After an explosive start in late 2019 (it sold 200,000 cans in 36 hours on Black Friday via its website) LIFEAID has secured listings in 350 Vitamin Shoppe stores (in CBD-friendly states), Lucky’s Market in Colorado, and New Seasons for its new CBD-infused...
Don Lee Farms has filed a 3rd amended complaint vs Beyond Meat, accusing it of doctoring a food safety consultant’s report and sharing trade secrets with Don Lee's rivals to help them “actively solicit” to replace Don Lee as Beyond Meat’s co-manufacturer...
As the number of food accelerators and incubators has increased in recent years, the barrier for entry into the market has decreased – and while this makes launching a new product or company easier, it has made cutting through the competition and finding...
While a new cell-based meat company emerges from stealth mode almost every month, the amount of money invested in the embryonic sector to date pales in comparison to the megabucks poured into plant-based meat over the past couple of years. So is slaughter-free...
Plant-based food brand Alpha Foods has raised $28m in a funding round led by VC fund AccelFoods and supported by New Crop Capital, Green Monday and Blue Horizon, bringing its total funding to around $40m.
In a motion to dismiss a lawsuit* filed in California accusing it of selling ‘illegal’ CBD-infused products, PlusCBD Oil maker CV Sciences deploys multiple arguments: no one was harmed; plaintiffs lack standing to seek label changes; the case is pre-empted...
Social media users are likely to eat more fruit and vegetables as well as junk food if they think their online peers are doing the same, a new study reports.
Readers of The Guardian’s recent report on pollinating California’s almond crop (‘Like sending bees to war: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession’) were left with a clear message: honey bees are dying en masse, and almond growers luring them...
While 42 out of the top 100 US restaurant chains still don’t offer a plant-based entrée, new data from NPD Group commissioned by the Good Food Institute (GFI) shows US shipments of plant-based meat from major broadline foodservice distributors to restaurant...
The FDA has promised to provide more clarity over CBD “in the coming weeks.” But how should brands navigate the regulatory minefield in the meantime, and what options does the agency have?
Stevia supplier PureCircle has unveiled a new management team following a probe into accounting irregularities that has delayed the publication of its full-year results and prompted a suspension of its shares.
The Natural Products Association has attempted to get out ahead of a potential issue for the industry by asking federal authorities to monitor dietary supplement companies claiming to treat coronavirus infections.
US retail sales of olive oil slumped 7.1% in December 2019 vs December 2018 as tariffs on imported packaged Spanish olive oil imposed as part of the Airbus dispute prompted a significant drop-off in promotional activity, Nielsen data* shows. Unit sales...
Emboldened by a recent court ruling in Florida that stayed a CBD-related class action on primary jurisdiction grounds (ie. putting the case on ice until the FDA weighs in), multiple brands hit with similar lawsuits are now pushing for stays and referencing...
Giving the first clear signal that cell-based meat is moving out of the laboratory and into the market, Memphis Meats has unveiled plans to build a pilot production facility after raising $161m – a sum greater than the amount invested to date in all of...
Entrepreneurs just starting out may think they can use all the help they can get, but as the CEO of the produce delivery service Hungry Harvest learned the hard way, hiring the wrong staff to help in the short term can be more detrimental in the long...
Following a lengthy investigation to determine who is behind STONEY PATCH (THC-infused candies sold in packaging that bears a striking resemblance to kids’ candy brand SOUR PATCH) Mondelēz Canada Inc. has named four defendants in a trademark infringement...
An analysis of recent warning letters underscores the notion that FDA is focused its enforcement efforts on CBD, and is not targeting hemp extracts per se.
Packed lunches from home have typically been considered the healthier alternative to meals provided by the school cafeteria, but a recent study found that bringing lunch from home doesn’t always mean a child is eating a nutritionally-balanced meal.
Ben & Jerry’s (old) packaging states that it uses “milk & cream from happy cows,” acknowledges the company in a motion to dismiss a high-profile false advertising lawsuit over animal welfare. But it “doesn’t use the word ‘exclusively’.”
KIND is reducing calorie counts on its nut bars to reflect USDA research suggesting that traditional methods for calculating energy have "grossly miscalculated" the metabolizable energy from whole nuts, the core ingredients in its snacks.
As we enter the next decade, consumers will continue to wield the power they took from food and beverage brands during the last ten years to drive increased transparency, sustainability and social responsibility, predicts one leading market analyst and...
CBD is the fastest-growing category in supplements and bodycare in Fresh Thyme Farmers Market stores, increasing average basket spend in the category and attracting new shoppers, says the Midwest retailer. However, sales growth is slowing as the category...
The consumer awakening and subsequent loss of faith in big business over the past 10 years caught many established food and beverage companies on their backfoot, but a leading market analyst and communications expert predicts the tide will shift again...
Type ‘Kraft Heinz procurement’ into Google and the search engine helpfully suggests ‘scandal,’ ‘misconduct’ and ‘investigation,’ serving as a reminder that the buying function at one of the world’s most iconic food companies had something of an annus...
Increased production of key crops from China, Argentina and Brazil may have weakened US agriculture’s competitive position over the last 10 years, but rapid innovation in ag-tech in the new decade could help American farmers regain a pole-position by...
A coalition of doctors, academics, and American consumers called the Low-Carb Action Network (LCAN) is urging US nutrition leaders to include a low-carb diet as part of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).
Kroger has started trialing dedicated three-foot plant-based meat sets within its conventional meat department in 60 stores in Denver, Indiana and Illinois in partnership with the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA).
The hemp-derived CBD market is growing rapidly, although many CPG brands and retailers are waiting for clarity from the FDA on the regulatory path forward for cannabidiol before piling in, but what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this...
With a new suite of dairy and non-dairy yogurt innovations unveiled last week and set to launch in 2020, Danone North America plans to build on the success it saw in the past decade, during which it captured a third of market share to become the category...
New research from strategic marketing and communications Charleston|Orwig firm suggests that younger consumers are open to the idea of cell-cultured meat, and milk and ice cream made from microbes rather than cows, even when they are described with far-from-neutral...
With a pile of FDA warnings letters closely followed by a wave of class action lawsuits, the debate over how the FDA should regulate hemp-derived CBD is heating up, with some arguing that high-dose, high-purity isolated cannabinoids belong in drugs, while...
While iconic brands currently are losing the tug-of-war with niche startups for consumer engagement and spending, how they continue to play the game in the next ten years will dictate whether they regain ground or become obsolete, according to senior...
From plant-powered snacks to low and no alcohol beverages, New York-based Comax Flavors highlights four hot trends likely to influence food and beverage development in 2020.
Appealing to a growing audience of flexitarians who are striving to introduce more plant-based foods into their diets requires different brand communication strategies than when engaging with vegetarians and vegans, according to Mintel.
From 'smoothie balls' packed with cacao fruit pulp to chickpea-fueled grain-free cereal, new food products are hitting the market every week. But which emerging trends have real staying power and what really interests VCs and strategic investors?...
We know the plant-based alternatives trend is strong with adult consumers, but what about kids? Linkage Research & Consulting sees an immense untapped opportunity in plant-based food and drink products targeted towards kids.
The grocery retail landscape is hyper competitive with conventional and discount retailers stocking organic and natural options, yet Whole Foods Market continues to push the envelope in terms of product quality, particularly in the area of sustainability...
A majority (84%) of food and beverage industry professionals surveyed by Mazars USA Food & Beverage Group expect sales growth in 2020 driven by growing consumer interest in private label and free-from products, while many are interested in entering...
While penning 15 warning letters about CBD in one day (more than the FDA has sent in three years) attracted a lot of media attention, does it signal a change in enforcement priorities for the agency, which has repeatedly warned that cannabidiol is not...
If you didn't make it to Chicago last week for the FoodNavigator-USA FOOD FOR KIDS summit, you missed an inspirational ensemble of industry experts, pediatricians, consumer health advocates, Chicago parents, market researchers and brand strategists,...
The high fat, moderate protein and ultra-low carb keto diet is likely to remain the top diet trend of 2020, followed by intermittent fasting and clean eating, according to a poll of 1,259 registered dietitians conducted by marketing and PR agency Pollock...
When it comes to the health of the planet and social wellbeing of the population, consumers feel they have less of an impact as an individual and that large companies and government organizations have a bigger role to play, according to new research from...
With emerging research showing that the diet of pregnant women and children under the age of 2 years can have a powerful impact on children’s brain development and future health, the upcoming recommendations for the 2020 Dietary Guidelines will, for the...
Three months after Tillamook was accused of misleading shoppers with bucolic images of cows grazing on local small farms when most of its milk allegedly comes from industrial-scale factory farms, Ben & Jerry’s has been sued in a similar suit that...
Upton’s Naturals and the Plant Based Foods Association have dropped a lawsuit* challenging legislation banning plant-based foods sold in Mississippi from using ‘meaty’ terms on labels, after the law was revised to allow them to use such terms with qualifiers...
Foodservice operators bored of textured soy protein for meat-free tacos, filled pasta, bruschetta and other dishes are experimenting with a new plant-based meat alternative from walnuts that "mimics the taste and texture of ground beef," says...
A federal bill that would require plant-based and cell-cultured meat products to be labeled as ‘imitation’ meat has been welcomed by beef producers and slammed by plant-based meat advocates, as the row over terminology in the burgeoning space heats up.
A series of ads attacking the next generation of plant-based burgers as ‘ultra-processed’ products ‘hiding’ scary unpronounceable ingredients is a crude attempt by a “dark-money front group funded by Big Beef to mislead consumers and push propaganda,”...
