Chocolate and confectionery ingredients

Mars hires former IFT chief science and technology officer as new head of R&D

11-Sep-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Mars Inc. has hired Dr. Maria Velissariou as its new vice president of global corporate research & development and chief science officer to lead the company's quality and food safety, scientific & regulatory affairs and R&D strategy.

Nestlé is ready to buy after 18 months of divesting brands, but it will do so cautiously, CFO says

11-Sep-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Nestlé is ready to be “much more acquisitive” now after 18 months of aggressively selling underperforming businesses and brands that did not tidily fit into the company’s new image of itself as a primarily nutrition, health and wellness business, according...

Retail strategies to support Black-owned businesses, tap into $1.5 trillion buying power of Black shoppers

09-Sep-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Retailers interested in attracting more Black shoppers, who Nielsen reports wield an annual buying power of $1.5 trillion and make more grocery trips per year than all other racial groups, need to stock and prominently highlight more products by Black-owned...

Honey Mama's closes $4.5m Series A funding round led by Amberstone Ventures

03-Sep-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Honey Mama's, a brand of truffle-like chocolate wellness bars made with whole foods merchandized in the burgeoning refrigerated bar set, has closed a $4.5m Series A round led by Amberstone Ventures, to fast track the brand to mainstream consumer...

New leader in fresh snacking? Clio Snacks closes $8m funding round and doubles revenue this year

26-Aug-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Clio Snacks -- known its for chilled, chocolate-covered Greek yogurt bars -- has closed an $8m series C fundraising round led by long-term investment partner Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG) and new investor in the brand, AF Ventures, bringing total investment...

Behave grants consumers permission to enjoy candy again with low-sugar, chef-created gummy bears

21-Aug-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Upstart candy brand Behave has entered the buzzing low-sugar gummy candy category with its line of original and sour gummy bears which tout 3g of sugar, 6g of net carbs, and 90 calories per serving.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Chocolate, cereal, and snack brands rank among Morning Consult’s 50 Most Loved Brands list

14-Aug-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Fourteen food companies made global data intelligence company Morning Consult’s 2020 50 Most Loved Brands list, which analyzed more than 150,000 consumer interviews conducted by the firm in June and July 2020.

Post Holding’s spun-off BellRing off to a rocky start with pandemic, but confident in long-term results

11-Aug-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Executives from Post Holdings and its recently spun-off active nutrition business BellRing Brands may be confident that the new food company will meet its full-year targets, but analysts on the company’s third quarter call late last week sounded dubious.

Unlocking Innovation webinar Aug. 6: Discover how to reduce your environmental impact & improve sustainability

28-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Even as the pandemic continues to strain the food system and pressure manufacturers to balance increased demand with restricted supply, companies must still pursue sustainability goals, including minimizing their environmental impact and improving the...

Citizen Petition argues toddler milks threaten children’s health and pose ‘economic harm’ to families

28-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

In a Citizen’s Petition filed today, children’s health advocates are ramping up pressure on FDA to address the labeling of so-called ‘transition formulas’ or ‘toddler milks,’ which they say offer “no unique nutritional value,” threaten the health of young...

Americans need to more than halve their consumption of added sugars, says Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

15-Jul-2020 By Elaine Watson

Americans need to more than halve their consumption of added sugars, reducing average consumption from 13% of daily energy intake to just 6%, the equivalent of 30g for someone on a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet, according to the expert committee advising the...

SHIFT20: 3 ways to ‘build back better’ a food-system damaged by social inequality & coronavirus

14-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

The uneven impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has underscored systemic inequalities, but it also has created an opportunity “to build back better” the food system, according to a panel of experts gathered on the opening day of the Institute of...

MCTco protein keto bars enter beauty-from-within and immunity categories

13-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

MCTco is competing in the highly-competitive snack bar category, addressing major consumer demands around protein and sugar content as well as emerging ‘beauty-from-within’ and immunity trends with its line of products containing collagen protein and...

Investing in the Future of Food: Letting go, leaning on others helped Sweet Loren’s grow 3,000% in 3 years

08-Jul-2020 By Elizabeth Crawford

Founders who wear multiple hats during the lean early years of a startup may struggle to pass responsibilities to others as their companies grow, but, according to the founder of Sweet Loren’s, to fully maximize companies’ potential entrepreneurs need...

General Mills registers 50% e-commerce growth in Q4 2020

06-Jul-2020 By Mary Ellen Shoup

General Mills launched direct-to-consumer brand sites that could quickly ship products to consumers to better support shopping during the pandemic -- a strategy that helped increase its share of net sales from the e-commerce channel in categories most...