Drinkable organic soup brand Tio Gazpacho is gearing up for a significant expansion in 2017 as it starts to reap the benefits of partnerships with General Mills and Michelin-Starred Chef José Andrés, and prepares to launch a new, lower-priced line targeting...
Check out who’s moving onwards and upwards at Hershey, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Hormel Foods, Tyson, General Mills, Hain Celestial and Campbell Soup in FoodNavigator-USA’s latest round-up of new hires in food and beverage.
Personalized nutrition? Plant-based foods? Paleo diets? FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs and CEOs to find out what trends they will be monitoring in 2017 and why…
Donald Trump? GMO labeling? Raising money? FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs and CEOs to find out what is keeping them awake at night as they head into the New Year…
Is it legal for nut or other non-dairy based beverages sold in the US to describe themselves as ‘milk’ (almondmilk, cashewmilk, soymilk) on food labels?
Japanese onigiri - protein-filled sticky rice balls wrapped in crunchy seaweed – are gaining traction in US restaurants. But if yusō founder Sarah Sturtevant has her way, they could also give retailers convenient new savory options in their emerging refrigerated...
In the natural channel, says Good Karma CEO Doug Radi, plant-based options account for 25% of dollar sales of fluid ‘milk,’ but just 8% of yogurt sales. In the conventional channel, meanwhile, the figures are 8% and 1% respectively. “So if you close the...
Getting retailers to give up valuable space in the chiller for nutrition bars was a tough sell when Bill Keith first started knocking on doors in 2006. Today, Perfect Bars are the third best-selling snack bar in the natural channel, and their success...
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...
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...
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.
Interest in lifestyle medicine is exploding, but personalized nutrition and health companies need to keep the science ahead of the marketing, and customization needs to be within the context of strong evidence, says Dr David Katz.
Cold pressed watermelon juice brand WTRMLN WTR – which hit the headlines in May after Beyonce took a ‘meaningful stake’ – has notched up 300%+ growth in 2016 and is now in 15,000+ stores, says co-founder and creative director Jody Levy, who says fans...
Ripple – a pea-based ‘milk’ claimed to blow both dairy milk and plant-based alternatives out of the water in the taste, nutrition and sustainability stakes - appears to be living up to the hype, and is now available in 3,000 stores just nine months after...
From fruit- and herb-infused apple cider vinegar to bitter melon & green tea combos, and collagen-laced waters, new beverage concepts are hitting the market every week. But which emerging trends have real staying power and what really interests VCs...
General Mills has recalibrated its global organizational structure to, “support growth and drive greater efficiency by streamlining the company's leadership, maximizing global scale, and increasing operational agility.”
Most entrepreneurs are lucky if they strike CPG gold once. Jason Cohen has done it multiple times, and reckons he could be onto a winner again with Road Crew Crunch, a simple combination of chocolate, nuts, rice and pretzels he discovered on a family...
Massachusetts-based Tribe Mediterranean Foods, a subsidiary of Nestlé SA and the OSEM Group, has appointed John McGuckin as Chief Executive Officer of its U.S. operations. He will join the company on December 5.
‘Clean’ (a.k.a. cultured/lab-grown) meat pioneer Memphis Meats says it aims to have products in grocery stores by 2021, and says it is confident it will be able to mass produce meat in bioreactors at prices at parity, or below, that of meat from farm...
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...
US volume sales of products featuring a ‘grain-free’ claim surged 75.7% in the 52 weeks to July 30, 2016, according to Nielsen Wellness Track data,* with many retailers now carving out grain-free or ‘Paleo’ segments in everything from hot cereal and nutrition...
As part of Nestlé's 150th anniversary celebrations, FoodNavigator-USA editor Elaine Watson caught up with Nestlé USA chief procurement officer Patty Stroup to talk about how relations with dairy farmers are changing.
As widely rumored, two major players in the functional beverages space are to change hands, with PepsiCo to acquire KeVita for an undisclosed sum and Dr Pepper Snapple Group to acquire Bai Brands – in which it already has a small stake – for $1.7bn. And...
From terminology (do US consumers get the word ‘pulses’?), to positioning (what are the key selling points?), and how to deal with flatulence questions, the recent FoodNavigator-USA Pulse Innovation Forum covered a lot of ground. Here are some of the...
Kombucha and fermented beverages category grew 32% in year to October 2, says SPINS
According to SPINS data*, retail sales of refrigerated kombucha and fermented beverages** surged 32% to $375.4m (natural, specialty, conventional multi-outlet) in the year to October 2, but with household penetration still very low, there is still significant...
Ten years after launch, Oakland, CA-based Revolution Foods is on course to generate revenues of $130m in 2016, up 25% vs 2015, and expects to continue on the same trajectory in 2017 as more kids and families discover its “kid-inspired, chef-crafted” meals...
The food industry’s biggest guns have recently been engaged in some serious retail therapy, investing in a flurry of smaller, sexier brands and setting up venture arms to nurture them. And they’re not the only ones out shopping. Leonardo DiCaprio and...
If you didn't make it to Chicago last week for Food Vision USA 2016, you missed a truly awesome ensemble of industry experts covering everything from personalized nutrition, savory oats and plant-based foods to the existential angst of big food brands...
As the pulse trend continues to gain momentum in packaged foods, Detroit-based Banza is rolling out its chickpea pasta (penne and shells) nationwide at 1,700 Target stores after a successful trial in 315 outlets.
From ‘disastrous’ to ‘better trade deals.’ The prospect of a Trump presidency has provoked alarm and delight in equal measure. But substantial numbers of respondents to a FoodNavigator-USA survey also say that the President Elect has said so little about...
Eating involves smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight, which presents obvious challenges for anyone trying to simulate it in virtual reality. But what if you could enjoy a mind-blowing meal without eating a thing – or perhaps just a spoonful of something...
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...
DRINKmelon - the latest innovation from maple water brand DRINKmaple - is a new 100% juice made from one ingredient: organic watermelons. But did it impress members of Carpe Diem, an award-winning Santa Barbara-based a cappella singing group?
No one delivers the dynamic and compelling in-store experience that we do
Whole Foods is dropping its co-CEO structure, with John Mackey to take over as sole CEO at the end of the year, said the retailer, which posted a 2.6% decline in same store sales in the fourth-quarter and a 4.2% drop in traffic.
Personalized nutrition not just about 'DNA diets,' says CEO of Campbell Soup-backed start-up
Is personalized nutrition just an overpriced indulgence for affluent people that are already health conscious, or could Campbell Soup’s $32m bet on Habit – a nutrition and meal-delivery operation partnering with leading systems biologists – really transform...
Most Americans are pretty clueless about mung beans, but Crunchsters - a Boulder-based start-up determined to put them on the culinary map - reckons it’s only a matter of time before the protein- and fiber-packed beans become an essential part of every...
Most researchers agree that the prevalence of food allergies is increasing in the US. Yet the amount of money spent on finding out why is surprisingly low, says one food allergy expert.
From purveyors of ostrich meat and Kenyan purple tea to fruit- and vegetable-infused whey protein, lupini bean snacks and pizza crusts packed with veggies, the entrepreneurs entering our 2016 trailblazers challenge are at the cutting edge of food &...
We've just got into 1,700 Walmart stores with paleo, organic and gluten free meals
Most successful entrepreneurs combine limitless self-belief and a thick skin, says Beetnik Foods founder David Perkins, but they’re also human: “As a chef, I know everyone’s tastes differ, but this company is my baby, so if even one person has a bad experience...
San Francisco-based Leadbetter’s Bake Shop has stopped making English muffins, its flagship product, and changed its name to Better Bakeries as it focuses on building an allergy-friendly food manufacturing and co-packing business designed to bridge the...
The American Egg Board (AEB) engaged in “inappropriate conduct” in a bid to counter the threat of egg-free mayo maker Hampton Creek, although evidence to support more serious allegations of misconduct is lacking, concludes a review from USDA’s agricultural...
Theo Chocolate says one of the greatest challenges it faces as a company committed to a responsible and transparent supply chain is “greenwashing” in the premium chocolate category.
Pulses (beans, chickpeas, peas and lentils) are now appearing as added value ingredients in every part of the store, from chips and snacks to salads, soups, pastas, dips and baked goods. But where will they go next, and who is driving innovation, both...
Cauliflower is a nutrient powerhouse packed with vitamin C, K, B6, folate, potassium, and fiber… and it also makes a surprisingly good bread substitute, says Santa Barbara-based start-up Outer Aisle Gourmet, which has secured shelf space for its cruciferous...
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...
