Whole Foods Market’s newest store opened this week in the historic Walter Reed Parks in Washington, DC, as an anchor for the redeveloping neighborhood and a new opportunity for area startups hoping to break into the competitive food and beverage industry....
Litigation addiction is a real thing, but just as Prince Harry has scores to settle, so does Grillo’s Pickles, this time alleging that Patriot Pickle ‘stole’ their beloved proprietary recipes for a line of Whole Food-branded pickles.
Under a new CEO and with peak-pandemic receding farther into the background, the Consumer Brands Association is “going back to the future” to focus on core values that, while still priorities in recent years, took a backseat during the chaos of COVID...
Nearly 2,000 companies and 270 trade groups, including those representing grocers, convenience stores and other retailers that sell packaged food and beverages, are calling for the swift passage of legislation that could lower credit and debit card swipe...
Sustainability and future-proofing the food system
With between a quarter and a third of human caused greenhouse gas emissions linked to food production and climate change intensifying to a point that its impacting how, where and when key crops are grown, improving sustainability in the food system is...
Unit sales of plant-based dairy products are sliding even as dollar sales are up in most categories as inflation-related price hikes simultaneously cushion companies’ margins and discourage some consumers from trying new products and paying premium products....
Between consumer desire for a more sustainable food system, growing momentum behind extended producer responsibility legislation and – of course – a desire to do the right thing, many CPG manufacturers are exploring more environmentally friendly packaging....
While most consumers are willing to buy animal-free dairy made with precision-fermentation, a sizeable portion are either unsure or unwilling to try it – revealing a potential stumbling block that if left unaddressed could be just as damning for the nascent...
Sales of plant-based dairy, including milk, cheese and yogurt, continue to grow at a rapid clip despite challenging macroeconomic and market conditions, but units in some categories are dipping slightly, according to recently released SPINS data, raising...
Similar to previous partnerships between SweetLeaf and the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the collaboration intends to bring more visibility towards diabetes risk and management and provide actionable ways for people with diabetes to improve their...
The dreaded question of what to cook for dinner or what to eat next isn’t just challenging for consumers, it is high stakes for retailers, which risk shopper loyalty, lost sales, food waste and more if they predict the wrong answer and fail to stock the...
For the 1 billion people worldwide projected to be menopausal by 2025, very few options for symptom management beyond hormone replacement therapy and an emerging selection of dietary supplements exists – creating a massive untapped market opportunity...
Better for you snack brand Simple Mills is taking is mission and products beyond its initial “free from” roots to embrace a “for more” approach that not only skips artificial ingredients that consumers are avoiding but gives them more of what they want...
Even as cellular meat companies continue to clear regulatory, technical and scientific hurdles, the timeline for when their products will launch remains a moving target as emerging challenges – ranging from the banal to black swan events – threaten to...
Organic rice grower Lundberg Family Farms is on a mission to certify all of its organic rice as regenerative organic by 2027 to better meet growing consumer demand for sustainable food and to “leave the land better.”
Since Project Potluck was founded in 2020 to support people of color in the CPG industry, the landscape and conversation around diversity and inclusion has changed dramatically, but according to the grassroots group turned non-profit a lot remains to...
Alongside falling sales, volume and units, plant-based meat has slid into the trough of despair, also known as valley of disillusionment or sorrow, and while it is unclear if the category has hit bottom yet, many stakeholders already are looking for a...
Kellogg will keep its iconic plant-based MorningStar Farms brand as part of its global snacking company rather than spin it off as a standalone business or sell it – backtracking on an idea floated by the CPG last summer when it revealed plans to split...
Rabobank’s powerful matchmaking and once-exclusive innovation arm Foodbytes is opening access for all global startups, corporates and investors to its forward-looking insights, industry analysis and support for vetted emerging businesses with this week’s...
Unilever has named Royal FrieslandCampina boss Hein Schumacher as its new CEO. Could this mean that a spin-off of the group’s food businesses could be back on the menu? Or does Schumacher’s strong grounding in food and nutrition suggest the internal impetus...
With this month’s acquisitions of an additional domestic manufacturing facility and an FDA-registered packaging and blending facility, infant formula company ByHeart successfully consolidated its supply chain and significantly boosted its production capacity...
As frozen pierogi maker Mrs. T’s celebrates 70 years of tucking ‘the stuff you love’ into a soft pasta pockets shaped ‘like a smile,’ the founder’s son and now company president reflects on what it takes to not only survive but thrive for seven decades...
Calls for a single, clearly defined leader over FDA’s food program with direct lines of authority and adequate funding are intensifying from former and existing agency officials, including Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy Frank Yiannas who cited the...
Food industry leaders are calling for the fast passage of bipartisan legislation introduced yesterday that seeks to ease ongoing supply chain challenges stemming from the nation’s historic 80,000 truck driver shortage, which is delaying deliveries and...
Private labeler Westrock Coffee expects to triple its profitability over the next three years as it aggressively builds out its flavors, extractions and ingredients business and finishes renovating what will be its largest production facility following...
A new start-up incubator and investment platform from the team that helped KIND climb from concept to a $5b business with only $5m in primary investment is throwing out the tried-and-true playbooks for growing a brand in favor of focusing on the values...
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will step up oversight and enforcement of the production, handling and sale of organic products at the behest of industry and legislators who worry increasingly complex supply chains paired with the high price premiums...
After leading Filippo Berio to become the No. 1 brand for olive oil, pesto and vinegar in more than 20 countries across Central and Eastern Europe and in Russia, Dusan Kaljevic hopes to work his magic again in the US where this month he assumed the position...
Two Good – a low-sugar Greek yogurt with 2g sugar per cup launched by Danone in early 2019 - has been a leading contributor to dollar growth in the total yogurt category over the past three years, while a zero-sugar version of Light & Fit has also...
Unilever is steadily gaining market share, boosting sales in fast-growing categories, lowering the cost of experimentation and improving its consumer engagement by doing more with less, CEO Alan Jope touted during the company’s investor day last month....
While economists and investors celebrate a slowdown in overall inflation in the US, including for food at home, the price of some grocery staples continues to rise – most notably that for eggs, which increased a staggering 11.1% in December over November,...
Heyday Canning Co – a startup on a mission to disrupt the ‘tired’ canned food aisle – has secured authorizations at Whole Foods nationwide, a couple of months after debuting at Sprouts stores nationwide.
Despite concerns that high energy prices, supply chain and labor challenges, and geo-political strife will continue at least through the end of the year if not longer, many CPG executives remain optimistic about their companies’ performance, according...
Working from a foundational belief that the era of ‘disruption’ is dead, an industry veteran wants to usher in a new age in which start-ups focus on “adding to everything” with the launch of The Ryl Company and a line of ready-to-drink tea that offers...
San Diego-based Seminal Biosciences – one of a growing number of startups deploying precision fermentation to produce specialty fats – is aiming to get its first product, a cocoa butter alternative, to market next year in a dark chocolate bar, with additional...
Echoing a move he made while at Chobani when he took charge of a new ‘demand’ department, Impossible Foods president and CEO Peter McGuiness has hired CPG industry veteran Sherene Jagla as its first chief demand officer as part of a plan to integrate...
While consumer spending remained strong through the holidays despite rising prices, the new year may bring a new level of financial scrutiny as more Americans consider budget limitations and what is essential – altering when, how and where they shop and...
Multiple semi-finalists in the prestigious XPRIZE ‘Feed the Next Billion’ competition have pulled out following a rule change enacted mid-way through the process relating to title sponsor ASPIRE which contestants argue is “unrealistic for any venture-backed...
Massachusetts-based startup Superfrau is targeting the emerging functional soda category with a vitamin and mineral packed sparkling beverage made from one core ingredient: upcycled liquid whey from Greek yogurt production.
Within the $1.7 trillion spending bill signed by President Joe Biden late last week is a substantial increase in funding to boost food safety activities and “infrastructure investments” at FDA, including directions to “strongly consider” the Reagan-Udall...
While several firms are growing fungi in fermentation tanks to make meat analogs, Israeli startup Kinoko is ditching the stainless steel vessels, adding fungi strains to legumes and grains in stacked trays, and letting them work their magic in a solid...
While the plant-based meat category has experienced a recent slowdown in growth, demand for plant-based versions of traditional comfort foods is increasing, says cauliflower crust pizza pioneer CAULIPOWER, which has thus far weathered the inflationary...
After a scathing review published earlier this month by the Reagan-Udall Foundation criticized FDA for its scattered and inefficient approach to food safety and applied nutrition, the agency says it is committed to “building a world-class human foods...
New data from IRI and SPINS shows continued steep declines in sales of refrigerated meat alternatives but pockets of growth in frozen products and some plant-based milk, cheese, and yogurt subcategories, which do not all behave in the same way (spoiler...
Recognizing more Americans increasingly weigh products’ environmental impact when shopping, but that it is “impossible” for them to verify related marketing claims, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously this week to review formally its...
In part three of our gallery of highlights from FoodNavigator-USA's recent trip to Israel, we profile startups exploring everything from high-tech indoor vanilla cultivation to the manufacture of no-sugar-added snack bars using compression and ultrasonic...
Frustrated by “stubborn” double-digit inflation driving up prices of shelf stable groceries, Walmart is rethinking its approach to stocking the center of the store – potentially asking existing suppliers to creatively cut costs or risk reducing their...
In its recently released 2022 Compensation and Career Path Report, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) highlights that salaries are spiking among food science professionals but that inequities remain, and priorities are shifting despite job satisfaction.
In part two of our gallery of highlights from FoodNavigator-USA's recent trip to Israel, we profile startups exploring everything from upcycled yeast proteins and carob to antimicrobial proteins. Best viewed on a laptop!
