Full Sail IP Partners, a Warburg Pincus-backed investment firm set up to acquire brands, has bought the Odwalla juice and smoothie brand from Coca-Cola - which discontinued it last year - for an undisclosed sum.
By Hannah Crum, president, Kombucha Brewers International
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on the US economy, but one industry that has continued to see growth-- and even increased demand, with the renewed interest in health brought on by the crisis-- is kombucha.
Beyond Meat has won the latest round in its bitter four-year legal dispute* with former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms triggered by the early termination of an exclusive five-year supply agreement between the two parties. But the case is far from over,...
Even as economies reopen and consumer mobility increases, demand for CPGs and food consumed at home remains elevated over pre-pandemic levels in many categories, and in some cases exceeds the high demand of the early pantry-stocking days, according to...
Food prices across categories are predicted to rise low- to mid-single digits this year and again next year – adding on to already higher prices in 2020 fueled in part by the pandemic and raising questions about how consumers will react in the long term,...
When COVID-19 hit, Amy’s Kitchen – best known for its frozen pizzas, burritos, entrees and shelf-stable soups – ticked all the right boxes for ‘pandemic cuisine,’ says chief customer and consumer officer Karen Jobb. It makes convenient, healthy, restaurant-quality...
Don Lee Farms has filed a motion to compel Beyond Meat to share text messages from CEO Ethan Brown in the latest installment of an increasingly acrimonious legal dispute* between the plant-based meat firm and former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms triggered...
Meat, egg, and dairy ‘alternatives’ usually come with qualifying language (plant-based eggs; meatless nuggets, oatmilk). But what should we call next generation products that are not simply mimicking the real thing, but in many cases, are the ‘real’ thing,...
The pandemic’s impact on frontline workers, including farmers and food manufacturers, paired with recent high profile social justice movements and spectacular displays of climate change over the past 18 months is spurring more consumers to look for and...
While the topline data from General Mills’ yogurt business has made for grim reading in recent years, prompting headlines such as ‘General Mills loses the yogurt wars,’ the company has staged a recovery in its core Yoplait original line and is seeing...
Walmart is capturing “strong” market share gains in grocery as it continues to hold down prices at a time when other retailers are more aggressively passing through to consumers rising costs due to inflation – making it a formidable competitor but also...
Apeel Sciences – the Santa Barbara-based firm behind an invisible plant-based edible skin that can dramatically extend the shelf-life of fresh produce – has raised $250m in a series E funding round led by Temasek that takes its cumulative funding to $635m,...
Oatly’s fill rates – currently at around 70% on a global basis and lower than that in the US – should increase significantly over the next couple of quarters as new capacity comes online, says the oatmilk maker, which claims gross margins will also improve...
While following a climatarian diet that prioritizes foods and beverages made in a way that protects and restores the planet’s health may still be niche, the trend is gaining traction quickly with some researchers and brands predicting environmental sustainability...
Is it misleading to call iced tea containing 24g of added sugar per serving (48% of the daily value) ‘slightly sweet’? Not according to a New York judge, who has just dismissed a putative class action lawsuit vs Coca-Cola over Gold Peak Tea.
If the cultivated meat industry were to set the ambitious target of supplying 10% of the global meat market, how much product would be required? How many factories, containing how many bioreactors, would need to be built? And where?
Just as the term “all-natural” has lost much of its healthy-image luster over the years, the claim of “plant-based” also may be at risk of losing some of its better-for-you significance with consumers, according to Mintel research.
A judge handling a high-profile lawsuit* over the use of dairy terminology on plant-based products has ruled in favor of Miyoko’s Creamery in its legal spat with the State of California over its use of terms such as ‘butter’ on plant-based products, in...
“Current data indicates that neither food nor food packaging is a pathway for the spread of viruses causing respiratory illnesses, including SARS-CoV-2,” according to a new guidance document from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization...
AB 535, a California bill that would have prohibited any reference to California on olive oil bottles that did not contain 100% California-sourced olive oil, has been amended such that supporters and opponents say they can both live with it.
All of Kellogg’s 50+ factories around the world have been hit by supply shortages due to a range of disruptions, from a 10-day pandemic lockdown in Malaysia to civil unrest in South Africa, CEO Steve Cahillane told analysts on a conference call.
The Food Labeling Modernization Act - an updated version of a bill first introduced in 2018 that was designed to help consumers make more informed purchases – has been introduced to the House and the Senate.
UK-based startup The Supplant Company is targeting the US market with an intriguing new addition to the sugar-reduction toolbox in the form of ‘sugars from fiber,’ a new low-glycemic blend of sugars extracted from upcycled feedstocks that performs like...
Leading CPG companies including Unilever, Hershey, and General Mills have urged the FDA to look again at the way some sugars such as tagatose and isomaltulose are labeled on the Nutrition Facts panel in the wake of recent changes to the way allulose is...
Plant-based dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery has raised $52m in a series C round led by PowerPlant Partners ($40m) that will help fund marketing and innovation at the firm, which generated a 70% increase in revenues in 2020, and is gearing up to launch an...
As the Delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the US, Tyson Foods said Tuesday that it would require its 120,000 US workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November – making it the first major meat packer and largest food company so far to...
The a2 Milk Company – maker of ‘tummy-friendly’ milk containing only A2 beta-casein protein - is continuing to generate double-digit growth in the US market while overall US retail sales of dairy milk continue to decline, says the company, which is planning...
As difficult as navigating shifting consumer demand and strained supply chains was immediately following the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020, the hardest part may still be ahead for the food and beverage industry as the uneven recovery and ongoing,...
By Rob Guite, Abby Meyer, and Abby Miles, Sheppard Mullin
President Biden’s recent executive order, ‘Ensuring the Future is made in all of America by all of America’s Workers,’ may encourage food & beverage companies to highlight their all-American credentials on-pack. However, claims about a product’s origin...
Albertsons is willing to entertain a second round of price increases “where warranted and legitimate” as several CPG brands continue to struggle with mounting inflationary pressures that have exceeded their expectations and outstripped any cushion introduced...
It has become “increasingly common in virtually all industries for short seller firms to target a company with accusations that drive down its stock price, which is then followed by a shareholder plaintiff firm pouncing on the stock drop with a class...
A brand described as “only slightly more appealing than an IV bag” by one uncharitable observer when it first gained a cult following among Silicon Valley programmers as a powdered meal replacement, Soylent has steadily evolved its format, product line...
US retail sales of packaged tea have been sluggish in recent years, with Nielsen data* showing a flat market until 2020, when covid prompted a 16.8% surge, before everything slowed back down again. Celestial Seasonings, however, has maintained double-digit...
The pandemic prompted the first positive growth in US retail volumes of fluid dairy milk for years (+2.1% in 2020). However, a corresponding drop in away-from-home consumption meant overall volumes were flat (-0.1%) in 2020 and are predicted to drop -4.5%...
Should the food industry always yield to consumer demands, especially when those demands can be conflicting and at odds with other values, such as sustainability and environmental impact?
The emotional and physical toll taken by the pandemic has reshaped Americans’ palates – pushing them to try more adventurous flavor profiles, including more floral and earthy botanicals that were once niche in the US, embrace yuzu and step-up their heat...
While a recent probe into Oatly’s accounting practices and a flood of tech money going into food has raised questions about valuations in the space, zero-sugar soda brand Zevia has a solid track record of growth, a clear consumer proposition (great taste,...
The European Food Safety Authority was asked to review the link between sugar consumption and various diseases. The results are in: “Based on the risk of developing chronic metabolic diseases and dental caries, the intake of added and free sugars should...
Wander around leading UK food retailers and you’ll see aisles of fresh prepared meals, soups, salads and desserts, dominated by private label. So, will the US market move in the same direction?
While a recent Congressional Subcommittee report alleging “dangerous” levels of heavy metals in leading baby food brands “brought the issue of toxic contaminants to the fore,” it also “shocked and confused parents of young children,” said a senior FDA...
A bill put forward by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to decriminalize marijuana includes language on CBD that has been welcomed by supplement industry stakeholders.
Wicked Kitchen – a plant-based brand developed by chefs and mushroom enthusiasts Derek and Chad Sarno that has been a hit in the UK – is hoping to make a bigger splash this side of the Atlantic after securing $14m in a Series A round co-led by Unovis...
Shares in Swedish oatmilk maker Oatly – which went public in May – dropped sharply on Wednesday following a report from New York based activist investor and short seller Spruce Point Capital Management arguing that “the walls are collapsing on Oatly’s...
PepsiCo’s net sales surged 20.5% to $19.22bn in the firm’s second quarter, zipping past expectations of $17.96bn, thanks in part to increased consumer mobility boosting demand for the firm’s iconic beverages at restaurants, events and across channels...
As legislators continue to negotiate an infrastructure deal, the Consumer Brands Association urges democratic leaders to include the creation of a federal Office of Supply Chain Resiliency to address ongoing challenges exposed and magnified by the pandemic...
Wellmune – a branded beta glucan ingredient claimed to ‘prime’ the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against invasion by pathogens – is attracting growing interest from food and beverage brands as well as supplement products as immunity...
Nestlé USA’s online sales grew more than 160% in 2020, with e-commerce sales accounting for 40% of its US growth, but there are still a ton of opportunities to reach more shoppers online, chief strategy officer Mel Cash tells FoodNavigator-USA as the...
