot, who says the 100% plant-based meal kit brand has experienced “significant growth”...
Entrepreneurs launching products that are unfamiliar to consumers or vastly different than previously available versions offered by competitors may struggle to gain initial trial – but partnering with chefs and distributing through foodservice can be...
Sales of kid-friendly school snacks on Amazon grew 40% year-over-year to $350m in the first half of 2018, driven by the e-commerce giant’s heavy online promotion as well as consumers’ growing familiarity and comfort with shopping online for snacks, One...
Over the past five years, 44% of American and British consumers surveyed that they have added more fish to their diets, followed closely by poultry, Cargill’s recent Feed4Thought survey showed.
Global stevia supplier PureCircle will soon harvest the first commercial-scale crop of its proprietary Starleaf stevia after completing successful trial plots in 2017 with plans to significantly increase acreage of the proprietary sweetener over the next...
Despite some fast food chains’ efforts to offer more nutritious food options with kids’ meals, 74% of kids still receive unhealthy drinks and/or side items with their meals when they visit one of the four largest fast food chains, a study by UConn Rudd...
Consumers that say they seek out products they consider ‘clean label’ are more likely to enjoy grocery shopping and are actively engaged in the food shopping process, a Packaged Facts report revealed.
From novel approaches to introducing allergens to babies, to HPP babyfood, grab n’ go granola for schools and frozen puree pops for tots, entrants to our 2018 trailblazers challenge are creating innovative new products, brands, and routes to market for...
Keurig Dr. Pepper’s (KDP) acquisition of CORE Nutrition for $525m will give KDP a solid play into the premium water category where it is currently not as active, says Nick McCoy, co-founder and managing director of Whipstitch Capital, an advisor to CORE...
San Francisco-based ReGrained, a startup transforming food waste into value-added food ingredients, has closed a $2.5m series seed financing round led by privately-held global product development company Griffith Foods with participation from Barilla...
Convenient solutions for getting dinner on the table at a reasonable hour are growing and the expansion of produce distributor Baldor Specialty Foods’ retail line, Urban Roots Veggie Side Kits, is intended to give consumers a time-saving and creative...
Supplement critic Dr Pieter Cohen has trained his sights on probiotics for a new opinion paper, stating that the sector has spun hundreds of small studies favorably and also practices creative advertising.
A voluntary decision by leading food and beverage manufacturers and restaurants to strengthen the nutritional requirements for products advertised to children in the US will require nearly half of the products currently marketed to kids to be reformulated...
Keeping ahead of the fierce competition within the food industry has required large, established companies to take a second look at how they approach innovation.
Food and beverage products touting protein claims has become a big business driven by strong consumer interest, however two Nielsen surveys highlight knowledge gaps consumer still have about the nutrient.
The line between breakfast and dessert can be a bit blurry with options such as coffeecake on the menu, but superfood snack company Health Warrior wants to place muffins squarely on the side of better-for-you morning meals with the launch of its Protein...
Predicting what consumers will want to see on menus in the coming season “is a bit of a mix of art and science,” according to a product development expert at the food service distributor US Foods, but she says this fall consumers will seek out versatile...