Carbohydrates and fibers (sugar, starches)

How newstalgia blends comfort and novelty in the snack category

29-Nov-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Consumers still crave familiar flavors and experiences, as they did during the pandemic, but they also are open to new innovations and technologies -- leading to an emerging trend of 'newstalgia,' Kevin Ryan, CEO, Malachite Strategy and Research,...

Innovations in snacking

KIND embraces ‘AND’ philosophy for snacking innovation to balance health, taste, convenience & sustainability

29-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Health and wellness remain top priorities for snackers, but as peak pandemic continues to recede, indulgence is becoming more important and as such consumers are less willing to sacrifice taste for functional benefit, according to Emily Strobel, VP, growth...

How the cookie doesn’t crumble: Biobake promises to improve shelf-life and reduce food waste in bakery snacks

29-Nov-2023 By Deniz Ataman

While traditional amylase-based enzymes have helped bakery snacks improve shelf-life and freshness, its efficacy is limited if the dough contains high amounts of sugar. Kerry’s anti-staling enzyme, Biobake Fresh Rich addresses freshness and moisture for...

Limiting front-of-pack nutrition labeling to added sugar, saturated fat & sodium could skew potential health impact, stakeholders tell FDA

27-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Front of package nutrition labeling intended to help consumers select healthier foods and beverages by potentially calling out the amount of added sugar and other nutrients of interest could unintentionally expose children to higher levels of non-nutritive...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: FTC warning to influencers includes new disclosure principle

20-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Warning letters sent last week by the Federal Trade Commission to two food industry trade groups and a dozen online health influencers questioning the adequacy of paid partnership disclosures may not be a harbinger of impending enforcement that some believe,...

Futureproofing The Food System

Watch on demand: What will it take to win over prescribers, insurers to food-as-medicine movement?

16-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

As the concept of “food as medicine” gains traction, doctors, dietitians and insurers already active in the space are keen to distinguish the difference between “better-for-you” products and those proven to effect a health change and therefore worthy...

Branded still better? Mondelez plays down private label threat citing ‘strong’ consumer confidence in Asia and Middle East

15-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Snacking giant Mondelez has highlighted continued strong demand for its snack brands such as Oreo and Cadbury in emerging markets as key to its Q3 profitability, playing down threats from cheaper supermarket private label products.

Futureproofing the Food System

Watch this week: FoodNavigator-USA’s digital summit explores trends in food-tech, food as medicine and the circular economy

13-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

This week, join FoodNavigator-USA and stakeholders across the supply chain, including Eat Just, The Hartman Group, Oishii, NotCo, Instacart, NIQ, Consumer Brands Association, FMI – The Food Industry Association, Cargill and more for our three-day Futureproofing...

Danone, Keurig Dr Pepper tell FDA that sugar reduction requires a different playbook from sodium reduction

09-Nov-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Research showing consumer preferences for sweetness intensity may not be as easy to reduce as their preferences for sodium suggests a “stealth health” approach of slowly lowering added sugar across the food supply may not be an effective strategy for...

Nestlé launches probiotic and HMO blend to mirror breastmilk changes

27-Oct-2023 By Nikki Hancocks

Nestlé has launched a new proprietary blend for infant nutrition combining a probiotic strain with varying levels of six human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) to support the developing infant through its life stages.

Bioactive-rich insoluble fiber has ‘potential to be a nutritive product in the form of a supplement’: Study

25-Oct-2023 By Stephen Daniells

Each plant source of insoluble fiber contains unique bioactives – from anthocyanins and catechins to lutein, quercetin, and resveratrol – and offer potential health benefits beyond those of the fiber itself, says a new review from scientists at the University...

Natural Products Expo East

Rudi’s Revamp: ‘Dream team’ of new leaders innovate, invigorate OG organic, gluten-free bakery brand

20-Oct-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

With this month’s launch of thick-cut, decadent Texas Toast made with and without gluten and slathered with real butter, garlic and cheese, Rudi’s Bakery is entering a new phase of “reinvention and reinvigoration” that recently reappointed CEO Jane Miller...

Pringles sets its sights on groundbreaking tech that helps people with sightloss

19-Oct-2023 By Gill Hyslop

NaviLens technology is being added to the iconic cans of the Kellogg’s-owned brand to make them more accessible to blind and partially sighted people.

Natural Products Expo East

Equii expands line of high-protein bread to meet demand for better-for-you products that are better for the planet

18-Oct-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

When most people think about protein, they think about meat, dairy – maybe legumes – but food-tech newcomer Equii wants them to also think about bread, including its portfolio of soft, sliced white and multi-grain loaves that are packed with 8 to 10 grams...

News In Brief

Kellogg Co officially spins off cereal business as Kellanova with celebratory ringing of NYSE

02-Oct-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kellogg Co. – the maker of iconic snacks, including Pringles, and cereal, including Froot Loops and Special K – officially no longer exists having completed today the separation of its North American cereal business into a new company named WK Kellogg...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Most consumers don’t want sugar or artificial sweeteners – but what do they want instead?

28-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

More than fat or calories, the nutritional information consumers are most likely to look for on food and beverage packages is sugar, with a survey conducted by Cargill finding nearly two out of three consumers aiming to avoid it and the majority also...

Can chilled children’s nutrition brand Once Upon a Farm do for snack bars what it did for baby food?

28-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

With this week’s launch of three Refrigerated Oat Bars, children’s nutrition brand Once Upon a Farm is hoping to do for children’s snack bar category what it did for baby food in 2015 when it debuted its high-pressure-processed baby food in pouches merchandized...

Chicory root fibre increases good gut bacteria regardless of food application, research asserts

21-Sep-2023 By Olivia Brown

A new randomised controlled trial identifies that chicory root fibres can selectively increase Bifidobacterium species within the human gut, regardless of food application and matrix, to achieve associated health benefits.

Sugar Reduction

FDA seeks strategies for reducing added sugar consumption at upcoming meetings

20-Sep-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

FDA opened registration this week for a virtual public meeting and listening session it will hold Nov. 6-8 on strategies to reduce added sugar consumption, following a commitment it made last fall during the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition...

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

Health Equity Working Group provides framework for Dietary Guidelines for Americans protocols

14-Sep-2023 By Deniz Ataman

A Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) working group shared this week refined protocols for systematic reviews, food pattern modeling and committee evidence review which will shape the committee’s recommendations for the Dietary Guidelines for...

Gatorade Water set to launch in 2024: promising to ‘bring the credibility and trust of the iconic Gatorade bolt to the water aisle’

07-Sep-2023 By Rachel Arthur

With entrances into new categories including water and energy - alongside a string of recent low and no sugar products and even functional gummies - Gatorade says its portfolio is the ‘most complete offering on the market today across energy, hydration,...

Zenb takes ‘yellow-pea pasta revolution’ on the road with retail expansion into Sprouts

05-Sep-2023 By Ryan Daily

Plant-based pasta brand Zenb is expanding its distribution to Sprouts Farmer Markets nationwide, as it pushes into more retail stores with the help of its mobile kitchen and product innovation, the company’s senior VP of marketing Hugo Perez told FoodNavigator-USA....

NutriLeads’ upcycled carrot prebiotic fiber BeniCaros delivers functional benefits without formulation headaches, side effects common with competing ingredients

30-Aug-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Consumers looking for functional benefits ranging from gut health and immunity support to general well-being increasingly are drawn to products with prebiotics – but formulation challenges related to most prebiotics’ bulk and negative side-effects, including...

Kröner-Stärke cleans up 'unhealthy' image of breaded and battered foods

23-Aug-2023 By Gill Hyslop

Further applications for Stikker include baked goods, ready-mixed flours and pastries.

Agave fructan jelly relieves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: Study

15-Aug-2023 By Asia Sherman

Consuming a prebiotic agave fructan jelly could reduce visceral hypersensitivity with short-chain fatty acids, attenuate anxiety and modulate brain activity in irritable bowel syndrome patients with constipation, according to a recent study. The findings...

Kellogg’s Kellanova will focus on innovation, smaller packs & enhanced marketing to drive snack sales

15-Aug-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

On track to separate from Kellogg Co. in the fourth quarter, Kellanova will position itself as a snacks-led powerhouse and improved company with “a growth mindset, a refreshed strategy and more ambitious financial expectations,” CEO Steve Cahillane said...

Summer Fancy Food Show

How Bobo's stays rooted to its oat core while branching into different flavors and formats

07-Aug-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Playing off a classic nostalgic flavor, Bobo's recently launched its peanut butter and jelly-filled bars, that was featured during the Summer Fancy Food Show which took place June 25-27 at the Javits Center in New York City, where Bobo's CEO,...

IFT First

Beneo launches Orafti® β-Fit at IFT to support heart health, blood glucose management

01-Aug-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Responding to rising consumer demand for functional foods that can help manage cholesterol and blood glucose response, ingredient supplier Beneo launched at IFT FIRST in Chicago last month a wholegrain barley flour that touts enough beta-glucans to justify...

Keurig Dr Pepper takes 33% stake in La Colombe coffee

24-Jul-2023 By Rachel Arthur

Keurig Dr Pepper and La Colombe have announced a strategic partnership: including a long-term sales and distribution agreement for La Colombe ready-to-drink coffee and a long-term licensing, manufacturing and distribution agreement for La Colombe branded...

Nestlé enzyme tech cuts sugars intrinsically present in malt, milk and fruit juice

18-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

The enzymatic process reduces sugar without needing to add sweeteners or bulking agents to replace its volume.

IFT FIRST

The BioVeritas Process ™: The Impossible Burger of clean label mold inhibitors

17-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

New research suggests bio-based ingredient company BioVeritas’ upcycled, clean label bread and tortilla mold inhibitor could be a “fundamental game-changer” on par with how Impossible Burger shifted the paradigm for plant-based burgers, argues the company’s...

IFT FIRST

IFT FIRST Startup Pavilion highlights innovative solutions to today’s pressing challenges

12-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Startup Pavilion at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Improved by Research Science and Technology (IFT FIRST) conference in Chicago this month will be twice as big as it was at last year’s annual conference, reflecting the urgency and...

Summer Fancy Food Show

Levelle Nutrition launches to ‘empower female athletes with fuel formulated for her physiology’ and messaging that goes beyond ‘getting skinny and looking sexy’

10-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Even though women make up half of marathon runners, only 2.5% of sports nutrition products explicitly target them, and those that do tend to be more expensive and tend to be rated poorly, forcing many female athletes to compromise their health by consuming...

Summer Fancy Food Show

Functional beverages must balance consumer, environmental benefits with price

07-Jul-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

The functional beverage category is growing at a rapid clip as consumers look for fast, easy ways to support their on-the-go lifestyles and their health, but not all ingredients, products and platforms are created equally and the segment faces significant...

'We must help consumers make healthy choices’: Danone targets young active consumers with Activia fiber-enriched yogurts

26-Jun-2023 By Teodora Lyubomirova

A single-digit percentage of British and American shoppers consume the recommended amount of fiber. Danone UK&I’s Rachel Wright tells DairyReporter how Activia's new subrange simplifies fiber consumption while offering the health benefits of...

Balancing taste and nutrition in clean label sweeteners: Could sugar make a comeback?

21-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

As demand for natural sweeteners grow, could consumers revert to arguably the most traditional natural sweetener of all: sugar?

Sweets & Snacks Expo

How retailers can enhance impulse purchases in-store and online

31-May-2023 By Deniz Ataman

While e-commerce impulse buys are evolving, in-store purchases are still critical in capturing snack and candy consumers—with the self-checkout lane offering tremendous potential growth for both brands and retailers, Kathy Risch, senior vice president,...

Sweets & Snacks Expo

Unwrapping consumers' candy and snack preferences across generations

31-May-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Despite inflationary pressures, consumers at all life stages continue to treat themselves both in-store and online with candy and snacks, Acosta Group's Kathy Risch shares in this first story in the two part series about consumers' candy and...

Next gen of gluten-free bakery: Scientists take new approach to replicate gluten properties

25-May-2023 By Gill Hyslop

German researchers are using new, tailormade proteins to stabilise the interface between gas bubbles and dough.

News In Brief

DouxMatok rebrands as Incredo, lands $30m to expand production of sugar reduction solution

24-May-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

In a bid to create a more “memorable” identity, Israeli food-tech company DouxMatok is rebranding to share the same “single, powerful” name as its signature sugar reduction product – Incredo – which it plans to further develop and commercialize with the...

Sugar out, fibre in: Beneo’s sugar reducer meets high consumer demand for ‘healthy indulgent’ bakery treats

23-May-2023 By Gill Hyslop

The functional ingredients specialist has expanded its sugar reduction portfolio with a short-chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS) that replaces sugar while adding dietary fibre, enabling producers to capitalise on the growing better-for-you demand.

Insights from Vitafoods

Prebiotic power: five-year research journey concludes “distinct effect” of cranberry polyphenols

16-May-2023 By Olivia Brown

In a Vitafoods presentation, Yves Desjardins, PhD, professor at Laval University in Quebec, discussed soon-to-be published findings on the observed prebiotic effects of cranberry polyphenols.

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee needs to be “free of food industry commercial interest," advocates argue

16-May-2023 By Deniz Ataman

A lack of transparency around 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee members' affiliation with industry trade groups and multinational brands sparked scrutiny by public health advocates after last week's committee meeting.

WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline

15-May-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Kellogg embraces new era of innovation, marketing to lift sales: ‘It’s not 1987 anymore’

05-May-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kellogg’s “stronger than anticipated” first quarter in which the company saw double-digit organic net sales and adjusted operating profit growth not only places the company in the “enviable position” of raising its full year guidance, but suggests it...

Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy urges policymakers to modernize sugar program

04-May-2023 By Deniz Ataman

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) urges Congress to make “reasonable targeted changes to the US sugar program” to help lower food prices, reinforce supply chains and make American businesses and farmers more competitive on the global playing field.

Better-for-you Hero Bread lands $15m in series B round by ‘going from pitching a dream to pitching a business’

03-May-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

A “massive” repeat purchase rate of 74% direct-to-consumer and 54% at retail combined with healthy margins and strong “no f***ing way” factor helped food-tech startup Hero Bread secure $15m in series B funding despite the challenging economic environment.

EverGrain creates sports nutrition offerings with beer leftovers

01-May-2023 By Danielle Masterson

AB InBev’s sustainable ingredient business, EverGrain, said it’s poised to disrupt the performance beverage category this year with the launch of two products that use EverPro, a barley protein made from upcycled brewer’s spent grain.

Mondelez raises guidance after ‘best quarter ever,’ successful price hikes

28-Apr-2023 By Elizabeth Crawford

Biscuit and chocolate giant Mondelez International nearly doubled its outlook for fiscal 2023 after delivering its “best quarter ever” with organic revenue growth up 19.4% to $1.5bn over the same period last year and “significantly ahead of [an] already...

Multifunctional FiberSMART granted GRAS status as a dietary fiber

21-Apr-2023 By Deniz Ataman

The multifunctional and tolerable prebiotic fiber is resistant dextrin made from tapioca and 20% as sweet as sugar, according to its producer, Anderson Advanced Ingredients.