Consumers are gravitating towards less healthy ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal products and it has nothing to do with price or availability, find researchers.
Grains, according to the author of best-selling book Grain Brain, are “silent killers”. Not only are they making us fat, says Dr David Perlmutter, “but even healthy ones like whole grains can cause dementia, ADHD, anxiety, chronic headaches, depression,...
'Sprouted grains have long term potential to be very big...' Ardent Mills
Sprouted whole grains could give the grain industry a real opportunity to claw back the initiative in the debate sparked by books like Grain Brain and Wheat Belly by tapping into demand for more nutrient-rich, minimally processed natural foods, but also...
While turmeric is still a novel ingredient to many Americans, it’s only a matter of time before it moves from the niche to the mainstream of US food culture, predicts Temple Turmeric founder Daniel Sullivan, who has set his sights on conquering the conventional...
Any new regulation on total meal replacements should consider consumer expectations of taste and cost, not just science, says trade group Specialised Nutrition Europe (SNE).
The US fruit pouch category could be worth $1bn in next 3-4 years, predicts the firm behind GoGo SqueeZ, a resealable squeezable fruit snack that was developed in France in the late 1990s, entered the US market in 2008, and notched up US retail sales...
Individually packaged drinkable yogurt and dairy-based smoothies are increasingly popular as more convenient and modern alternatives to fluid milk, the consumption of which has declined in recent years, according to an executive with Arla Foods Ingredients.
Snack box delivery service Love With Food’s acquisition of competitor Taste Guru, a leader in the gluten-free food delivery sub-category, signals the burgeoning online food subscription category already is consolidating as competitors vie for share in...
Consumers may talk big game about buying more fresh foods, but most still spend the majority of their grocery budget on packaged, prepared foods, new research from CivicScience reveals.
Ancient grains and seeds such as chia, flax and quinoa have been steadily infiltrating the US cereal, bakery and snacks aisles in recent years, but are now starting to generate a lot of excitement in the dairy category as well, says Glanbia Nutritionals.
Whole grain foods should be promoted for health – but the term needs a standard definition to encourage innovation among food companies, say nutrition researchers.
Johnson & Johnson’s Nectresse monk-fruit-based sweeteners were discontinued late last year owing to disappointing sales. However, a lawsuit challenging the products’ claims to be ‘100% natural’ is still very much alive.
What are the hottest new trends in dairy? Grass-fed everything? A whole milk renaissance? High-protein kefir? Quark? And what’s next after Greek yogurt?
An injection of capital from private equity firm Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG) will help Way Better Snacks accelerate its nationwide distribution and raise awareness about the benefits of sprouted grains, founder and CEO Jim Breen told FoodNavigator-USA.
Organic peanut butter cup producer Justin’s says it would entertain offers from larger firms to help it grow scale in the U.S. and move into export markets, but won't actively pursue a sale.
If Justin’s made consumers think differently about nut butter with its novel flavor combos and single-serve sachets, YumButter is on a mission to disrupt the category all over again with its YumButter GO pouches, promising an even more convenient way...
Dark chocolate often steals the spotlight for health claims, but new research suggests milk chocolate, which is sweeter, fattier and more popular, could offer the same benefits in high doses.
The tide may be changing for cheese, as science helps re-position the dairy food as a protein-dense, calcium-rich, healthy snack rather than as a high-fat and -sodium food to be enjoyed in moderation, suggests a market trends expert.
A new company backed by private equity firm Permira has acquired New York State-based Medora Snacks LLC (best-known for PopCorners, Pop Crinkles, and popped bean chips); and Ideal Snacks Holding Corporation (a contract manufacturer of better-for-you popped...
Targeting millennials in an effort to reach adventurous, trendsetting consumers who will adopt and evangelize new products early will only get marketers a third of the way to their goal, recent research from CivicScience suggests.
BioVittoria and Guilin GFS Bio-Tech Co have doubled their monk fruit supply and significantly boosted production capacity following a multi-million-dollar investment leading to the formation of a new company - Monk Fruit Corp - boasting an estimated 70%...
Shares in Boulder Brands – the firm behind EVOL Foods, Udi’s Gluten Free and Smart Balance – plummeted this morning after CEO Steve Hughes resigned and the firm warned that second-quarter sales would likely be 5-7% lower than they were in Q2, 2014, chiefly...
Manufacturers could boost the struggling sales of shelf-stable products sold in the center of the store by co-branding and merchandising them with related, high-velocity produce, sales of which are outpacing those of the total- and center-store, according...
Just over five years after hitting the US market, honey-infused Aussie-style yogurt Noosa is on course to generate revenues of $100m in 2015 as more consumers embrace whole milk products promising healthy indulgence, says co-founder Koel Thomae.
Back to the Roots want to go beyond providing consumers with packaged food that has a simple ingredient list – it wants to give them the exact recipe so they can recreate the product; and big names in the food and tech world want to help the company do...
Winston Lee: 'We're caramelizing milk and sugar together and then culturing it'
When Winston Lee started pitching Tarte Asian Yogurt to retailers three years ago, the market had already hit peak Greek, he says: “Buyers were already looking at what's next after Greek. If you weren't already a brand on the shelf, you had...
Multicultural wellness ingredients are emerging as a tie that binds the diverse desires of multiple generations together, according to the latest Packaged Facts’ Culinary Trend Tracking Series report.
It may not have hit prime time yet, but it’s only a matter of time before hemp is as big as chia in the US food and beverage market, predicts the co-founder of one snacking company determined to put the protein-packed seed on the map.
Grain companies are working with Denver-based MycoTechnology to explore how mushrooms’ filament-like roots or ‘mycelium’ could help create new value-added opportunities in the cereals market by transforming the nutritional profile of wheat and other grains.
'We have retained a cult-like following even as we have gone mass market'
When Julie Smolyansky became president and CEO of kefir market leader Lifeway Foods in 2002 after the sudden death of her father (its founder), the stock went into freefall as investors feared the 27-year old wasn’t ready to run a public company. They...
A $1.5 million investment from EcoEnterprises Fund will enable NurturMe to expand its line of quinoa-based children's food as well as its social mission as a B-Corporation to improve sustainable agriculture in South America, a company executive said.
A poll* of more than 4,200 US consumers conducted in April 2015 by CivicScience shows Americans believe that ‘preservatives / chemicals’ are significantly more harmful to their heath than added sugar, saturated fat and sodium.
Snyder’s-Lance has joined forces with Mediterranean Snacks to create a co-branded snack pack containing hummus and pretzels as part of its drive towards meal solutions, its marketing head says.
Dollar sales of Chobani’s Simply 100 Greek yogurts have grown 25% in the first five months of 2015 vs the same period last year, while unit sales are up 28%, says the firm, which is re-launching the range with ‘blended’ formulations (rather than fruit-on-the-bottom)...
From veggie powders to sprinkle on your food to artisan dairy-free ‘cheeses’ made from nuts, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) selects nine natural food trends it predicts will inspire packaged foods and foodservice menus in 2015.
Hartman Group: Pleasure & distinction bigger drivers than health for premium products
While more premium brands from KRAVE to Noosa are being snapped up by big food companies and private equity firms, not every CPG category has the potential to be driven – or revitalized - by premium brands, according to a new analysis by Hartman Group....
Snack makers can boost sales and secure stronger retail relations with data-driven product pairing rather than guesswork, says Nielsen Perishables Group.
Potato chips, tortilla chips and cheese snacks are performing strongly in the US retail market, despite growing demand for healthier snacking options. However, the big winners in the snacks aisle this year have been ready-to-eat popcorn, meat snacks,...
With an eight-year stint in sales and brand management at PepsiCo on his resume, David Luks knew a fair bit about the beverages market when he launched Honeydrop in 2009. But it quickly became clear that selling Diet Pepsi and selling a product no one...
Sales of snacks account for a whopping 40% of the $370 billion U.S. packaged food market and are set to grow 2% annually through 2019, thanks in large part to millennials who eat more snacks than any other group, according to analysis by Euromonitor.
Compared to previous generations Millennials are far more likely to make spur-of-the-moment food decisions and have less well-stocked pantries, say market researchers. But many food retailers are not geared up to meet their changing needs.
Packaged Facts is predicting continued double-digit growth for almond milk in the next five years, and reckons it could increase its dollar share of the US retail dairy and dairy alternative beverages market from 5% in 2014 to 19% in 2019.
It’s not just the high fat, salt or sugar content of processed foods that is driving obesity and diet-related illnesses – the lack of food diversity is killing our gut flora, claims one researcher.
Biena dry roasted chickpea snacks are about to roll out nationally at Target
When Poorvi Patodia first started pitching roasted chickpeas to retail buyers in 2012, not everyone was convinced they could be a mainstream hit. Today, they are gracing shelves in 3,000+ stores from Sprouts to Stop & Shop and are about to go into...
Just scaling up alone without fundamental changes to farming practices could decrease costs by 25-50%
While cost is a barrier – and regulatory issues need ironing out – mainstream food manufacturers “have been way more open to this [using edible insects in their products] than you would probably think”, says the founder of the world’s largest insect-based...