The day when any entrepreneur decides to sell his business is “always bittersweet” KRAVE jerky founder Jon Sebastiani tells FoodNavigator-USA. But joining a company with the horsepower of Hershey will enable it to lead, rather than follow, the renaissance...
You can make money out of online grocery shopping if you have a scalable business model, a targeted range of high quality fresh foods, and the tools to help you build meaningful relationships with consumers, says Door to Door Organics, which has proved...
Hershey has moved into the premium end of the meat snacking market with the acquisition of Sonoma, CA-based gourmet jerky maker KRAVE Pure Foods for an undisclosed sum.
PepsiCo is rolling out its mid-calorie cola Pepsi True at selected retailers in Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. following a soft launch on Amazon to assess demand.
More consumers are seeking healthy foods and beverages at convenience stores, creating an opportunity in a previously often overlooked channel for manufacturers of these products to expand their reach, according to new market research from Technomic.
Will Pepsi True & Coca-Cola Life revitalize the cola market, or are today’s more demanding and sophisticated consumers looking for more than refreshment and ‘no-artificial’ claims from their beverage calories these days?
Latest trends on beverages, gluten-free, clean-label, snacks
From the perils of putting ‘all-natural’ on your label to what beverage execs really think about plummeting sales of diet soda, FoodNavigator-USA’s online discussion forums and face to face events tackle some of the hottest topics in food and beverage,...
Thanks to traditional plant breeding techniques, a fourth generation farmer in Kentucky is successfully growing chia in the U.S. for the first time – creating a new valuable crop opportunity for farmers and a reliable, traceable – and local – supply of...
Capsules containing catechins from tea may ‘moderately’ boost microvascular function in healthy adults, says a new study from Unilever that supports the circulatory benefits of black tea.
From Hain Celestial’s coconut dream desserts to Field Roast’s innovative vegan cheese slices, this month’s new products gallery is packed with innovative new food and beverage products.
Post Holdings is to buy rival MOM Brands in a $1.15bn cash and stock deal that will solidify its position as #3 in the US ready-to-eat cereal category (behind Kellogg and General Mills) and boost its presence in bagged and hot cereal.
Researchers from the University of Groningen and Wrigley say that sugar-free chewing gum can trap and remove bacteria from the mouth that are responsible for oral disease such as caries.
Business plays a crucial role in meeting sustainable development goals – but it should not lead the social agenda, according to Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke, speaking at the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos.
Attempts to use mediation to resolve a lawsuit alleging that Heinz stole the idea for its Dip & Squeeze ketchup packs have failed, with the case now likely to go to trial.
PepsiCo brand Mountain Dew Kickstart tells us its two new flavor lines with higher juice content, coconut water and slightly less caffeine are targeted at a core ‘cross cultural millennial male’ consumer.
The meat jerky industry is growing steadily thanks to innovative flavors, new all-natural options and an intentional repositioning of the food as a source of healthy, lean protein, market research from IBISWorld reports.
While uncharitable observers have described Soylent as “only slightly more appealing than an IV bag”, news that the LA-based food substitute firm has just secured $20m in funding and is now generating “millions of dollars per month in subscription revenues”...
Frito-Lay’s upcoming sweet cinnamon snack Cheetos Sweetos will help the company latch on to a younger consumer base interested in sweet snacking, says Euromonitor International.
Modeling patterns or processes found in nature (think of solar cells inspired by a leaf) is a hot trend in industrial design, but could biomimicry be used to create a better food system?
Innovative packaging can really help smaller brands punch above their weight. But which food & beverage companies have really nailed it from a design perspective? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Blake Mitchell, partner at food and beverage brand...
Barry Callebaut says it has developed a thermo-tolerant chocolate that can withstand four degrees more heat than a standard chocolate recipe without compromising on taste.
There is room for new players in the burgeoning super-premium juice category, but the barriers to entry are pretty high, says San Diego-based Suja Juice, which exploded onto the scene in 2012, generated revenues of $18m in 2013, $45m in 2014 and is forecasting...
Technology is reshaping how consumers discover, evaluate and select food – creating dichotomies to which manufacturers must adapt their marketing and product positioning, a recently released white paper evaluating consumer trends in 2015 by Euromonitor...
Private label penetration rates have not budged since 2011
Dollar sales of foods and beverages edged up a modest 2.1% to $470bn in the US retail market in 2014, but unit sales (an indication of volumes) were pretty flat (up just 0.9%), according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI.
Field Roast Grain Meat Co. expands its portfolio into the retail vegan cheese category with the Jan. 1 launch of Chao Slices, which it claims are “revolutionary” because they do not try to mimic dairy cheese like other players in the segment.
Acai Roots hopes its new fruit bar will entice back to the frozen dessert aisle consumers who have given the category the cold shoulder in recent years because they perceive it as filled with unhealthy treats.
Are Americans falling out of love with Greek yogurt? No, says Three Happy Cows director of marketing Brian Twomey. But growth is slowing and space allocation in some stores is shrinking, so brands that want to stay on shelf need to “identify the white...
A Vancouver startup believes it’s on the brink of exploding into mainstream success with its 40 winks coffee – a coffee blended with a herbal sedative, allowing it to be drunk as an evening or bedtime drink.
Minor changes in how packaged foods are presented could help them reclaim sales lost when consumers began favoring fresh and less-processed foods that they perceive as healthier and closer to nature, according to a wellness trend expert.
The rising popularity of drinking vinegar available in a wide variety of bold flavors could give soda a run for some of its money by tapping into consumer interest in sugar reduction.
With buyers from Whole Foods, Kroger, KeHE, Compass Group, Dean & DeLuca and hundreds of other retailers and foodservice chains walking the floor looking for innovative new products, the Winter Fancy Food Show has helped to launch scores of high-profile...
Positive health claims, such as those touting the benefits of a food, diet or quality, more effectively motivate the general public than negative or fear-based claims that attempt to scare people into action, according to a recently published study in...
The crowdfunding website Kickstarter helped the beverage company Genki-Su raise nearly twice as much money as necessary to pay for the first round of bottling for its concentrated Japanese drinking vinegar, but company co-founder Judy Tan acknowledged...
What are the hottest trends in snacks? Sprouted grains? Baked popcorn? Gourmet jerky? Join Elaine Watson from FoodNavigator-USA on a snacking odyssey at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco to find out more about...
What’s the first thing you notice about Dust Cutter lemonade? Chances are, it’s the packaging. Unlike its rivals in the premium lemonade arena (Hubert’s, Cabana Natural, Calypso), Dust Cutter comes in an aluminum bottle, which has been pivotal to its...
Entrepreneurs need to stay healthy in order to ensure the long-term success and health of their start-up, advises a top executive at TumericALIVE, a young beverage company dedicated to making elixirs packed with turmeric to rejuvenate, restore and re-energize...
US sales of ready to eat popcorn grew 25% to an estimated $750m in 2014
“Tired brands and off-trend categories should take inspiration from the astonishing turnaround in the fortunes of popcorn,” according to a new report from Rabobank International, which reveals that US sales of the bagged, pre-popped, ready-to-eat (RTE)...
Peeled Snacks: If you don’t take time to understand retail buyers, why should they take time to understand you?
Which retail channel is right for your brand? Natural? Club? Convenience? And once you’ve jumped through all the buyers’ hoops, will you still be able to make any money? It all depends on whether you’ve done your homework, one snacking sales expert told...
Companies hoping to appeal to consumers interested in the heart health benefits of dark chocolate now have another marketing tool at their disposal: the percentage of cocoa labeled on their bars.
New consumers continue to enter the organic category for the first time, but the health halo cast by the US Department of Agriculture’s certification is dimming as it becomes more mainstream and as shoppers’ interpretation of the standard evolves.
Understanding how products' sensory characteristics and packaging both individually and synergistically provoke emotions in consumers can help manufacturers to design and optimise products, say researchers.
Despite popular resolutions to eat healthier, manufacturers do not need to fear a drop in sales of less healthy foods at the start of the New Year compared to during the holidays when many people indulge, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE.
Monster & Red Bull among brands attacked for 'declining to commit to restrict marketing to under 18s'
