It’s well known that the American love affair with soda has hit a pretty significant rough patch, but a new report from Rabobank suggests the nation has also been steadily falling out of love with gum, with US volumes dropping a staggering 20% in the...
Despite tight margins and even tighter competition, it’s a great time to be in the food and beverage industry—and an even better time to be a seller, according to New York accountant and advisory firm, Anchin, Block & Anchin.
Consumers are tired of bars, says quinoa 'snack in a bottle' founder
While a scary percentage of new food & beverage brands end up quietly disappearing when their backers run out of cash, luck, or endurance, a small number succeed. But what distinguishes the winners from the losers?
So Delicious Dairy Free brand grew at a 30% CAGR over past five years
While gluten-free gets all the glory, dairy-free products such as almond and coconut milk are growing at an equally explosive rate, says So Delicious Dairy Free, which has notched up a compound annual growth rate of 30%+ over the past five years, and...
General Mills - which has just unveiled a host of new protein-packed product launches - is seeking to patent a way of ensuring certain protein particulates can be incorporated into snacks containing moist fruit pastes but stay crunchy.
Plant waters are all the rage - at least that’s what trend watchers keep telling us - but can artichoke water emulate the meteoric success of coconut water? Or is Arty Water - an intriguing mix of artichokes, mint and pandanus leaf sweetened with monk...
The US food and beverage industry anticipates continued sales growth in 2014 on the heels of strong performances the past two years, according to the second annual "US Food & Beverage Industry Study" from accounting, tax and advisory services...
At $88.3bn in 2013, the size of the US specialty food prize is already mouthwatering, and if current trends continue (sales grew 9.6% in 2012 and 8% in 2013), it will blast through the $100bn barrier in 2015. But which categories are growing most rapidly?
Women, protein blends, and the ‘anti-wasting’ market are all areas of significant opportunity in sports nutrition, says Jeff Hilton, co-founder and CMO of BrandHive.
Relaxation Solutions, a subsidiary of Bebida Beverage Company (BeBevCo), has partnered with 80s comedy duo Cheech and Chong to launch a hemp-infused relaxation ice cream in the US.
Starbucks-owned brand Evolution Fresh is test marketing a new range of co-branded smoothies made with cold pressed, high pressure processed juice and Dannon Greek yogurt in 200 Starbucks stores in San Jose and St Louis.
A novel ‘enzymatic enhancement’ process that can convert low grade stevia extracts into high purity Reb A could transform the economics of stevia production and help California-based Stevia First stand out in the market, claims its boss.
Hawaii-based coffee fruit beverage maker KonaRed has teamed up with at-home carbonation expert Sparkling Drink Systems International (SDS) to develop a line of powdered beverage pods.
Will Keurig Cold really turn the soft drinks market on its head? Can natural sweeteners pull diet soda out of its funk? And what’s the next coconut water?
Growing consumer interest in positive nutrition, demographic shifts, new eating patterns, recent scientific findings, and the recommendations from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans all point to a bright future for protein-rich foods and beverages,...
The flow of caffeinated foods hitting the US market “slowed to a trickle” after Wrigley pulled its Alert Energy gum in the wake of the FDA probe into caffeine, says Datamonitor. But it’s too early to write off this trend just yet, as consumers still crave...
The Honest brand could extend well beyond the ready-to-drink tea category into a wider array of beverages and even foods, says the co-founder of Honest Tea, which posted a 27% surge in sales to $112m in 2013, and is growing even faster this year.
Can anything top protein? What’s a “silver consumer” and why should we care? Would salty caramel work in a soft drink? Innova Market Insights teased a very full agenda of trendwatching presentations at next week’s Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT)...
Cargill has unveiled IngreVita, a proprietary blend of high oleic canola oil, antioxidants and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from fish oil that it claims will take omega-3 food and beverage fortification from the niche to the mainstream.
“My background is in sales, so I’m used to dealing with disappointment,” observes the founder of quinoa-based snacking brand eatKeenwa. But for every door that’s been shut in Blake Niemann’s face in the past 18 months, another one has opened. And his...
Nearly 3% of global food and beverage launches and 6% of US food/bev launches were marketed on a ‘high-protein’ or ‘source-of-protein’ positioning in the year ending March 31, 2014, according to data from Innova Market Insights.
Merchandizing gaps in convenience stores need to be plugged and snack makers must collaborate to drive progress forward, says the category development head at General Mills Convenience as it launches Nature Valley c-store tailored products.
The US ready-to-eat popcorn category has been “growing in the double-digits for the past 3-4 years” and is now worth “north of $600m in annual [retail] sales”, according to Diamond Foods CEO Brain Driscoll, who says new launches under the Kettle and Pop...
Many people developing new products at CPG companies feel frustrated and demotivated according to a new survey, which probably comes as no surprise given the high failure rate in the trade. But looking at what firms that produce more winners have in common...
The neuropsychologist behind cognitive health beverage Nawgan reckons his latest innovation 'ON powered refreshment’' - which combines caffeine and the fatigue-busting amino acid ornithine - has more mainstream appeal, bringing a fresh twist...
Nestlé has filed a patent for high-carb and high-protein bite-size dough snacks for athletes and health-conscious consumers looking to manage nutritional intake before and during exercise.
DIGGING INTO INNOVATION AND NPD WITH DATAMONITOR CONSUMER
Jerry Bello - the founder of Veggie straws maker Sensible Portions (sold to Hain Celestial in a multimillion dollar deal in 2010) - remembers the exact moment when he stumbled across something he reckons could be an even bigger snack food hit.
From drinkable grains to Non-GMO verified, Sterling-Rice Group has identified 10 natural and organic food trends that are starting to influence the mainstream grocery market. Are you up to speed?
It’s not as well-known as yerba maté or guarana, yet, but another natural source of caffeine - the Amazonian leaf guayusa - is about to give them both a serious run for their money, predict the entrepreneurs behind Runa, who are on a mission to do for...
General Mills has developed a high-protein variant of its flagship cereal brand Cheerios using soy – a product it says will sit comfortably in the mainstream breakfast aisle.
The US soymilk category remains in a funk according to a new report, which shows retail sales - which topped $1bn five years ago - slumped 8.5% to $638m in 2013, while sales of soy-based meat alternatives fell 1% to $776m, despite all the excitement...
The future of snacks will be positioning them as part of a 'meal bridge' solution that hits on convenience, value, taste and health, says the marketing head at Snyder’s-Lance.
While data showing that fluid milk consumption has continued to fall in the past 15 years probably won’t shock many readers, they may be more surprised to learn that consumption of caloric sweeteners and ice cream has also dropped substantially since...
PepsiCo gobbled up more global interest last year, fueled by three ‘star’ brands – Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, according to Kantar Worldpanel's Brand Footprint report.
US retail sales of organic products grew 11.5% to $35.1bn in 2013, the strongest growth the industry has seen in five years, according to new data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which is predicting even higher growth of 12% this year.
While some analysts still need convincing that the much-anticipated Keurig Cold at-home carbonation system will revolutionize the soft drinks market, Keurig Green Mountain CEO Brian Kelley says he has no doubt it will prove to be “disruptive” technology.
Get the latest insights and highlights from the Vitafoods 2014 show right from your web browser with our live video feed from the show. Tune in to watch key interviews with vitafoods attendees as they happen, plus our own Livetafoods Live! debates.
While the National Coffee Association says 83% of American adults now drink coffee (up from 78% in 2012), 18-24 year-olds are not consuming as much of it as many people think, according to Packaged Facts.
They’re addicted to their smartphones, big fans of social networking sites, and more likely than their parents to buy store brands. But what else do we know about Millennials - the 100 million Americans born between 1980 and 2000?
Chia and quinoa are hot; fruit and veg fibers are cool again, and chamomile is still #1 for calming. But baobab - once touted as the ultimate super-food and healthy beverage ingredient - has failed to live up to its early promise, says one leading functional/healthy...
“We could have expanded our market massively and aggressively if we said we’ll deliver anything to anyone, anywhere at any time. But we’d also have lost a lot of money,” says the president and CEO of one of the most successful online grocery platforms...
Just over three months after launching in the US market, grocery coupon app Checkout 51 has attracted an eye-boggling 1.4 million users, and expects to attract tens of millions more. Why? Because it’s really easy to use, says co-founder Noah Godfrey.
More than four out of every 10 dollars spent on ground coffee in the US is now spent on single-serve pods such as K-Cups, according to the latest Nielsen data.
