News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology
Up The Food Chain
Hubert te Braake already had the dream job: as director of research and development at Heineken, he’s tasked with creating the world’s next big brews. Now he’s been given a shiny new €45m ($53m) lab to do it from
Why ‘climate-proof’ cacao start-up Kokomodo is hedging its bets on an increasingly stronger future for cell cultured cocoa
This year’s wave of tools – from trend‑spotting engines to autonomous R&D agents – turned AI into everyday infrastructure for food and beverage
From the mental health crisis to keeping an ageing population active, state-of-the art ingredients promise to help humanity bio-hack its way to peak performance. Here’s how
Barry Callebaut partners with NotCo AI and Planet A Foods to tackle soaring cocoa prices and regulatory hurdles, leveraging digital formulation tools to future‑proof chocolate
Soup-To-Nuts Podcast
From shifting grocery habits to new product opportunities, Circana’s insights reveal how brands and retailers can adapt to the rise of GLP-1 users
Protein fortification continues to dominate the food and beverage space – but how is ingredient innovation evolving to meet the need for more protein?
Trump’s food price probe, research on what really drives acceptance of gene-edited foods and KeHE’s latest read on authenticity, function and global flavor exploration reshape the industry as the year winds down
REMI, built on ChatGPT and trained on the spice company’s recipe database, is helping home cooks and chefs better understand how to use its playfully named blends
CoDeveloper platform mines 85 years of research to help food scientists formulate and reverse-engineer products
As regulatory green lights multiply and cost‑efficient production ramps up, GFI’s release of SciFi Foods’ bovine cell lines could provide the common foundation the cultivated‑meat sector needs to accelerate commercial-scale growth
The food and beverage trends driving change in 2026
Precision fermentation and ingredient diversification could provide answers for struggling food companies
Exclusive data analysis carried out by FutureBridge on behalf of Food Manufacture has identified the top 100 hottest food and drink start-ups worldwide.
FedUp Foods and FrshBev exemplify contract manufacturing’s role in functional beverage development
The landmark study series is the biggest blow yet to UPFs
From gene-edited wheat to a three-minute gluten test, scientists are rethinking gluten-free baking and the results could change everything
Looking back at our Sustainable September initiative, where does the food and drink industry thrive and fall?
As sugar reduction merges with functionality, global ingredient leaders are betting on advanced stevia solutions to hit the sweet spot
As GLP-1 drugs disrupt the weight loss market, food and beverage players are racing to unlock the appetite-regulating power of functional ingredients
Sweeteners in focus
Research by Ingredion suggests a paradigm shift toward plant-based and blended sweeteners over sugar, but consumer confusion about what is ‘natural’ and safe could hinder innovation and sugar reduction efforts
The new ingredient is positioned as an ‘insurance policy’ against cocoa supply chain volatility and says the bio-identical ingredient could stabilize supply as climate change strains traditional crops
Groceryshop 2025
NielsenIQ’s latest outlook warns consumers are hitting their spending limits and are desperate for relief – opening the door for promotions, private-label and health-claims to drive sales
Soup-To-Nuts Podcast
After decades of being overshadowed by Boomers and Millennials, Generation X is poised to become the dominant global consumer group and are projected to spend $15.2 trillion 2025 and $23 trillion worldwide in 2035, according to new research from...
A US News & World Report survey shows nearly half of health professionals rank diet over exercise and sleep as a contributor to aging well, signaling a chance for food and beverage brands to showcase nutrient-dense and clean-label products
Kevin Hall, a former senior investigator at NIH, says MAHA children’s report fails to address ultra-processed food threat
Nearly half of all US adults fall under the category, according to Brightseed survey
The ESCAPE trial will examine whether eating or avoiding peanuts and eggs during pregnancy and breastfeeding can shape infants’ immune responses before their first taste
Three-quarters of young children see branded food content on YouTube – and most of it flies under the regulatory radar
With grocery prices up 23% from five years ago, many caregivers are wondering what to feed their kids for lunch - and how to pay for it - as they return to school
FBIF 2025
Meiji has urged consumers to focus on protein consumption over exercise for muscle growth and maintenance, across all groups from seniors to athletes
A CDC report reveals a dip in calories consumed from ultra-processed foods, but highlights five categories that are sticking points for most Americans and which could represent white space for clean-label innovation
In an age of chips with gut health claims, AI-designed snacks and soft drinks with electrolytes, the most radical thing we could do is stop hiding the fact that food is processed and start celebrating it
A surprise win for bakers: by deleting the most toxic gluten peptides, researchers have made wheat safer for the gluten-sensitive – and stronger for high-performance dough
Retailers must embrace omnichannel strategies to thrive in an evolving landscape
Omega-6 linoleic acid is more likely to be anti-inflammatory, and efforts to limit its consumption are not warranted, says a new study published in Nutrients.
Future Food-Tech Chicago
Demand for coffee is rising, but current production is threatened by climate change and geopolitical tensions in regions where the crops are concentrated – creating an opportunity for new methods for creating coffee and alternatives
With a fresh injection of funding, a next-gen meat alternative business is preparing to take a bigger bite out of the protein market
Future Food-Tech Chicago
An unlikely trio - Savor, Alamance and Thimus - used applied neuroscience, novel fats and agile frameworks to create a sustainable whipped topping and an innovation model other companies can use to fast-track product development
A new food waste reduction toolkit from the US Food Waste Pact shows frontline workers how small improvements in their daily work can have an outsized impact
Plastic bottles remain a staple across the beverage industry. Will it ever be possible to completely transition away from this format; and what alternative formats would take its place?
Future Food-Tech San Francisco
The company aims to normalize sweet proteins in sweetener and nutrition systems
A sweetener used in dairy, beverages and candies may be a game-changing solution to the global antimicrobial resistance crisis
Future Food Tech San Francisco
Innovating packaged foods and beverages traditionally takes two to three years from concept to shelf, but companies are under pressure to launch products more quickly and with lower costs, a challenge NotCo says its AI technology can solve
Redesigning bioreactors for food production could solve scaling and cost challenges in cultivated meat
Future Food-Tech San Francisco
Marine Biologics transforms seaweed with AI for functional, consistent food ingredients
Natural Products Expo West
Snacking may be here to stay, but what consumers want - and how companies source it - are evolving quickly, prompting Mondelez to narrow the aperture of its investment strategy
The Global Food Tech Awards 2025
A novel bubble-based precision fermentation technology has scooped the top prize in the Americas heat of the inaugural Global Food Tech Awards
Protein-packed potatoes drive Polopo’s expansion for natural functional foods
Alternative proteins 3.0: Balancing health and taste
UPSIDE’s partnership with Pat LaFrieda leverages the restaurant scene for consumer adoption of cultivated meat