When PepsiCo replaced the word ‘Simply Natural’ with ‘Simply’ on some Frito-Lay lines recently, some commentators wondered if this signaled the beginning of the end of the industry’s love affair with all-natural claims. However, new data suggests otherwise.
While some analysts predict US private label penetration rates (which have remained stubbornly at around 18% of dollar sales for in recent years) could reach 25-30% or higher in the next few years, their “exuberance… is perplexing at best”, according...
While the number of lawsuits filed against food and beverage manufacturers over ‘all-natural’ claims appeared to peak in 2012 and drop off again in 2013, it’s too early for the industry to start cracking open the champagne just yet, say legal experts.
Food manufacturers, retailers and other food industry players are failing to connect with consumers who are tuning out of mainstream messaging and infesting their own comms channels, says angel investor, business mentor and philanthropist, Mike Greene.
As crusading investor Nelson Peltz lets off another bomb in the Pepsi boardroom – this time in the form of a 37-page letter criticizing the firm’s snack/soda integration – we examine the arguments for and against any split.
Meat from grass-fed organic dairy steers may be of greater nutritional quality than conventionally raised steers, but falls below standard in overall consumer liking and flavour tests, according to research.
Giant US supplier Rancho Feeding Corporation has recalled approximately 8.7m pounds of products due to processing “diseased and unsound animals”, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Vancouver-based stevia supplier GLG Life Tech is moving into the monk fruit (luo han guo) sweeteners market and expects to have commercial quantities of high-purity extracts available later this year.
Exclusive interview with Bob Simpson, COO of Jelly Belly
For a company the size and scope of Jelly Belly—the confectionery giant sells more than 100 flavors in 80 countries (and growing) and across multiple market segments—finding untapped channels in the domestic market has become an “out of the box” endeavor....
The new non-GMO formulations of Original Cheerios and Grape Nuts might be made without ingredients from genetically engineered crops, but they also come with fewer vitamins - although brand owners General Mills and Post Foods won’t say why.
Nestlé claims its new ‘large cup’ Nespresso coffee system is unique and hopes it will corner a major segment of a $5bn portioned coffee market in the US.
The sales slowdown in the US cereal category has nothing to do with consumers and everything to do with manufacturers, says the chairman and CEO of General Mills.
As researchers uncover more about the way our mood impacts dietary choices, one research group has found that thinking about the future can help us to make better food choices.
Ingredients giant Roquette has struck a deal with Iowa-based non-GMO corn and soybean specialist World Food Processing (WFP) under which WFP will manufacture Roquette’s pea protein in the US.
Obesity rates in the US climbed steadily over the last four decades, from 13% of the population in 1970 to more than 34% in 2009. While some blame an increase in dietary fructose, a recent study published in the Nutrition Journal used food availability...
New product development doesn’t have to be a random hit and miss exercise, but can be helped by 60 lines of thinking, says the CEO of Inventours and author of the new book Catalyzing Innovation.
Food accounted for 37% of Wal-Mart’s US sales in 2012 vs 23% in 2002, but its growth has started to decelerate, and we can expect more destocking of major brands, a greater focus on private label, and renewed interest in higher-end health & wellness...
While most start-ups struggle to raise the funds to turn their dreams into reality, Hampton Creek Foods CEO Josh Tetrick has convinced some of the world’s wealthiest people that his plant-based egg replacers are worth a serious punt.
The omega-3 market continues to grow and appears to have unstoppable momentum worldwide, according to expert Diana Cowland, who keeps tabs on the sector for Euromonitor International.
As CPG’s big guns congregate in Florida for the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, many of them are at a strategic crossroads, says Rabobank.
Food Vision launches big debate on big three issues
An advisor on edible insects to the United Nations predicts that insects on your plate is inevitable, as forward thinking restaurants like D.O.M in Sao Paulo and Noma in Copenhagen are already experimenting with the critters as food.
In the first of a series of 60-second interviews with movers and shakers in the US food and beverage market, FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Karl Kramer, a 30-year food and beverage industry veteran, on how he got into the business of commercializing...
California is considering a controversial law change that would mean soda cans carry labels warning that added sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.
The Kellogg Company has pledged to source fully traceable palm oil by the end of next year, a move that has been welcomed by NGOs that have been fighting for the cereal giant to change its policies for months.
While market researchers predict continued healthy growth for the US gluten-free market*, not everyone is convinced that it is built on a solid foundation.
After a slight dip in 2011, salaries for food scientists bounced back in 2013 to a median salary of $90,000, according to the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT) biennial Employment and Salary Survey.
Despite the recent surge in popularity of green juice and consumers’ general belief that it’s the most nutritious juice, many consumers are still skeptical that it actually tastes good, as a recent survey by Jamba Juice found.
DIGGING INTO INNOVATION & NPD WITH DATAMONITOR CONSUMER
Green tea has migrated from hot drinks into other foods over the years but has particular promise in breakfast cereal where manufacturers can pack nutritional punch into weight-loss products, says a Datamonitor researcher.
CP Kelco has announced an investment to expand its manufacturing facility in Limeira, Brazil, to meet growing demand for pectin in the South American food and beverage market.
The Federal Trade Commission has filed a long awaited brief in POM Wonderful’s appeal of a false advertising case against the company. As expected, FTC contends that POM’s ads were deceptive, and the company lacked sufficient clinical data to back up...
Chobani has donated more than 5,000 pots of Greek yogurt originally intended for US athletes at the Winter Olympics in Sochi to food banks in New York and New Jersey.
SUCCESSFUL MORNING DRINK 'PLAYS AROUND THE ENERGY SPACE'
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi says the firm will not buy brands in the lucrative energy drinks space and insists existing $150m+ offer Mountain Dew Kickstart is ‘right for the masses’.
If there is a natural ceiling to the gluten-free market, we’re nowhere near hitting it yet, according to Weston Bakeries, which is rolling out its new All But Gluten fresh bakery range across Canada and the US.
Two years after famed restaurateur Thomas Keller and his R&D chef Lena Kwak launched Cup4Cup (C4C), a multipurpose gluten-free flour blend targeting celiac and gluten-intolerant consumers, the brand is eyeing “controlled” growth into mainstream channels...
New non-cola products sweetened with stevia and sugar will hit the US market this year, while cola products combining stevia and sugar will be tested in other markets, says PepsiCo.
Tate & Lyle says it predicts a substantial deterioration in sucralose pricing owing to a glut of unsold Chinese sucralose which has forced it to reduce pricing in recently renewed contracts.
Shares in the world's biggest food company were down by around 2% this morning as Nestlé announced its slowest sales growth in four years and missed profit expectations for 2013.
US Valentine’s candy consumers are expected to spend more than last year, but many will seek products on offer, while the rich will buy richer with more premium offerings.
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) will trial stevia sweetened versions of flag sodas Dr Pepper, 7-UP and Canada Dry in the US this year in a bold move one analyst says is a ‘litmus test’ for the future success of all-natural sodas.
