News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology
Startup Spotlight
To keep overhead low, entrepreneurs often wear multiple hats and work long hours with a skeleton crew when first launching a business, but the founder of the ready-to-drink coffee startup Throne Sport Coffee suggests this may be penny-wise, but...
Walmart has introduced its new ‘Modern Soda’ category: featuring innovative, better-for-you brands that are far from the traditional sugar-packed drinks loved by previous generations. So what is Modern Soda – and how big is its potential?
Apothékary continues its expansion in the wellness space, securing additional funding for its Series A round from global Japanese beauty brand Shiseido and launching on Ulta.com as the retailer’s first alcohol alternative product.
For some, it's the most difficult part of beverage NPD...
Nestlé's water brands will be separated into a standalone business as of January 1, 2025, the company announced this morning.
Hydration-boosting, functional and non-alcoholic (non-alc) beverages will continue their growth in 2025, but generations are seeking out different drinks to meet their health and nutrition needs, according to a recent Circana webinar.
Mood food for mental wellbeing – How can industry capitalize?
A third of American adults consider sleep one of their top three health priorities, and while most of them prioritize behavioral and lifestyle strategies to fall and stay asleep, there is an opportunity for “naturally helpful” and “functional” food and...
Mood food for mental wellbeing – How can industry capitalize?
High quality nutrients – from vitamins and minerals to botanical extracts – drive consumers’ purchasing decisions, while the line between function and form continues to blur as brands develop foods and beverages that deliver targeted health benefits and...
Health conscious consumers don’t want sugar-laden, taurine energy drinks: but they still want a burst of energy to keep them powering through their day. How are brands providing that better-for-you buzz?
Nestlé has revealed the top food and drink trends that will drive its research, development and innovation in 2025, with speed, personalisation and fusion taking centre stage.
Mad Tea’s 100% compostable tea pods, made from a blend of PHA and other compostable bioplastics, aim to satisfy consumer demand for sustainable packaging, yet experts warn that high production costs, limited infrastructure, and regulatory confusion pose...
FDA’s fiscal year 2025 priority deliverables for the Human Foods Program emphasize transparency and accountability amid state funding cuts and resource constraints.
Millie’s tea bag broths, made with herbs, spices and dehydrated vegetables landed in 2,000 Walmart stores last month, marking a major milestone for the brand as it disrupts the tea and broth categories.
The FDA’s recent decision to remove 23 phthalates from food-contact uses while conducting safety assessments on remaining compounds has sparked both industry support for targeted regulation and advocacy calls for a total ban.
Industry leaders are emphasizing the integration of regenerative agriculture alongside established organic practices, as demand for sustainable food and beverage products continues to rise.
Originally intended as a treatment for diabetes, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic could be set to turn the food and drink industry upside down.
Plant-based diets remain popular, but associations with UPF and low-quality ingredients has shaken consumer trust in alt meat, fish and dairy brands. So, what can the sector do to restore public opinion?
Confectionery and snacking giant Mondelēz International has driven revenues and profits above expectations, through higher volume sales as both Unilever and Danone also showed this month.
Brand Alchemy
Today’s marketing strategies need flexible adjustments and a blend of channels to keep pace with rapid shifts in media consumption, unlike the fixed annual media plans of yesteryear.
Creating and building brand awareness, with potential customers, is essential to success. Here’s how to recognise and connect with your target market.
Some nutritious foods under the current NOVA system could be demonised alongside unhealthy variants. Industry's calling for reform, but what would the next generation look like?
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
Diets that exclude foods high in added sugar and saturated fat, like sugary drinks, snacks and processed meat, still provide sufficient levels of essential nutrients, like vitamins, minerals and fiber, according to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Milk alternatives are the most consumed product in the plant-based dairy category, particularly among Gen Z consumers, while hybrid dairy products help narrow the gap for those skeptical of plant-based options' taste, texture and nutritional profile.
Dairy’s nutrient density and decadent eating experience create a powerful canvas for startups innovating across categories to offer better-for-you moments of permissible indulgence while simultaneously supporting the health of consumers, the planet and...
The influx of plant-based milk in recent years could provide relief and stability for consumers suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, but there remains a significant unmet need for clean-label, allergen-free options, according to one registered...
Coca-Cola beat Wall Street estimates for its third quarter despite volumes and revenue declines, as the beverage giant pursues an “all-weather strategy" and offsets challenges with innovation in Sprite, Fanta and Topo Chico, company CEO James Quincey...
Keurig Dr Pepper is making its largest investment to date with the acquisition of GHOST: a sports nutrition business led by GHOST Energy.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommended introducing a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains at appropriate ages does not adversely impact growth or increase obesity risk in young children.
Video
What do food and drink start-up businesses get wrong? It’s the big question facing many fledgling businesses. FoodNavigator speaks to nine industry experts to find out.
Brands are reformulating to create functional foods and beverages, catering to everything from gut health to improved sleep. So, how is the sector evolving to meet consumer demand?
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommends consolidating various dietary patterns into a single, inclusive Healthy US-Style Dietary Pattern that includes nutrient-dense, plant-based foods and which is accessible for all Americans.
Soup-To-Nuts Podcast
After a year of “unapologetically” embracing luxury, indulgence and whimsy through vivid colors and unexpected flavor combinations, consumers will rediscover and recenter themselves in 2025 by choosing taste profiles and hues that more realistically...
Kabrita USA's vertically-integrated supply chain, managed by its parent company Ausnutria, helped the brand secure US regulatory recognition and retail expansion, Jacqueline Lipiec, general manager, Kabrita North America, told FoodNavigator-USA.
Consumer demand for ‘gut-friendly’ foods and beverages is growing fast, and industry is innovating just as quickly to meet it. So, what’s next for this seemingly unstoppable trend?
Demand for GLP-1 support products helped gut-health brand Supergut triple sales in the last year and opened retail doors, including at Target.
Functional beverage brand REBBL is delivering on consumer demands for sustainability and enhanced macronutrient content with its new shakes that contain 26 grams of plant-based protein blend, including an upcycled barley.
Global food and beverage giant PepsiCo has granted the winner of its 2024 GreenHouse Accelerator APAC programme Alterno US$100,000 to develop its thermal energy solution, with an eye on further collaboration with the firm in this area.
Sober-curious and -conscious consumers are pushing the non-alcoholic alternative market to new heights, creating market sub-categories focused on functionality, despite recent slowdowns in product innovation, SPINS shared in a recent report.
More consumers are buying pricier organic food and drink, despite continuing cost-of-living pressures, with sales expected to rocket as governments push to make organic farming central to future sustainability strategies.
Wellness brand Apothékary’s retail partnership with Sprouts Farmers Markets highlights its product expansion of herbal powders for beverages to include tinctures that align with the retailers’ growing supplement department in the non-alcoholic space.
Brands are reformulating to improve nutritional value and reduce or remove ‘unhealthy’ ingredient levels. But this is not always a vote winner with customers. Why?
When a delayed flight could have ruined her day, Bumpin Blends' founder, Lisa Mastela, used the downtime to network with fellow travelers and, in doing so, connected with representatives from toymaker Mattel that ultimately landed the smoothie brand a...
A new platform designed by ADM to help food and beverage manufacturers better understand and meet the needs of weight-loss drug users brings together proprietary consumer research and science, a portfolio of targeted ingredients and more than 25...
New research has linked ultra-processed foods to type 2 diabetes. How will this latest blow impact the food and beverage industry and is reformulation the only solution?
Founders’ Fundamentals Podcast
Successful CPG startups not only strike the right balance between delivering on product claims and branding aesthetics — the head and heart of building a food and beverage business — but also provide consumers easy ways to learn about their brand when...
PepsiCo’s North American snack and beverage businesses continue to slow down in its third quarter of 2024, as the company adjusts its forecast from 4% organic revenue growth for the year to low single digits amid continued pressures but beats Wall Street...
Participants who consumed three cups of coffee per day for 12 weeks had lower body fat percentages and higher muscle mass percentages, according to a recent study.
Health concerns have put the sweetener industry in jeopardy. Could new research help to restore its reputation?
Letters sent by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.) to the CEOs of Coca-Cola, General Mills and PepsiCo express concern over pricing and tax practices that, according to the policy makers, “squeeze profits out...
Recoup’s prebiotic sparkling beverages hit the shelves at 420 Sprouts Farmers Market stores nationwide, as the company leans into gut health and regenerative agriculture claims to deliver consumer demands for functional and environmental benefits.