Despite historically enjoying rapid gains during economically challenging periods, like the pandemic, private label growth fell behind branded products in all but a few niche food and beverage categories during the past year – a role reversal that hasn’t...
PepsiCo has launched Soulboost, a new functional sparkling water brand infused with ingredients L-theanine and panax ginseng, targeting wellness-focused consumers and the $11.3bn global enhanced water category.
Thanks to advances in synthetic biology, with the right set of instructions, an army of microscopic little food factories (yeast, fungi, bacteria, algae etc) can now make animal proteins without animals, from collagen and egg albumin to whey protein if...
Copper Cow Coffee, a sustainably-focused Vietnamese coffee company known for its single-serve pour-over format and natural creamers, closed its Series A financing round of $8.5m, which it plans to put towards rolling out new products beyond pour-over...
Ingredion – already a key player in the stevia sweeteners market through its 2020 deal to acquire PureCircle – has teamed up with synthetic biology specialist Amyris to expand into a new segment of the market: steviol glycosides produced via fermentation.
While only a small percentage of consumers qualify as “cooking enthusiasts” and an even smaller number could be considered “confident cooks,” these two groups represent an outsized opportunity for retailers, meat processors and CPG brands looking to hold...
Tattooed Chef has entered into agreements to acquire New Mexico Food Distributors, Inc. and Karsten Tortilla Factory, LLC (collectively referred to as “Foods of New Mexico”) for approximately $35m to ramp up production of its plant-based frozen foods...
Unilever – which has strong anchor portfolios across the CPG landscape including food & personalized nutrition, beauty & personal care, and home care – saw continued strong in-home consumer demand for its core ice cream brands and double-digit...
After a surge of consumer trust in the food and beverage industry during the early days of the pandemic when stakeholders risked their health to keep store shelves stocked and supply chains moving, consumer trust in the industry globally fell a staggering...
Asian plant-based meat sensation OmniPork is gearing up for a nationwide retail and foodservice launch in the US market later this year after debuting in a handful of restaurants in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Honolulu to celebrate Earth Day.
Amazon is continuing to expand its grocery business, opening four new Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the US (two in Illinois and two in California) while offering enhanced delivery and payment options to customers including expanded Key In-Garage Grocery...
The pandemic’s uneven recovery is creating a “unique window of dual strength” for The Hershey Co., which saw sales gains across all three segments of its evenly divided portfolio of at-home, on-the-go and seasonal products during the company’s first quarter,...
While adaptogens and nootropics are central to the calming and functional benefits of Moment’s trio of botanical beverages, they take a backseat in marketing, which focuses first on the behavior modifications and lifestyle the brand promotes – a strategy...
Use of botanical ingredients in the beverage category has taken off, with floral-infused sparkling waters, to bottled water with ashwagandha, and yerba mate energy drinks, while the market for botanicals in snacks and packaged food represents a smaller,...
TerViva – a California-based firm seeking to commercialize ingredients from low-input, high-yielding Pongamia trees – aims to have commercial quantities of 'golden buttery' oil available by mid-2022, with ‘highly soluble’ protein isolates to...
Relying on historical usage of botanicals to help sell functional foods and beverages is no longer enough as consumers become increasingly sophisticated in how they approach and vet products to help boost their immunity, provide stress relief and reinforce...
Indoor vertical farming company Kalera has completed the first harvest of locally-grown leafy greens at its largest growing facility in the Atlanta area, where it will supply schools, restaurants, grocery stores (available at Publix), hospitals, and other...
Mondelēz International is continuing to see healthy demand for its core snacking brands, proving that industry-wide sales spikes for packaged, shelf-stable products were more than just a COVID-inspired blip, said chairman and CEO Dirk Van De Put.
A British company is developing the world’s first lab-grown ‘compassionate’ caviar to allow more people to experience the delicacy’s unique taste and nutritional benefits.
With digital commerce sales accelerating during the pandemic and expected to climb from $35 billion to more than $250 billion by 2025, Danone North America is reallocating traditional marketing dollars to online in a bid to better drive consumer engagement...
As last year’s sober-curious, zero-proof alcohol movement took off, with some consumers seeking to cut down their alcohol consumption, global ingredient supplier Kerry experienced a surge in demand for its Botanical Collection ZERO portfolio of distillate,...
The next iteration of the Beyond Burger - featuring 35% less saturated fat and 75% more iron than 80/20 beef burgers, a comparable level of B vitamins, and a meatier flavor – will hit grocery stores next week and restaurants in June, with a leaner version...
Recognizing that risings costs are squeezing food and beverage margins as the pandemic continues, Albertsons will accept – to an extent – price increases that several large CPG players have warned in recent weeks are coming down the pike.
The popular recipe and home cooking platform Epicurious is dropping beef from its repertoire going forward in favor of more plant-based options to amplify the conversation about sustainable diets, stem the steady uptick in beef sales in the US and give...
President Biden has signed into a law a food allergy labeling bill – The FASTER Act – requiring that sesame be labeled on all packaged foods beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
Visitors to BioMilk’s website are asked a simple question: ‘What is milk?’ a question that - until relatively recently - had a pretty obvious answer: the white stuff lactating mammals produce. Today, however, there’s plant-based milk; there are products...
While fluid milk consumption has been declining since the 1970s, US retail sales rose 7.1% last year (52-weeks ending Jan 2, 2021, according to NielsenIQ Total U.S. xAOC data). However, is this trend indicative of an actual revitalization of the $15.1bn...
As consumers looked to keep kitchens stocked between fewer grocery trips during the early days of the pandemic, frozen foods emerged as a breakout winner that continues to outperform overall edible sales even as restaurants begin to reopen and shoppers...
Despite strong organic sales growth and market share gains in the first quarter, Nestlé’s CEO warned market analysts yesterday against “excessive margin growth expectations,” and cautioned the company could raise prices later this year or early next to...
In its 2021 Flavor Forecast, global flavors company McCormick identified four pandemic-influenced flavors ranging from nutritious to indulgent that it believes will grow in awareness and popularity in the year to come.
The US Department of Agriculture is asking for help conducting a “top to bottom assessment” of the US food system in an effort to avoid the empty store shelves, food waste at farms and destruction for animals due to broken supply chains experienced in...
Bay area startup Clara Foods has teamed up with ZX Ventures, the innovation arm of the world’s largest brewer AB InBev - which knows a thing or two about large-scale fermentation - to help realize its dream of making ‘animal-free’ egg proteins using microbes...
For many consumers a freshly toasted bagel is a source of joy, comfort – and guilt, but thanks to food-tech startup Better Brand Inc.’s proprietary Grain-changing Technology, Americans can soon enjoy a clean label option that tastes and functions like...
Oatly posted a net loss of $60m in 2020 on sales up 106.5% year-on-year to $421.4m, reflecting its continued investment as it ramps up production and aggressively expands into new markets, according to a prospectus published ahead of its initial public...
DouxMatok, the Israeli firm behind patented technology that makes regular sugar taste sweeter, has launched limited-edition chocolate spreads in the US with half the sugar of leading brands to give consumers the chance to taste products made with its...
Brazilian meat giant JBS has entered into a deal to acquire Vivera, Europe’s third-largest plant-based food company. The agreement is an ‘important step’ in its efforts to expand in the plant-based protein and value-added food segments, FoodNavigator...
With the upcoming launch of a line of DRY Botanical Bitters & Soda, the Dry Soda Co. returns to its roots as a zero-proof lifestyle pioneer at a time when the sober-curious and reduced-sugar movements are gaining momentum and consumers increasingly...
While the Coca-Cola Co. is protected against rising commodity costs for now, it could raise prices next year or late this year as part of a multi-prong approach to manage inflation of key ingredients and packaging materials, according to executives.
Berkeley-based startup Perfect Day has underscored its sustainability credentials with the release of a lifecycle assessment suggesting its ‘non-animal’ whey protein - produced by microbes - produces up to 97% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than...
After finetuning a diverse range of plant-based meat and seafood that goes far beyond the burger- and sausage-heavy offerings of today, Hungry Planet is ready to ramp up production and distribution of all nine of its proteins across retail, foodservice...
After being demonized for decades and hitting a 30-year low in 2019, per capita flour consumption is on the rise again thanks in part to consumers’ increasingly sophisticated understanding of diet and health and their duel desire to fill their plates...
Vejii Holdings, an online retailer of plant-based products, has acquired VeganEssentials.com and announced a C$10m capital raise, becoming the largest online marketplace in the US that exclusively sells vegan products, says Vejii CEO Kory Zelickson.
The US House of Representatives has voted on and passed a piece of legislation -- the FASTER Act -- that would make sesame the ninth ingredient subject to mandatory allergen labeling in the US. The bill now heads to President Biden to be signed into law....
PepsiCo sales during the first three months of the year sailed passed the high bar set last year when the pandemic inspired pantry loading, despite challenges during the quarter, including temporary business disruptions due to the severe winter storms...
Canadian chickpea pasta brand Chickapea has closed a CAD$9.3m Series C funding round co-led by District Ventures Capital, InvestEco Capital, and Export Development Canada (EDC) to support new product innovation and the brand's distribution growth...
While a downturn in sales for snack bars in the past year suggest consumer demand has softened, snacking behavior has hit a fever pitch and innovation in this set is hotter than ever as brands evolve to meet shifting consumer demands.
Buyers on online discovery platform RangeMe - which is used by retailers from Whole Foods to Walmart to identify new products and suppliers - are increasingly using it as a tool to identify brands that align with corporate social responsibility goals,...
With the consolidation of eight businesses under one simplified corporate structure and a strong track record of driving growth despite pandemic-related challenges, specialty lender eCapital Corp. is poised to offer upwards of 25% more financing this...
Territory Foods, a fresh-prepared direct-to-consumer (DTC) meal delivery service that partners with local chefs to create flavorful nutritionist-designed dishes, has closed a $22m funding round led by US Venture Partners.
This year promises to be a “blockbuster year” for snacking innovation after 2020 saw drastically fewer new products hit stores than previous years, but of those that did launch the best sellers catered to Americans’ pandemic-influenced demands – portending...
