I worked for five years as a USDA-contract organic inspector after growing up on an organic grain farm in Saskatchewan. I had the pleasure of inspecting over 500 organic farms and processors, but I began questioning this career path when I realized the...
Caffeinated chocolate firm Awake Chocolate wants to up distribution among US college students and eventually bring the brand to 'forward-thinking' Europe.
Danone's US 'yogurt with toppers' business YoCrunch has teamed up with Kellogg's to combine the latter's most popular breakfast cereal brands with Greek and traditional yogurt.
Greek yogurt takes on the freezer aisle, Gen Mills rethinks instant oatmeal, the grab-and-go craze continues, and more… Check out the latest and greatest food and beverage products hitting store shelves with FoodNavigator-USA’s new products roundup.
US retail sales of organic products grew 11.5% to $35.1bn in 2013, the strongest growth the industry has seen in five years, according to new data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which is predicting even higher growth of 12% this year.
Big interview: Craig Lieberman, founder & CEO, 34 Degrees
When Craig Lieberman flew to Sydney to study for a Master’s Degree in International Relations in the mid-1990s, his goal was to be a diplomat. But not long after he arrived, the idea for another, very different, career started to take shape.
The US plant-based milk category grew 20% in the last quarter driven by continued growth in almond milk - sales of which were up more than 50% year-on-year, says WhiteWave Foods.
There are significant opportunities to grow the Rudi’s Organic Bakery brand, both through increasing distribution and taking it into new categories, says its new owner, Hain Celestial.
Microwave popcorn was a childhood favorite snack of Kristy Lewis; though her nostalgia turned to disillusionment when as an adult she learned that the chemical-, hydrogenated oil-laden formula hadn’t evolved alongside her growing awareness.
As anti-GMO activists celebrated their first major victory in Vermont this week with the passage of GMO labeling bill H112, the GMA said it would mount a legal challenge within weeks. But while big food companies may well win the courtroom battle ahead,...
While some analysts still need convincing that the much-anticipated Keurig Cold at-home carbonation system will revolutionize the soft drinks market, Keurig Green Mountain CEO Brian Kelley says he has no doubt it will prove to be “disruptive” technology.
The FDA’s “flawed” 2009 draft guidance on ‘evaporated cane juice’ has put food manufacturers and retailers between a rock and a hard place when deciding what to put on their labels, says a group of leading manufacturers.
Snack giant Snyder's-Lance is to buy Wisconsin-based Baptista's Bakery and sell its private brands business as its re-shapes its portfolio to focus on branded products and expand its capabilities in premium and better-for-you snacks.
Mondelēz International - the snack food business that spun off from Kraft in 2012 - is to merge its coffee portfolio with that of D.E Master Blenders 1753 to create “the world's leading pure-play coffee company”.
84% of US consumers buy organic food sometimes, and 45% of them buy it at least once a month, according to a new national survey of 1,016 adults. However, there is a disparity between what they think the organic seal means and what they think it should...
Big interview: Noha Waibsnaider, founder & CEO, Peeled Snacks
Armed with an MBA from Columbia University, a great contacts book, and a keen understanding of the CPG market after a two-year stint working at Unilever, Noha Waibsnaider was probably better equipped than most to face the challenges ahead when she launched...
Every year, Whole Foods Market - the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods - celebrates the suppliers that best “embody its mission and core values”. The chain, which was founded in 1980 and now operates 370+ stores generating revenues...
Kashi has lost some distribution in the past 12-18 months, but brand owner Kellogg says it will prove to consumers that Kashi is still a pioneer in the field of ‘progressive nutrition’.
A judge has certified a class of consumers accusing Twinings North America of misbranding its teas as a ‘natural source of antioxidants’, but said they cannot seek monetary damages because they have not come up with a viable legal theory for how to calculate...
An Abbott Laboratories shareholder proposal to label genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in its Similac infant formula range received about 5% of the vote, and has been rejected by the company.
If the size of the US gluten-free market is hard to pin down as everyone measures it differently, few doubt that its double-digit growth seems set to continue - at least for the next 2-3 years - according to experts at the FoodNavigator-USA Gluten Free...
Want to learn more about the gluten-free market? Click HERE to tune into FoodNavigator’s online forum to learn about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the size of the gluten-free prize, who buys gluten-free products, and why.
Amid a spate of direct-to-consumer subscription snack launches, the founders of NatureBox say the power of their model lies in keeping all products under the NatureBox brand and the company’s use of data to create the ultimate customer service experience.
Organic yogurt giant Stonyfield is recalling cups of its YoBaby brand yogurt from 122 stores across the US over fears the products may be contaminated with coliform bacteria.
Battlefield experience in Afghanistan gave Marine Corps Maj. Robert Dyer a good idea of what he wanted in a supplement. And surving the stress of being a forward air controller in the combat zone helped him weather the stress of launching a new supplement...
General Mills found itself at the center of a bad PR storm this month after a seemingly routine change to its online legal terms to include an arbitration clause. Food & beverage attorney Ron Levine talked with FoodNavigator-USA on the good and bad...
Consumers are confused about what evaporated cane juice (ECJ) is, but the FDA’s preferred term - ‘dried cane syrup’ - is not much better, according to one of the first groups to respond to the agency’s new request for comments on ECJ.
'WE'LL NEVER GIVE UP ON HAWAIIAN PUNCH' - CEO LARRY YOUNG ROARS
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) CEO Larry Young insists his firm will ‘never give up’ on Hawaiian Punch after one financial analyst suggested that the brand might be a busted flush.
Food and consumer goods giant Unilever has hinted at the sale of brands including Ragu and SlimFast as growth from its food business struggles to compete with better-than-expected Q1 results in other divisions.
Greek yogurt maker Chobani has secured a $750m investment from private equity firm TPG Capital and its dedicated credit platform TPG Opportunities Partners to help fund its expansion and innovation plans.
In the latest edition of FoodNavigator-USA’s What do you do? series, we talked with head of the technical services, nutrition and regulatory departments at hummus manufacturing giant Sabra about the growing collaboration between human nutrition and food...
A bill requiring foods produced with genetic engineering be labeled in Vermont has passed the house and the senate, and now just needs Governor Peter Shumlin’s signature to be signed into law. However, legal experts say a First Amendment challenge could...
When formulating sports nutrition products for women, is the concept to merely give them a little bit less of what you’d give a presumably much heavier man under similar circumstances? Or are a female athlete’s needs subtly different? No one really knows,...
Dollar sales of diet soda plunged 9.5% in the four weeks to April 12, while sales of regular soda fared hardly any better (- 2.4%), as Americans sought out other options from energy drinks (+8.9%) to sparkling water (+24.5%), according to the latest Nielsen...
Exclusive interview: Pat Crowley, director and founder of Chapul
As one of the forerunners of the commercialization of edible insects in the US, Chapul, makes its first big push into the national market with its cricket protein bars, founder Pat Crowley caught up with FoodNavigator-USA on the enviable efficiency of...
The questions posed by Supreme Court Justices during oral arguments in a false advertising case brought by POM Wonderful against Coca Cola were nothing short of “astonishing”, according to one food law attorney that has been closely following the case.
Hillshire Brands has struck a $165m deal to buy frozen breakfast and snack foods maker Van's Natural Foods from private equity firm Catterton Partners.
Longtime friends and film and television industry colleagues Matt McKee and Melissa Reed’s plans for a locally sourced juice bar in downtown Los Angeles morphed into a beverage company whose flagship product is ready-to-drink prickly pear cactus water...
POM Wonderful and Coca-Cola both got a grilling at the Supreme Court on Monday as they traded blows in a false advertising case, but while the justices seemed to give Coke a tougher time, this doesn’t necessarily mean POM is going to emerge victorious,...
Private label specialist TreeHouse Foods has struck a CAD $170m (c. US $150m) deal to acquire Protenergy Natural Foods, a leading manufacturer of broth, soups and gravies, from Whitecastle Investments Limited, Whitecap Venture Partners and others.
Chobani has unveiled a raft of new products that will start hitting shelves this summer, including Chobani Oats - yogurt mixed with fruit and oats; Chobani Indulgent - its first desserts; and Chobani Kids - snack packs for kids.
It’s not quite as dramatic as the Oscar Pistorius trial, but in the world of food law, a false advertising case brought by POM Wonderful against rival Coca-Cola is being followed just as closely. And all eyes will be on the Supreme Court on Monday, when...
