Meat, fish and savory ingredients

BlueNalu: Tech breakthroughs will unlock ‘significant profitability’ for large-scale cell-cultured seafood

05-Oct-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

San Diego-based BlueNalu has outlined plans for a large-scale cell-cultured seafood plant it anticipates will be operational in 2027. This will deploys technology it claims can “unlock the path to significant profitability” and enable a projected 75%...

Introducing the FoodNavigator-USA digital summit: Futureproofing the Food System Nov 15-17

01-Oct-2022 By Elaine Watson

The western diet – and the food system that underpins it – is becoming increasingly unsustainable, for the health of humans and the planet. So how do we futureproof the food system to deliver healthier, more sustainable products that nourish our bodies...

Who is being hit hardest by inflation? Less-healthy older adults, poll finds

30-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Record-high levels of food inflation are impacting different segments of the population differently, with those over the age of 50 who rate their physical or mental health as 'fair' or 'poor' struggling the most, a recent poll conducted...

UNFI executes against its growth strategy, ramps up warehouse automation investment

29-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Ending its fiscal year on a strong note, grocery wholesaler UNFI is ramping up investment in warehouse automation and robotics as part of its long-term growth plan to enhance efficiencies and long-term profitability for its customers.

Number of US households online grocery shopping has grown 116% since 2019, finds Brick Meets Click/Mercatus

29-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Year-over-year online grocery sales slipped slightly in August 2022 vs. August 2021, but research from Brick Meets Click/Mercatus shows a dramatic increase in online grocery shopping behavior over the past three years.

Dairy cows at higher welfare risk than beef cattle – study

29-Sep-2022 By Teodora Lyubomirova

Dairy herds are more likely to experience worse welfare than cattle raised solely for beef, a multi-national study has revealed.

Future of plant-based meat: 'The addressable market may be more limited than many thought,' says Deloitte

28-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

What's behind the recent slow down of the plant-based meat category? According to new research from Deloitte, there are several factors at play including a more limited addressable market, the pressure from inflation, and questions around the products'...

NotCo to launch NotChicken at Sprouts nationwide, unveil first fruits of Kraft Heinz JV, by year end

28-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

Santiago-based NotCo - which claims to offer superior products in the alt meat set through the use of an artificial intelligence platform called ‘Giuseppe’ - is gearing up to enter the increasingly crowded US plant-based chicken category with NotChicken,...

Could reframing ‘food as medicine’ counter rising prices that are pushing healthier options out of reach?

27-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food prices at near forty-year highs now overshadow most other consumer concerns about grocery shopping – including fears of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing violence in stores – prompting many to rethink where they shop, what they buy and what product...

Costco sees uptick in store traffic and membership renewals as shoppers realize value of mass & club channel

26-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

With many consumers fixated on the price of their grocery bill amid ongoing inflation, mass and club channel retailers such as Costco are seeing increased foot traffic and higher shopper spending at its stores.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: ‘There hasn’t been a better time for small brands to help transform the CPG industry’

26-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

As consumers navigate rising inflation, out-of-stocks due to lingering supply chain and labor challenges and contemplate the potential impact of their purchases on the environment and workers, they are more willing to push aside old loyalties and try...

InnovaFeed raises $250m to expand edible insect platform, build plant in Decatur, IL

22-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

InnovaFeed, a French company with global ambitions in the edible insect arena, has raised $250m in a series D round* backed by agri-food giants including ADM and Cargill, and says it will break ground on a large-scale production facility to farm black...

General Mills’ new digital rewards program, marketing drive sales, consumer loyalty

21-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

General Mills is gaining market share and driving higher sales despite ongoing supply chain challenges and price hikes thanks in part to strategic investments in brand building and digital consumer engagement, including through a new rewards program,...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: How can plant-based protein overcome sliding sales, better meet consumer demand?

19-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Plant-based meat alternatives continue their downward slide with sales, units and volume all dropping in July from a year ago – a trajectory that IRI data crunched by 210 Analytics shows was set in motion months ago, but which doesn't shake at least...

Kraft Heinz is ready to move beyond ‘good’ to ‘great,’ which ‘is a very different game’

16-Sep-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

After previous plans to boost Kraft Heinz’s profit margins and add value by aggressively cutting costs and practicing zero-based budgeting went awry and caused the company’s stock and consumer trust to plummet, Miguel Patricio was focused on the basics...

Quorn Foods USA president talks meat alternatives: ‘We all need to take a deep breath’

16-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

It’s been a “rollercoaster year” for meat alternatives, acknowledges Quorn Foods USA president Judd Zusel. But flagging sales in some parts of the market do not mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.

‘There’s going to be a lot of burnt capital…’ Navigating the ‘hand-wringing phase’ of alt meat investment

12-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

The long-term imperative driving meat alternatives is clear: We only have one planet, with a growing population and finite resources, and raising animals to feed them all just takes up too many of them, says Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer at...

Beyond Meat hits Panda Express locations nationwide for a limited time with Beyond The Original Chicken

07-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

Panda Express is rolling out Beyond: The Original Orange Chicken – a “plant-powered” entrée co-developed with Beyond Meat – to 2,300+ US locations until November 30, while supplies last, following a successful small-scale trial in 2021.

Conagra Brands (Gardein) talks alt meat: ‘There's no way the space supports 20 manufacturers making plant-based burger patties’

06-Sep-2022 By Elaine Watson

“12-18 months ago, refrigerated plant-based meat was growing at three times frozen and we were thinking should we try and jump into that?” recalls Bob Nolan, SVP demand science at Conagra Brands, which acquired alt meat brand Gardein in 2018 via the acquisition...

Organoid tech can deliver 3D tissue in cellular agriculture: ‘It is a highly scalable platform that bypasses the scaffolding stage’

06-Sep-2022 By Katy Askew

Forsea Foods has developed cell-cultured fish leveraging its patented organoid technology. FoodNavigator hears how this novel approach is simplifying the process of growing animal cells in bioreactors and assembling them into whole cuts and fillets.

Campbell Soup Co. sees more consumers switch to private label in condensed soup and broths

03-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Campbell Soup Co. reported a 6% net sales increase to $2bn in Q4 2022 (three months ended July 31, 2022) vs. the prior year, while volumes declined (-4%) for the quarter, revealing consumers may be rethinking some of their name brand purchases in favor...

Brightfield Group: 'Plant-forward consumers are going to be the ones to make or break the category. And right now their loyalty is wavering'

01-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The pressure of inflation and general consumer disillusionment are causing an overall downward trend in self-reported consumer usage of plant-based categories, finds new research from Evergi, Brightfield Group's research platform.

Walmart acquires minority stake in Sustainable Beef

01-Sep-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In a bid to provide its customers with more "high-quality, affordable" beef, Walmart has acquired a minority stake in Nebraska-based Sustainable Beef.

Cheese flavors lead savory snacking category, finds Kerry

31-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

In the bellwether category of savory snacks, cheese-flavored options are outpacing the overall segment in new product launches and consumer preferences, finds new research from Kerry.

Impossible Foods tweaks formulation, slashes saturated fat: ‘The category has done a lousy job of explaining itself,' says CEO

26-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

While weakening retail sales and grim quarterly earnings from some publicly listed players have prompted intense debate about the future of meat alternatives, the “crisis of confidence” this has prompted has overshadowed the fact that amid all this noise,...

Future Meat Technologies unveils cultivated lamb, aims to break ground on US facility early 2023: ‘Price parity has to be the goal’

25-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

Future Meat Technologies is finalizing the site selection process for a large-scale cultivated meat plant in the US, with plans to break ground early next year and start manufacturing in 2024. However, it hopes to get products from its pilot plant in...

Almost 90% of marine species at risk under high emissions scenarios: ‘Mitigation needs to occur now’

25-Aug-2022 By Katy Askew

Fresh research shows that high emissions scenarios place the vast majority of ocean life at ‘high’ or ‘critical’ risk, with implications for the economic wellbeing of costal economies and future food security.

Plant-based meat by numbers in US retail: A tale of two temperature states

23-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

US retail sales of meat alternatives in measured channels tell a tale of two temperature states. Dollar sales of refrigerated meat alternatives are declining in double-digits, while frozen products are growing in the high single digits, according to IRI...

Aleph Farms CEO: ‘It has been clear for a while that plant-based analogs will not displace meat’

22-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

“It has been clear for a while that plant-based analogs will not displace meat,” says the CEO of Israeli cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated’) meat co Aleph Farms. “The addressable market is larger for cultivated meat than for plant-based because the products...

Target cuts overloaded inventory levels to refocus on high-growth categories

19-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Target has cut its inventory levels by 20% in the last two months in a conscious effort to streamline its business and set the company up for improved long-term growth, shared chairman and CEO Brian Cornell.

JUST Egg reaches price parity with premium chicken eggs: 'It's an opportunity for trial by consumers who may have been on the fence before,' says CEO

15-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

As the average retail price of chicken eggs has surged 51% in the past year, JUST Egg has reduced pricing for its 12-ounce plant-based liquid egg product by 41%, reaching cost parity with premium chicken egg competitors, according to recent data from...

Why are food prices continuing to go up while inflation eases in other categories?

15-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Notoriously thin operating margins in the food supply chain will likely keep manufacturers and retailers from incrementally lowering prices even as input costs begin to come down – preferring instead to wait until the economic landscape stabilizes and...

Prices for key food commodities remain high even as overall wholesale costs dip

12-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

In another sign that inflation may be peaking, wholesale prices fell month-over-month for the first time in July since April 2020, but commodities remain significantly higher than last year, suggesting it may be well into next year before food manufacturers...

ADM to commercialize Benson Hill ultra-high protein soy ingredients with first products to launch in early 2023

11-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

ADM will soon begin processing ultra-high protein (UHP) soybeans from farm tech company Benson Hill with the first commercialized products expected to hit the market in early 2023.

Food prices continue to climb, prompting some shoppers to rethink grocery budgets

11-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

While overall inflation in the US cooled slightly in July, giving hope to some economists that financial pressures may be peaking, food prices continue to climb at their fastest rate in more than 40 years – suggesting the economic recovery still has a...

Younger consumers less engaged with condiments category, says Mintel

10-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The popularity of condiments soared during the pandemic as consumers used the products as an easy way to elevate an otherwise bland meal made at home, notes Mintel, which says that condiment brands must engage with younger consumers to ensure future long-term...

Paragon Pure unveils OléPBM vegan fat targeting plant-based meat applications

09-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Fresh off closing a $3.9m seed funding round* led by Unovis Asset Management, Paragon Pure is debuting its OléPBM alternative fat technology made from rice bran oil, which it claims outperforms palm and coconut oils in plant-based meat products.

Tyson Foods sees mixed results as higher protein prices drive shifts in shopping

09-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Higher grocery prices across categories are starting to take a toll on consumers as they pull back on premium cuts of meat, overall animal protein volume and seek less expensive, value options, Tyson Food executives reported during the company’s third...

New CEO at Motif FoodWorks after recent round of layoffs

04-Aug-2022 By Elaine Watson

Boston-based food tech firm Motif FoodWorks has promoted its CTO Dr Michael Leonard to the role of CEO, effective immediately, as current CEO Jonathan McIntyre moves to an advisory role in the company.

IFT FIRST

Investors zero in on recession-resistant foods, strong track records as economy resets

02-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Despite the difficult economic reset underway in the capital markets and lingering supply chain challenges, rising inflation and the growing threat of a recession, investors are still interested in the food and beverage space, according to one investment...

Amazon brick-and-mortar sales up double digits, 'We continue to improve the customer experience,' says CEO

01-Aug-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Net sales in Amazon's physical stores - Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go - grew 12.5% year-on-year to $4.72bn in Q2 2022 and grew 2.8% vs Q1, 2022.

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: What does ‘plant-based’ mean to consumers? FMI investigates

01-Aug-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

As consumer interest in ‘plant-based’ products has grown in recent years, so too have products proudly proclaiming their status as such – but what does the term actually mean, and how influential is it really?

Trendspotting at IFT First 2022: From upcycled foods to plant-based meat and dairy innovation

27-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

The IFT First 2022 show floor was abundant with companies touting their upcycled ingredients and other exhibitors highlighting plant-based meat and dairy innovation. Take a look at some of the trends highlighted at the show this year.

IFT First

Spoonshot: ‘The need for seafood alternatives has become absolutely vital’

26-Jul-2022 By Elizabeth Crawford

Two incompatible trends – increasing interest in seafood and climate change – are opening the door for the alternative seafood market, but for this emerging segment to reach its full potential, stakeholders must better align their go-to ingredients with...

Inflation is pushing consumers towards private label, says Catalina

22-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

As inflation pushes consumers to seek out more affordable products, retailers are seeing a surge in unit sales in certain private label categories, according to data and insights firm Catalina.

Trendspotting at IFT First 2022: Alt proteins… is it time to under promise and over-deliver?

22-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

So-called ‘alternative proteins’ – from upcycled barley and canola protein to animal-free whey made in fermentation tanks using genetically engineered microbes – were a hot topic at IFT First in Chicago. But with US retail sales of some meat alternatives...

Meat from mycelium: Fungi fueled Meati Foods raises $150m to make Holy Grail of alt meat: whole cuts. 'We're creating a whole new category...'

21-Jul-2022 By Elaine Watson

Boulder-based Meati Foods – which is seeking to differentiate itself in the increasingly crowded meat-alternative space with a fungi-based platform capable of producing ‘steaks’ and other whole cuts – has raised $150m in a Series C round led by Revolution...

Home Chef opens new facility to support growing customer base

20-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Kroger-owned meal kit company Home Chef is expanding its southeast footprint with a new dedicated 181,000-square-foot production facility in Georgia to support its growing customer base.

Online grocery sales up +6% year-over-year while consumer price sensitivity and ongoing COVID concerns set in

18-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Online grocery sales totaled $7.2bn for June 2022, tracking ahead of the same month last year (+6%) and slightly above May 2022 figures (+1%), according to the latest data from Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

IFT FIRST: Mintel highlights need for fat innovation in plant-based foods

15-Jul-2022 By Mary Ellen Shoup

While still a growing $7.4bn industry, plant-based foods have some significant hurdles to overcome around formulation especially in the area of fat content, according to Mintel.