A federal appeals court in the District of Columbia has upheld an earlier court ruling in favor of the FTC versus POM Wonderful and claims it made in its advertising. On the flip side, the court also stated that requiring two valid clinical trials to...
Jon Sebastiani: 'It was always going to be a bittersweet moment'
The day when any entrepreneur decides to sell his business is “always bittersweet” KRAVE jerky founder Jon Sebastiani tells FoodNavigator-USA. But joining a company with the horsepower of Hershey will enable it to lead, rather than follow, the renaissance...
Science and an evaluation of risk must inform any regulatory decision on powdered pure caffeine products and not Senators usurping the law, says the Natural Products Association’s Dr Daniel Fabricant.
Business plays a crucial role in meeting sustainable development goals – but it should not lead the social agenda, according to Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke, speaking at the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos.
While uncharitable observers have described Soylent as “only slightly more appealing than an IV bag”, news that the LA-based food substitute firm has just secured $20m in funding and is now generating “millions of dollars per month in subscription revenues”...
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) safety assessment on caffeine is not necessarily a green light for high caffeine consumption or for long-stalled health claims, according to industry commentators.
US sales of ready to eat popcorn grew 25% to an estimated $750m in 2014
“Tired brands and off-trend categories should take inspiration from the astonishing turnaround in the fortunes of popcorn,” according to a new report from Rabobank International, which reveals that US sales of the bagged, pre-popped, ready-to-eat (RTE)...
Peeled Snacks: If you don’t take time to understand retail buyers, why should they take time to understand you?
Which retail channel is right for your brand? Natural? Club? Convenience? And once you’ve jumped through all the buyers’ hoops, will you still be able to make any money? It all depends on whether you’ve done your homework, one snacking sales expert told...
Two-year time frame 'would almost certainly drive an increase in food prices'
The two-year time frame in which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects the food industry to switch to new-look Nutrition Facts labels is unrealistic, and “would almost certainly drive an increase in prices of food products”, claims Kroger.
Olam’s $1.3bn deal to acquire ADM Cocoa is likely to have little impact on the price of cocoa ingredients for chocolate makers because grinding capacity is still concentrated with three players.
Midnight cereal chomping, energy-dense sports snacks and on-the-go breakfast replacements are just some of the trends set to shape the snacking market next year, according to Datamonitor Consumer.
The market capital of a wellness industry that aims to promote and maintain good health will vastly exceed the current treatment-focused disease industry, says Dr Lee Hood, MD, PhD, President & Co-Founder, Institute for Systems Biology.
Whether supermarket loyalty cards actually drive loyalty, or provide retailers with killer consumer insights that give them a genuine competitive edge, has long been a source of debate. But the evidence is clear, according to one expert in promotions:...
Trendwatching with Mintel, Euromonitor, Rabobank & Trailblazer Foods
From the 'astounding' reinvention of popcorn as "Millennial friendly, cool and healthy", to the proliferation of apps & devices enabling us to track our calories, sleep and bowel movements, what have we learned about the food culture...
The biggest rise was in products making non-GMO or GMO-free claims
Non-GMO, Kosher, gluten-free, ethical, environmentally-friendly, lactose-free, vegan, no additives/preservatives, and on-the-go claims are all gaining more traction on US food labels; while growth in ‘all-natural’- antioxidant- and low/no/reduced sugar/sodium/fat...
Genetically engineered crops are not a magic bullet and some weeds have become resistant to the herbicide glyphosate (RoundUp) used with selected GM crops, said Monsanto’s chief technology officer Dr Robert Fraley in a debate on Wednesday. But that doesn’t...
SPECIAL EDITION 2014, BEVERAGE SWEETENER INNOVATION
Mintel says the presence of nutritionally beneficial compounds could see stevia-based sweeteners of the future that combine functional benefits as well as calorie-free sweetness.
JK Sucralose - which claims to be the largest sucralose manufacturer in China - has weighed into the debate over sucralose pricing raised by market leader Tate & Lyle.
Professor: 'Congratulations to the FDA for putting public health first'
Food manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce sodium, but surveys suggest many shoppers are, well, not that bothered. So where does this leave firms plugging sodium reduction solutions?
Some food manufacturers still worry that using potassium chloride to replace salt in their recipes might compromise their clean label credentials. But the FDA’s recent proposal to include potassium as one of the nutrients that must be listed on the Nutrition...
Protein is hot - and big brands are piling more of it into everything from breakfast cereal to ice cream. Yet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans say “inadequate protein intake in the US is rare”. So does this trend make sense from a nutritional perspective?
Market pre-eminence has reduced food to a commodity subject to financial speculation, Pope Francis told attendees at a major nutrition conference in Rome this morning.
To understand Functional Foods you must see it as a strategy to add value to processed foods, says the president and founder of the HealthyMarketingTeam, Peter Wennstrom, in this guest article.
Faced with mounting difficulties in their drug businesses, many pharmaceutical manufacturers are looking at getting into functional foods and beverages, notes food marketing expert, Julian Mellentin in this guest article.
American children were exposed to significantly fewer TV ads for sugary drinks in 2013 compared with 2011. But not every soda giant got the memo, says a new report, which claims that children aged 2-11 saw 29% more TV ads for PepsiCo sugary drinks in...
Three years ago, Greek yogurt was on fire. Today, as the category has matured, its growth has slowed to a more modest pace, while one market watcher predicts dollar sales growth in the overall yogurt category (which has been driven by Greek in recent...
Can a boiled sweet stop you from overeating? While at first glance any product marketed as a ‘signaling lozenge’ sounds distinctly dubious, the entrepreneur behind MealEnders does not try to blind consumers with science - or pseudoscience - when he makes...
Four years ago sodium was public enemy #1. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was calling for the FDA to modify the GRAS status of salt and slash the daily value for sodium to 1,500mg, and the food industry was on high alert. Today, sugar is the new bogeyman,...
Tune into an earnings call from a big consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, and you’ll likely hear a lot of frustration over the ineffectiveness of trade spending. But is weary resignation (‘it’s just a cost of doing business') a constructive response?
What’s for dinner tonight? And could Watson - the IBM computer that trounced its human rivals at Jeopardy - have the answer? FoodNavigator-USA headed to the reThinkFood conference - a collaboration between the Culinary Institute of America and the MIT...
Consumers underestimate calorie counts for, and consume more of, foods from companies with positive corporate responsibility programmes, say researchers.
Academic: "Anybody who thinks the world’s malnutrition problems are going to be solved without industry is dreaming."
By Shane Starling from the 3rd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Emerging research linking vitamin E deficiency with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, miscarriages and fatty liver disease can contribute to an ongoing debate around recommended intakes, a nutrition congress was told yesterday.
Up until relatively recently, sucralose was a key profit driver at Tate & Lyle. But as the Chinese have added production capacity, CEO Javed Ahmed told analysts this week that he was struggling to see “how we or frankly anyone else can make any money”...
'Hampton Creek is up against a well-financed plaintiff'
While Unilever’s lawsuit against Hampton Creek Foods has generated a lively debate about corporate bullying, industrialized egg production, and whether the standard of identity for ‘mayonnaise’ is outdated, legal experts say it will hinge upon what consumers...
Attorney: Unilever needs to prove 'Just Mayo' misleads reasonable consumer
UPDATED: Unilever has filed a lawsuit against Hampton Creek Foods accusing it of falsely advertising its egg-free Just Mayo spread and causing “irreparable harm” to Unilever's Hellmann’s mayonnaise brand and the category as a whole.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rubbished suggestions by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) it is hiding data collected on animal drug residues in raw milk.
UPDATED - Initial returns indicate that voters in Colorado have given a firm thumbs down to GMO labeling initiative Proposition 105, while the vote in Oregon on Measure 92 headed to a nail-biting finish - but ended with voters saying NO.
Online grocery shopping, craft foods, fermented and pickled foods such as sauerkraut, and non-stop snacking will all gain momentum in 2015, according to ‘Supermarket Guru’ and TV personality Phil Lempert.
Given that the Dietary Guidelines urge Americans to reduce calorie intakes from added sugar, helping them identify foods that actually contain it by listing it on the Nutrition Facts panel seems like a no-brainer, says nutritional ranking system Guiding...
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) today filed an objection to a proposed settlement of the ‘copycat’ Vitaminwater lawsuits, claiming it only enriches lawyers and does nothing to stop what it alleges is the brand’s deceptive marketing.
From hop-free ales with lavender or elderflowers to ‘advanced Asian’ cuisine, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) looks at the top 10 culinary trends it predicts will inspire the packaged food and foodservice industry in 2015.
US hummus category could break $1bn barrier in a few years
US sales of hummus have almost doubled since 2009 to top $600m, but could easily break through the $1bn mark in the next few years, predicts Eat Well Embrace Life, which is carving out a leading role in the ‘other bean hummus’ category and aims to be...
Consumers want to see what you are putting into the product as well as what isn’t in there
With revenues going from zero to “north of $20m” in three years, the growth of Way Better Snacks has been nothing short of meteoric. But while great branding, its focus on ‘sprouted’ seeds and the CPG experience of its founder & CEO Jim Breen have...
We’ve never had access to more information about how to get healthy. So why are two thirds of Americans still overweight or obese, and what can we do about it? To find out, FoodNavigator-USA headed to Atlanta, GA, for the 2014 Food & Nutrition Conference...
Ebola is a huge humanitarian concern for the cocoa and chocolate industry, but contrary to some reports it is not yet having a major business impact for big chocolate players like Mars and Mondelēz.
The average convenience-store shopper spends just three minutes in the store, says Wells Fargo in a new report arguing that there are big growth opportunities for brands that can offer more products designed for immediate consumption, and better meet...
Consumers are looking for individual and integrated strategies to optimize their health and wellness, but no company has yet put all the pieces together, says BrandHive’s Jeff Hilton.
!['The 400mg [daily] upper limit should also not be understood as a green light for consuming up to five energy drinks a day,' says consumer group BEUC.](/var/wrbm_gb_food_pharma/storage/images/_aliases/news_teaser_medium/7/2/9/6/1956927-1-eng-GB/EFSA-caffeine-opinion-is-not-a-green-light.jpg)
