If many people feel that their vote won't make much difference given the sclerotic nature of the US Congress, a growing number of consumers believe they can exercise power and enact social change via their purchasing behavior, which has big implications...
Plant-based meal options are becoming more common at family dining tables this holiday season as 70% of households plan to have at least one plant-based dish on the table, according to results from a OnePoll survey commissioned by Eat Just, Inc.
What does a ‘healthy gut microbiome’ look like? And is an ‘unhealthy’ microbiome a corollary of poor health, or directly responsible for certain health conditions? If the latter is true, to what extent can we address these health problems by modulating...
The USDA is proposing to update rules allowing firms using celery salt or other natural sources of nitrates or nitrites, to make the claims ‘No Nitrate or Nitrite Added’ on labels (something they're not allowed to do if they use synthetic nitrites/nitrates)...
Postbiotics is a term we’ll likely be hearing a lot more of in 2021, predicts ADM, which says the fermentation byproducts - which don’t require refrigeration or special processing conditions to maintain their viability - make an attractive addition to...
While the food supply chain bent to accommodate weaknesses revealed and intensified by the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year, next time an unexpected threat arises the industry might not be so lucky unless it increases transparency and digitization...
Displaying health warnings on sugar-sweetened drinks could be an effective way of reducing consumption, suggest US researchers, who found a 14.5% decline in consumption among students when warning labels were displayed on drinks in a college cafeteria....
While the terms 'plant-based' and 'vegan' might appear to be interchangeable (they both exclude animal products), consumers do not view them in quite the same way, claims Foodchain ID, which has just launched separate 'vegan,'...
Research revealing how the starch structure of potato flakes impacts oil uptake during deep frying could enable snack makers to slash the fat content of Pringles-style potato chips by up to a third, say the authors of a new study.
Kraft Heinz is pulling back on innovation in favor of renovating well-established, iconic brands to which consumers have flocked during the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to maintain household penetration gains made in the last nine months of lockdowns,...
Faced with rising food prices and stagnant or reduced income during the pandemic, Americans are embracing a more DIY-approach to sourcing and cooking food to save money, and are less tolerant of waste that they believe could help feed the hungry, according...
Unilever is targeting annual sales of €1bn ($1.19bn - or around five times what it's selling today) from plant-based meat and dairy alternatives within five to seven years as part of a broader plan to make plant-based options more accessible, affordable...
As America continues to struggle with the fallout from widespread, prolonged systemic racism, including its impact on the food system, intentionally designed co-ops could provide a path forward for traditionally disenfranchised groups to improve access...
Children’s dietary patterns are mostly set by the time they turn 2 years old, which doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for indulging picky eaters if caregivers want their kids to grow up eating – and liking – a wide variety of healthy, nutrient-dense...
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, “anticipated recessionary spending behavior” such as increased spending on private label and value brands and a shift towards value channels, “hasn’t occurred to date,” claims IRI in a new report exploring the opportunity...
A new study that asserts that multivitamin use is based mostly on positive thinking and not on health outcomes has been criticized for structural limitations that contribute to unfounded conclusions.
Joe Biden’s presidential victory projected this weekend could open the door for the CPG industry to play a more dynamic role in America’s economic revival, including shaping new consumer protections and food safety measures, as well as pursue a more industry-friendly...
A weak performance in foodservice and slower than-expected growth at retail combined to deliver a modest 2.7% increase in Q3 revenues to $94.4m at Beyond Meat, a figure “lower than we expected,” CEO Ethan Brown told analysts Monday. However, he insisted...
Protein-fueled organic snack brand IWON Organics has raised $500k in a new funding round and is gearing up to launch a new product in 2021 that will take it into new territory, says founder and CEO Mark Samuel, who has just picked up some new distribution...
As illustrated by the diversity and record number of entrants to FoodNavigator-USA’s 2020 Food For Kids Trailblazers Challenge, innovation abounds in the children’s food and beverage segment, but funding and shelf space in stores – even digital ones –...
Brands’ acquisition and retention of new customers – and investors – increasingly hinges on their ability to provide experiences and a sense of community that can help relieve customers’ emotional strain due to limited contact with others during the drawn-out...
As consumers settle into pandemic-living and establish new shopping and cooking habits, they increasingly are looking for more than nutritional sustenance from food and beverage products – they also want a deeper, emotional connection that one branding...
Joining Nestlé - the world’s largest food company - will help prepared meal delivery service Freshly 'hit the gas pedal' and accelerate expansion plans as consumers becoming “a little exhausted” with cooking seek more convenient meal solutions,...
Proposed rules regulating the sale of ingestible products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids in New York have been hailed as “pragmatic” and “rational” by brands attempting to navigate the regulatory minefield in the absence of federal regulations.
Kids are drinking less milk and juice as they get older, but what are they drinking instead, and is it good for them? How do parents evaluate what types of drinks are good for kids? What are parents looking for on food labels?
Surging demand for organic by shoppers who continue to pay a premium for it over conventional is attracting more farmers to adopt the practice and convert more land, but total organic acreage remains stubbornly stuck at less than 1% -- suggesting an “urgent”...
Do children like oatmilk and Beyond Burgers? Research* shows that US families with children over-index for plant-based milk and yogurt sales and that parents of children under 18 are more likely to think that plant-based proteins are healthier than animal-based...
Influenced by feelings of stress and anxiety, shifting priorities caused by the ongoing pandemic, and changes in social connectivity, consumers are taking a more holistic and proactive approach to health and wellness, according to a new report from ADM....
After discovering a “staggering level of exposure” of fast food, candy, soda and other unhealthy branded foods and beverages on YouTube videos featuring and targeting young children, researchers from New York University are calling on the Federal Trade...
Farmers and ranchers have long grappled alone with “extreme and episodic” events that have threatened their ability to meet demand, but according to one food and ag non-profit the added strain of the pandemic has illustrated the need for stakeholders...
What will it take to make cell-cultured meat – growing animal cells outside of an animal to produce ‘real’ meat without slaughter – commercially viable on an industrial scale?
With oatmilk muscling ahead of soymilk to become the #2 player in the plant-based milk category, SunOpta is aggressively building capacity to meet growing demand, with a new oat extraction facility in Alexandria, Minnesota, due to come online in the fourth...
Cell cultured meat startups and conventional meat companies have written to USDA’s food safety and inspection service (FSIS) urging officials to gather more data before publishing a proposed rule on how cell-cultured meat and poultry products should be...
Impossible Foods is gearing up for market entry in Europe, China and Brazil; Beyond Meat is looking at “any and all plant-based protein sources” as it expands its ingredient toolbox; Meati Foods is preparing to launch fungi-based steaks, and Planterra...
Despite grocery retailer revenues rising amid increased consumer demand during the pandemic, higher costs associated with COVID-19 are squeezing already tight margins in a trend that FMI: The Food Industry Association warns likely will get worse before...
Tweens... aged between nine and 12, they're not young kids anymore, but they're not teens either, so how food and beverage brands reach them (and their parents/guardians), and what's the best way to engage with this age cohort via influencers...
How are parents coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in their households when it comes to feeding their kids? Has the extra time spent at home given families more opportunity to cook and experiment with new recipes, or has the anxiety left parents scrambling...
Despite broad efforts to reduce sugar, sodium, fat and excess calories in the American diet in recent years, childhood obesity continues to afflict one in seven 10- to 17-year-olds in the US, leaving them vulnerable not only to type II diabetes, high...
Where is the plant-based meat category heading, and how reliable are some of the predictions out there about how much this market could be worth over the next 10-15 years?
While many Americans embraced the creativity of cooking at home as a welcome distraction during the early days of the pandemic, six months of prepping multiple meals a day, seven days a week is taking a toll – prompting some consumers to look for more...
School closures – and tentative re-openings – have compounded stress levels for families, while COVID-19-induced economic anxiety is also straining household budgets. So how can food and beverage brands come up with enticing – but affordable – recipes,...
The authors of a 2019 report from RethinkX predicting that the US dairy and cattle industry would collapse by 2030 as microscopic microbial protein factories disrupt the food system as we know it were dismissed by some as living in a ‘vegan fantasyland.'...
With last week’s launch of the community building and mentoring organization Project Potluck, three food and beverage industry executives hope to improve access and diversity in the CPG industry by tackling fundraising limitations, networking gaps and...
US per capita peanut consumption has risen to an all-time high of 7.6 pounds in 2020, up 3.2% on 2019 driven in part by increased demand for peanut butter and at-home snacking as food consumption has shifted towards the home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Moving forward, Uncle Ben’s will be known as ‘Ben’s Original,’ says brand owner Mars Inc, which like several leading CPG players including PepsiCo (Aunt Jemima) and Conagra Brands (Mrs Butterworth’s), has been under pressure to address racial stereotypes...
US retail sales of refrigerated kombucha and other fermented beverages edged up 2.4% to $703.2m in measured channels* in the year to July 12, 2020, with dollar sales up 5.1% in the conventional (MULO) channel but down -6.1% in the natural channel, delegates...
At six months into the pandemic, we are well-past the frantic pantry stocking days that left many store shelves bare, and yet, the broad product selection available in stores before the coronavirus outbreak has not returned – prompting questions about...
