More than 450 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees traveled to the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Indianapolis last week for one of the first in-person food and beverage tradeshows since the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020 to showcase two years of product innovations...
While the pandemic shined a light on the role of diet and nutrition in health and wellness, it also revealed that most consumers don’t have a firm – or even loose – idea of what constitutes healthy – underscoring a need for more research and better education...
After years of slow but steady declines, juice sales in the US are rebounding in a trend that may have originated with consumers seeking wellness-enhancing products and moments of intentional indulgence during the pandemic, but which industry insiders,...
Consumers are awakening to the idea that their dietary choices impact climate change, and while some already consider environmental sustainability when selecting products many more say they would if they had more information – creating a unique marketing...
The long-awaited end of the pandemic may be nearing in the US as vaccine distribution expands and new government guidance rolls back some mask and social distancing requirements, but for the CPG industry, some of the challenges that arose and accelerated...
While the pandemic has helped fuel a business boom for much of packaged food and beverage industry, not everyone in the sector has benefited – with women and female-run small businesses in particular taking a hard hit that could have devastating long-term...
After a surge of consumer trust in the food and beverage industry during the early days of the pandemic when stakeholders risked their health to keep store shelves stocked and supply chains moving, consumer trust in the industry globally fell a staggering...
Taste and smell are fundamental to how consumers experience food and beverages, but most tools for understanding and measuring these senses – including a highly trained human nose – are subjective, imprecise, and expensive making it difficult to cost-effectively...
After being demonized for decades and hitting a 30-year low in 2019, per capita flour consumption is on the rise again thanks in part to consumers’ increasingly sophisticated understanding of diet and health and their duel desire to fill their plates...
Years before the coronavirus pandemic shined a harsh light on the fragility of long, global supply chains dominated by a handful of multinational companies, Kim Bryden founded Cureate to connect local food and beverage manufactures with large institutional...
The coronavirus outbreak fundamentally changed how food and beverage brands are connecting with consumers – from abruptly halting live sampling and in-store promotions to altering the types of messaging consumers want to hear.
Even as more Americans are vaccinated and some local economies begin to reopen, recent consumer research suggests many of the shopping changes consumers adopted during the pandemic are here to stay, including a heightened focus on safety, financial health...
Since the pandemic began, food insecurity in America has increased exponentially, and stakeholders across the value chain are stepping up to provide relief, including Simply Organic, which is giving $150,000 to five organizations that not only help put...
To mark International Women’s Day today, March 8, organizers are asking participants to “choose to challenge” and call out gender bias and inequality with the hope that from challenge will come change – something that women entrepreneurs desperately need...
Before the pandemic, few Americans prepared lamb and those who did tended to reserve it for special occasions, but shortages of traditional proteins last spring pushed more people to try it for the first time, and now, nearly a year later sales of lamb...
Upcycled foods and beverages made from ingredients traditionally not consumed by people are gaining popularity with consumers seeking more sustainable diets – creating a fast-growing market opportunity estimated to be worth more than $46 billion, which...
Whether or not you believe in climate change or the food industry’s contribution to the greenhouse gasses wrapping the earth and changing weather patterns, plenty of consumers do, and they increasingly are buying products based on their environmental...
Even though the coronavirus vaccine is slowly, albeit a bit unsteadily, rolling out, a recently published survey of dietitians predicts Americans in 2021 will continue to seek protection from COVID-19 and its rapidly spreading variants from food and beverages...
In the next 12 to 18 months, cultivated meat could become available to the masses, according to some industry players raising funds to scale production of technological and scientific advances that will allow for lower production costs and a lower consumer...
Despite lingering uncertainty about the pandemic’s economic impact and the stickiness of new consumer habits developed in response to COVID-19 safety measures, new research from Deloitte finds most consumer product industry executives are optimistic about...
Consumer and regulatory pressure is mounting once again for the CPG industry to cut back on the use of single-use plastics, Styrofoam, and other non-recyclable packaging despite a temporary reprieve during the pandemic when safety and hygiene fears outweighed...
For many Americans in 2020, pouring a stiff drink at the end of the day – or in the middle of it – was less about socializing with friends and more about coping with the chaos of the pandemic, and while many of the challenges from last year remain – research...
Between the pandemic, wildfires, economic losses and a contentious presidential election, 2020 was a year for the books – and as tempting as it may be to turn the page with the new year and not look back, one marketing expert and applied anthropologist...
As eager as many people are to shut the door on 2020, concerns about the coronavirus will follow us into the new year and continue to influence food and beverage preferences, predict trend spotters with Symrise, who forecast an increase in demand for...
Even as the animal protein sector nears $3 trillion dollars, it is falling short of demand while simultaneously straining limited resources – a problem that will compound in the next 20 years as the global wealth and the population grows, according to...
Without the physical constraints of brick and mortar stores, e-commerce offers retailers an opportunity to appeal to more than just mainstream shoppers by diversifying their assortment to attract niche consumers who often will spend more for specialized...
This week Americans will kick off the winter holiday season with a Thanksgiving like no other in recent memory as the ongoing pandemic forces many people to eschew typical large gatherings in favor of smaller solo or household affairs – a change that...
While snacking was on the rise long before the coronavirus outbreak, new research from Mondelēz International shows the pandemic has turbo-charged the trend – spurring more people to snack more often, but for entirely different reasons than they did before...
When the coronavirus first shuttered schools and threatened more than 22 million children’s access to the free and reduced breakfast, lunch and snacks, on which they relied for nutrition, PepsiCo’s Food For Good joined other non-profits, government agencies,...
As consumers settle into pandemic-living and establish new shopping and cooking habits, they increasingly are looking for more than nutritional sustenance from food and beverage products – they also want a deeper, emotional connection that one branding...
Farmers and ranchers have long grappled alone with “extreme and episodic” events that have threatened their ability to meet demand, but according to one food and ag non-profit the added strain of the pandemic has illustrated the need for stakeholders...
Cooking inspiration and education are emerging as powerful marketing tools for food and beverage brands and retailers as consumers who are tired of preparing the same-old, same-old at home for the past seven months of the pandemic look for new recipes,...
Frustrated that many of the underlying health conditions that increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 disproportionately impact black, indigenous and people of color, the founder of Uplifting Results Lab wants to help close the race-related health disparity...
Over the last two weeks of September, members of the Organic Trade Association met virtually with 30 legislators on both sides of the aisle from 19 states to advocate for policies that they say will help all farmers mitigate and adapt to climate change,...
With last week’s launch of the community building and mentoring organization Project Potluck, three food and beverage industry executives hope to improve access and diversity in the CPG industry by tackling fundraising limitations, networking gaps and...
At six months into the pandemic, we are well-past the frantic pantry stocking days that left many store shelves bare, and yet, the broad product selection available in stores before the coronavirus outbreak has not returned – prompting questions about...
Last Friday marked six months since the coronavirus pandemic was declared, which for many Americans means six months of either risking exposure to go to work as essential employees or six months of working remotely from a repurposed kitchen table or other...
As many schools negotiate how to teach children safely during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they also must navigate how to feed them – a challenge that will require creativity and cooperation from regulators, legislators, and school nutrition professionals...
After years of declining sales, dairy milk is on the rise again thanks in part to the coronavirus driving a resurgence of baking, cooking and eating at home, but to keep the momentum going during and after the pandemic, industry stakeholders are reviving...
An unexpected partnership between one of the largest dairy cooperatives in America and a technology powerhouse that is more often associated with cubical farms than actual farms is taking on some of the biggest threats to the US food system to help farmers...
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s recent recommendations that children under 2 years avoid all added sugar to ensure they consume the nutrients they need without excessive caloric intake may not go far enough to drive a significant change in...
As Americans continue to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, they increasingly are living vicariously through social media influencers, many of whom have yet to raise their advertising rates to reflect their higher engagement – making them a...
As consumers settle into living with the threat of the coronavirus and better understand their grocery needs while staying at home, their priorities inevitably will shift from panic purchasing any and all products to stocking their pantries more selectively...
While the coronavirus has hit hard the food and beverage industry over the past four months, players across the supply chain have worked closely with federal agencies and the government to improve manufacturing processes and temporarily ease what the...
While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has exposed many vulnerabilities and inequities in the current food system, ranging from supply chain fragility to worker safety, it also is opening minds – and doors – to promising sustainability solutions brought...
For emerging brands or companies with unfamiliar products that relied on chefs to introduce their food or beverages to mainstream consumers, the shuttering of restaurants during the pandemic has been especially devasting, but, according to the co-founder...
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has reshaped virtually every aspect of American’s lives, including what, when and how we eat, according to research from the flavor, ingredient and color company Flavorchem, which found our emotions are influencing our...
Even though Andrew Abraham has helped millions of people live healthier, more vibrant lives first as a medical doctor and then for the past 12 years as the founder of the organic protein shake and bar brand Orgain, he wanted to help more consumers learn...
Supply chain snags, consumer stockpiling and retailers reprioritizing what to stock during the initial phases of the coronavirus pandemic meant many consumers had to go without their favorite brands and switch to available alternatives, but according...
