New software from Vision Critical aims to help large consumer packaged goods companies protect their market share from nimble startups by facilitating a two-way dialogue with consumers in real time online.
As widely expected, the FDA has finalized plans to revoke the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in a bid to eradicate artificial trans fats from the US food supply. However, it says manufacturers may petition...
Food ingredients produced using ‘synthetic biology’ techniques – such as Evolva's vanillin, which is made from genetically engineered baker’s yeast - do not qualify for the Non-GMO Project Verified stamp, says the Non GMO Project.
Executives are aggressively defending Whole Foods Market’s high prices, even as they tout the potential cost-savings for the consumers at the retailer’s newly named value chain.
A federal judge in California has asked the FDA whether it is planning to clarify its position on evaporated cane juice (ECJ) labeling any time soon as confusion over whether food manufacturers should or shouldn’t use the term continues to abound.
European discounter Lidl will use Virginia as a launchpad for a US retail invasion, investing $202m to set up a corporate and regional HQ and distribution center, with the first stores likely to open “no later than 2018”.
Whole Foods Market’s much vaunted new value chain – 365 by Whole Foods Market – will not be a “discount model or a dumbed-down version of Whole Foods” as feared by some when the company first announced the impending launch, according to the new chain’s...
Targeting millennials in an effort to reach adventurous, trendsetting consumers who will adopt and evangelize new products early will only get marketers a third of the way to their goal, recent research from CivicScience suggests.
BioVittoria and Guilin GFS Bio-Tech Co have doubled their monk fruit supply and significantly boosted production capacity following a multi-million-dollar investment leading to the formation of a new company - Monk Fruit Corp - boasting an estimated 70%...
Shares in Boulder Brands – the firm behind EVOL Foods, Udi’s Gluten Free and Smart Balance – plummeted this morning after CEO Steve Hughes resigned and the firm warned that second-quarter sales would likely be 5-7% lower than they were in Q2, 2014, chiefly...
Manufacturers could boost the struggling sales of shelf-stable products sold in the center of the store by co-branding and merchandising them with related, high-velocity produce, sales of which are outpacing those of the total- and center-store, according...
Diet-health inferences that rely on memory-based dietary intake surveys such as USDA’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) are “essentially meaningless”, argues a new study highlighting consistent disparities between what - and how...
Back to the Roots want to go beyond providing consumers with packaged food that has a simple ingredient list – it wants to give them the exact recipe so they can recreate the product; and big names in the food and tech world want to help the company do...
Goldfish Puffs (twisted grilled cheese), Honey Bunches of Oats chocolate chip breakfast biscuits, and Doritos Roulette Chips all garnered high marks in the latest shelf score ranking from Instantly, which measures purchase intent for new products.
The arrival of egg products from The Netherlands “may make up for about 10% of the supply that’s been lost due to the impact of the avian influenza” in the US, says the American Bakers Association.
Hostess Brands could see global expansion of Twinkies, Donnettes et al. and an extremely strong bakery player emerge if a buyout transpires, analysts say.
According to Nielsen data, 85% of new consumer packaged goods fail within two years, and big firms are no better - and often far worse - at picking winners than smaller ones, despite their deep pockets.
Grupo Bimbo, Flowers Foods, Post and Aryzta have all been touted as suitors in the rumored $2bn Hostess Brands sell-out, but who is best-suited to take on the infamous Twinkie?
As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the founder of The Cookie Department says he wants to “fight the good fight for anti-obesity” by marketing a vegan cookie to children and their parents through the California school system.
Multicultural wellness ingredients are emerging as a tie that binds the diverse desires of multiple generations together, according to the latest Packaged Facts’ Culinary Trend Tracking Series report.
Grain companies are working with Denver-based MycoTechnology to explore how mushrooms’ filament-like roots or ‘mycelium’ could help create new value-added opportunities in the cereals market by transforming the nutritional profile of wheat and other grains.
Israeli insect start-up, Steak TzarTzar, aims to target the Western sports nutrition market with its grasshopper protein powder - competitively priced thanks to grasshopper sales in Africa.
A poll* of more than 4,200 US consumers conducted in April 2015 by CivicScience shows Americans believe that ‘preservatives / chemicals’ are significantly more harmful to their heath than added sugar, saturated fat and sodium.
From veggie powders to sprinkle on your food to artisan dairy-free ‘cheeses’ made from nuts, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) selects nine natural food trends it predicts will inspire packaged foods and foodservice menus in 2015.
Food marketers increasingly are training their crosshairs on millennials whose purchasing power is growing quickly, but they should not overlook baby boomers, who spend the most of any generation on snacks and sweets, according to analysis of sales data...
Hartman Group: Pleasure & distinction bigger drivers than health for premium products
While more premium brands from KRAVE to Noosa are being snapped up by big food companies and private equity firms, not every CPG category has the potential to be driven – or revitalized - by premium brands, according to a new analysis by Hartman Group....
Millennials are more likely to be hungry for new food products than other demographics, with 38% “always looking for new food products to try” versus 31% of total shoppers, according to survey data* from Chicago-based researcher IRI.
The latest outbreak of avian flu has, predictably, prompted a surge in demand for egg replacers. But some industrial egg users are now considering making permanent changes to recipes and menus rather than just making tactical substitutions whenever egg...
Bakers and other big users of eggs could face major supply shortages if the government does not act quickly to allow temporary imports from more egg-producing countries, claims the American Bakers Association (ABA), which says “25% of industrial egg product...
Sales of snacks account for a whopping 40% of the $370 billion U.S. packaged food market and are set to grow 2% annually through 2019, thanks in large part to millennials who eat more snacks than any other group, according to analysis by Euromonitor.
Compared to previous generations Millennials are far more likely to make spur-of-the-moment food decisions and have less well-stocked pantries, say market researchers. But many food retailers are not geared up to meet their changing needs.
Dispatches from Canadean International Beer Strategies, Amsterdam
Social media strategies need to refrain from insistently pushing brands; but instead add value for consumers, explains Ashley Vinson, head of brand strategy Benelux, Twitter.
Just scaling up alone without fundamental changes to farming practices could decrease costs by 25-50%
While cost is a barrier – and regulatory issues need ironing out – mainstream food manufacturers “have been way more open to this [using edible insects in their products] than you would probably think”, says the founder of the world’s largest insect-based...
Culinary trend-spotting: Where retail & foodservice collide
For the first time, consumers are spending more money at restaurants than on groceries in America, likely reflecting more financial flexibility from savings garnered by shopping at less expensive box stores and from lower gas prices, according to recent...
Pressure on food manufacturers to label genetically modified food and provide non-GMO alternatives is mounting as consumer concern and confusion about the technology increases in response to a deluge of negative messaging about it.
Consumer feedback on Solazyme’s new high-oleic algae oil reveals high acceptance levels, with 98% of healthy oil purchasers sent samples for at-home testing reporting it had a ‘pleasant or no aftertaste’, 87% agreeing it had a ‘cleaner taste than other...
Meet execs from Sparkling ICE, Chobani, Tio Gazpacho, NASA
Imagine a place where you can meet the entrepreneurs behind new food & beverage categories and retail channels; pioneers in the field of nutrigenomics, edible insects, and 3D printing; food law attorneys; investment bankers; and number crunchers who...
Concern about “chemicals” in the food supply is growing among Americans, many of whom are changing how they buy food as a result, according to a recent survey.
More than four out of 10 (43%) American infants aged 12-23 months eat cookies, cakes or pastries on any given day; almost a third (32%) eat chips, popcorn or pretzels; 19% eat candy; and 31% consume soda, fruit or sports drinks; according to dietary intake...
Cocoa flavanols are an ingredient that has been poised at the edge of the runway for a few years now. A new large-scale, long-term study into their cardiovascular and cognitive function benefits that is entering its recruitment phase may help provide...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Process Verification Program could provide an avenue for firms to certify the veracity of non-GMO claims without indirectly suggesting that genetic engineering is undesirable or unsafe.
30 years ago, nuts were perceived as the nutritional equivalent of candy. Today, they are widely recognized as a nutrient powerhouse. But why are peanuts – which have unique health and sustainability credentials – still perceived by some consumers as...
The flavor of Welch’s famous Concord grape no longer is limited to juices, jellies and purees, but can now be found in concentrated fruit pieces and pastes that can easily be formulated into a broad range of products thanks to a partnership between Welch’s...
The Hershey Company made significant progress against its responsible sourcing and sustainability commitments in 2014, according to its latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report.
It’s official: The Organic Trade Association and the GRO Organic Core Committee submitted to the USDA May 12 a petition to launch an organic check-off campaign that, if approved, could raise more than $30 million annually to promote and support the industry...
Consumers are familiar enough with pulses for bakers to seriously consider incorporating the ingredient into industrial breads, says Best Cooking Pulses.
EU ministers have failed to reach an agreement on proposed changes to EU organic regulation, pushing back a vote until June – a standstill that is welcomed by organic farming associations.
Trans fat ban / Nutrition Facts Panel overhaul / FSMA implementation
Bakers must be prioritize and collaborate in the face of policy upheaval on nutrition, ingredients and food safety this year, warns the American Bakers Association (ABA).
Recent acquisitions to diversify Post Holdings’ portfolio are paying off more quickly than anticipated, prompting the cereal giant to raise its full year guidance despite a larger than expected negative impact from a supplier that tested positive for...
