What’s popular this Thanksgiving? Brining, baking and brand buzz
From budget-friendly feasts to playful twists, brands are blending affordability, nostalgia and creativity to win over holiday hosts
Bakery
Top 5 F&B ingredients trends driving market growth towards $560bn
The global food and beverage ingredients market is booming. But what are the trends powering industry growth?
Cocoa’s gone wild: Could malted barley flour be the calm in the chaos?
With cocoa costs spiraling, Briess is pitching malted barley flour as a reliable, clean label lifeline for bakers and snack makers
Emulsifiers in food and beverage: Market growth and health risks
New research linking omnipresent emulsifiers to gut damage and obesity is raising tough questions for manufacturers
UPFs surge unevenly across global markets - where’s next?
Ultra-processed diets aren’t equally dominant worldwide - but in some countries, they’re rising fast
Opinion
The snackdown: The Lancet just declared war on UPFs
The Lancet’s new UPF Series doesn’t politely enter the UPF debate – it kicks the door open and bakery and snacks are suddenly standing in the blast zone
AI platform Keychain raises $10M to help retailers speed private-label product launches
The funding backs Keychain360, a new operating system designed to cut product launch time by up to 30% and streamline sourcing, compliance and vendor management for retailers
General Mills, WK Kellogg & Ferrero spark a fresh fight for the breakfast bowl
Once the poster child for easy mornings, breakfast cereal has been losing shelf swagger. Now a new wave of innovation, investment and protein-packed reinvention is pushing the category back into the spotlight
Grupo Bimbo shakes up its top ranks in Mexico and the US
The world’s biggest bakery group is ushering in a new era, installing a new chief at the helm in Mexico and announcing a major handover at Bimbo Bakeries USA
60 Years of the Pillsbury Doughboy: 3 Lessons in brand longevity and digital innovation
From AR experiences to influencer partnerships, Pillsbury’s 60-year-old icon shows how heritage brands can stay fresh by fusing emotional equity with digital innovation
Non-UPF Verified debuts standard for CPG brands
The standard includes ingredient criteria and processing intensity that align with nutrition research and food system realities
Prepare for turbulence: AI, retail media networks and M&A shifts require a new growth playbook
After years of price-driven gains, Acosta’s John Carroll warns the industry must pivot to tech-enabled collaboration to reignite meaningful unit growth
The Every Company closed $55 million in Series D to make alt proteins ‘accessible to everyone’
The producer of animal-free egg whites and egg white proteins plans to scale to the mass market, starting with Walmart
Private sector steps in as USDA funds partial SNAP benefits
With federal resources stretched thin, private and retail sector efforts grow critical to sustaining access and demand across SNAP shoppers
Top 5 Christmas confectionery trends 2025
Holidays are coming! Discover the confectionery trends driving festive sales in 2025
Protein, please: NPD with real muscle
Protein’s still flexing hard, but it’s left the gym and hit the grocery aisle
Mondelēz’s travel retail playbook: A blueprint for sweets and snacks success
Travel retail is no longer just about luxury - confectionery is taking off. Discover how Mondelēz is turning airports into brand-building playgrounds
Mondelēz rethinks new product development and distribution strategy as US consumers cut back on snacks
The snack giant will expand value offerings, boost innovation in better-for-you products and indulgent items, and refine promotions to reignite growth
Inside the gluten revolution: The 3 breakthroughs bakers should pay attention to
From gene-edited wheat to a three-minute gluten test, scientists are rethinking gluten-free baking and the results could change everything
Inside discount retailer Lidl US’ recipe for success: Fresh, value and focus
From SKU rationalization to supplier partnerships and front-line empowerment, CEO Joel Rampoldt is reshaping Lidl US’ playbook for sustainable growth and earning consumer loyalty along the way
Staying true while scaling up: The evolution of breakfast bar brand Olyra
After finding early success in the natural channel, Olyra revamped its packaging, flavors and formulation to resonate with mainstream consumers while preserving the ancient Greek roots at the heart of its story
Government shutdown threatens CPG brands tied to SNAP and WIC
As the shutdown nears its fourth week, the SNAP and WIC funding crisis is rippling through retail supply chains, jeopardizing access to food and CPG category stability
Can wheat be safer without sacrificing taste?
Reduced-allergen wheat could transform baking, letting brands deliver better-for-you products without sacrificing quality or consumer experience
Ultra-processed food regulation could backfire if paired with public health cuts, experts warn
Reduced funding for nutrition and obesity prevention programs and unintentional consequences of policymakers defining UPFs based just on the NOVA system could erase hard-won health gains and hinder food security
UPF awareness rises but confusion reigns over what’s healthy, Non-GMO Project finds
Consumer concern about UPFs has surged, but understanding still lags far behind, according to new research from the Non-GMO Project
Soup-to-Nuts Podcast
Finding comfort in chaos: How food will help consumers cope in 2026
After a year marketed by rising prices, food safety confusion and supply chain fears, ADM predicts consumers in 2026 will gravitate toward nostalgic, sensory-rich foods and beverages that help restore their resilience
Sweeteners in focus
Letter from the editor: Sweeteners in focus - navigating the taste, tech and trade-offs
Consumers’ evolving preferences, clean-label demands and political debates are reshaping sugar and alternative sweeteners - and challenging brands to innovate without compromise
Sweeteners in focus
Sugar isn’t the only sweet solution: How modern sweeteners are changing the game
Kerry Group and NotCo show how advanced sweetening systems can overcome many of the technical, sustainability and cost barriers with sugar reduction
Sweeteners in focus
Whole Foods crowns ‘sweet, but make it mindful’ a trend to watch in 2026 – opening the door for real sugar’s comeback
The retailer predicts that consumers will embrace real sugar, but less of it in the new year – driving demand for products sweetened with cane sugar, honey and fruit instead of other alternatives
Most CPG ads miss the mark with video gamer players: Here is how to fix it
CPG marketers can’t afford outdated strategies when it comes to connecting with video game players. Learn what works now in FoodNavigator-USA’s free webinar Fueling Fun: Connecting with Esports Enthusiasts and Everyday Gamers FTW
Kerry turns consumer insights into sustainable food solutions
Kerry’s sustainable nutrition spectrum guides CPG brands in reformulating foods that meet evolving consumer expectations for health, sustainability and taste.
Soup-To-Nuts Podcast
Inside Kellanova’s clean room: How a new AI data strategy drove 36% gains for Special K
Kellanova’s pilot offers a blueprint for using data clean rooms to bridge gaps between brands and retailers, unlock deeper shopper insights and rebuild brand value amid inflationary pressure
Ferrero’s WK Kellogg takeover has everyone talking
With Ferrero’s $3.1 billion deal for WK Kellogg done and dusted, the cereal aisle is buzzing again and competitors are scrambling to figure out what this means for the rest of Big Food
‘Stronger by the Dozen:’ How the American Egg Board is reframing eggs for wellness
The American Egg Board’s new ‘Stronger by the Dozen’ campaign positions eggs as more than just protein, highlighting their role in supporting muscle, the brain and overall well-being
Snack and bakery demand climbs as consumers balance health and indulgence
Better-for-you options, viral trends and flavor innovation fuel growth, but policy shifts around SNAP, ultra processed foods and labor could weigh on the industry
Trump’s gluten labeling gambit puts industry on edge
The White House’s plan to make America healthy takes a swipe at gluten. And what looks like a win for consumers could leave food companies tangled in costly compliance and spark a new political fight over what belongs on a label
Video
NotCo on boosting F&B innovation in challenging times
Food and beverage is ripping up the rule book to innovate for the future
Oobli builds out sweet protein platform with third FDA ‘no questions’ letter
FDA acknowledges brazzein-54, advancing Oobli’s nature-identical sweet protein toolkit to reduce sugar
Soup-To-Nuts Podcast
Gen X steps into spending power: Why marketers cannot overlook the middle generation anymore
After decades of being overshadowed by Boomers and Millennials, Generation X is poised to become the dominant global consumer group and are projected to spend $15.2 trillion 2025 and $23 trillion worldwide in 2035, according to new research from...
‘Craft flour’ mill teams with local tribe to revolutionize food system and restore the health of planet and people
Founded on regenerative farming and community collaboration, Skagit Valley-based Cairnspring Mills is scaling its “craft flour revolution” with a new Blue Mountain facility, investor enthusiasm and strong demand from bakers and foodservice operators
From Oreos to Ozempic: Inside the $100bn Free From race
Gluten-free cookies, sugar-free chocolate and GLP-1 diets are colliding. The world’s biggest food makers are scrambling to stay relevant
FDA greenlights Onego Bio’s bio-identical egg white protein that could ease supply constraints and volatile prices
Onego Bio says its animal-free, precision-fermented Bioalbumen is functionally identical to the protein found in chicken egg whites, and is gearing up for large-scale production following FDA’s ‘no questions’ GRAS letter
From donuts to data: Dawn shows how to bake trends into growth
At IBIE 2025, Dawn Foods used a combination of donuts, data and demos to show operators how to turn consumer buzz into real-world results
Why General Mills is cheering on the GLP-1 boom
Weight-loss drugs threaten to cut calorie consumption, but General Mills sees opportunity in a leaner consumer, betting big on protein, fiber and smarter supply chains
General Mills’ turnaround play balances short-term price cuts with long-term ‘remarkability’
Despite steep sales and profit declines in the first quarter, the Cheerios maker says price cuts, increased advertising and innovation are winning over budget-conscious consumers and laying the groundwork for a volume-driven rebound in fiscal year 2026
GRAS under the microscope: FDA eyes reform as consumer trust wavers
CPG brands could face greater regulatory oversight, higher expectations for transparency and new risks if ingredient safety communication falls short
Mars-Kellanova Deal: Commission restarts the clock
The EU has resumed its investigation into Mars’ $35.9bn merger with Kellanova, following a stop in July
Purged NIH scientist: America sees historic reduction in biomedical research support
Kevin Hall, a former senior investigator at NIH, says MAHA children’s report fails to address ultra-processed food threat
UPF litigation: What brands need to know now
Early preparation, thorough documentation and proactive governance remain the best defense in a landscape where litigation and regulation related to ultra-processed food are still evolving
Ferrero chooses New York cupcake disruptor for spooky collab: ‘This is a pinch me moment’
For Melissa Ben-Ishay, teaming up with Ferrero is a Halloween treat. But the Baked by Melissa CEO knows collabs are more than fun – they’re fueling serious business growth