Chocolate and confectionery ingredients

Investing in the Future of Food: Mars’ new Seeds of Change Accelerator seeks entrepreneurs who share its vision for ‘better food today, better world tomorrow’

13-Mar-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

Following the lead of many other established food & beverage players, Mars, Incorporated is launching a new accelerator to help early stage food-focused companies fast-track growth in exchange for access to the energy and ground-level market insights...

Natural and clean label trends 2019: Have you registered yet?

11-Mar-2019 By Elaine Watson

We clocked a number of brands using terms from 'clean candy' to 'clean protein' on the showfloor at Expo West, but what does 'clean eating' mean, is 'clean' a term that brands should use on product labels, and where...

Euromonitor: E-commerce has changed the game for impulse snack purchases

11-Mar-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Consumers are making fewer unplanned, impulse snack purchases than they did five years ago, according to Euromonitor International's "Meeting the Needs of the New Age Snacker" webinar held last week.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Unilever is doubling-down on purpose driven brands to fuel innovation

08-Mar-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

With newcomers launching practically every day in the food and beverage industry, the pressure is on for legacy brands to up their innovation game – and according to industry giant Unilever the best way to do this is to start with modern consumers’ core...

Prebiotic chocolate? Gutsii enters US market on a mission to make gut health simple

11-Feb-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

When thinking of gut healthy foods, chocolate may not come to mind right away. However, Australian brand Gutsii is forging a spot within the functional foods market with its prebiotic chocolate line.

Soup-to-Nuts podcast: Campbell & Land O’ Lakes share strategies for meeting sustainability demands

08-Feb-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

Shoppers increasingly are making purchasing decisions based on how sustainable they perceive a product, brand or manufacturer to be, but as recently published research from Nielsen notes the consumers’ definition of sustainability is amorphous – making...

Oreo’s new ‘Stay Playful’ campaign taps Wiz Khalifa and his son to show no one is too old for fun

07-Feb-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

For decades, Oreo has encouraged consumers to play with their food by twisting, licking and dunking its iconic cookies, but the brand takes the idea to the next level in its new “Stay Playful” campaigning featuring musician Wiz Khalifa and his son Sebastian....

Back-to-basics: Euromonitor International predicts consumers will favor quality over quantity in 2019

04-Feb-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

After years of trading quality for easy year-round access to all types of food no matter the season or the region where they originated, consumers are starting to push back and instead seek more premium, authentic products, even if they are more expensive,...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: A shrinking middle class means companies must court low-income shoppers

01-Feb-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

In the last month, the food and beverage industry rallied around the hundreds of thousands of people whose paychecks were unexpectedly stopped during the partial government shutdown, but even though government is back up and running, for now, more than...

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: Consumer satisfaction in food rebounds with targets innovation, higher quality

25-Jan-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

After taking a slight hit in 2017 compared to 2016, consumer satisfaction with the food and beverage industry rebounded in 2018 as companies delivered innovative products that both surprised and delighted consumers and met their demands for healthy options.

Nightfood Ice Cream hits store shelves next month: 'If you’re already eating ice cream at night, how could you not give it a try?'

07-Jan-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Americans are snacking at all hours of the day and as the evening hours approach, those snack choices tend to take an indulgent turn into the sweet and decadent (according to Mintel). So why not position an ice cream brand to address this nighttime snacking...

Brooklyn Bites cookie brittle seeks to forge path to national distribution: ‘I want to be a brand to the world’

02-Jan-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Since launching last October, Brooklyn Bites gluten- and dairy-free cookie brittle has gained distribution in 600 stores with the goal of becoming a national brand, co-founder Barbara Dayan shared.

Final GMO labeling rule does not require labeling of highly refined ingredients from GM crops, if no modified genetic material is detectable

20-Dec-2018 By Elaine Watson

In its final GMO labeling rule - released this morning - the USDA says it will not mandate the labeling of highly refined ingredients from GM crops if no ‘modified genetic material’ is detectable, but it will allow manufacturers to make voluntary disclosures...

Staking claim to online coffee sales: Coffee brands lead e-commerce grocery sales

19-Dec-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Amazon food and beverage sales topped $4.75bn in 2018 making food/bev the fastest growing segment for the online retailer. Coffee products represented the most popular subcategory with year-to-date sales totaling more than $140m, according to Edge by...

Investing in the Future of Food: Chobani helps startups navigate food safety, picking partners and more

12-Dec-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Earlier this week, Chobani put out an open call for “big-hearted food and beverage startups” that make delicious, nutritious, natural and affordable food to help it “take on the broken food system” by participating in the fifth cohort of its highly competitive...

Rabobank experts see path forward for food & ag growth despite ongoing trade uncertainties

10-Dec-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Uncertainty surrounding the US-China trade war and the renegotiated trade deal with Canada and Mexico are taking a toll on US food and agricultural industries, but experts with Rabobank say there is hope for the future if players take action now to diversify...

PepsiCo launches accelerator in the US with 10 startups featuring ‘innovative assortment’ of products

12-Nov-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

After helping multiple startups in Europe increase their combined sales fourfold throughout the duration of it six-month Nutrition Greenhouse accelerator program, PepsiCo is now offering entrepreneurs in the US a helping hand and a shot at $100,000 in...

Market trends

Latest US chocolate and candy trends according to Mintel: Bite size, functional ingredients and premium

01-Nov-2018 By Douglas Yu

Mintel has estimated the total US chocolate confectionery sales will have grown 15% since 2012 to reach $18.5bn in 2018, with trends like bite size, functional ingredients and premium driving the overall category growth.

Edible coffee? Tierra Nueva rolls out Dunkin’ Coffee Thins at CVS stores nationwide

31-Oct-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Using proprietary patented technology to make its Coffee Thins, Tierra Nueva believes the edible coffee concept will become a multi-billion dollar category in the US given Americans’ desire for a new way to consume coffee and the quick acceptance by retailers...

Industry insight into US bakery market

31-Oct-2018 By Gill Hyslop

As consumers increasingly opt to follow a healthy lifestyle, they are demanding more gluten-free, low-carb, whole grain, organic and paleo diet products. However, there will always be a way to find an excuse to give in to indulgence, especially when it...

Trendspotting at FNCE: From plant-based to protein-packed to products tailored for specialty diets

25-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

At the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Washington, DC, manufacturers showcased a variety of new and recently launched products tailored for different diets ranging from plant-based and allergen-friendly to low-sugar and high-protein.

Nielsen: How do sales of sustainable products stack up?

24-Oct-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Sustainability-related claims on food products are popping up more frequently and while still just a small fraction of market, items mentioning sustainability outperformed the growth rate of total products in their respective category, according to Nielsen.

Startups at FoodBytes! showcase food waste, AI and plant-based solutions

21-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food and agriculture startups focused on reducing waste, using artificial intelligence to deliver higher food, and offering more sustainable and plant-based options, took center stage at Rabobank's FoodBytes! pitch competition and networking event...

Food Tech Summit & Expo in Mexico

Fiber can help manufacturers meet growing cross-generational demand for functional ingredients

09-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

As the desire to attain a healthier, longer life through diet expands beyond niche groups focused on wellness into the mainstream population, consumers increasingly are looking for functional ingredients they recognize across categories – including in...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Increased transparency translates to increased consumer loyalty, sales

05-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Transparency into how products are made, what is in them and how they impact society is no longer simply ‘nice to have’ – rather a new report from the Food Marketing Institute made possible with help from Label Insight shows that it is a ‘must-have’ for...

Food Tech Summit & Expo 2018 in Mexico

Texture is ‘the next big thing’ in food & beverage marketing in the US, Latin America, Mintel predicts

01-Oct-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Often overshadowed by flavor and color in marketing, texture plays a pivotal role in how consumers experience food and beverages, and research firm Mintel predicts that it is “the next big thing” companies should focus on as they try to keep up with demand...

Industry leaders adopt tighter voluntary nutritional standards for advertising to children 12 and younger

25-Sep-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

A voluntary decision by leading food and beverage manufacturers and restaurants to strengthen the nutritional requirements for products advertised to children in the US will require nearly half of the products currently marketed to kids to be reformulated...

Beyond pumpkin: 5 trends to track this fall in foodservice that will influence future CPGs

24-Sep-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Predicting what consumers will want to see on menus in the coming season “is a bit of a mix of art and science,” according to a product development expert at the food service distributor US Foods, but she says this fall consumers will seek out versatile...

Refrigerated bar brand bRAW rebrands as OHi to expand appeal, better communicate values

17-Sep-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

As Dawn Anderson prepared to expand distribution of her refrigerated plant-based superfood bars beyond Hawaii where they first launched to mainland US, she knew her brand needed to be more welcoming and inclusive – which is why she made the difficult...

Back-to-school spurs sales of snacks, lunchbox staples and convenient breakfast options

27-Aug-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Back-to-school season is in full swing, which means parents are stocking up on convenient lunchbox favorites, after school snacks and filling-but-fast breakfast options – helping to fuel a summer high of nearly $15.9 billion worth of fast-moving consumer...

Ample Hills Creamery hopes square pints will build brand awareness, loyalty and community

22-Aug-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

By thinking inside the box, the husband and wife duo behind Brooklyn-based ice cream company Ample Hills Creamery hopes to better connect consumers to each other and the brand with the launch of unique square-shaped pints at retail.

'Common sense clean label?' In conversation with Otis Spunkmeyer

07-Aug-2018 By Elaine Watson

To the casual observer, ‘cleaning up’ food labels sounds like an eminently sensible thing to do. After all, who wants to ingest anything ‘dirty?’ But what, precisely, are these grubby imposters apparently lurking in our foods and beverages?

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream closes Series A round aiming to take its pints to all 50 states by 2019

06-Aug-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, an artisanal ice cream brand from Brooklyn, has closed a Series A minority investment round led by Strand Equity, which the company will use to fuel its retail and wholesale businesses as well as make some major c-suite hires.

The Dough Jar founder bets combining brick and mortar with CPGs will be a recipe for success

03-Aug-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Slightly more than two years after setting out on a mission to make childhood dreams of safely eating raw cookie dough a reality, the founder of The Dough Jar is realizing her own dream come true with the opening of a brick and mortar store in the Washington,...

Nestlé sheds its image as a chocolate company through internal innovation & acquisition

01-Aug-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Through a two-prong approach focused on innovation and acquisition, Nestle is remaking its image from a company perceived in the US to make primarily chocolate and confections to one that is “fit for the future” with brands across multiple categories...

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: Can food be medicine to reverse the deadly damage of poor diets in the US?

27-Jul-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food is undeniably a central force of life, giving us the fuel we need to go about our days, but unfortunately, food also is the number one cause of poor health in America and a leading driver of death and disability.

Trendspotting at the IFT show 2018 part 2: From millennials and clean eating to Instagram-friendly food

25-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Clean label is a longstanding trend in food formulation, but that doesn't mean you should start slapping the word 'clean' on food labels, said speakers at the IFT annual meeting and expo in Chicago. Check out part two of our gallery of...

Trendspotting at IFT 2018 part 1: From cellular ag and chickpea protein to GMO labeling

25-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

This year, cell cultured meat vied with chickpea protein, animal-free gelatin and almond protein for the spotlight at the IFT annual meeting and expo in Chicago, while the clean label trend continued to gather pace. Check out part one of our gallery of...

Move over millennials, Gen Z is now shaping the food and beverage landscape

17-Jul-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The diverse and tech saavy ways of Generation Z or the iGeneration – referring to those aged 11-22 in 2018 – will have a profound impact on food and beverage formulations over the next several years, Mintel noted during a presentation at IFT 2018.

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: From the blue to elevate butter, 5 trends to watch from the Fancy Food Show

13-Jul-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

One of the best places to spot emerging trends is at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City where earlier this month more than 2,400 manufacturers and suppliers showcased more than 180,000 products ranging from innovative sweets, better-for-you snacks...

ColorKitchen extends the shelf life and vibrancy of natural colors

09-Jul-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Thousands of anecdotal reports collected by the Center For Science in the Public Interest and others correlating artificial dyes, such as Red 40, with behavior problems have prompted some parents to seek naturally colored products – many of which fall...

Your guide to IFT 2018: From cellular agriculture to smart snacks for kids

07-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Is cultured (aka ‘clean’) meat ready for prime time? And can personalized nutrition really deliver? Check out FoodNavigator-USA's guide to the hottest topics at the Institute of Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago on July...

Farmer's Fridge and Plante Moran highlight the value data brings to food and beverage brands

06-Jul-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

There's a lot of hype around 'big data' and 'data analytics', but how can you cut through the noise to distill these buzzwords down into something that is useful to your startup or established company?

If shoppers don’t trust bioengineered labels, GMO labeling will be a huge waste of time and money, say CPG brands

06-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Public comments on USDA’s GMO labeling rule have exposed sharp divisions about whether it should include refined ingredients from GM crops, or foods produced via modern gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR. But they have also raised questions about...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: What is driving sales of specialty food to outpace all food by 9 times?

06-Jul-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Specialty food used to be reserved for special occasions and accessible only to those who could afford its premium price, but increasingly specialty food is becoming everyday food sold at everyday prices that are accessible to more people.

Vermont Nut Free Chocolates expands production, distribution to meet growing needs of allergy-suffers

05-Jul-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

An estimated 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies, including 5.9 million children – or about two per classroom – and while an increasing number of companies offer products that are safe for them, there is still significant room for growth,...

Excluding refined ingredients from GMO labeling rule would confuse consumers and erode trust in brands, warns the GMA

03-Jul-2018 By Elaine Watson

Consumers will lose trust in the food industry if USDA does not mandate that refined ingredients such as oils and sugars derived from bioengineered crops are subject to GMO labeling, says the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

Hershey, Unilever: GMO labeling should apply to highly refined oils, sweeteners

30-Jun-2018 By Elaine Watson

If consumers are to believe that the food industry is serious about transparency, highly refined ingredients derived from GM crops must be included in the definition of 'bioengineered' enshrined in federal GMO labeling legislation, even if they...

FORTO ramps up distribution entering Walmart stores nationwide

19-Jun-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

FORTO Coffee Shots, a two-ounce, single-serve coffee drink brand, is migrating from check-out counters populated by other energy shot brands and into the coffee aisles of 3,700 Walmart stores beginning this month.

Embrace elasticity over perfection and four other strategies from Coolhaus to build a successful brand

14-Jun-2018 By Elizabeth Crawford

Wanting everything to be perfect when launching a new brand is understandable – but it is also a huge detriment that can delay the initial takeoff or hold back a product or company from reaching its full potential long-term, according to the CEO of ice...