Fruit, vegetable, nut ingredients

Natural Products Expo West

Sally sells seaweed snacks by the seashore: Seaweed highlights at Expo West 2024

20-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Seaweed’s versatility as a regenerative crop was on display at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., last week, with brands highlighting its nutrition, texture and environmental benefits in products ranging from seaweed bacon to kelp puffs.

How can AI understand the functional food market and the needs that drive it?

20-Mar-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Functional food trends are driven by more than just taste: they’re driven by human need. With AI, the market can be analysed and the needs driving consumption understood.

Natural Products Expo West

Expo West trendspotting: Functional benefits, purity testing help justify premium pricing as consumers navigate economic challenges

19-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Emphasizing the value of exisiting products appeared to trump breakthrough innovation this year at Natural Products Expo West where many companies either introduced smaller sizes of existing SKUs to lower the entry point or more prominently called out...

Season Health partnership will focus on reducing hypertension, improving nutrition access

18-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The partnership will serve two segments of patients at Steward Health Care Network in Mass. with the goal to “reduce stage two hypertension for patients in the hypertension program and improve both engagement and nutrition insecurity status for patients...

Consumers turn to digital coupons to save on produce, buy less organic in 2023, FMI reports

12-Mar-2024 By Ryan Daily

Fresh produce was “among the strongest-performing departments in traditional grocery” in 2023, though consumers turned away from organic fruits and vegetables due to price, FMI – the Food Industry Association – shared in its ninth annual Power of Produce...

Lundberg Family Farms verifies its regenerative farming practices with ROA certification

08-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Organic rice maker Lundberg Family Farms partnered with Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) to certify more than 70 of its rice products, providing transparency and accountability for its farming methods to consumers without raising its prices, according...

CHKP Foods receives kosher certification, expands consumer reach in dairy-free category

06-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Vegan yogurt brand CHKP Foods receives Kosher certification by Orthodox Union (OU) Kosher, providing added transparency and traceability for its chickpea-based dairy-free yogurt.

Brands bet on fortification to fill the gaps in plant-based milk innovation

05-Mar-2024 By Teodora Lyubomirova

Milk alternatives are the most mature category in alt dairy, but while food brands have largely addressed sensory and functional challenges, nutrition is still lacking.

Kuli Kuli Foods expands beyond moringa with new products packed with climate-smart superfoods

05-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Functional food frontrunner Kuli Kuli Foods is moving beyond its flagship star ingredient moringa, which it helped introduce to the US over the past decade, to champion other “medicinally potent” and climate-smart “superfood” ingredients that deliver...

Future of Seafood

Plant-based seafood brands explore seaweed, mycelium and 3D printing to enhance texture, taste

04-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

As the plant-based seafood segment continues to evolve, ingredient innovation paves the way towards consumer acceptance, shown through notable VC investments in the sector.

Cargill highlights its sustainable proteins for first-ever tasting in NYC

03-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Cargill showcased the breadth of its protein portfolio and sustainable sourcing partnerships in a multi-course tasting earlier this month in New York City.

Finding a-whey to improve cognitive support: Hank’s partners with Nutiani for brain boosting spread

01-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Nut butter brand Hank’s partnered with Fonterra’s nutrition brand Nutiani to launch Hank’s Brain Boosting Peanut Butter spread, a functional food containing added protein and supplements to support cognitive function, Rachel Marshall, technical engagement...

Startup Spotlight

Lattini leverages sunflower seeds to offer healthier, climate-friendly plant-based milk

29-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers increasingly want more from their beverages when it comes to health, but they also want less in terms of calories, ingredients, processing and environmental impact – a delicate balance that startup Lattini strikes without compromising taste...

Smoove's prebiotic beverages place African culture in the spotlight

29-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Tapping into the multi-billion dollar functional beverage market, Smoove’s RTD prebiotic juice is a cultural nod to African representation through indigenous and traditional ingredients, like tropical almond, tamarind and African cherry, while responding...

Winter Fancy Food Show

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Demand for functional beverages could lead to ‘tsunami of innovation’ in 2024

29-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Beverage sales have outpaced that of food within the specialty segment in the past decade, according to the Specialty Food Association, which attributes the boom to an increased demand for functional benefits, a faster pace of innovation and a lower threshold...

Oishii raises $134m in turbulent time for vertical farms to expand production, distribution & its portfolio

28-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Vertical farm Oishii, known for its premium strawberries and more recently a high-end tomato, is building out a larger, more sustainable facility that will increase its production capacity by “multiple folds” with the help of a $134m Series B fundraise...

Winter Fancy Food Show

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Sustainability takes center stage in storytelling

26-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Sustainability may not be as highly prioritized as taste or price in purchase decisions for food and beverage, but research suggests it is increasingly important to consumers -- especially younger shoppers who are coming into their buying power.

Protecting children from deceptive food advertising: The scope of NY’s S213-B bill

21-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Recently proposed legislation in New York seeks to expand the state’s deceptive food advertising regulations to include safeguarding children who may be susceptible to excessive consumption of unhealthy goods, but lawyers with the firm Venable argue the...

Earth Fare and Merryfield gamify nutrition labels in-store

20-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Earth Fare, an organic and natural grocery chain, has partnered with Merryfield for its Micro-Moments program where shoppers can scan QR codes in-store for additional ingredient education on select better-for-you brands. This supplements Merryfield's...

USDA approves RTE meal box delivery for children in rural Alaska

20-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved the demonstration project, Alaska Meals to You (M2Y), for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED), to help find an effective way to provide meals to children in rural Alaska during...

Six Inches is generating a real buzz among the next gen farmers

19-Feb-2024 By Gill Hyslop

Matthews Cotwold Flour has joined an impressive list of farming and food organisations to throw their might behind Six Inches of Soil, which is challenging the status quo of a ‘broken’ food system.

NPD Trend Tracker: From mandarin orange juice to AI-generated recipes

19-Feb-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

In this week's NPD Trend Tracker, we see how high orange juice prices have led to the development of mandarin orange juice, and the rise of generative AI has led to the creation of an AI cookbook. Furthermore, we see a rebranding from Mallow &...

What are the positives and negatives of consuming caffeine?

19-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Many of us start our day with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee. In fact, it’s sometimes the very first thought we have before we’ve even opened our eyes. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of consuming caffeine and how much is too much?

Dole celebrates 125 years of banana production with instore, digital promos all year

16-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Creating a recognizable name in produce is no easy feat, considering the limited number of recognizable brands in the market, but Dole did it and is tapping digital and in-store promotions to celebrate its 125th Banana-versary and differentiate itself...

InnovoPro expands beyond plant-based with clean-label emulsification solutions for bakery, beverage & beyond

15-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Israeli company InnovoPro is bringing its clean-label, chickpea protein powered solutions to the broader food and beverage industry after proving its ability to bind, blend, foam and problem-solve other common challenges within plant-based categories....

Exclusive: Pairwise stops marketing gene-edited Conscious Greens to focus on new high-value, gene-edited crops

13-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

To continue blazing a path for gene-edited food in North America that is more convenient and nutrient-dense than conventional counterparts, food-tech startup Pairwise has decided to discontinue marketing its first CRISPR-edited product, Conscious Greens...

USDA pushes for more timely SNAP payments that account for a third of retail grocery sales

12-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

SNAP households are a major contributor to F&B sales, with 70% of SNAP dollars going towards food and beverages, according to Circana data, yet problems with late and inaccurate payments by states hinder access to food for the 42 million participants...

Hungryroot grows 40% YoY, expands curation of healthy foods

09-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Generating $333m in net revenue and more than $9m in profit, Hungryroot attributes its growth to its AI-driven “core personalization” of users’ food preferences and an expanded inventory in its three facilities, explained Alex Weinstein, the company’s...

Solely grows organic fruit-snack business with help from c-stores

07-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Snack company Solely is seeing the fruits of its labor as it expands distribution across natural and c-store channels and tees up a rebrand and new flavors of its products, brand CEO Simón Sacal told FoodNavigator-USA.

Thistle’s rebrand is 10 years in the making after prioritizing ingredients first

06-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Subscription meal company, Thistle, held off on investing in its brand identity since it launched a decade ago to prioritize ingredient procurement and recipe development for its weekly plant-based menus that “don’t sacrifice on taste,” Ashwin Cheriyan,...

An ‘all time low’ for orange juice? Disease and drought squeeze supply

06-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

Is a global orange juice shortage set to plague the beverage industry?

'Plant-based foods are here to stay,’ Dr. Praeger’s on rebrand, category’s evolution

02-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Dr. Praeger’s is celebrating 30 years in frozen foods with a new look and feel, designed to showcase the deliciousness of plant-based foods, former brand CEO and current special advisor & board member, Larry Praeger, told FoodNavigator-USA.

Startup Spotlight

Harken Sweets reimagines ‘what a candy bar can be using the power of date fruit’

01-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The founder of startup Harken Sweets, which launched earlier this month, wants to “nutritionally overhaul” the candy bar category by using “the power of the date fruit,” like how she helped Caulipower reinvigorate the pizza category with the “power of...

Once Upon a Farm unveils new dairy lineup, embraces regenerative farming

31-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Children's food brand Once Upon A Farm launches its A2/A2 whole milk shakes “to fill the gap no for added sugar dairy snacks” with milk sourced from grass-fed cows on regenerative farms, company CEO John Foraker told FoodNavigator-USA.

USDA invests $11.5m to reduce food waste from landfills

31-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

USDA’s investment will go towards 38 cooperative agreements “that support innovative, scalable waste management plans to reduce and divert food waste from landfills,” according to the organization’s statement.

Healthy plant-based diet could reduce risk of developing type two diabetes by 24%

31-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

A recent study has found that a nutritious plant-based diet, incorporating a reduced intake of processed and sugary foods, could decrease the risk of developing type two diabetes by improving metabolism and organ function.

Winter Fancy Food Show

Milkadamia’s Artisan plant-based milks launch in refrigerated set, show ‘less is more’

29-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Plant-based milk brand milkadamia moves into the refrigerated set and proves “less is more” with the debut of its organic Artisan macadamia milk and blends line that skips the fillers and gums common in many non-dairy beverages and responds to a growing...

Winter Fancy Food Show

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Trendspotting at the Winter Fancy Food Show reveals ‘better’ breakfasts, snacks, flavors and more

29-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

A resounding theme of “better” emerged at the Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas last week, where more than 1,200 specialty food companies came together to showcase the latest innovations in cheese, condiments, baked goods, snacks and more.

Evergreen’s playful rebrand, reformulation shows healthy doesn’t have to be boring

26-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Female-founded startup Evergreen is ready to go head-to-head with legacy players that currently dominate the $1.2 billion frozen waffle set with a brightly-colored, playful new look and an updated recipe packed with fruit and vegetables that promises...

Conserve capital or invest? Atomo Coffee doubles down with new facility

24-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Seattle-based coffee startup Atomo Coffee is a couple of months away from launching its new manufacturing facility to scale production of its espresso, created with upcycled ingredients and no coffee beans, as the company double downs on its ambition...

Plant-based diet, whether ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, linked to weight loss

24-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Latest research suggests replacing animal products with vegan alternatives provides multiple health benefits, including weight loss.

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Subcommittees collaborate on diet simulations for diverse populations

23-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's (DGAC)Health Equity Working Group and Food Pattern Modeling and Data Analysis subcommittees provided details on its pilot program to develop dietary intake patterns for American Indian and Alaska Native...

US: Whole and lactose-free milk sales grow as plant-based alternatives dip

21-Jan-2024 By Teodora Lyubomirova

While the annual fluid milk consumption continues to decline, some categories have bucked the trend with growing retail sales in 2023, according to newly-released data.

Startup Spotlight

[Video] ELAVI's journey to Costco and reinvigorating its brand

18-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Participating in Costco’s RoadShow and interacting directly with consumers to sample its gut-friendly, cashew dessert spreads gave WOC-founded startup ELAVI insights that would have “cost thousands of dollars” to acquire elsewhere, allowing it to make...

Fiber Foods eyes global expansion for dried jackfruit ingredient with help of PeakBridge funding

18-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Ingredient supplier Fiber Foods is taking its dried jack fruit ingredient to a more global audience with the help of recent funding from venture capital firm PeakBridge, as hybrid plant-based and animal-based meat products gain traction, company co-founder...

Intelligentsia reformulates its RTD oat milk lattes without Oatly to lower costs, streamline its supply chain

17-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Intelligentsia Coffee is replacing Oatly oat milk with a new formulation in its RTD lattes as a way to "improve supply chain logistics and lowering cost of production," while balancing its flavors and sensory profile, Bailey Manson, director...

Daily Harvest’s January Jumpstart program features GLP-1-focused meal plans

15-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Daily Harvest's debut of its GLP-1 Companion Food Collection as part of its quick-to-prep January Jumpstart plan includes “meals made with only real foods that are calorie-conscious while delivering ample vitamins and minerals,” Carolina Schneider,...

Can Oatly reinvigorate slowing oatmilk category sales with launch unsweetened, clean-label options?

11-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Oatmilk pioneer Oatly’s new Unsweetened Oatmilk and Super Basic Oatmilk, which launched this week, respond to rising consumer concerns about plant-based milks, including their nutritional value and, for some, long lists of unfamiliar ingredients, which...

From tuna to plant-based fish, how brands are expanding the canned fish category

11-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Poised to grow to $50.47bn by 2030, the global canned seafood market is driven by consumer demand for nutrient-rich foods, like protein and fatty acids, and longer shelf-life, per Grandview Research data. Notably, canned tuna, with its high nutritional...

Precision versus personalization: AHARA explores a “new frontier” in nutrition

10-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

With the rising popularity of personalized nutrition plans, AHARA’s app takes personalization one step further through precision nutrition, a combination of machine-learning, evidence-based nutrition science and an international advisory board to verify...