Meal kit company Blue Apron has lost some of its steam in customer retention, losing 21,000 customers in Q2 2021 compared to the same period last year, but says other key performance metrics including average order value and average revenue per customer...
Online product delivery platform Gopuff, which delivers thousands of household products from snacks to alcohol from its hundreds of micro-fulfillment centers, has secured $1bn in new funding, raising the company's evaluation to $15bn.
By Rob Guite, Abby Meyer, and Abby Miles, Sheppard Mullin
President Biden’s recent executive order, ‘Ensuring the Future is made in all of America by all of America’s Workers,’ may encourage food & beverage companies to highlight their all-American credentials on-pack. However, claims about a product’s origin...
For many women, eating and cooking at home every day during the pandemic has been a double-edged sword that offered them more time with family and control over their diet, but also added a burden that left many women feeling unsatisfied – opening the...
From San Diego-based Debut Biotech, which is developing a range of high-value ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, to Virginia-based Bonumose, which has patented technology it claims could enable the “mass market adoption” of...
Planterra Foods, the plant-based division of meat giant JBS - which debuted in the refrigerated aisle last summer under the OZO brand – has moved into the frozen aisle, expanded its relationship with Boulder-based fungi tech co MycoTechnology, and is...
Albertsons is willing to entertain a second round of price increases “where warranted and legitimate” as several CPG brands continue to struggle with mounting inflationary pressures that have exceeded their expectations and outstripped any cushion introduced...
Fine chemicals co DIC has teamed up with San Diego-based startup Debut Biotech to develop color ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, which it claims could enable the biosynthesis of colors that are “hard to find or even inaccessible...
Redefine Meat, which makes plant-based meat alternatives using 3D printing and is preparing to launch in Europe after announcing a $29m fundraise at the start of the year, says the ‘huge strides’ achieved in its technology have allowed it to launch five...
Fresh off of closing its $18m Series D funding round, California-based Urban Remedy will use the funds to ramp up marketing, innovation, technology, and new team hires to reach more consumers with its ultra-fresh, nutrient-dense meals, bars, and juices....
Meal kit company HelloFresh is one step closer to becoming a one-stop-shop with the launch of its online store, HelloFresh Market, offering consumers everyday food essentials from snacks to spice blends.
If you look at the ingredients lists of most plant-based burgers, they’re not wildly different – a combination of extruded plant proteins, hard and liquid fats, natural flavors, yeast, methylcellulose, starch, seasonings and perhaps added vitamins and...
While the alternative protein category is far from saturated and there is plenty of runway for innovation, investors predict a shaking out of players is on the horizon, and they say the companies that remain in the game will be those that move beyond...
Santiago-based food tech company NotCo has raised $235m in a Series D round led by Tiger Global and supported by DFJ Growth Fund, ZOMA Lab, athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, and musician and DJ Questlove, taking its cumulative funding to $350m...
As many food and beverage companies face the pressure of increased costs to manufacture and transport their products, consumers have also reported feeling the impact inflation is having on their grocery bills.
The emotional and physical toll taken by the pandemic has reshaped Americans’ palates – pushing them to try more adventurous flavor profiles, including more floral and earthy botanicals that were once niche in the US, embrace yuzu and step-up their heat...
Consumers’ intense focus on healthy eating and immunity-boosting foods is beginning to wane as more people become vaccinated, creating space for more indulgence and a back-to-basics approach to food, according to Mintel data.
The European Food Safety Authority was asked to review the link between sugar consumption and various diseases. The results are in: “Based on the risk of developing chronic metabolic diseases and dental caries, the intake of added and free sugars should...
Wander around leading UK food retailers and you’ll see aisles of fresh prepared meals, soups, salads and desserts, dominated by private label. So, will the US market move in the same direction?
Plant-based brand Crafty Counter, best-known for its frozen lentil- and bean-based bites – has developed what it claims is an industry first: ready-to-eat plant-based boiled eggs, which it hopes to launch late this year or early next year.
While a recent Congressional Subcommittee report alleging “dangerous” levels of heavy metals in leading baby food brands “brought the issue of toxic contaminants to the fore,” it also “shocked and confused parents of young children,” said a senior FDA...
Research published in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology claims to provide an enlightening but worrying insight into the world of chemicals that are intentionally added to plastics.
New York-based direct to consumer brand Little Spoon – which delivers chilled fresh food for babies, toddlers and young children to homes across the continental US - has raised $44m in a Series B round led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation...
In the days and months immediately following the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic, consumer interest in immunity boosting foods and beverages tripled and brands moved fast to launch products to meet this heightened demand – but as vaccines become...
With an infusion of $10m in series A funds announced today the biotech and data science company Aromyx soon will be able to help more food and beverage brands quickly measure consumer perceptions more accurately than traditional taste test panels, which...
Nature’s Fynd - a Chicago-based startup growing protein-packed food from microbes with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat or dairy – has raised $350m in a Series C round (taking its total financing to >$500m) as it gears up to launch...
While many consumers have incorporated some form of e-commerce into their grocery shopping routines, an increasing number are indicating their preference for their pre-pandemic in-store shopping trips, according to survey results from The Feedback Group.
The plant-based chicken category is heating up with Impossible Foods unveiling plans to enter the market in the fall with soy-based nuggets, going head to head with rival Beyond Meat, which has just launched pea-, and faba bean-based tenders.
Ultra-processed foods, such as packaged baked goods, sugary cereals and ready-to-eat meals with food additives and high levels of added sugar, fat and salt, but low levels of vitamins and fiber, are in the spotlight again after research published this...
Comet Bio – a startup developing functional fibers and sweeteners from upcycled ingredients – has closed a $22m Series C round led by private equity firm Open Prairie, with support from Louis Dreyfus Company, BDC Capital, and existing investor Sofinnova...
Canadian startup Noblegen has opened a CAD$500m Series C capital raise as it seeks to commercialize a suite of products from the ‘ancient microorganism’ euglena gracilis, which can produce everything from proteins that behave like animal proteins, to...
Wicked Kitchen – a plant-based brand developed by chefs and mushroom enthusiasts Derek and Chad Sarno that has been a hit in the UK – is hoping to make a bigger splash this side of the Atlantic after securing $14m in a Series A round co-led by Unovis...
Childhood nutrition giant Gerber is teaming with the Rodale Institute and Michigan State University to test whether more sustainably grown food is not only better for the earth, but also for children, as part of an ambitious, multi-prong commitment to...
In FoodNavigator-USA's latest roundup of new product launches, we include Clif Bar's first foray into boxed cereals, PeaTos' fiber- and protein-fueled take on Doritos, RXBARS's new plant-based bars, and a wave of products focusing...
Tate & Lyle has struck a $1.3bn deal to sell a controlling stake in its 'Primary Products' industrial sweeteners and starches business in the Americas to private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, as it focuses on specialty sweeteners, fibers,...
With brands now infusing their wares with everything from passionflower to hibiscus to deliver a sense of calm and wellbeing, the time is ripe to take 5-HTP - a mood support ingredient historically confined to the supplements market – to a broader audience,...
Wellmune – a branded beta glucan ingredient claimed to ‘prime’ the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against invasion by pathogens – is attracting growing interest from food and beverage brands as well as supplement products as immunity...
Instacart has appointed one of its current board members and former Facebook exec, Fidji Simo, as CEO of the online grocery shopping platform, effective August 2, replacing current CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta who will be transitioning to the role of...
Nestlé USA’s online sales grew more than 160% in 2020, with e-commerce sales accounting for 40% of its US growth, but there are still a ton of opportunities to reach more shoppers online, chief strategy officer Mel Cash tells FoodNavigator-USA as the...
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) wants Congress to once again delay stricter sodium targets and roll back whole grain requirements for school meals out of fear that students will reject the changes and drop out of feeding programs, many of which...
As the foodservice industry rebounds and consumers return to restaurant dining, mobile ordering app GrubHub took a look back at the past six months of ordering trends made by the approximately 33 million users of its mobile app.
New data from Placer.ai tracking foot traffic at America’s leading food retailers shows that traffic at Whole Foods – while rebounding - remains lower than it was in 2019, while many rival grocers have staged a stronger recovery.
By Abby Meyer, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP; and Dr. Sara Dastgheib-Vinarov, Tate & Lyle
In the food industry, a special recipe or product formulation can distinguish a company from competitors and form the basis of a brand. Companies may spend significant R&D dollars to get the recipe just right, so how can they protect this investment...
Meati Foods – which is carving out new territory in the meat-alternative space with a fungi-based platform capable of producing ‘steaks’ and other whole cuts – has raised $50m in a Series B round co-led by new investor BOND and long-time Meati investor...
Oatmilk or oat drink? Plant-based cheese or cultured nut product? A report from the House Committee on Appropriations “encourages the FDA to provide clarity around the labeling of plant-based foods that use traditional meat, dairy, and egg terminology,”...
The Federal Trade Commission has issued its final ‘Made in the USA’ rule about how companies can make this claim on their packaging and in advertising.
The meat alternatives company has given its latest innovation challenge award to a French start-up with new technology that differs from conventional extrusion.
Harmless Harvest and majority stakeholder Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV) are exploring opportunities to take the organic coconut water into international markets, says CEO Ben Mand, who says the San Francisco-based brand also has the potential to stretch...