The NuVal shelf tag program – which assigned products a score of 1-100 based on their nutritional value – has been phased out. Good riddance, or do we need a system that attempts to provides consumers with at-a-glance information that helps them rapidly...
Dr Richardson: 'Strategic plans empower entrepreneurs to say ‘no’ to the wrong opportunities'
By Dr James Richardson, founder, Premium Growth Solutions
With retailers increasingly open to stocking premium products from emerging brands, and Amazon offering a great platform to help entrepreneurs reach a nationwide audience, it might seem like there's never been a better time to start a food &...
“Future generations may wonder why we took an iron trolley through cold aisles, dropped heavy boxes of soap powder into them, lifted them on conveyor belts, and then lifted them into the trunk of our car, every week!” says a new Bernstein report. But...
Albertsons’ deal to acquire meal kit company plated was a smart move for both parties, and will likely be the first of many strategic partnerships in the food ecommerce space as “brands are seeking out their dance partner before the music stops"...
Plant-based meats account for less than a quarter of 1% of meat sales in the US, while plant-based milks have gobbled up almost 10% of the fluid milk market, says the Good Food Institute (GFI). But why is this? Are they simply not cutting it, or is it...
An appeal has been filed challenging a federal judge’s recent decision to toss a high-profile lawsuit* over ‘100% natural’ claims on Quaker Oats products containing trace levels of the herbicide glyphosate.
Amazon moved quickly to add Whole Foods private label items to its Prime Now and Prime Pantry platforms post the acquisition, notching up sales of almost $500k in week one, but ran into inventory issues pretty rapidly after underestimating demand, says...
Does selling up mean selling out? Quite the opposite, says the co-founder of plant-based brand Sweet Earth, who says teaming up with the world’s biggest food company is one of the most effective ways of accelerating the kind of change many activists want...
Soda taxes in Philadelphia and other cities have “materially reduced our business,” Coca Cola EVP and president, North America Sandy Douglas, told delegates at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference in Boston this week: “It’s a complete disaster.”
Natural food colors: expensive, unstable, muted, and weird-tasting, right? Wrong, says Sensient Food Colors, which caught up with FoodNavigator-USA to address some common concerns about natural colors and highlight growth opportunities, from caramel color...
If consumers are to believe that the food industry is serious about transparency, highly refined oils and sweeteners derived from GM crops must be included in the new bioengineered food standard (the federal GMO labeling law), even if they are indistinguishable...
Dr William Dietz, director, the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, George Washington University
First, some sobering statistics* from the CDC: Almost one in five (17%) of Americans aged 2-19 are dealing with obesity, which affects 8.9% of 2-5-year-olds, 17.5% of 6-11-year-olds and 20.5% of 12-19-year-olds, and continues to disproportionately impact...
A federal judge has tossed a high-profile lawsuit accusing Quaker Oats of misleading shoppers with 100% natural claims on products containing trace levels of the herbicide glyphosate, but it may be too early for parent company PepsiCo to crack open the...
Amazon’s decision to tackle Whole Foods ‘whole paycheck’ moniker from day one with a wave of price cuts sends an immediate signal to rivals that “they are now dealing with a competitor that is not afraid to damage profits and margins if it creates long...
When it comes to food and nutrition, there are some ideas that we’ve accepted as common sense: Water is good. MSG is probably bad. Sodium in general isn’t great, but sea salt is a plus. Garlic is tasty. And what the heck is lecithin?
In another signal that traditional meat companies see cultured meat as an opportunity, rather than a threat, Cargill and other unnamed "food industry giants" have participated in a $17m funding round in clean meat firm Memphis Meats.
Cynics might argue that junk food is junk food, whether it comes in green-hued packaging and eschews artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, or not. Kidfresh co-founder and CEO Matt Cohen begs to differ.
Does the empty space in your food package serve a useful purpose? If not, you could be at the receiving end of a lawsuit over what is known in the trade as 'non functional slack fill.'
There has been a resurgence in ‘all-natural’ litigation in 2017 as the industry has waited in vain for the FDA to provide a definition of the much-maligned term. However, a line item in an appropriations bill might spur the agency into action, say attorneys...
Bringing sales, marketing, insights, product innovation and commercial finance under one new ‘demand’ department will help break down silos and make Chobani even more responsive to customers and consumers, the firm’s new chief marketing and commercial...
Back in 2011, it looked as if augmented reality (AR) might become as ubiquitous as the barcode on food packaging as marketers sought new ways to entice consumers with more immersive experiences.
Much of the punditry immediately following the Amazon/Whole Foods announcement focused on how the tie up might impact Whole Foods stores. Will they become test beds for Amazon Go-style technology and fulfilment centers for Amazon's broader grocery...
The FDA – which has continued to maintain radio silence over plant-based ‘milk’ labeling despite mounting frustration from stakeholders – should clarify its position in the face of increasing commercial, legal and political pressure, says the Good Food...
"Early signs suggest Dr Pepper Snapple Group's acquisition of Bai may not generate sufficient returns to justify its rich [$1.7bn] price tag," says Wells Fargo in a note published ahead of the soft drinks giant's Q2 results - due out...
From why Facebook is a great way to garner consumer insights on a budget, to why inviting chefs to your focus group could help invigorate and speed up your innovation process, FoodNavigator-USA’s Food Innovation Forum covered a lot of ground. Here are...
“Lidl will be a very real threat for small scale grocers that lack differentiation or operational efficiencies," predict analysts at Bernstein. However, its success in the US “is by no means a foregone conclusion,” they caution.
Is Lidl’s ‘Preferred Selection’ private label “confusingly similar” to Kroger’s ‘Private Selection’? Or is Kroger’s recent trademark infringement lawsuit against Lidl merely an opportunistic bid to derail a rival’s US market entry?
Amazon's increased penetration into the grocery sphere will mean computer wizards, molecular biologists and sustainability experts will be developing ultra-intelligent grocerants of the future, predicts 'supermarket guru' Phil Lempert.
Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands have a tough road ahead with the boom in grocerants, but they can survive with some clever collaboration and product re-thinks, says 'supermarket guru' Phil Lempert.
By Jay W. Connolly, Edward F. Maluf and Owen Wolfe, attorneys, Seyfarth Shaw
One of the hottest topics in the food, beverage and dietary supplement industries, for both producers and advertisers, remains the disclosure of genetically modified organisms, or ‘GMOs,’ in these products.
By Charlie Arnot, CEO, The Center for Food Integrity
If you care about GMO labeling, you only have a few more days to respond to USDA's 30 questions* about how to implement the new law. The looming deadline is both a stark reminder of the controversy around GMOs that brought the food industry to this...
The Amazon/Whole Foods deal has “absolutely rattled food retailing and CPG markets in a way I have never seen in my life,” says the founder of organic meal-kit company Green Chef, who says he has been approached by multiple ‘strategic’ suitors as the...
LIFEWTR on track to generate $200m in retail sales on annualized basis
As the lines between channels continue to blur and sales increasingly shift to untracked channels, CPG companies will have to think about growth opportunities in a more holistic manner, the CEO of PepsiCo told analysts and investors this week.
Which ingredients should be classified as dietary fibers and why? Elaine Watson caught up with Dr Dennis Gordon from North Dakota State University (NDSU) at the IFT show in Las Vegas as the FDA considers petitions from suppliers of everything from inulin...
With unemployment rates approaching 14% after two years of recession, Brazil’s economy is projected to grow by less than 0.5% in 2017, while the president has become embroiled in a corruption scandal some commentators fear could endanger an economic recovery....
To many consumers, ‘processed food’ is just another term for ‘junk food.’ It’s hard to define, but we know it when we see it (Twinkies). But do we know a ‘highly processed’ ingredient when we see it, and how much processing is too much? Elaine Watson...
Can you make 'no added sugar' claims on 100% juice products? It all depends on how you interpret a line in the FDA regulations, says a California court, which has denied attempts by Odwalla to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of misleading consumers...
Producing ‘clean’ meat by culturing cells – instead of raising or slaughtering animals - is a new frontier in food production, but will it require a new regulatory framework, and what should we call it? Elaine Watson caught up with one food law attorney...
While barely a week goes by without the launch of a new meal kit company, there is room in the market for “many multi-billion dollar players,” provided they carve out a distinct niche, insists the founder of Gobble, which focuses on pre-prepped meals...
Aside from giving Amazon a network of bricks & mortar stores from which to expand Amazon Fresh and other services, acquiring Whole Foods gives the ecommerce giant access to the 365 private label brand, which could become a “focal point of its online...
Arla Foods has been ordered to halt its new $30m ‘Live Unprocessed’ ad campaign – which makes a virtue of using milk from cows that have not been fed the growth hormone rBST - in the wake of legal action* filed by rbST maker Eli Lilly (Elanco).
It’s no secret that small and medium-sized food & beverage manufacturers are driving much of the growth in food retail. But they are also selling a far lower percentage of their wares on promotion, and generating a higher percentage of sales from...
Given that Lidl is only opening its first US stores this week, it’s impossible to predict with certainty what its future looks like, but it could be a significant force in US food retailing in just five years, predict analysts at Kantar Retail.
Kraft Heinz was recently rebuffed by Unilever, but is widely rumored to be eyeing up other acquisitions. But would a marriage with PepsiCo, one of several potential targets rumored to be on the shopping list, be a match made in heaven?
A tale of two plant ‘milk’ lawsuits: Court stays Whitewave lawsuit, but dubs near-identical case vs Blue Diamond as ‘patently implausible’ and throws it out
A lawsuit alleging Silk almondmilk is falsely advertised as nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk has been stayed by a judge on primary jurisdiction grounds, while a near-identical case filed by the same law firm over Almond Breeze has been thrown out...
‘Amazon Choice is becoming increasingly important as we transition to this world of voice’
It’s well known that the brands that are growing the most rapidly on Amazon are not necessarily growing the most rapidly in grocery stores, so what are the most successful CPG players on Amazon doing differently?
GFI: Clean meat will likely enter market as a high-value ingredient in plant-based products
‘Clean’ (a.k.a. cultured/lab-grown) meat will likely come to market in phases, with the first products perhaps hybrids combining clean meat and plant-based meat; followed by ground meat products (nuggets, burgers); and finally those mimicking steaks...
The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) is looking into ways to regulate whole grain labeling, with a definition expected to be ready for public comment by the end of the year. But should it follow US or European criteria, or come up with something...
Arla Foods has defended its new ‘Live Unprocessed’ ad campaign – which makes a virtue of using milk from cows that have not been fed the growth hormone rBST - in the wake of legal action filed by rBST maker Eli Lilly alleging the ads are “built upon a...
The number of class action filings against food and beverage companies dipped from 158 in 2015 to 145 in 2016, largely due to a drop off in ‘natural’ lawsuits, but food manufacturers remain vulnerable to legal action on a host of other fronts, from slack...
