As more consumers adopt a “research-online-buy-offline” approach, providing accurate, consistent product information across channels and on packaging is essential for driving discovery, initial trial and repeat purchases – and yet, most manufacturers...
Years before the coronavirus pandemic shined a harsh light on the fragility of long, global supply chains dominated by a handful of multinational companies, Kim Bryden founded Cureate to connect local food and beverage manufactures with large institutional...
Unilever has some ambitious goals on food waste. The multinational wants to halve waste from its direct operations by 2025 and is working with suppliers and customers to reduce waste across the food chain. It also hopes to tackle one of the trickiest...
Despite a double-digit increase in retail sales during the pandemic, most grocery retailers continue to grapple with tight profit margins which could be squeezed further as restaurants and the foodservice industry reopen but many coronavirus-related expenses...
The coronavirus outbreak fundamentally changed how food and beverage brands are connecting with consumers – from abruptly halting live sampling and in-store promotions to altering the types of messaging consumers want to hear.
As part of a “moonshot” to end hunger and eliminate food waste, The Kroger Co.’s Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation and seed stage funder Village Capital are offering $2.5 million in collective grants and development programming to 10 innovative startups...
Armies of microscopic single-celled microbial food factories (yeast, bacteria, fungi, algae) are now routinely deployed to produce high-value food ingredients more efficiently than plants or animals. But next-generation ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing processes...
When it comes to feeding children, caregivers have a wealth of nutritional information at their fingertips that they say they understand, and yet most children fall short of the recommended intakes of fruit, vegetables and whole grains and consume too...
From keto-friendly ice cream, cereals, and snacks, to plant-based dairy and functional beverages, check out what's new on shelf in our spring gallery of new launches.
Innovative partnership puts Mars Wrigley at forefront of sustainable packaging movement with eco-friendly technology made from nature that biodegrades in soil and oceans.
Even as more Americans are vaccinated and some local economies begin to reopen, recent consumer research suggests many of the shopping changes consumers adopted during the pandemic are here to stay, including a heightened focus on safety, financial health...
Product availability and lower prices will edge out customer safety as top priorities for most grocery shoppers after the threat of COVID-19 subsides thanks to increased access to coronavirus vaccinations and heard immunity, suggests new research from...
Well-known for its service and compassion, KeHE’s new “Crazy Good” campaign that launched this month seeks to highlight how the food distributor’s other two pillars of “innovation and operational excellence” also can drive growth for its retail partners...
Market projections for meat and dairy alternatives vary wildly, with Impossible Foods’ CEO predicting animal agriculture could hit a ‘death spiral’ by 2035, while Wells Fargo reckons plant-based meat will account for a rather more modest 4% of the US...
The food industry has a ‘critical and urgent’ role to play to resolve the food waste crisis, according to Unilever’s president of foods and refreshment, Hanneke Faber.
The first flavors were made from plants, but were gradually replaced by ‘artificial’ alternatives, thanks to advances in synthetic chemistry. By the end of the 20th century, however, natural flavors were back in vogue.
JM Smucker will lose an undisclosed number of North American employees as it continues to reshape its portfolio and corporate organization to better align with evolving consumer demands and ongoing SKU rationalization by retailers, executives confirmed...
The great SKU rationalization last Spring caused by pandemic-related supply chain constraints and consumer stockpiling not only forced CPG companies to pause production temporarily of some products, but it prompted many to reevaluate their product mix...
The co-founders of the fast-growing banana-based Hakuna Banana and oat-milk based Totes Oats nice-cream brands are bringing their better-for-you pints and bars under the new umbrella brand Must Love to better communicate the company’s core values, leverage...
Ingredion and Grupo Arcor -- a leading confectionery exporter in South America -- have signed a joint venture agreement to broaden food and beverage ingredient offerings in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
As coronavirus continues to thwart businesses' best-laid plans, New Hope has decided to take Expo West – its annual trade show in Anaheim, California – virtual this spring, in the wake of “government restrictions, anticipated timelines around re-opening...
San Jose-based Knowde – a b2b online marketplace for chemicals, ingredients and polymers - is moving into the food and nutrition industry, enabling R&D and procurement professionals to research and compare products, connect with suppliers, request...
Consumer goods giant Unilever set out its stall for future growth last week when the company delivered a ‘strategy refresh’ alongside its full-year results. The outcome? An increased focus on ‘high growth segments’ including functional nutrition and plant-based...
Kraft Heinz is in talks to sell its Planters snack nuts business to Hormel Foods, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, with a deal valuing the brand at around $3bn that could be announced as soon as next week.
A new business model developed by Milwaukee-based startup Agricycle that combines a vertically-integrated supply chain with a portfolio of upcycled brands is proving that with a little imagination and basic resources small growers can have an outsized...
Even through 2020 brought large CPG food and beverage companies record sales growth – often in the high double digits – over 2019 as consumers flocked to well-established, trusted brands, IRI research found smaller and extra-small consumer brands and...
In a challenging environment for all of the food industry, Mondelēz International posted net revenue growth of 5.6% and increased gross profit by $113m for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2020.
Consumers continue to seek comfort from food as they navigate the rise of new coronavirus variants, but many also are bored by the same-old, same-old after nearly a year at home – creating an opportunity for products that pair bold new flavors with the...
Recognizing that breakthrough technologies that could transform the global food supply chain often originate in academia, Big Idea Ventures has launched a $125m fund to commercialize IP from some of the nation’s leading universities and fuel economic...
Nudge edible coffee bars, ‘bombs,’ and butters – novel products featuring aromatic ‘whole coffee matter’ – are now available in 350 Sprouts stores, says brand owner The Whole Coffee Co, which is still learning what product formats, messaging, and merchandising...
The Specialty Food Association (SFA) - which was forced to cancel the 2020 Summer Fancy Food Show and 2021 Winter Fancy Food Show due to the pandemic – will hold a ‘modified’ in-person trade show September 27-29 at the Javits Convention Center in New...
Quantis is launching geoFootprint, a digital tool that the company describes as the ‘first’ to use satellite technology to map the environmental impact of food production on an interactive map. The innovation holds the key to ‘smarter, science-driven...
As the pandemic expands consumers’ definition of wellness to include not just physical fitness but also emotional welfare, they increasingly are seeking snacks that balance both – opening the door for products that are nostalgic and indulgent as well...
Despite lingering uncertainty about the pandemic’s economic impact and the stickiness of new consumer habits developed in response to COVID-19 safety measures, new research from Deloitte finds most consumer product industry executives are optimistic about...
‘Waning demand’ caused by the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in luxury chocolatier Godiva announcing it will close all its retail outlets in North America and Canada by the end of March this year.
Grocery delivery firm Imperfect Foods has raised $95m in a Series D round led by Insight Partners and Norwest Venture Partners as it transitions from a regional delivery service focused on ‘ugly’ produce, to a national full-service grocer.
Unilever is trialling its first ‘nano factory’, which operates within a 40 foot sea container to deliver flexible production lines that can be moved all over the world. “This trial is assessing a de-centralised production model,” one of the engineers...
Checkout who is moving onwards and upwards in FoodNavigator-USA's latest new hires gallery, featuring high profile new hires at indoor farming startups AppHarvest and Plenty; a new management team at ZICO coconut water; and changes at Impossible...
Plant-based meat and dairy products dominate our gallery of new launches, coupled with a wave of products highlighting immunity and digestive health, and a high-profile CBD beverage launch from Molson Coors.
PepsiCo is targeting a reduction of absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by more than 40% by 2030. It is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2040.
GoodSam Foods, a new brand of no-sugar-added, direct-trade chocolate launched by BeyondBrands, has entered the sugar-free chocolate confectionery category with products sweetened with emerging sweetener allulose.
By Robert Guite and Abby Meyer, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
If your company sells any vanilla-flavored food or beverage product, then you are probably aware of the innumerable class action cases that have been filed over the last 18 months attacking these products – 67 cases by our count. Here, we trace the history...
Typically January is a time when many Americans pledge to lose weight by “eating clean,” cutting calories or adopting other diets, but this year far fewer are making New Year’s resolutions to change the way the eat or drink – and we may have the pandemic...
When launching a business, founders often are asked to rely on friends, family and their community for financial support and guidance until they have proof of concept – but not all networks are created equally and entrepreneurs without affluent or influential...
Mondelēz International has acquired full ownership of Hu (pronounced ‘hue’ as in ‘human’) Products, a well-being snack company best known for its premium vegan chocolate bars.
Despite coconut oil being just a minor ingredient in some of Lindt & Sprüngli’s products, a raw material risk assessment highlighting sustainability challenges has prompted the chocolate maker to act.
Between the pandemic, wildfires, economic losses and a contentious presidential election, 2020 was a year for the books – and as tempting as it may be to turn the page with the new year and not look back, one marketing expert and applied anthropologist...