Fruit, vegetable, nut ingredients

Natural Products Expo West

2foods' US debut is three treats in one

18-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Japan’s 2foods sets itself apart in the American market and meets consumer demand for plant-based products with a clean label and a unique taste and texture profile with the US debut of its three-in-one dessert Gâteau Chocolate at Natural Products Expo...

KIND highlights taste, nourishment with new launches ranging from fruity to savory to kid-friendly

18-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

KIND Snacks continues its exploration of health-forward snack bars and granola with a particular emphasis on savory and fruit ingredients in the brand’s expansive launch, which was showcased during a media event at its test kitchen in New York on April...

La Colombe introduces new RTD Draft Lattes and brand redesign

16-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

La Colombe’s new RTD Draft Lattes use the same technology as its draft lattes in its cafes to deliver the same velvety foam finish in five flavors, in addition to three plant-based formats, which are all part of the brand’s new redesign.

Serenity Kids on creating global cuisines for the next generation of foodies

15-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

With an infusion of $52m in Series B funding closed last month, Serenity Kids will drive growth and innovation to provide diverse, nutritious baby food inspired by global cuisine.

Natural Products Expo West

SkinnyDipped 'glows up' with new rebrand, upcoming nut butter launch

12-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Sweet and salty better-for-you almond mix brand SkinnyDipped featured its latest snack flavors, upcoming nut butter line and brand redesign at Natural Products Expo West last month.

Rahm Roast’s proprietary rinsing solution improves coffee bean quality

10-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Rahm Roast takes an extra step to ensure a clean label for its single-origin, Guatemalan coffee beans through a patented double cleaning process to remove mold and toxins, company President Duqeusne Cook explained to FoodNavigator-USA.

USDA finalizes modern WIC program, secures additional $1bn in funding

10-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

A wider range of packaged foods, including canned fish, canned beans and some plant-based dairy, could qualify for reimbursement under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) following an update by the US Department...

How potatoes are affected by changing climatic conditions

09-Apr-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

As climatic conditions shift, key crops must face the challenges imposed by the weather’s new regime. Potatoes, one of our most beloved crops, are also highly sensitive to these changes.

Natural Products Expo West

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Buckwheat gains traction as nutrient-dense, climate smart ingredient

08-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Despite buckwheat’s status as a superfood staple in many parts of the world, including as the base for soba noodles in Japan and in kasha in Ukraine, the protein- and fiber-packed pyramid-shaped seed has struggled to secure a stable spot in the US diet...

NPD Trend Tracker: From PepsiCo snacks to collagen tea

08-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

The collagen trend is on an upwards trajectory, particularly in food and drink. In our latest new product development round-up, we look at a new tea inspired by collagen (it contains collagen peptides). Elsewhere, plant-based continues to trend and UK...

Nourished on how to communicate the potential of personalised nutrition to consumers

05-Apr-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Personalised nutrition has immense potential for extremely bespoke nutritional benefits to consumers. But for such a niche category, how does a company communicate this potential?

Danone’s Remix platform moves yogurt beyond breakfast to snacks, appeals to younger consumers

03-Apr-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Danone wants to entice more Americans – especially young generations – to eat more yogurt, more often and across more dayparts with the launch of its Remix platform, which offers consumers the ability to “mix in” to yogurt crunchy, chewy, sweet and salty...

Eden Green’s herb program provides a cost-effective solution to international imports

03-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Eden Green's recently launched packaged herbs are grown, packed and shipped from its Cleburne, Texas, vertical farming facility, which allows the company “to drive down logistics costs like no one else can,” and provide a consistent and affordable...

SEMCAP buys out ALOHA's early angel investors, accelerates distribution with $68m fundraise

02-Apr-2024 By Deniz Ataman

A $68m investment in plant-based snack company ALOHA by growth equity firm SEMCAP Food & Nutrition buys out early angel investors and will “help ALOHA’s able-bodied management accelerate its distribution and growth in traditional retail channels,”...

Natural Products Expo West

Banana Water’s clean label features one ingredient

29-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Bananas offer flavor and nutrition to consumers, and Banana Water is tapping into its global popularity through its RTD beverage using only the fruit, Rich Roth, operations assistant, FruitaBio, explained to FoodNavigator-USA at Natural Products Expo...

Natural Products Expo West

Public-private partnerships are key to bring more organic, regeneratively farmed food to market, Daily Harvest exec

29-Mar-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers increasingly want food that is not only good for them, but also good for the planet and those who work the land, which is why Daily Harvest is teaming with industry leaders and USDA to help more farmers – including small-scale BIPOC farmers...

Dannon’s Light + Fit supports women entrepreneurs in new cause marketing campaign

28-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Light + Fit campaign is designed to “inspire women to crave more beyond yogurt” through packaging redesigns from female artists and a grant program partnership with the Female Founder Collective, Jessica Grane, senior director of marketing, Dannon,...

Natural Products Expo West

Expo West: Microphyt harnesses power of microalgae for fortified food, beverage

26-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Through its patented technology that both replicates the delicate microalgae environment and extract its bioactive compounds from biomass, Microphyt is able to produce microalgae at scale in its Montpelier, France facility for a range of food and beverage...

‘Vegan’ or ‘free-from’? Tackling lack of awareness of the difference between allergen and dietary labelling

26-Mar-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

A ‘vegan’ label does not mean a food is safe to eat for those with allergies to animal products. New research shows the public is dangerously unaware of this distinction.

Is kimchi a weight-loss superfood?

26-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The popularity of kimchi has been growing in recent years as consumers enjoy it for it’s gut-friendly properties as well as its taste. But is it also an aid to weight loss?

Activists petition to remove methylene chloride from common decaf coffee production method amid carcinogen concerns

25-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

A food additive petition submitted by the Environmental Defense Fund, et al is calling on the FDA to remove methylene chloride, among three other solvents, from the most commonly used decaffeinated coffee known as European Method decaf, a move that the...

Natural Products Expo West

Heraclea’s Turkish olive oil pursues the gold standard in the category

25-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Launching its premium extra virgin olive oil in 2023, Heraclea Food Co. has focused its efforts on raising consumer awareness on transparency and both environmental and social responsibility within the olive oil industry, Berk Bahceci, founder, Heraclea,...

Chocolate made from faba beans? ‘We’ve developed a brand-new ingredient’

25-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

Unlike some other cocoa-free chocolate powders entering the market, this invention relies on just one raw material: the humble broad bean.

Changing freshwater cycle: Are we on a collision course with disaster?

22-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Human activity has significantly altered the freshwater cycle. But is this change reversible, and if not, what does it mean for the future of food and water supplies?

Startup Spotlight

[Watch] How Zend Coffee is building its functional coffee business

21-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Fusing together adaptogens with single-origin coffee, subscription-based Zend Coffee features functional coffee blends that support skin, cognitive, immunity and emotional health using responsibly sourced coffee beans – a blurred category that the company’s...

How is the food industry supporting childhood nutrition?

21-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

From infancy through to adolescence, nutrition is essential in ensuring a healthy body and mind for our youngsters. So how can this be achieved and what it the food industry doing to help parents?

Kraft Heinz, NotCo collaborate on plant-based Oscar Mayer hotdogs and sausages

20-Mar-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The joint venture’s recent launch, Oscar Mayer’s NotHotDogs and NotSausages, is an opportunity bring more consumers into the category “and achieve mainstream adoption by making the food more approachable and improving taste, texture, variety and availability,”...

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?