The consumer awakening and subsequent loss of faith in big business over the past 10 years caught many established food and beverage companies on their backfoot, but a leading market analyst and communications expert predicts the tide will shift again...
The buzz around fresh, healthy and sustainable eating is so intense it is easy to think that everyone now eats this way – but the reality is the premium prices and extra time often needed to prepare these on-trend items place them out of reach of millions...
The National School Lunch Program serves approximately 4.9 billion meals a year to children nationwide, and for many recipients it is their only source of nutrition, and yet, according to a new book by Jennifer Gaddis, the program is chronically underfunded...
Despite consumer demand for new eating experiences, we currently rely on only 1% of edible plants and a whopping 60% of our calories come from just four crops – a disjoint that experts say represents a missed marketing opportunity and a threat to the...
With emerging research showing that the diet of pregnant women and children under the age of 2 years can have a powerful impact on children’s brain development and future health, the upcoming recommendations for the 2020 Dietary Guidelines will, for the...
As an influential early-adopter of the incubator model that has spread throughout the CPG food and beverage industry in recent years, Chobani continues to push the boundaries of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by fine-tuning its program and recruitment...
Earlier this week, more than 10,000 registered dietitians, nutritionists, nutrition science researchers, policy makers, healthcare providers and industry leaders descended on Philadelphia to learn about and discuss key health issues facing Americans at...
More than 45 million Americans suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome – the same number who use online dating apps and have student loans – only unlike people looking for love or struggling with debt, those suffering from gastrointestinal discomfort predominately...
Whether training for a marathon, raising a family, cutting calories, driving or a multitude of other reasons, more Americans are cutting back or avoiding alcohol – creating demand for healthier alternatives beyond sparkling water or sugary sodas and juices.
Even as food and beverage brands are starting to look more closely at Gen Z shoppers to determine what they want and what makes them tick, many are still struggling to pinpoint how best to engage with millennials who Goldman Sachs has dubbed “the most...
Once the stuff of science fiction or far-flung futuristic dreams, the ability to eat juicy sausages, fish fillets or a sizzling steak without having to first slaughter an animal is rapidly becoming a reality as the cultured-meat and -seafood industries...
Hemp and CBD continued to reign as one of the top food and beverage trends at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore last week, just as they did at the event’s counterpart Expo West last March – but also just like at West they were far from the only...
Ready or not, Gen Z, is upon us with the oldest members of this cohort about to turn 21 and move out on their own and the younger ones holding increasingly more sway over what ends up in their families’ grocery carts.
As consumers become more comfortable buying groceries online they are becoming less tolerant of imperfections in e-commerce platforms and of insufficient product information – effectively raising the bar for retailers and brands to offer a seamless ordering...
As the dog days of summer drag on, people nationwide are reaching for frozen desserts to help stay cool, but unlike in the past when the promise of providing a moment’s respite from the heat in the form of a sweet treat was enough to land a product in...
To beat of the competition or determine whether a new product idea will succeed, food and beverage companies need to stay ahead of consumers quickly changing whims – a task that has never been easy, but which is becoming more difficult as shoppers take...
The US Dietary Guidelines, which are updated every five years, were created more than 40 years ago as a way to help all Americans eat healthier based on current scientific data, but since its inception a large and vulnerable group has been left out –...
Given that only 2% of food and beverage sales currently are generated online and that shipping perishable, fragile and heavy CPGs can take a substantial bite out of already tight margins, it may be tempting to skip ecommerce.
Venture capital funding flooding the food and beverage industries in recent years has helped grease the wheels for many startups, but according to one investor a significant funding gap between pre-seed and subsequent early growth-stage rounds is holding...
Starting or running a business is undeniably hard – for everyone. Even if someone appears to be strolling down easy street, chances are they still wake up panicked in the middle of the night, check their work email on their phones in the bathroom and...
While online purchases of food and beverage currently account for only a small fraction of the categories’ total sales, consumers are embracing online grocery shopping at an exponential rate – making it a channel where industry players need to be for...
At IFT earlier this month, banana fosters flavor was everywhere – on popcorn, in cookies, even in coffee – but according to the ingredient company Virginia Dare its star power status at the show wasn’t just because it is a traditional dish of the conference’s...
When large food companies began cutting back on in-house R&D in favor of investing in startups’ with promising ideas, some either didn’t factor in or miscalculated the resources and time needed to scale-up their acquisitions before seeing returns...
As the line begins to blur between food and beverage, consumers are looking for more than just hydration from their drinks – they also want function, but according to market research firm Mintel figuring out which benefits resonate with which consumers...
The CBD market is exploding with the ingredient popping up in everything from bars to beverages to confections and everything in between – driving up sales to more than $200 million in 2018 by conservative estimates and an expected $3.8 billion by 2025,...
Members of the Organic Trade Association converged in Washington, DC, last week to celebrate the segment’s continuous improvement, and to brainstorm with each other and legislators potential solutions to ongoing challenges facing the industry.
Despite what your parents told you growing up – looks matter – especially for food and beverage products in the current era of Instagram where more than 500 million people around the world check their photo feeds daily and 68% of Millennials photograph...
While the rapid growth of the plant-based market in the US initially may have been fueled by demand for alternatives to animal-protein and -dairy, the trend is quickly evolving as consumers’ tastes become more sophisticated and they begin to embrace plants...
The exponential growth of non-dairy milk sales and variety in the US, in many ways has been a harbinger for the overall plant-based movement, but as demand for the beverages continues to rise – so too are consumers’ standards, which could prompt a shake-out...
Attracted to recent high-dollar acquisitions, consumer demand for healthy and sustainable options, and the opportunities created by a diversifying retail landscape, the number of investors flocking to the food and beverage industry continues to grow exponentially...
While the vast majority of Americans still buy their groceries in supermarkets or at supercenters, their loyalty should not be taken for granted as other stores – including limited assortment, club, specialty and even farmers markets – are stepping up...
Blockchain technology may be best known for its ability to securely move crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin around the word, but the technology can do much more -- especially in the food and beverage industries.
By 2050, the Earth’s population is predicted to reach upwards of 10 billion people who will require significantly more food than is produced today, which many predict is not feasible without drastic changes in the way food is produced, transported and...
In recent years, the healthy eating trend had expanded dramatically beyond a fad for the few to gain a stronghold with mainstream shoppers, but produce is still at a significant disadvantage when it comes to capturing the attention of children and teenagers...
With annual retail sales of cold brew coffee estimated at more than $29 million in 2017 and predicted to grow to $170 million by the end of 2025, it is easy to see why at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim earlier this month so many new players were...
CBD far and away stole the show as the hot new ingredient at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim last week, but it wasn’t the only notable trend with promising market potential or significant recent development.
With newcomers launching practically every day in the food and beverage industry, the pressure is on for legacy brands to up their innovation game – and according to industry giant Unilever the best way to do this is to start with modern consumers’ core...
Whether through multi-million dollar investments in startups or high dollar mergers and acquisitions of larger, established companies, the food and beverage industry currently is being flooded with funding, and with it many opportunities as well as challenges.
For many food and beverage brands, their product packaging is their first – if not only – touchpoint with consumers, and yet all too often companies treat it as an afterthought or as little more than a protective exterior for what is inside.
Shoppers increasingly are making purchasing decisions based on how sustainable they perceive a product, brand or manufacturer to be, but as recently published research from Nielsen notes the consumers’ definition of sustainability is amorphous – making...
In the last month, the food and beverage industry rallied around the hundreds of thousands of people whose paychecks were unexpectedly stopped during the partial government shutdown, but even though government is back up and running, for now, more than...
After taking a slight hit in 2017 compared to 2016, consumer satisfaction with the food and beverage industry rebounded in 2018 as companies delivered innovative products that both surprised and delighted consumers and met their demands for healthy options.
The idea that a plant-based diet could improve the health of people and the planet was once niche, but is rapidly gaining mainstream momentum with two pivotal developments this week, including an endorsement by the high profile EAT-Lancet Commission and...
While there will always be a place in consumers’ hearts – and cups – for freshly brewed classic teas such as English breakfast and tisans like chamomile, shoppers increasingly are looking for premium, innovative options and formats that allow them to...
The food and beverage industries are undergoing a massive renaissance with fresh ideas continuously entering the market, but with a dismal failure rate for new CPGs of upwards of 85% in the first two years, it can be difficult to identify from the outset...
When meal kits first launched in the US, Americans were fast to embrace the idea of pre-planned, pre-portioned, ready-to-prepare dinners delivered to their doors, but according to new research from Packaged Facts that love quickly faded for many who became...
For years, Millennials have held the spotlight as the main focus for product development and marketing efforts, but members of Gen Z are now ready in the wings and manufacturers are starting to shift some attention to them before they come into their...
It has been ten years since the last recession first shook Americans’ confidence and caused them to pull their purse strings tighter, but according to industry insiders, consumers finally are feeling more comfortable spending again – which is good news...
The beverage industry is booming with Grand View Research predicting that sales will grow at a 5.8% compound annual rate from $967.3 billion in 2016 through 2025 thanks to rising disposable incomes, a growing population and changing lifestyles centered...
