From the 'astounding' reinvention of popcorn as "Millennial friendly, cool and healthy", to the proliferation of apps & devices enabling us to track our calories, sleep and bowel movements, what have we learned about the food culture...
Eating all your vegetables might be easier in 2015 than in recent years as they increasingly show up in unexpected places, including desserts and drinks, according to the International Food Network.
The biggest rise was in products making non-GMO or GMO-free claims
Non-GMO, Kosher, gluten-free, ethical, environmentally-friendly, lactose-free, vegan, no additives/preservatives, and on-the-go claims are all gaining more traction on US food labels; while growth in ‘all-natural’- antioxidant- and low/no/reduced sugar/sodium/fat...
Snack and cereal makers have stepped into smart packaging territory with stand-out, portable pouch formats but they can still stretch further, says a packaging expert.
While premium juice brands hit the market every week hoping to become the next Suja, and the coconut water category is getting crowded, the company behind WTRMLN WTR (watermelon flesh, watermelon rind, lemon) reckons it has a product sufficiently distinctive...
Fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service Blue Apron helps start-ups and small ingredient suppliers build brand awareness and consumer demand by introducing at home cooks to new products and taking the guess work out of the prep.
Dairy free frozen desserts bright spot in category
While frozen yogurt franchises might be appearing on every street corner, US retail sales of frozen yogurt/tofu have slumped over the past year, with multi-outlet* data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI revealing an 8.23% drop in dollar sales...
Consumers want bolder, more intense flavor experiences, from Japanese 7 Spice to sour cherries and salt, according to McCormick & Co’s flavor forecast for 2015.
The US dairy-free frozen desserts category could “double or triple” in the next five years as more consumers explore almond, coconut and other alternatives, predicts ice cream guru Malcolm Stogo, who is now bidding for a slice of the non-dairy action...
Breakfast is extending throughout the day: 'Now anything goes, anytime'
From bold Asian and Hispanic flavors, to nuts, gourmet coffee, and all-day-breakfasts, New York-based Comax Flavors highlights four hot trends likely to influence food and beverage development in 2015.
If you don’t like taking risks, don’t go into the beverage industry, says the founder of ChaiElixir, an Oklahoma City based start-up selling sparkling tea. “A significant portion of new products do not make it past year one or two, but that’s the nature...
The nutrition bar category is becoming saturated, but there are still untapped pockets of opportunity, says Ohio-based Good Greens, which claims to blow rivals out of the water when it comes to packing a nutritional punch.
Tetra Pak's Suley Muratoglu has challenged packaging designers and brands to shake up the beverage and liquid dairy markets with better graphic design implementation.
Coffee leaf tea has got the 'body and full flavor of black tea without the bitterness'
By unlocking the potential of the coffee fruit, enterprising companies from Bai Brands and KonaRed (beverages) to CF Global (coffee flour) and VDF Futureceuticals (nutraceuticals) have already proved that the coffee bean is not the only thing the coffee...
To understand Functional Foods you must see it as a strategy to add value to processed foods, says the president and founder of the HealthyMarketingTeam, Peter Wennstrom, in this guest article.
Faced with mounting difficulties in their drug businesses, many pharmaceutical manufacturers are looking at getting into functional foods and beverages, notes food marketing expert, Julian Mellentin in this guest article.
While mainstream food retailers discovered kombucha later than their counterparts in the ‘natural’ channel, they are playing catch-up now, says natural soda maker Reed’s, which entered the market in 2012 with its Culture Club kombucha range and now claims...
Synthetic biology pioneers team up to create 'powerhouse in yeast fermentation technologies'
Evolva - the Swiss ‘synthetic biology’ company developing stevia, vanillin, and other ingredients via microbial fermentation - is to acquire San Diego-based Allylix to create a “true powerhouse in yeast-based fermentation technologies”.
Bai Brands CEO Ben Weiss says the Dr Pepper allied brand will hit $50m in sales this year and puts this down to a focus on ‘distribution at the expense of brand equity’ during the early ‘basement’ years.
Pinnacle Foods has struck a deal to acquire Canadian plant-based food specialist Garden Protein International (Gardein) for C$175m ($154m) from founder Yves Potvin and private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.
Solazyme’s AlgaVia whole algal flour is now being used in eight commercially available products in the US from non-dairy creamers and powdered beverages to gluten-free baked goods, while the company is also in “late stage commercial tests with major national...
With HPP (high-pressure-processed) cold-pressed juices now an established part of any self-respecting retailer’s chilled beverage set, it’s easy to forget just how rapidly this category has moved from niche to mainstream, and that key players such as...
Online grocery shopping, craft foods, fermented and pickled foods such as sauerkraut, and non-stop snacking will all gain momentum in 2015, according to ‘Supermarket Guru’ and TV personality Phil Lempert.
Whole Foods Markets has decided to go big, with a national TV ad campaign that kicked off during a recent World Series game. The message is one of “values,” talking about the natural grocery store chain’s commitment to sustainability and transparency.
Browse the baby food aisles and everything is pretty healthy, as your baby’s body is a temple, right? But then things change, say the founders of MySuperFoods, which was set up by two Moms that were underwhelmed by the snack options available to children...
I am one of many scientists around the world whose work involves studying an ecosystem of diverse species. Some are already known to us, others have never been catalogued before.
US hummus category could break $1bn barrier in a few years
US sales of hummus have almost doubled since 2009 to top $600m, but could easily break through the $1bn mark in the next few years, predicts Eat Well Embrace Life, which is carving out a leading role in the ‘other bean hummus’ category and aims to be...
Not so long ago, beans were something you’d more likely find in a dip than a chip. Today, in no small part because of the explosive growth of Beanitos, they are all over the snacks aisle as formulators look to boost fiber and protein, and marketers tap...
Consumers want to see what you are putting into the product as well as what isn’t in there
With revenues going from zero to “north of $20m” in three years, the growth of Way Better Snacks has been nothing short of meteoric. But while great branding, its focus on ‘sprouted’ seeds and the CPG experience of its founder & CEO Jim Breen have...
Stevia chocolate is beginning to gain momentum in the US but could take at least a decade to achieve widespread acceptance among mainstream retail, according to stevia chocolate firm Coco Polo
The average convenience-store shopper spends just three minutes in the store, says Wells Fargo in a new report arguing that there are big growth opportunities for brands that can offer more products designed for immediate consumption, and better meet...
'Many kombucha makers are thumbing their nose at the regulators'
In 2010, KeVita sparkling organic probiotic beverages were available in a handful of Whole Foods stores in Southern California. Today they have 90%+ ACV in the natural channel, and a growing presence in the conventional channel, and CEO Bill Moses sits...
Not so long ago, the only yogurt that US consumers - and retail buyers - appeared to be interested in was the thick, protein-packed Greek variety. Today, as brands such as Noosa have proved, there is more room in the market for other options, says the...
Zenith International includes cocktail flavors and cognitive enhancement within a list of 13 top trends it says have driven innovation in energy drinks on the basis of post-2012 product launches.
Is it harder to start a beverage business today than it was 25 years ago when he started distributing ‘ginger brew’ from his Volkswagen Bug in a tie-dyed tee-shirt? Probably, says Reed’s Inc founder & CEO Chris Reed. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t...
Social media can be a powerful tool to identify trends as well as communicate with different customer segments. But it can also be used to identify threats, says market research firm Brandwatch.
The IFT's FutureFood 2050 initiative has started a fascinating conversation about what we might be eating in the future. But what will food shopping be like? Will supermarkets as we know them today still exist or will we get all of our groceries...
Most business administration graduates dream of starting their own business. And most end up working for someone else’s, at least in the short term. Not many of them start a bottled water company. But that doesn’t make Ryan Emmons crazy.
The marketplace for consumer goods has fundamentally changed, and CPG companies looking for stable long term growth need to be able to solve this “frustrating puzzle,” according to a new report from market research firm Strategy&.
Until relatively recently, probiotics - gut-friendly live bacteria - were largely limited to the supplement aisle or the dairy case. Today, thanks to the development of more resilient strains, they are creeping into every category in the store. But we’re...
Conversations about maple water typically start with what it isn't, says Vertical Water co-founder Valentina Cugnasca. It's not ‘watered-down’ maple syrup (quite the opposite in fact - maple syrup is made by boiling up maple water); it’s not...
