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...
Direct-to-consumer marketing through food trucks and fast casual restaurants can efficiently generate brand awareness and consumer trial of new food and beverage products, but to build brand longevity and business stability, the best retail option is...
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.
Big Inter-chew: Gum giant talks strategy & innovation in 2015
Wrigley says marketing dollars and R&D efforts put into its Juicy Fruit brand last year helped win back young U.S. consumers who had moved away from the category and hopes innovations with sour flavors will pull in even more young people.
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...
Sales of chewing gum are climbing again after several years of stagnation, likely due to evolving tastes and eating patterns, in addition to new product launches, according to IRI Worldwide.
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.
A raft of candy makers are moving into snacks and this influx of innovation will serve the category and consumers well, says the CEO of the Snack Food Association (SFA).
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.
The top four U.S. candy manufacturers are growing at slower rates than smaller companies, that are able to bring new products to market quicker, says an IRI analyst.
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.
Chocolate marketers likely will gain more traction if they appeal to consumers emotionally and emphasize the health benefits of inclusions, such as nuts and dried fruit, suggest the results of a recent survey conducted by the Almond Board of California.
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.
The inclusion of dried fruit in Mars Chocolate North America’s goodnessknows snack squares helps deliver the sweetness consumers seek from confections, while also helping the candy-giant deliver on its commitment to offer options with limited added sugar.
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...
Five startups showcasing at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago hope to rekindle Americans’ love affair with the iconic sugar candy brittle by updating the old fashioned confection with bold new flavors and textures that will appeal to a broader audience.
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.
Yellow birthday cake with thick, sugary frosting, like those made in local grocery stores nationwide, is emerging as a top selling new flavor in candies and sweets, according to leading candy companies.
Crayon maker Crayola has confirmed it is aware of an ongoing public appeal that urges the company to stop marketing its Color Your Mouth candy products to children.
Jelly Belly Candy Company is launching a line of USDA certified-organic candies, including fruit flavored snacks, gourmet jelly beans and other confections, the firm’s CEO and president told FoodNavigator-USA exclusively.
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.
A Nestlé-supported study has examined the causes of chocolate fat blooming, a process when white defects appear on the surface of chocolate because of fat crystallization – a serious problem for the global confectionery industry.
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.
Retailers have voted for the new U.S candy items that have the best go-to-market potential at the National Confectioners Association’s Sweets & Snacks Expo.
The Hershey Company will not rule out additional M&A activity to strengthen traction in snacks and innovate beyond core confections, its brand head says.
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.
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.
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...
Researchers from the Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona Western College (AWC) concluded that dark chocolate confections containing only moderate amounts (60%) of cacao have an acute stimulating effect on the human brain and vasoconstrictive...
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...
Culinary trend-spotting: Where retail & food service collide
Craft soda-maker Reed’s Inc. is developing a fountain program to expand its presence in fast casual restaurants following recent announcements by prominent chains to drop undesirable ingredients from their menu offerings, company executives acknowledged.
The world’s biggest food firm, Nestlé, has put reducing food waste firmly on its agenda, announcing plans to help further prevent the issue of food losses and waste around the world at the Save Food Congress.
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.
60-second interview: Kyle von Hasseln, creative director food products 3DSYSTEMS
Food was already 3D last time we checked, so once you get over the excitement of being able to ‘print’ a multi-dimensional product in layers, are you left with an expensive gimmick, or something that is going to change the culinary world forever?
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be at risk of disordered eating patterns that can lead to obesity and other health problems, say researchers.
Sprouts Farmers Market is accelerating expansion of its deli and prepared food offerings to help drive traffic and mitigate the impact of a tightening supply of high quality produce, which currently drives the majority of store visits.
Confectionery giant Mars says it is in favor of FDA proposals to list added sugar on the Nutrition Facts panel, a move described as ‘refreshing’ by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
Unable to shake its reputation for being notoriously expensive, Whole Foods Market is changing tack to appeal to less affluent millennials with the launch of a new value-focused chain.
