Meat, fish and savory ingredients

NPD Group: US consumers beginning to weigh in environmental impact when making food and beverage purchases

15-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

An increasing proportion of US consumers (between 18- and 44-years-old) claim to be factoring in the environmental impact before purchasing a food or beverage product, according to NPD Group.

Future Meat Technologies raises $14m to commercialize cell cultured meat: 'We see a path to reality here, it’s not just something on a Power Point presentation,' says S2G Ventures

11-Oct-2019 By Elaine Watson

Future Meat Technologies is one of the few players in the nascent space to have shown how cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated’) meat could move from the lab to an industrial scale, claims one of the lead investors in a $14m Series A round that will support...

Survey: ALDI shoppers find the retailer simpler and faster to shop

11-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

More than three-quarters of ALDI shoppers polled in a survey said they find the store “simpler to shop” and at least 20% faster to shop than Kroger and Walmart stores.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Saffron Road serial entrepreneur shares what inspires millennials

11-Oct-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

Even as food and beverage brands are starting to look more closely at Gen Z shoppers to determine what they want and what makes them tick, many are still struggling to pinpoint how best to engage with millennials who Goldman Sachs has dubbed “the most...

WATCH

Soy tacos, pea burgers and jackfruit burritos: How Mexican demand for vegetarian is evolving

10-Oct-2019 By Niamh Michail

Mexican food is traditionally very meat-based but this means there are many dishes where plant-based proteins can be added. We spoke to market analysts and ingredient suppliers to find out more about the market potential.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Mercato introduces free, unlimited, same-day grocery delivery from independent and specialty grocery stores

10-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Mercato is carving out a niche spot in the e-commerce grocery market by offering same-day, unlimited, and free delivery from local grocers for its members.

VMG Partners acquires popchips to anchor new branded snacking platform

09-Oct-2019 By Elaine Watson

Private equity firm VMG Partners is betting big on the snacks category with the formation of a new division – Velocity Snacks Brands (VSB) – set up to buy, incubate and grow snack brands, beginning with the acquisition of the popchips* brand from majority...

news in brief

Nestlé gears up for 2020 launch of the ‘PB triple play,’ a 'no-compromise plant-based bacon cheeseburger'

09-Oct-2019 By Elaine Watson

In 2020, diners ordering Nestlé's plant-based Awesome Burger (in the US) or Incredible Burger (in Europe) will be able to pair it with plant-based cheese and bacon via the 'PB triple play’: a "no-compromise plant-based bacon cheeseburger."

Product differentiation, enhanced services set retailers apart, influence stocked products

08-Oct-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

As food retail competition rises with the entrance of more nontraditional formats, omni-channel players, pure play eCommerce and stepped-up conventional supermarkets, some retailers are leveraging product differentiation and services to gain a competitive...

Imperfect Produce becomes Imperfect Foods as it expands offerings across categories & distribution

07-Oct-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

After almost five years of rescuing so-called ‘ugly’ produce from being wasted and instead selling it at a steep discount to consumers in a conveniently delivered subscription box, Imperfect Produce is ready to level up and sell a wider variety of food...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: What will it take to bring animal-free cultivated meat & fish to market?

04-Oct-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

Once the stuff of science fiction or far-flung futuristic dreams, the ability to eat juicy sausages, fish fillets or a sizzling steak without having to first slaughter an animal is rapidly becoming a reality as the cultured-meat and -seafood industries...

Impossible Burger No. 1 packaged item at Gelson's: 'We had die-hard Impossible fans buying 10 packages at a time'

01-Oct-2019 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The Impossible Burger, which is sold in more than 17,000 restaurants nationwide, is now seeing explosive demand for its products at retail stores, new territory for the brand.

Quorn shares 5 ways meat-alternatives can sustain their rapid rise

01-Oct-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

With Nielsen data showing dollar sales of plant-based foods in the US growing more than 20% in 2018 over the prior year to top $3.3bn, it is clear the industry is booming, but to sustain this momentum, a leader for the meat-alternative brand Quorn says...

WATCH: Higher Steaks talks cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated’) meat at FoodBytes! Chicago

30-Sep-2019 By Elaine Watson

Cell-cultured or ‘cultivated’ meat offers the promise of ‘real meat’ – not a plant-based approximation – without raising and slaughtering millions of animals. But is it attracting the same level of investment, and how soon might it realistically come...

Soup-to-Nuts Podcast: 6 trends spotted at Expo East from cauliflower & hemp to ‘going digital’

27-Sep-2019 By Elizabeth Crawford

Hemp and CBD continued to reign as one of the top food and beverage trends at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore last week, just as they did at the event’s counterpart Expo West last March – but also just like at West they were far from the only...