Shoppers at Sprouts Farmers Market may be putting fewer items in their cart per visit to manage their budgets as inflation drives up prices but what they are buying tends to be higher margin grab-and-go items illustrating the need for convenience as on-the-go...
Hain Celestial is cautiously optimistic that the “macro environment is beginning to stabilize” and expects “modest sequential improvement in total company profit performance” in fiscal 2023 after better-than-expected sales in North America that softened...
While the high-single to double-digit drop in plant-based meat sales over the past year has prompted significant handwringing among investors, retailers and other stakeholders, category front-runner Impossible Foods is neither surprised about the segment’s...
Executives at private label specialist TreeHouse Foods are optimistic about the future after several rocky quarters as it celebrates the “strategic milestone” of divesting its meal prep business early last month that will allow it to focus on its more...
Ingredion has completed one-third of its planned $160m capital investment into expanding capacity for its clean label specialty starches to improve its operational flexibility amid ongoing supply chain disruptions.
While consumer spending on groceries has yet to dramatically slow in the face of rising prices to offset inflation, some CPG companies – including Hershey – are bracing for an eventual pushback, even as they continue to pass additional costs through to...
Despite efforts to brand fruit ‘as nature’s candy,’ celebrity endorsements by the likes of Jessica Alba designed to make vegetables ‘sexy,’ and many retailers selling fresh produce at a loss to improve access and drive foot traffic – the vast majority...
Kellogg’s plant-based business “remains in good condition with excellent prospects” despite plummeting sales and ongoing supply chain struggles that represent the only “softness” in the company’s otherwise strong third-quarter earnings report released...
The chocolate major is ‘redesigning’ how it farms, ferments, and roasts cocoa beans to develop a range of chocolate. We ask Bas Smit, Vice-President, Global Marketing and R&D, how the company is putting ‘cocoa first, sugar last’.
'Molecular farming’ startup IngredientWerks has developed corn varieties that express everything from casein proteins to meaty-tasting heme proteins, in an approach it claims is more efficient than precision fermentation for producing ingredients...
At a time when American voters seem more divided than ever on key political issues, they are coming together around the need for a simpler, more effective recycling system to reduce their environmental footprint – a sentiment that supports regulatory...
Food tech startup Better Juice has opened its first full-scale manufacturing plant to enable commercial production of its patented sugar reduction technology, which can reduce sugar content in juice products by 30-80%.
Contrary to the growing chorus of critics pigeonholing ultra-processed packaged food as innately unhealthy for people and the planet, a group of food system and nutrition experts gathered by Clif Bar & Co. argue some could play a “crucial” role in...
IFF has unveiled SUPRO TEX, a shelf-stable textured protein made via low-moisture extrusion claimed to deliver “a texture to meat alternatives close to what a high moisture extruded product is able to deliver,” at a significantly lower cost.
While sales of plant-based products across the board continue to slide, consumer data from Evergi shows at least one segment is bucking the trend – frozen meals and bowls – an area into which the fast-growing vegan brand Strong Roots is eagerly expanding...
San Diego-based cell-cultured seafood company BlueNalu has set up a scientific advisory board bringing together experts in consumer research, sensory science, product development, bio-engineering, and systems biology to accelerate its commercialization...
While the industry waits to see if the $24.6bn mega merger of Kroger and Albertsons will hold up against scrutiny from regulators, brands and suppliers are also standing by to see what the consolidation of the second-largest and fourth-largest US supermarket...
Sustainability has rapidly evolved from a check box exercise for many food companies to something that impacts decision making throughout the supply chain. But how are firms measuring sustainability, how reliable is industry data in this respect, and...
Will a large percentage of flavors, colors and sweeteners be made in bioreactors by 2050 or are the costs and challenges associated with precision fermentation technology such that it only makes sense to produce a handful of high-value ingredients in...
Mondelēz International is investing an additional $600m by 2030 in its cocoa sustainability program, Cocoa Life, for a total investment of $1bn since the start of the program 10 years ago.
Solein, Solar Foods’ protein grown with CO2 and electricity, has received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Commercial launch is planned for 2024, CEO and co-founder Pasi Vainikka tells FoodNavigator.
Biotech company Brightseed has launched Brightseed Bio 01 – a novel bioactive-enriched, A.I.-powered dietary fiber sourced from hemp hulls that promotes gut health in food and beverage applications.
As regular readers of FoodNavigator-USA have likely noticed, we're making changes to the way our readers access some of our news content. After reading two articles, all users will be asked to register with the site for free to keep track of important...
The 45 startups selected to participate in the FoodBytes! By Rabobank food and ag innovation program in 2022 provide a neat snapshot into trending topics in food and agriculture, from personalized nutrition and upcycling to robotics and farm biologics.
Terviva – a California-based firm commercializing ingredients from low-input, high-yielding pongamia trees – has teamed up with food ingredient supplier Ciranda to launch the first commercial supplies of ‘Ponova’ oil by mid-2023.
Monk fruit, a high-intensity sweetener, is gaining popularity across premium applications as a clean-label alternative that blends well with others. While it costs more than stevia, tech innovations may bring prices down.
Between the supply chain challenges and product shortages that marked the beginning of the pandemic and rising food prices due to inflation continuing to push some products out of consumers’ financial reach, many Americans are being forced to try new...
Researchers are calling on clinicians and the healthcare system to screen for food insecurity and better promote food access programs after discovering that Americans with limited or uncertain access to adequate food is on the rise and they are more likely...
The long-term imperative behind reducing our reliance on animal agriculture seems fairly compelling: The planet can’t sustain it. But with less engaged consumers dipping in and then out of the meat alternatives category as budgets tighten, and a subsegment...
The Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) has launched a new consortium of industry and nonprofit members to support research and development in the burgeoning field of cellular agriculture.
To keep pantries stocked and food on the table – especially during the upcoming holidays – more Americans are cutting back on spending in other areas and modifying how they buy groceries as well as the types and amount of products they place in their...
Seen as the economical and convenient option for preparing meals at home during the height of the pandemic, the affordability of frozen food has slipped with the average per unit price up 17% vs. one year ago. But consumers still believe it provides good...
Nourish Ingredients – one of a new breed of startups deploying synthetic biology to program microbes to produce more animal-like fats - has raised $28.6m in a series A round led by Horizons Ventures and supported by Main Sequence Ventures and Hostplus...
Willow Biosciences – one of a clutch of biotech firms producing cannabinoids via biosynthesis rather than extraction – has started strain optimization and process development for commercial production of astaxanthin from yeast using a downstream processing...
Kraft Heinz is making progress towards several of its environmental and sustainability goals including cutting the amount of waste sent to landfill by 15% in 2021 and converting 84% of its global packaging portfolio to fully recyclable materials.
Organic sales continue to reach unprecedented highs as consumers gravitate to options they perceive as healthier for them and the planet, but the segment faces significant headwinds that are slowing growth and will demand ongoing flexibility, innovation...
Sustainability may be a rising priority influencing consumer purchases, but optimistic projections that 2022 would be the year of the ‘climatarian’ appear to be a bit premature – giving brands and retailers more time to improve and finetune their positioning...
Supermarket giant Kroger is merging with Albertsons Companies Inc. (Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco), bolstering its position as the second largest food retailer in the US with an estimated 11.8% market share behind Walmart at 17.1%.
Childhood hunger is a serious problem in the US, so at first blush it may appear flippant that General Mills created a full-sized slide that extends from a giant cereal box into a bowl of heart-shaped Cheerio pillows to raise awareness and funds for the...
PepsiCo continues to raise the prices of its snacks and beverages with confidence despite some handwringing by analysts about whether elasticities, which remain at historic lows, soon will begin to give as inflation continues to squeeze consumers across...
Indoor farming company Revol Greens is doubling its romaine lettuce production footprint by 2023, supported by its recent expansion at its Texas growing facility, making it the largest greenhouse lettuce grower in North America.
Givaudan has developed a ‘radical approach’ that it says can assist efforts to reduce the amount of sugar in products: ‘holistic profiling’. FoodNavigator hears more about how this new technique represents a departure from conventional approaches to cutting...
Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have found eight new sweetness-enhancing compounds in 11 citrus cultivars that could offer improved palatability and lower sugar content in food and beverage...
Natural Products Expo East may not be as big as its West Coast counterpart, but the 18,500 registered attendees and more than 1,200 exhibitors who convened in Philadelphia earlier this month for the annual conference were just as enthusiastic and the...
Multiple rounds of pricing actions taken by Conagra over the past several quarters have not deterred consumers from buying the company's products, as it reports "limited" elasticities across its portfolio.
In its pursuit to become a top player in the grocery e-commerce space, Walmart has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire grocery automation firm, Alert Innovation.
While plant-based is still one of the hottest trends in food and beverage, sales and consumer engagement with alternative proteins have slid in recent quarters – prompting some players in the space to rethink their strategy.
A new review has found strong evidence for the efficacy of postbiotics, especially for use in the developing world where gastrointestinal complaints often have deadly outcomes.
The lower barrier for entry to market for startups and emerging brands created by the surge in online grocery shopping early in the pandemic is creeping back up as consumers increasingly return to brick-and-mortar stores for the bulk of their shopping...
