Dannon and General Mills are claiming victory in their legal spat with rival Chobani over the latter’s provocative new ad campaign for its Simply 100 Greek Yogurt after a judge granted their requests for a preliminary injunction to stop Chobani making...
A recent online article that labeled the science backing probiotics as “shaky” was criticized by the International Proibiotics Association as lacking context and a basic understanding of the industry and the evidence behind it.
60-second interview, Dr Liz Sloan and Dr Catherine Adams Hutt, Sloan Trends
What do US consumers think health and wellness means, and how is the food industry responding? Is low-carb still a thing, does the paleo diet have legs, and is non-GMO being used as a proxy for ‘healthy’?
From Cabernayzyns (dried Cabernet grapes) to bakkwa, a meat snack sold in street markets in Singapore and Malaysia that's just hit the West Coast of the US, the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco was jam-packed with unusual new products. FoodNavigator-USA...
Swiss giant Nestlé is one of the most praised global corporations by NGOs - but also one of the most criticised food companies in the world, according to a survey by research organisation SigWatch.
KRAVE Jerky founder Jon Sebastiani - who sold his business to Hershey last year – has already identified some entrepreneurs he hopes to mentor – and fund – as part of his new incubator, Sonoma Brands.
While Unilever has made strong gains in premium ice cream and gelato – with Talenti (which it acquired in late 2014) generating a 40% surge in sales in 2015 – it has not been able to arrest the decline in its spreads business, CEO Paul Polman told analysts...
Chobani’s provocative new ad campaign for Simply 100 – which directly attacks the ingredient choices of two rival brands – has landed it in legal hot water, with Dannon’s lawyers demanding an immediate halt to the campaign and Chobani responding with...
Campbell Soup has broken ranks with the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) on the GMO labeling front and declared its support for the enactment of “federal legislation to establish a single mandatory labeling standard for foods derived from GMOs”...
'The huge disparity between what the guidelines advocate and what Americans actually eat is beyond alarming'
What do registered dietitians and nutritionists think of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and how much do they ultimately matter, since the gulf between what Americans are told to eat – and what they actually eat - remains huge?
While the US egg supply is rebounding well after last year’s devastating avian flu outbreak, it is too early to say whether manufacturers that reformulated products to reduce or replace eggs will revert to using the same amount of eggs they were using...
Upmarket meat snacks maker EPIC Provisions has been wooed by several suitors, but ultimately agreed to tie the knot with General Mills because it would help it achieve its goal of making high-quality grass-fed animal protein available to a broader audience,...
A California judge has refused to certify a class of consumers in a lawsuit accusing Yakult USA of misleading shoppers about the digestive health benefits of its fermented drinks.
People tend to overeat food marketed as healthy because they assume it is less filling but food companies can counter this by portraying food as 'nourishing' or 'wholesome' instead, researchers have found.
As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs on the trends they are tracking, plus what keeps them awake at night, from fundraising to recruitment. Here's part 2! (Best viewed on your desktop.)
As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs on the trends they wll be tracking in 2016, plus what keeps them awake at night, from fundraising to recruitment. (Best viewed on your desktop.)
I can't believe it's Just Mayo ... so will Just Butter be next?
Just weeks after telling Hampton Creek it was playing fast and loose with food labeling regs by branding its flagship egg-free spread ‘Just Mayo’, the FDA says Hampton Creek can now keep the ‘Just Mayo’ brand name - as long as it makes minor tweaks to...
The FDA has just cranked open Pandora’s box with its surprise bid to explore a working definition of ‘natural’ on food labels. As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage CEOs to find out what they think it means,...
Dollar sales of Plum Organics surged 44.2% in measured channels* in the past 52 weeks, 3.8 times the average rate of growth for brands in the organic baby food segment, says the company, which has secured a 7.2% share of the $1.6bn US baby food and snacks...
Will 2016 be another bumper year for food-labeling class action lawsuits, or has the FDA’s surprise decision to weigh into the ‘natural’ debate put a spanner in the works for plaintiff’s attorneys? We quizzed leading food law attorneys to find out (gallery...
Brands are blowing a major opportunity to communicate their sustainability initiatives to millions of consumers with social media updates that are “inane, safe and saccharinely artificial in their bonhomie”, says a report.
Is it lawful to use terms such as ‘almondmilk’ and ‘soymilk’ to describe plant-based beverages? Yes, according to a ruling from a California court this week, which has dismissed claims in a long-running class action lawsuit* v retailer Trader Joe's...
The Organic & Natural Health Association will reveal more details about its ongoing effort to define “natural” – a much-used but dangerously ambiguous marketing term – at its inaugural national conference Jan. 26-27.
Lancaster, PA-based Neat Foods – a small, but rapidly-growing player in the plant-based foods category – has been acquired by Atlantic Natural Foods LLC, which makes canned vegetarian products under the Meatless Select and Caroline’s brands.
KIND has filed a citizen petition with the FDA to update 'outdated' regulations governing the use of the term healthy on food labels and address the disconnect between what Americans are encouraged to eat in the Dietary Guidelines and the criteria...
The FDA will have its work cut out when it comes to coming up with a workable definition of ‘natural’, if the comments submitted to the FDA thus far are anything to go by.
From NatureBox to VEGA Coffee, BeanGenius, and LoveWithFood, new online subscription services targeting snack lovers, coffee aficionados, and foodies are popping up almost every week. But what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this market?
Cocoa farmers operate in a chocolate supply chain that perpetuates poverty and bear the bulk of the risk, claims Cacao for Change as it proposes an alternative model.
Chocolate makers can draw on coffee industry grading standards to develop a common quality system for cocoa, says Lutheran World Relief’s manager of coffee and cocoa.
The FDA has rejected a citizen’s petition calling for mandatory labeling of foods from genetically engineered crops, arguing that labels are not warranted unless there is a material difference in the safety or nutritional profile of the foods in question.
Not so long ago, an organic beverage brand boasting ‘adaptogenic super-herbs’ would have had a fairly niche audience. Today, it’s a very different story, says Sheryl O’Loughlin, former CEO of Clif Bar and co-founder of Plum Organics, who has just moved...
Not so long ago, pundits were predicting that the high-purity stevia extracts market would be worth a billion dollars as manufacturers ditched artificial sweeteners and embraced ‘all-natural’ alternatives.
Pasta is a low fat, low-sodium, low glycemic, complex carbohydrate, and a good source of thiamin, folic acid, iron, riboflavin, and niacin. So why do many consumers – and some health professionals – still see it as a source of ‘empty carbs’ to be avoided,...
General Mills coughed up a cool $820m to buy Annie’s last year. But it has also signaled its intention to invest in brands at an earlier stage in their development via its 301 Inc venturing arm and a recent tie up with equity crowdfunding site CircleUp....
Protein is hot, sugar is public enemy #1, and fat is back (so the trend-watchers say). But when it comes to good, bad and ugly fats, does everyone agree on which are which? Check out our gallery of insights from consumers, industry stakeholders, and the...
What is 'natural'? FDA finally weighs into the debate
Having studiously avoided this food labeling minefield for years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has surprised many in the trade by seeking comments on the definition of a word that has launched a thousand class action lawsuits (well almost):...
KonaRed – the Hawaii-based company on a mission to make coffee fruit the next big thing in functional foods and beverages – has similar challenges to those POM Wonderful faced when it first got started, but has the potential to be equally successful,...
Protein is hot in food formulation right now. But is this a sustainable trend or a passing fad? How much is enough, and do the next generation of proteins, from rice and pea to algae and insects, deliver in the same way that soy and whey do? And how should...
If you didn't make it to Chicago last week for the inaugural Food Vision USA event, you missed a truly awesome ensemble of industry experts covering everything from our nutritional needs on a manned mission to Mars to the challenges facing small...
While 3D printing might still seem a bit like a technology searching for an application when it comes to food, the co-creator of the Foodini printer insists her machines won’t end up gathering dust at the back of your cupboard once the novelty wears off.
Food manufacturers remain sharply divided over FDA proposals to crack down on added sugar, with General Mills and other big names such as Kellogg and Unilever strongly opposed; and Nestlé, Mars, and KIND LLC in favor, according to the latest wave of comments...
Big brands have always sought to convince us that by purchasing their mass-produced wares we are expressing ourselves (although it’s hard to argue that buying a Coke – even with your name on it - is a bold expression of individualism). But how can food...
Stressed, time poor and short of culinary inspiration, but feeling guilty about ordering pizza again? Sun Basket – the latest entrant to the burgeoning home meal delivery market – gives you the tools to cook restaurant-quality meals at home, without having...
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a probe into the way the American Egg Board handled the ‘threat’ of Hampton Creek – the San Francisco-based start-up behind the egg-free spread Just Mayo - amid claims it overstepped its mandate by...
301 Inc, a business development unit within General Mills, today announced a shift in strategy from developing its own brands to partnering and investing in early stage food companies, such as L.A. based plant-based protein expert Beyond Meat.
It’s a joke emblazoned on a thousand t-shirts and coffee mugs (I’m on the See-food diet… I see food, and I eat it…). But could we learn something from it? Apparently so, says a new study from Cornell University, revealing that the foods we leave out on...
The ‘healthier’ snacks market is awash with non-GMO, gluten-free, and ‘no artificial’ claims, while corn syrup is out and ‘real’ (cane) sugar, coconut sugar, and agave syrup are in. But are these products really delivering in the nutritional stakes, given...
![Unilever CEO Paul Polman: 'I can get rid of [the spreads] business tomorrow by giving it away to someone, but that's criminal'](/var/wrbm_gb_food_pharma/storage/images/_aliases/news_teaser_medium/6/1/5/8/2558516-1-eng-GB/Unilever-FY-2015-We-can-t-stem-ongoing-decline-in-spreads.jpg)
