Rather than choose between food service and retail distribution, start-up Spread the Love The Love Jams & Jellies embraced both, and as a result, it has quickly outgrown its production facility and is ready to level up within one year of launching.
"We’re still only just starting to discover all the amazing things mushrooms can do.”
From a commercial perspective, it’s still early days for myceliation, a process by which mushrooms (or rather, their filament-like roots or ‘mycelium’) can remove bitter compounds and naturally occurring toxins from some of the world’s most valuable crops...
Mondelēz International has continued to grow below the overall chocolate market in first quarter of 2015 after it was the first to raise wholesale prices last year. However, it expects its chocolate business to rebound in H2.
Start-ups and small brands are better suited than most large CPG firms to take advantage of consumers’ increased interest in snacking because they are unfettered by outdated expectations and assumptions, according to food and nutrition expert Julian Mellentin.
Consumers’ concern about genetically modified food is on the rise, but most shoppers are not yet willing to pay a premium for non-GMO foods – making it difficult for manufacturers to evaluate the business case for going non-GMO, according to research...
Attorney: This case could end up in the Supreme Court
While opponents of Vermont’s GMO labeling Act 120 suffered a major setback this week after a federal judge rejected many of their arguments, some attorneys predict the case could ultimately end up in the Supreme Court to settle a long-running debate over...
Special edition: Beyond 2020 - The future of sustainable cocoa
Asia is poised to help meet rising demand for cocoa, but its key producer Indonesia faces quality concerns and its government lacks incentive to grow the sector.
Do you know how much General Mills paid for Annie's? Or which high potency sweetener Diet Pepsi will be using this summer instead of aspartame? And just how fast are organic food and beverage sales growing in the US these days?
While some commentators believe it has peaked in popularity, four of the top 10 new CPG products of 2014 were in the Greek yogurt category, suggesting it might be a little early to write it off just yet, according to the latest New Product Pacesetters...
A federal court has rejected an attempt by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and other trade associations to prevent the state of Vermont from implementing its controversial GMO labeling law until litigation over the legislation has been resolved.
Four out of 10 consumers claim to be avoiding or reducing genetically modified foods in their daily diets, mainly because they are concerned about the possible impact of GMOs on their health and well-being, according to The Hartman Group’s Organic &...
M+Ms Easter peanut butter eggs, Pillsbury Funfetti spring cake mix and Jif’s new creamy almond butter all garnered high marks in the latest shelf score ranking from Instantly, which measures purchase intent for new products.
An editorial in an academic journal has reignited the debate over the extent to which a poor diet – and the marketing tactics employed by the food industry – is responsible for America’s obesity epidemic.
'Tate & Lyle was caught sleeping at the wheel while we captured its market share,' claims Chinese rival
For a long time, Tate & Lyle had the sucralose market to itself. It discovered it, patented it to the hilt, and perfected the process of producing it on an industrial scale, generating operating profit margins of almost 50%. But you can only have...
FDA is considering adding pre- and post-market enforcement “enhancements” to the final rule for the process of determining food substances are GRAS – or generally recognized as safe, according to a top agency official.
Tate & Lyle has announced a restructuring that will see it make changes to its struggling Splenda sucralose business and exit most of its European Bulk Ingredients business.
From dairy-free cheesecakes from Daiya Foods to almond milk horchatas from Califia Farms, more cold-pressed innovation from Evolution Fresh and fresh breath chews from Hershey, this month’s gallery is packed with innovative new food and beverage products.
Water is likely to be sufficient for food production in 2050 – but increased competition means two-thirds of the world will be affected by water scarcity, according to a joint report from the FAO and the World Water Council.
Millennials have a general distrust of big companies and a different set of priorities than baby boomers
While working at sexy new food & beverage companies such as Hampton Creek or Suja Juice sounds like a pretty exciting way to earn a living, the most talented people coming out of business school today are still more likely to pick technology or investment...
Organic is outgrowing its moniker as a specialty category thanks to a double digit increase in sales last year by consumers nationwide of all political leanings and ethnic backgrounds, according to data from the Organic Trade Association.
It’s no secret that smaller, emerging brands are winning the battle for consumers’ hearts, minds and wallets from larger, established players in the US food and beverage industry, but which ‘challenger’ brands really stand out in the crowd? And what are...
There are plenty of billion-dollar brands in the CPG market, but just 8% of 213 ‘legacy’ US food and beverage brands analyzed by market researcher Hartman Group are outpacing inflation and category growth rates.
Americans are falling out of love with many big legacy ‘processed food’ brands and the “financial markets have closely observed what is happening in our industry and acted quickly and decisively”, according to the chairman of the world’s biggest food...
Hershey has at last launched its anticipated Ice Breakers Cool Blasts Chews across the US, which could spell “doom” for already declining gum sales, according to one analyst.
Investing in 3D printing could open new markets and generate huge cost savings for food manufacturers and retailers, but first companies must overcome potential regulatory and legal hurdles, many of which are not yet identified, warn food and drug lawyers...
Around 3,800 Walmart stores now carry at least 30 Wild Oats organic products, while 2,200 stores carry more than 70 items, says the retailer, which says customers are saving up to 25% compared with national brand organic products.
While Trader Joe’s gets plenty of plaudits, its German parent company ALDI – which operates nearly 1,400 stores in 32 US states - is probably “the most underestimated grocery retailer” in the nation, according to a new report from market researcher Hartman...
Through partnerships with small farmers, non-governmental organizations and other industry stakeholders, General Mills reports it is making progress towards its goal of sustainably sourcing 100% of its top 10 ingredients by 2020.
New York based International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has struck a deal to acquire privately-held flavor firm Henry H. Ottens Manufacturing Co in Philadelphia, PA, for an undisclosed sum.
The requirement to be “authentic” to succeed in the competitive food and beverage industry is clear, but how consumers define authenticity and how companies can meet and benefit from this lofty standard is not as clear.
US sales of specialty foods blasted through the $100bn barrier in 2014, with retail ($85.5bn) and foodservice sales ($24bn) combined hitting $109.5bn, up 10.3% on 2013 sales of $99.3bn, according to a new report from the Specialty Food Association using...
With the arrival of Spring, the weather is heating up and so is the competition in the frozen dessert aisle as firms launch new ice creams, gelatos and frozen novelty treats. Here are a few of the new desserts hitting store shelves with the goal of keeping...
Subscription snack box company Love With Food helps natural snack manufacturers drive brand awareness and sales by sampling their products directly to consumers’ doors for a fraction of the cost and labor of in-store demonstrations, according to the company’s...
Rising health concerns, commodity costs and competition are restraining sales of chocolate in the U.S. that until 2014 were growing strongly, according to market research from Mintel.
R&D teams at Mars, Nestlé, Hershey and Mondelēz have developed a series of new products to capitalize on Easter, the second largest season for US confectionery sales.
Nestlé has filed an international patent for cocoa polyphenols as a treatment or prevention of eosinophilic esophagitis – an allergic reaction of the esophagus.
Taste is much more complex than the experience of basic flavours on the tongue – it also encompasses our other senses to a larger degree than most people realise, according to Professor Charles Spence.
Aside from making a functional, better-for-you-snack taste good, the hardest part is selling it—an even tougher proposition if your primary target market is children aged six to 18 and their moms.
Smaller plates may not encourage overweight teenage girls to reduce portion sizes because they may be less attentive to visual cues, according to a study.
Washington, D.C.-based startup Undone Chocolate is on a mission to combine flavor and health and to succeed it is willing to pay three times more than the premium price for Fair Trade to secure the highest quality cacao beans farm direct.
The U.S. National Confectioners Association (NCA) is worried retaliatory taxes in Mexico and Canada from country-of origin labeling could see American-made chocolate disappear from its main export markets.
Thanks to a little ingenuity, Candy Treasure has brought to the U.S. legally a line of much-loved chocolate surprise eggs and sports balls filled with whimsical small toys that, until now, FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned in America.
