From plant-based and nutritionally enhanced products to improved sustainability and packaging innovations, the 45 startups participating in FoodBytes! by Rabobank’s Pitch 2021 competition announced today hit on some of the hottest trends and biggest challenges...
The FDA has approved an aqueous extract of the blue petals of butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea) – a plant native to Southeast Asia – as a color additive exempt from certification following a petition from Sensient Technologies, which described...
Over the next three years, Kellogg Company wants to invest $45m to boost production of and better position for long-term success its ready-to-eat cereal business, which has bumped up against capacity restraints in recent months as consumer demand has...
Provectus Algae – an Australian startup developing an automated growing platform it claims can unlock algae’s potential as a source of high-value ingredients – is building a large-scale manufacturing facility in Noosaville, Australia, that will start...
Kellogg is bracing for at least another six to nine months of volatility as it continues to grapple with supply chain constraints, inflation and labor shortages, but it also is optimistic about upcoming innovations and opportunities embedded in new consumer...
While many retailers and CPG manufacturers are implementing price increases to their product assortments, online fresh food retailer FreshDirect said it will be rolling out price savings to consumers on a wide variety of its products.
By “treasure hunting” for ways to reduce and more efficiently use energy, successfully sequestering carbon and purchasing renewable energy certificates, ingredient-giant Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s US flour milling operations are now net carbon neutral.
Even as economies reopen and consumer mobility increases, demand for CPGs and food consumed at home remains elevated over pre-pandemic levels in many categories, and in some cases exceeds the high demand of the early pantry-stocking days, according to...
Whether it is in-person, online or a hybrid of both, children across the country are returning to school – bringing relief to some caregivers and triggering anxiety in others, but either way almost everyone is headed to the store for classroom essentials,...
Thanks to blockchain and other advances in traceability, it’s tempting to think that in the event of a problem (foodborne illness, adulteration, contamination, child labor question marks), we can trace everything in the food supply chain back to its source...
Despite beating first-quarter profit and sales forecasts, JM Smucker cut its full-year earnings outlook in the face of what CEO and president Mark Smucker described as “significant supply chain volatility, disruption and cost inflation” beyond that which...
Closing out a challenging fiscal year plagued by labor shortages, supply chain constraints, and higher-than-expected inflation, Hain Celestial executives are “very bullish on our future” after convincing retailers to accept price increases, implementing...
Food prices across categories are predicted to rise low- to mid-single digits this year and again next year – adding on to already higher prices in 2020 fueled in part by the pandemic and raising questions about how consumers will react in the long term,...
The latest consumer price index reveals food prices have climbed 3.4% over the past year, reflecting a slow but steady month over month increase that likely won’t stop any time soon as ingredient, material and labor shortages continue.
The cost of containerized freight has reached an all-time high, says a new report from Mintec, which says its global shipping composite index (based on 11 east-west trade routes) reached a monthly average of $8,796 per 40-foot container in June, up +24%...
As the pandemic drags on and consumers feel more confident in the kitchen they are relying less on well-known, iconic brands for comfort as they did in the months immediately following the coronavirus outbreak and are more willing to try new brands and...
The pandemic’s impact on frontline workers, including farmers and food manufacturers, paired with recent high profile social justice movements and spectacular displays of climate change over the past 18 months is spurring more consumers to look for and...
The Mars Advanced Research Institute (MARI) is a division of Mars examining how developments in science and technology are going to shape the future food system. Dr Abi Stevenson, Mars VP of MARI, told us her unit is ‘looking at those truly next generation...
Target’s food and beverage business grew low double-digits in the second quarter of 2021 thanks in large part to improvements to the retailer’s curbside pickup program, “impressive performance” of “essential” food and beverage sales and the return of...
Walmart is capturing “strong” market share gains in grocery as it continues to hold down prices at a time when other retailers are more aggressively passing through to consumers rising costs due to inflation – making it a formidable competitor but also...
Unit and dollar sales of frozen food continue to outpace those of total food and beverage as consumers first gravitated to the category during the pandemic for long-lasting options between less frequent store trips, but as mobility increases many continue...
Grocery retailers and packaged food and beverage brands should brace for another significant shift in consumer shopping habits this month as many families with students returning to in-person school after a year or more of distance or hybrid learning...
For the first time in decades other than for inflation, the US Department of Agriculture is increasing the basis for which it calculates food assistance benefits allotted under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – a move that will help more...
Join Noblegen, Plantible Foods, Superbrewed Food, Mattson and Lever VC to discuss the future of protein
Plant-based proteins such as soy and pea continue to dominate the so-called ‘alternative protein’ category, but they’re not the only game in town. New options are now emerging from ‘animal-free’ collagen and whey to a novel set of proteins produced naturally...
While following a climatarian diet that prioritizes foods and beverages made in a way that protects and restores the planet’s health may still be niche, the trend is gaining traction quickly with some researchers and brands predicting environmental sustainability...
A scientific review has called into question the validity of the commonly-held notion that foods with a high glycemic index (GI) – white bread, white rice, etc. – lead to more weight gain than low-GI foods (e.g. bran and other minimally processed grains)....
Worried that biotechnologies, such as those used to create non-browning mushrooms, are inadequately regulated or could be unfairly shunned by the public, a coalition of non-governmental organizations this week published a six-point framework for the “responsible...
Calories from ultra-processed foods comprise more than two-thirds (67%) of children's and adolescents' diets, up from 61.4% in 1999, according to researchers from Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University.
“Current data indicates that neither food nor food packaging is a pathway for the spread of viruses causing respiratory illnesses, including SARS-CoV-2,” according to a new guidance document from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization...
Post Holdings is experiencing a reversal of growth trends across its business, in which its foodservice unit is driving most of the recent sales momentum, compared to one year ago when its retail business was experiencing unprecedented growth.
All of Kellogg’s 50+ factories around the world have been hit by supply shortages due to a range of disruptions, from a 10-day pandemic lockdown in Malaysia to civil unrest in South Africa, CEO Steve Cahillane told analysts on a conference call.
It's hard to imagine what began as a family pancake recipe, which co-founder Joel Clark would sell to neighbors in brown paper bags from a little red wagon as an 8-year-old, would become a $200m business selling a growing portfolio of better-for-you...
The Food Labeling Modernization Act - an updated version of a bill first introduced in 2018 that was designed to help consumers make more informed purchases – has been introduced to the House and the Senate.
UK-based startup The Supplant Company is targeting the US market with an intriguing new addition to the sugar-reduction toolbox in the form of ‘sugars from fiber,’ a new low-glycemic blend of sugars extracted from upcycled feedstocks that performs like...
Leading CPG companies including Unilever, Hershey, and General Mills have urged the FDA to look again at the way some sugars such as tagatose and isomaltulose are labeled on the Nutrition Facts panel in the wake of recent changes to the way allulose is...
To better help early stage CPG, food tech and ag tech companies build more financially successful and appealing businesses, navigate the fundraising process and connect with investors focused on the natural products space, the networking platform Brandjectory...
Continuing to benefit from elevated at-home consumption of its core chocolate brands and growing snacks business, The Hershey Company reported $1.99bn net sales for Q2 2021 (12 weeks ending July 4, 2021) an increase of 16.5% compared to Q2 2020.
Online product delivery platform Gopuff, which delivers thousands of household products from snacks to alcohol from its hundreds of micro-fulfillment centers, has secured $1bn in new funding, raising the company's evaluation to $15bn.
By Rob Guite, Abby Meyer, and Abby Miles, Sheppard Mullin
President Biden’s recent executive order, ‘Ensuring the Future is made in all of America by all of America’s Workers,’ may encourage food & beverage companies to highlight their all-American credentials on-pack. However, claims about a product’s origin...
For many women, eating and cooking at home every day during the pandemic has been a double-edged sword that offered them more time with family and control over their diet, but also added a burden that left many women feeling unsatisfied – opening the...
From San Diego-based Debut Biotech, which is developing a range of high-value ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, to Virginia-based Bonumose, which has patented technology it claims could enable the “mass market adoption” of...
Albertsons is willing to entertain a second round of price increases “where warranted and legitimate” as several CPG brands continue to struggle with mounting inflationary pressures that have exceeded their expectations and outstripped any cushion introduced...
Santiago, Chile and Paris-based AI-driven startup Protera is one step closer to commercializing a portfolio of clean-label proteins that can replace chemical preservatives to extend food shelf-life, safely turn unsaturated fats into saturated fats, enhance...
A vast majority (95%) of consumers surveyed report that their whole grains consumption has either increased or held steady compared to five years ago despite increasing popularity of low- and no-carb diets, finds the Oldways Whole Grains Council.
Mondelez International raised its full-year organic revenue guidance to 4% from 3% on Tuesday after net revenues climbed 12.4% to $6.64bn in the second quarter thanks in part to increased mobility buoying categories hit hard by the pandemic and ongoing...
Fine chemicals co DIC has teamed up with San Diego-based startup Debut Biotech to develop color ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, which it claims could enable the biosynthesis of colors that are “hard to find or even inaccessible...
As many food and beverage companies face the pressure of increased costs to manufacture and transport their products, consumers have also reported feeling the impact inflation is having on their grocery bills.
Sourdough bread and stretchy pants may have been all the rage during the early days of the pandemic, but as vaccines become more prevalent and US consumers begin to reemerge from lockdowns, they increasing are turning to keto-bread and other low-carb...
The emotional and physical toll taken by the pandemic has reshaped Americans’ palates – pushing them to try more adventurous flavor profiles, including more floral and earthy botanicals that were once niche in the US, embrace yuzu and step-up their heat...
