Nutrition labeling will expose snacks for what they are, but we’re committed to being transparent and confident US consumers will remain a snacking nation, says the CEO of the Snack Food Association (SFA).
It’s 70 degrees, and there are a lot of free snacks, so the FoodNavigator-USA team did the decent thing and headed to Anaheim to bring you the highlights from the nation’s biggest natural products show: Natural Products Expo West…
Fiber-rich almonds and almond skin may selectively boost the populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the gut, says a new study funded by the Almond Board of California.
In 2012, Late July’s revenues were a modest $18.6m. In 2014, founder and CEO Nicole Dawes says the brand is "currently at a $60M run rate", primarily due to explosive growth in sales of organic snack chips. Not bad going considering she’s vying...
Dispatches from Snaxpo 2014: Frito-Lay marketing insight, part II
Consumers and their demands are in charge of business; driving everything we do in marketing terms and pulling us into their world, says Frito-Lay’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
Interview with Bobo's Oat Bars founder Beryl Stafford
Ten years after Bobo’s Oat Bars first hit natural food store and coffee shop shelves in Boulder, CO, the now profitable cereal bar manufacturer is capitalizing on the parallel growth in popularity of the gluten-free and grab-and-go segments to target...
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has again urged the FDA to come up with its own mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling system and “ignore” the industry-backed, voluntary ‘Facts up Front’ scheme.
Mass marketing no longer resonates with today's consumer and it must be replaced by one-on-one marketing with dedicated focus on pre-shop behavior, says Frito-Lay’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
By Winnie Byanyima, executive director, Oxfam International
Food and drink companies can have a big influence over sustainability and ethical issues in their supply chains - and have the power to change them rapidly. One year on from Oxfam's first Behind the Brands sustainability scorecard, nine of the ten...
The foodservice sector could generate explosive growth for gluten-free products, although it’s hard to predict exactly when talk will translate into action, according to the firm behind leading gluten-free brands Udi’s and Glutino.
As Americans continue to trade traditional meals for smaller eating occasions throughout the day, the $7 billion market for US crackers (as of 2013) is benefiting from this shift in eating habits, especially those touting healthy ingredients in their...
The Food and Drug Administration is proposing several changes to the nutrition labels on packaged foods and beverages. If approved, the new labels would place a bigger emphasis on total calories and update serving sizes, while also drawing attention to...
The fat composition of food not only influences cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular disease but also governs where the fat will be stored in the body, say researchers.
Are consumers who say they’re avoiding gluten really just avoiding wheat? Can we trust survey data about the number of people following ‘gluten-free diets’? Are market researchers' (wildly differing) estimates about the size of the gluten-free market...
On Thursday the Obama administration unveiled the changes that the Food and Drug Administration drafted to the nutrition facts panel (see what the FDA is proposing here). In anticipation of the announcement, the Center for Science in the Public Interest...
From ready meals to breakfast bars, lots of pulse flour-based gluten-free products are coming on stream, says Margaret Hughes from Best Cooking Pulses, Inc., with the favorable nutritional profiles and moderate costs gaining traction with manufacturers...
The American palate is more welcoming of exotic, ethnic flavors but snack innovation must go beyond just hot and spicy, says Snyder’s-Lance innovation head.
Snack maker PopChips looks set to become the latest firm to stop using the term ‘all-natural’ to describe its products after agreeing to settle a lawsuit alleging it misled consumers by using the controversial term.
The acquisition of Pringles back in 2012 has tripled the scale of Kellogg in some emerging markets – completely changing the nature of business, its CEO says.
Gluten-free baked products have a historically bad reputation—be it in the flavor, texture, performance or shelf life department. But the surge of demand from all corners of the market has forced bakery and snack manufacturers to respond with improved...
When PepsiCo replaced the word ‘Simply Natural’ with ‘Simply’ on some Frito-Lay lines recently, some commentators wondered if this signaled the beginning of the end of the industry’s love affair with all-natural claims. However, new data suggests otherwise.
While some analysts predict US private label penetration rates (which have remained stubbornly at around 18% of dollar sales for in recent years) could reach 25-30% or higher in the next few years, their “exuberance… is perplexing at best”, according...
While the number of lawsuits filed against food and beverage manufacturers over ‘all-natural’ claims appeared to peak in 2012 and drop off again in 2013, it’s too early for the industry to start cracking open the champagne just yet, say legal experts.
Ingredients giant Roquette has struck a deal with Iowa-based non-GMO corn and soybean specialist World Food Processing (WFP) under which WFP will manufacture Roquette’s pea protein in the US.
While most start-ups struggle to raise the funds to turn their dreams into reality, Hampton Creek Foods CEO Josh Tetrick has convinced some of the world’s wealthiest people that his plant-based egg replacers are worth a serious punt.
As CPG’s big guns congregate in Florida for the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, many of them are at a strategic crossroads, says Rabobank.
The Kellogg Company has pledged to source fully traceable palm oil by the end of next year, a move that has been welcomed by NGOs that have been fighting for the cereal giant to change its policies for months.
While market researchers predict continued healthy growth for the US gluten-free market*, not everyone is convinced that it is built on a solid foundation.
If there is a natural ceiling to the gluten-free market, we’re nowhere near hitting it yet, according to Weston Bakeries, which is rolling out its new All But Gluten fresh bakery range across Canada and the US.
Tate & Lyle says it predicts a substantial deterioration in sucralose pricing owing to a glut of unsold Chinese sucralose which has forced it to reduce pricing in recently renewed contracts.
Shares in the world's biggest food company were down by around 2% this morning as Nestlé announced its slowest sales growth in four years and missed profit expectations for 2013.
Food product marketers have less than three seconds to grab consumer attention, and need think back to the old days of products in supermarket circulars to connect with consumers in the mobile era, says a leading marketing guru.
Big interview: David Janow, co-founder and CEO, Axiom Foods
Protein is undergoing a renaissance in food marketing, with high-protein claims appearing on everything from snack foods and sports beverages to soups and frozen yogurt. And plant proteins - particularly pea and rice - are gaining momentum.
A major new player in the flour milling industry may not now emerge until the second quarter of this year, as regulators continue to scrutinize the proposed merger of ConAgra Mills and Horizon Milling (a joint venture between Cargill and CHS) to create...
Hurdles in food safety, taste and consumer acceptance await on the London South Bank University’s quest to join two big food innovations: 3D printing and insect-based ingredients.
A federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a $3.4m settlement of a class action lawsuit accusing Trader Joe’s of falsely advertising certain products as ‘all natural’.
High intakes of salt throughout adolescence may be associated with levels of obesity and inflammation, regardless of calories consumed, say researchers.
The Kellogg Company has reported lower-than-expected fourth quarter sales due to continued weakness in cereal but its president and CEO says the company can still win at the breakfast occasion.
First there was the leaked GMA discussion document; now the industry’s biggest players have put their cards on the table via the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, which is seeking federal legislation to create an FDA-administered voluntary program to...
Bakery manufacturers can drive growth of packaged sweet baked goods by downsizing to smaller and single-serve packs for higher per unit profits, says the research director of Packaged Facts.
