Health and nutritional ingredients

Startup Spotlight

[Video] Startup élevé stands out in crowded sparkling water category with vintage-inspired packaging

22-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Startup élevé distinguishes its adaptogenic sparkling water brand in a saturated market through its vintage-inspired packaging, natural ingredients and distribution, co-founders and CEOs Tanya Major and Dianna Aguilar tell FoodNavigator-USA in this episode...

Bluestein Ventures closes third fund with $45m to focus on nutrition, sustainability, digitization

20-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private equity firm Bluestein Ventures has raised $45m for its third fund to invest in companies focused on nutrition, sustainability, and digitization, the firm’s co-managing partners Andrew Bluestein and Ashley Hartman told FoodNavigator-USA.

Myprotein: Breaking stereotypes and empowering women in sports nutrition

20-Feb-2024 By Olivia Haslam

A significant number of women still do not perceive sports nutrition as essential for their fitness goals, a persisting misconception that The Hut Group (THG), owner of supplement brand Myprotein, is working to dispel.

What role does frozen food play in reducing food waste?

19-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

As the USDA, EPA, and FDA, advance their strategy to reduce food waste, the America Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) is sharing how freezing food can cut down on wasted food and provide consumers with convenient and nutritious food, the organization’s president...

Dietary fiber benefits are highly individualized: Study

19-Feb-2024 By Asia Sherman

Not all gut microbiomes react to dietary fiber in the same way, according to a recent study that explored the complex relationship between the two in the context of colitis sensitivity.

FMI: Grocery stores become ‘an accessible destination for health and wellbeing'

16-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Food companies and retailers increasingly are leaning on the expertise of dietitians and medical professionals to support their nutrition, health, and wellbeing initiatives, FMI -- The Food Industry Association shared in a recent report.

Balchem partners with Virginia Tech to study the impact of minerals on human health

16-Feb-2024 By Stephen Daniells

Specialty ingredient player Balchem has joined with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) to found the Virginia Tech Mineral Metabolism Research Center, dedicated to studying the impact of mineral nutrition in human health.

Eat JUST relaunches condiment line after discontinuing in 2020

15-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The discontinuation of Eat Just Inc.'s Just Mayo and Just Ranch products in 2020, despite market success, was a strategic play to “put every bit of energy into JUST Egg,” the company’s flagship animal-free liquid egg alternative, before relaunching...

RIND Snacks complements core business with Small Batch Organics acquisition

13-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Fruit snack brand RIND acquired Vermont-based granola manufacturer Small Batch Organics for an undisclosed sum as part of an initiative to shore up its supply chain and expand into the private label business, Matt Weiss, co-founder and CEO, told FoodNavigator-USA.

Odyssey Elixir raises $6m to shore up inventory, expand in c-stores

12-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Functional mushroom brand Odyssey Elixir raised $6m, which will help it keep up with inventory and expand its distribution, including in c-stores, company founder and CEO Scott Frohman told FoodNavigator-USA.

AHA Heart-Check validates ‘breakthrough innovation’ behind HealthSense High-Fiber Wheat Flour

12-Feb-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Bay State Milling Company’s HealthSense High-Fiber Wheat Flour joins the elite ranks of products bearing the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Certification – an achievement that could help unlock access to consumers interested in the health benefits...

Misfits Market enters logistic business, ‘extremely bullish on online grocery delivery’

08-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Misfits Market is opening its logistic system to perishable brands through a new service, as the company remains optimistic about the online grocery delivery market, company CEO and founder Abhi Ramesh told FoodNavigator-USA.

‘Store brands as a brand': FedUp Foods co-founder sees sustainability, functional opportunity in private-label beverages

07-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private-label is shaking off its fast-follower status as partnerships between manufacturers and brands become stronger, allowing for quicker innovation that responds to consumers' demand for endurable and functional products, Andreas Schneider, co-founder...

Gut-health soda market heats up: Health-Ade launches SunSip

05-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Kombucha maker Health-Ade is throwing its hat into the prebiotic soda ring again with SunSip, as consumers continue to seek out gut-health claims in the carbonated beverage category.

How Blume developed itself as a post-coffee ritual brand

05-Feb-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Alternative coffee brand Blume’s founder and CEO, Karen Danudjaja, started the adaptogenic latte blend brand in 2017 when she was looking not only for a delicious and functional coffee alternative, but an alternative ritual to coffee, she explained to...

'Plant-based foods are here to stay,’ Dr. Praeger’s on rebrand, category’s evolution

02-Feb-2024 By Ryan Daily

Dr. Praeger’s is celebrating 30 years in frozen foods with a new look and feel, designed to showcase the deliciousness of plant-based foods, former brand CEO and current special advisor & board member, Larry Praeger, told FoodNavigator-USA.

‘Wellness is a luxury for certain consumers,’ NIQ shares how Ozempic, protein, clean labels are motivating consumers in 2024

31-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Consumers' focus on value during months of high inflation has impacted the wellness market in 2023, but GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and clean-label and protein-rich products are poised to grow the space in 2024, Sherry Frey, VP of total wellness for...

ALDI lays out multi-pronged approach to creating a greener private-label business

31-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Private-label giant and retailer ALDI is leveraging its deep partnerships with food manufacturers and ingredient companies to create sustainable products while making their retail stores more energy efficient, Una Hrnjak, director of sustainability at...

Dollar General turns to AI-based Shelf Engine to sustainably grow produce business

29-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Dollar General leverages AI-based automated-ordering software Shelf Engine to efficiently bring more fresh produced to its shelves, reduce food waste and ensure stocked shelves in the process.

Move Nutrition offers sneak peek at survey findings ahead of big reveal at SANS

25-Jan-2024 By Danielle Masterson

Michigan-based Move Nutrition Network, a new resource for active and sports nutrition education, recently reached out to more than 500 sports and active nutrition practitioners (sports dietitians, sports nutritionists, and trainers) to find out where...

How GT’s Living Foods is leveraging social media to inform kombucha innovation

24-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

GT’s Living Foods is leveraging social-media to find new SYNERGY kombucha flavors, as the brand revamps its strategy to better engage with consumers about the importance of gut-health, the brand’s director of social media marketing, Sam Ayers, told FoodNavigator-USA....

McKinsey Future of Wellness 2024 trends: Eye on personalized and credible solutions

24-Jan-2024 By Asia Sherman

Consumers are taking greater control of their health and expect companies to provide effective, science-backed solutions, according to insights provided by McKinsey & Company.

MOSS taps into functional demand with sea moss beverage, launches in Sprouts

23-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Health food and beverage company Dr Smood is taking its functional MOSS beverage to more store shelves in 2024, as the company continues to find ways to spread the word about sea moss’s functional properties, company executives and sales professionals...

Bakeries rebuild margins in 2023, promotions provide an opportunity to regain volumes in 2024

22-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

After years of supply-chain issues, the bakery market is starting 2024 with lower commodity prices and higher margins but will need to lead on innovation and promotions to build back volumes, JP Frossard, VP of consumer foods analyst, told FoodNavigator-USA.

NPD Trend Tracker: From Deliciously Ella-inspired recipe boxes to menopause tea

22-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

Which new products are hitting the shelves? In our latest NPD round-up, look at a new menopause infusion made with hibiscus, rosehip and passion flower; a ‘veggie spin’ on the classic macaroni cheese and bacon dish; and a flavour mashup between Baileys...

Consumers are unsure what processed foods are, but seek to avoid them, IFIC reports

19-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

American consumers say they are cutting out processed foods from their diet, despite many not fully understanding what they are, Alyssa Pike, senior manager of nutrition communications at the International Food Information Council (IFIC), shared during...

Startup Spotlight

[Video] ELAVI's journey to Costco and reinvigorating its brand

18-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Participating in Costco’s RoadShow and interacting directly with consumers to sample its gut-friendly, cashew dessert spreads gave WOC-founded startup ELAVI insights that would have “cost thousands of dollars” to acquire elsewhere, allowing it to make...

Brew Dr. taps into low-sugar demand with Sipjoy release, aims ‘to drive more of the core in 2024’

16-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Kombucha brand Brew Dr. launches a low-sugar probiotic seltzer, Sipjoy, as the company continues to focus on its core business of fermented-tea beverages, at a time of increased consumer demand for gut health-focused products, brand CEO Dan Stangler told...

Daily Harvest’s January Jumpstart program features GLP-1-focused meal plans

15-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Daily Harvest's debut of its GLP-1 Companion Food Collection as part of its quick-to-prep January Jumpstart plan includes “meals made with only real foods that are calorie-conscious while delivering ample vitamins and minerals,” Carolina Schneider,...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: From women’s health to guajillo peppers, Tastewise reveals food trends to watch in 2024

15-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Once considered taboo and woefully underfunded in terms of research and product development, women’s health will continue to emerge as a major growth opportunity for food and beverage brands in 2024 as hormonal health and menopause rise to the top of...

Women's health, sustainability, promotions top SPINS CPG trends list for 2024

12-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Market research company SPINS' annual CPG trends report shows that in 2024 focus and innovation will increase for women's health, sustainability will remain important but not be consumers' first purchase drive, and retailers and brands...

Kabrita USA latest to launch goat-milk infant formula, leans on science to educate parents on health benefits

12-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Kabrita USA launches a goat-milk infant formula following a lengthy process to determine its whey protein concentrate and non-fat dry goat milk as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for infants, the brand’s director of medical and scientific affairs...

NourishedRx joins ProHealth Connect network, expanding food and nutrition access for 17 million individuals

12-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

A partnership between digital health and nutrition company NourishedRx and healthcare fintech platform ProHealth Connect will provide additional personalized choices, including home-delivered food and nutritional support services, for 46 payers within...

Precision versus personalization: AHARA explores a “new frontier” in nutrition

10-Jan-2024 By Deniz Ataman

With the rising popularity of personalized nutrition plans, AHARA’s app takes personalization one step further through precision nutrition, a combination of machine-learning, evidence-based nutrition science and an international advisory board to verify...

Vegetarian consumers feel left out in today’s market, Ingredient Communications reports

09-Jan-2024 By Ryan Daily

Vegetarian consumers are increasingly dissatisfied with the food choices available to them, as 100% plant-based might have deterred some shoppers, according to research conducted by market research company SurveyGoo and commissioned by Ingredient Communications....

Not all ultra-processed foods impact health the same way, research suggests

04-Jan-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Intensifying criticism of ultra-processed foods without nuanced consideration of their nutrition could unfairly tar some plant-based meats and milks that “compare well with their animal-based counterparts,” which may be viewed more favorably because they...

[Video] “Functionality within snacking has just exploded,” Riverside Natural Foods CEO unpacks market trends

21-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

Riverside Natural Foods, the parent company of MadeGood and GOOD TO GO, is tapping into the need for allergen-free snacks at all hours of the day, as the company is staying focused on business fundamentals to grow its brand in the new year, company president...

Bob’s Natural readies Pinole Chips retail expansion, taps into better-for-you snack trends

20-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

Bob’s Natural is gearing up to take its Pinole Chips to more retail shelves in the new year, tapping into the demand for functional and better-for-you snacks, brand founder and CEO Bob Gruder told FoodNavigator-USA.

Digital trends: Women's health tops the charts

20-Dec-2023 By Nikki Hancocks

A 2024 food trends report from Tastewise informs that women’s health concerns have topped the online conversation charts in the last 12 months, with hormone health top of consumer health agendas.

Assessing the Ozempic effect: What food, beverage companies can do now to create healthier products

19-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

As the debate on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and public health continues, CPG companies have a range of opportunitied to create healthier products now, which can have meaningful impacts on consumer health, Hank Cardello, leadership solutions program...

Springdale Ventures raises $40M for Fund II, targets early-stage CPG brands

19-Dec-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Nearly doubling its size since 2019, the Austin-based venture capital firm secures its new funding round with backing from returning limited partners, family offices, entrepreneurs, and athletes.

AHARA partners with Instacart to streamline shopping for personalized nutrition

15-Dec-2023 By Deniz Ataman

Precision nutrition and food-tech platform AHARA's integration with Instacart allows users to easily add nutritionist-recommended items to their grocery lists on the food delivery platform.

Zevia CEO gives “up edgy and cool to be timeless and iconic”

12-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

Consistent branding and values can create a stronger business over time compared to chasing trends or copying the competition, which can dilute a brand's long-term impact, according to Zevia CEO Amy Taylor.

White Claw launches electrolyte-enhanced 0% Alcohol: ‘It’s a fundamentally new kind of drink for every kind of adult drinker that could only come from White Claw’

08-Dec-2023 By Rachel Arthur

Hard seltzer pioneer White Claw is launching White Claw 0% Alcohol in the US in January: ‘a radically new beverage’ that is designed to combine White Claw flavors with hydrating electrolytes while replicating the complexity of alcohol.

'AI is not the future, it's the present,’ Tastewise’s CMO discusses speeding up industry's digital transformation

07-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

AI has the power to speed the food and beverage industry's digital transformation, as companies leverage it for product develop and to forecast upcoming trends, Jacques Botbol, CMO of Tastewise, told FoodNavigator-USA.

Sugar reduction in 2024: How consumer demands, health policies will influence product launches

07-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

As consumers become increasingly wary of sugar content, CPG companies are meeting the demand for zero-sugar products with the help of natural sweeteners, a trend set to gain momentum in the US as regulators and scientists push for reductions.

Iced tea vet Seth Goldman shares advice on how to create an enduring beverage brand at BevNET Live

07-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

Keeping costs in line and managing margins of at least 30% after trade spend is essential for creating an enduring brand in today's economic landscape, beverage industry veteran Seth Goldman advised during BevNET 2023.

Mood support, natural sweeteners set to disrupt beverage market, SPINS shares at BevNET Live

07-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

Functional and wellness attributes and mood-boosting and naturally sweetened drinks are primed for growth in the year to come, Scott Dicker, market insight director at SPINS, shared at BevNET Live.

Will margins be the price of regenerative ag? GoodSAM CEO shares insights ahead of COP28 session

04-Dec-2023 By Ryan Daily

Food and beverage companies are embracing regenerative agriculture in the face of the global warming crisis, but the entire ecosystem might have to change some long-held beliefs in order to make an impact, Heather K. Terry, CEO and founder of chocolate,...

IFT announces Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge seed grant winners, growth grant and grand prize finalists

29-Nov-2023 By Ryan Daily

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the Seeding The Future Foundation announced seed grant winners and the finalists for the growth grants and grand prizes for the third annual Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge.