Lay’s unveils a global brand refresh, nutrition science challenges ultra-processed food myths amid new California school meal rules and FDA’s path to a uniform UPF definition and the agency signals wider acceptance of functional alternative ingredients.
Lay’s fresh look and cleaner promise
Lay’s unveiled its largest global brand – a redesign it says tells the potato’s story more boldly and transparently.
“We’ve always had real potatoes and real flavors and real joy in our products, but we’re now telling that story front and center,” explained Alexis Porter, VP at Lay’s Global Food Group. “Lay’s is entering a new era … this new look puts a bold spotlight on our farm-grown potatoes and quality ingredients.”
The packaging revamp highlights ingredient sourcing while Lay’s moves to eliminate artificial colors and flavors from its core lines by the end of 2025. The brand also will swap some seed oils for olive and avocado oils in select SKUs – part of a broader push toward simpler, more transparent labels.
Earlier this year, FDA accelerated approval for four new natural color additives: butterfly pea flower extract, Galdieria extract blue, calcium phosphate and gardenia blue. Many CPG brands already are on the move with removing synthetic dyes and flavors as the industry moves towards meeting FDA’s suggested phase out for the Jan. 15, 2028 deadline.
Read the full story here: Lay’s enters ‘a new era’ with its largest brand fresh in nearly a century
Nutrition narratives, ultra-processing and policy shifts
A new book, Food Intelligence, by former-NIH researcher Kevin Hall and journalist Julia Belluz, aims to cut through the noise in nutrition discourse, questioning long-held beliefs about metabolism, diet fads and ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Their call for more rigorous science lands at a pivotal moment as industry and policymakers grapple with defining what “ultra-processed” really means.
The Non-UPF Verified pilot program – a partnership among 16 brands – is testing an industry-wide framework for labeling, while California’s recently passed Assembly Bill 1264 will phase out UPFs from public school meals by 2035.
Read the full story here: What happens when nutrition science collides with politics? Kevin Hall found out
Regulation signals: Fermented innovation gets the FDA nod
The FDA issued a “no questions” letter to French startup Verley for its precision-fermented dairy proteins, FermWhey Native and FermWhey MicroStab — a key milestone for alt-dairy innovation.
The recognition comes amid recent green lights for Geltor’s vegan collagen PrimaColl and Oobli’s sweet protein brazzien-54, underscoring the growing demand for functional alternative ingredients across food and beverage formulations.
Read the full story here: FDA ‘no questions’ letter for Verley’s whey proteins unlocks new functionality for high-protein foods
