McDonalds, Panera and other high profile food service companies took notable steps last year to introduce “healthier” chicken products, but frozen poultry product producer Hip Chick Farms thinks more can done and it is stepping up the plate to push change...
As animal welfare concerns become increasingly mainstream, farmers and manufacturers, such as the natural and organic meat brand Applegate, are optimistically rethinking the scale of and their approach to humanely raised animal agriculture.
Barnana carved out virgin territory in the healthy snacks segment with its chewy banana bites, but will its new banana brittle prove equally groundbreaking? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with chief marketing officer Nik Ingersoll at the Expo West show to...
Synthetic biology, or GMO 2.0 as some are calling it, has vastly more penetration in the marketplace than was previously believed. That’s the takeaway from the assembly of the first list of such ingredients.
An electric vehicle uses a very different propulsion system to the internal combustion engine, but it also has four wheels, and gets you from A to B, which to most consumers, makes it a 'car.' So isn't it time to apply the same logic to...
Meat and dairy often get a bad rap on the sustainability front, but not all animal production systems have the same impact on the planet, says EPIC Provisions co-founder Taylor Collins, who reckons that “the next big movement in food is coming in the...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
When KRAVE burst onto the scene in 2010, its all-natural credentials, premium packaging and gourmet flavors gave it a unique point of difference in the sluggish meat snacks market. Since then, however, scores of new entrants have started muscling in on...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
If pulse-based snacks (made with beans, peas, chickpeas, or lentils) were seen as niche, ‘natural,’ products a few years ago, they are firmly in the mainstream in 2017, says the CEO of one firm on a mission to make beans “accessible, delicious and affordable.”
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Cauliflower rice is now available in the frozen and chilled sections of some retailers, but British brand Cauli-Rice is hoping to carve out new territory in the emerging category with a shelf-stable, microwaveable product with a more ‘al dente’ texture...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
That’s It fruit bars were an immediate hit, but will the brand’s new veggie bars – which combine black beans with veggies such as peas, carrots, kale, and corn – be a tougher sell?
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Dahlicious – a brand best-known for its cultured dairy product, lassi – is moving into new territory this year with the launch of almondmilk-based yogurt and kefir.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
In regular water, hydrogen is bound to oxygen (H2O) making it "difficult for our bodies to enjoy the [antioxidant/anti-inflammatory] benefits of hydrogen," claims the company behind Hfactor, which contends that dissolving hydrogen gas into water...
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Rhythm Superfoods has just closed a $6m financing round led by Gen Mills' 301 INC arm. But what will it spend the money on? FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine Watson caught up with CEO Scott Jensen at the Winter Fancy Food Show to find out.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Cold soup in a bottle is still a novelty for many Americans, but the concept of ‘souping’ (as opposed to ‘juicing’) is gaining traction, particularly for consumers watching their sugar intake, claims Sonoma Brands founder Jon Sebastiani.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA AT THE 2017 WINTER FANCY FOOD SHOW
Labeling conventions in plant-based ‘dairy’ are a hot topic right now, with two leading players (Almond Breeze and Silk) hit with false advertising lawsuits this week, and a Senate Bill urging the FDA to enforce standards of identity for milk, cheese...
Consumer interest in healthy eating is at an all-time high, and in many ways food and beverage manufacturers are rising to meet this demand by cutting calories from across their portfolios and offering more better-for-you options -- but the Center for...
Large companies are buying up smaller brands here and there, yet the size of these brands are often the reason they get a following in the first place. We chat with some of this year’s FoodVision USA attendees to see how they think consumers react to...
Give peas a chance? It's tough breaking into the ultra-competitive snacks market with a brand that resonates across all retail channels, but Hippeas - one of three winners in this year's trailblazers challenge at Food Vision USA - has managed...
Launching a new brand in the ready-to-drink tea market is not for the faint-hearted, but Shaka Tea - one of three winners in this year's trailblazers challenge at Food Vision USA - has unique attributes that set it apart from the competition, says...
Afineur – one of three winners in this year's trailblazers challenge at Food Vision USA – reckons microbes can transform the flavor and nutrition of a host of agricultural products, starting with coffee.
The Beyond Burger – the first refrigerated plant-based patty to sit in the meat counter – will move into all Whole Foods regions by the end of the year, while brand owner Beyond Meat is also in talks with foodservice chains interested in testing or launching...
Modern Americans expect much more from food companies today than they did in the past -- now not only do they want food that is better for them, but they want products that also are better for society and the planet.
Many ‘legacy’ food and beverage brands are losing market share because they have “lost touch with where the consumer is going,” delegates at Food Vision USA were told.
From robotic hands on rails above your worktop that will make your dinner, and then clean up afterwards, to a suite of wifi-connected devices for stress-free meal planning and cooking, technology seems set to transform our kitchens. But what about restaurants,...
'The fundamentals of good nutrition actually haven’t changed for decades'
“I don’t know what to eat anymore because the ‘experts’ keep changing their minds about what’s good for me…” It’s a common refrain, and a convenient one if you’re trying to justify a lousy diet, says one leading nutrition researcher. But it’s also plain...
New Harvest: ‘You’d be better off driving a hummer to a vegan dinner than taking your Tesla to a BBQ'
Unlike nut- or legume-based ‘milk’ brands, Berkeley-based Perfect Day is actually making the real thing, minus the cows. But how is it doing it, and will consumers buy into its product as a greener, more ethical alternative to dairy-milk or dismiss it...
World Food Processing is branching out from pea protein to offering a line of whole pulse ingredients aimed at helping food manufacturers achieve fortification targets.
WILD Flavors & Specialty Ingredients (WFSI), part of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), is tapping into the vegan market with its protein power drinks and Clarisoy dessert toppings.
Israeli ingredient supplier Frutarom Health has launched a line of extracts that offer fortification possibilities for food and beverage manufacturers.
When most Americans think of cottage cheese – if they think about it – images of 1950s-styles salads with syrupy fruit or uninspired scoops of lumpy white mush likely come to mind. But industry newcomer Good Culture wants to “bring cottage cheese back”...
Hardly a week goes by without a large food company snapping up an innovative food or beverage company or someone investing millions in a promising young brand – but for every entrepreneur who secures sufficient funds to scale, many more struggle to be...
Usually urban legends are little more than myths. But every once and awhile there is a nugget of truth behind them, as in the case of athletes drinking pickle brine to prevent cramps and speed recovery.
On the heels of President Barack Obama signing into law a federal bill requiring the disclosure of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on packaged food and beverage products, we at Beverage Daily and FoodNavigator-USA asked consumers at a downtown Chicago...
The gluten free market in the US remains hot, but as the category becomes more crowded, manufacturers must offer products with added appeal to stay competitive – such as a protein boost from pulses or an added dose of fiber and flavor with ancient grains,...
TerraVia – formerly known as Solazyme – has been telling reporters (and investors) that algae is the next big thing in food for years. But when will it really start to change the game?
An energy bar, jam, and even gelato—these aren’t food items often associated with pulses and legumes. But undergraduates, graduates, and professionals showcased that pulses are capable of far much more than we give them credit for.
While fiber hasn’t quite reached the same superstar status as protein, consumer interest in the ingredient is rising rapidly as they look for ways to manage their weight while still enjoying food and beverages with high quality taste and familiar mouthfeel.
Manufacturers have been ‘cleaning up’ food labels for years, but the pressure to oust 'unpronounceable' ingredients has now become so great that important vitamins and minerals (which often have chemical-sounding names) are also being ditched...
Most Americans consume more than 1.5 times the daily recommended cap for sodium – a staggering figure that prompted FDA to draft voluntary guidance earlier this summer for the food and beverage industry to drastically cut sodium levels in their products...
Milled whole cricket powder is probably the best known bug-derived food ingredient aside from red food color carmine. But what other delights might edible insects yield for food formulators? Elaine Watson caught up with bug enthusiast Dr George Cavender...
Consumers increasingly are seeking products that they are simple, with ingredients that they can pronounce, benefits that thy understand and minimal processing, but as a leading Mintel analyst noted at IFT’s Food Expo in Chicago “simple” isn’t always...
Is food marketing awash with bad science? If so, who is to blame?
There was plenty of handwringing at the IFT show this year about the lack of scientific literacy characterizing the debate around food and farming, backed up by scores of press clippings about ‘franken-foods.’ But is the media solely to blame, and what’s...
Cutting milk proteins apart has been all the rage in recent years. But Benoit Turpin of Milk Specialities Global said the market is now starting to come around to the idea that Mother Nature did a pretty good job with the original protein and using it...
Consumers walking down the dairy aisle at a typical grocery store see a wide variety of cheese formats – from blocks to bricks to strings to shakers – but now there is a new format that could revolutionize the way consumers use cheese.
Matcha and turmeric continue to rise in popularity as consumers and manufacturers embrace the ancient ingredients for their health benefits, unique flavor profiles and brilliant colors.
In declaring 2016 the year of the pulse, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN issued a call to action to increase the consumption and popularity of legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans which are under used in the US.
On the menu for this edition of Taste Test Friday is a blind sampling of a classic American-Italian meal: pasta with Bolognese sauce – but with a twist.
