If it sounds like a ‘chemical’, or isn’t in the kitchen cupboard, shoppers may regard it with suspicion. But which ingredients are 'acceptable' to today's consumers, which are to be avoided, and who decides?
The chocolate and cocoa industry has pledged $3m in new funds to global cocoa sustainability as major firms including Mondelez, Hershey and Cargill talk about their new initiatives.
Blast out of the starting blocks with your hot new product at high ACV distribution and pile in the promotional cash, and you’ve got a fighting chance of reaching that magic $100m in year one sales. You’re innovation dynamite: an IRI new product pacesetter.
America’s top food and beverage companies have exceeded their goal of reducing 1.5 trillion calories in the US marketplace, says the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF).
Consumers are becoming less interested in mid-market products, and are trading down for basic groceries and trading up for premium brands that matter most from an emotional and social perspective, says a new report from Rabobank.
Westin Foods has expanded its Health and Wellness division with the acquisition of a majority interest in Dominex and its vegan and vegetarian eggplant offerings.
Bold, meaty flavored chips and extra spicy meat snacks are trending as manufacturers strive to excite millennial tastebuds, says a Euromonitor analyst.
Industry efforts to reduce and/or remove trans fats from food products have led to progress, but this progress is slowing, and the industry must continue its effort to reformulate, says a new report from Harvard School of Public Health.
Big interview: Kevin Cleary, CEO Clif Bar & Company
Nutrition bars enter - and exit - the snacks aisle at the speed of light these days. So how has Clif Bar managed to sustain the kind of growth rivals can only dream of, year after year? Elaine Watson caught up with CEO Kevin Cleary to find out.
A survey of more than 5,000 users of a leading online food ordering service shows that 88% buy lunch at least once a week and a quarter buy lunch every day.
The heart health benefits of walnuts may be linked to different parts of the nuts acting on different physiological functions, says new data in the Journal of Nutrition.
While peanut flour has been around for years, recent interest in protein - particularly the plant-based variety - has sparked renewed interest, particularly in the nutritional bars market, according to one leading supplier.
A new analysis of sodium levels in 480 packaged and restaurant foods over the period 2005-2011 provides further evidence that voluntary approaches to sodium reduction have not delivered the across-the-board reductions required to meet government targets.
The percentage of energy derived from snacks in the American diet has increased from 12% in the late 1970s to 24% in 2009/10 as more people graze throughout the day rather than sitting down to three square meals, according to analysis of National Health...
Increased investment in marketing and advertising will drive sales in the back half of the year, said the company’s CEO who sees the company as being on track to being ‘a premium, differentiated leader in snack foods’.
Drug stores, club stores and the foodservice market could be the next big areas of opportunity for gluten-free, according to Boulder Brands, which owns two of the biggest names in the sector: Udi’s and Glutino.
Consumers expect to see added sugar in donuts and candy bars. But when they discover reams of it in dried fruits, juices and other products marketed as healthy foods, they feel shortchanged, and rightly so, according to one nutrition expert.
In February 2012, Kraft unveiled a category first: MilkBite milk and granola bars for the refrigerated dairy aisle combining “real milk” (and as much calcium as an 8floz glass of milk), whole grains, nuts and fruit.
Hostess Brands has closed all asset sales and pulled in $860m; a figure a little less than the worth of the company but expected given the speed of the sell-offs, an analyst says.
Frito-Lay has launched Doritos Locos Tacos tortilla chips to profit from soaring consumer enthusiasm surrounding its year-long partnership with quick service restaurant Taco Bell.
A New Jersey-based firm is seeking to patent the process behind the ‘world’s first commercial low fat snack nuts’: nuts that have been pressed using a novel high-speed process that expels up to 50% of their fat, then reconstituted with water into ‘nut...
TV’s ‘blood detective’ and zombie fan Dr Michael B. Wald has combined his interest in nutrition and er, zombies, to develop the Zombie Food Bar. But does it have what it takes to stand out in an increasingly crowded market? Elaine Watson caught up with...
United States Bakery has won the auction for the Sweetheart, Eddy’s, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie’s brands as part of the sell off of chunks of the Hostess Brands empire.
A new study, which reveals how potato chip packaging affects taste, will help brand owners tailor their products to consumer preference, says author Professor Charles Spence.
Flavored almonds have a bright future as snacks and food ingredients, says Blue Diamond Growers as it opens a new innovation in Sacramento and plans to increase new almond product sales growth five-fold over the next five years.
Apollo and Metropoulos will have to work hard to drive forward Hostess’ snack cake brands in a saturated market but dollar stores could hold promise, an analyst says.
Snyder’s-Lance has extended its Cape Cod reduced fat line to include a consumer favorite and strong performer; Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper, its marketing manager says.
EnWave Corp. the developer of a microwave/vacuum drying technique, has formed a 70/30 partnership with Lucid Capital Management to use the technology to manufacture and market a line of dried cheese snacks for sale in US markets.
The move online is not moving as quickly for grocery e-tailing as for other industries, but products likes snacks and sweets are a key opportunity sector for attracting first time shoppers.
The move to private ownership could make it easier for Heinz to do some spring cleaning, notably selling off its 'troubled' US frozen food business, said analysts as Heinz announced plans to sell up to Berkshire Hathaway and 3G.
Researchers have claimed that mixing has a much bigger impact on the quality of gluten-free bread than was previously understood and have found variations depending on levels of hydration in the dough.
Hain Celestial has posted another impressive set of quarterly figures, with rocketing sales growth for Greek Gods yogurts and Earth’s Best babyfood pouches, but warned that almond and chia prices are going through the roof.
Hostess Brands has chosen a joint $410m offer from two investment firms — C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management LLC — as the lead bid for Twinkies and other snack cake brands as it completes the process of filing ‘stalking horse’...
Special edition: Protein-rich foods: The next generation
After a few years of difficult market conditions, the soy protein market is enjoying ‘dynamic growth’, but what does the future hold for this ingredient, and what kind of impact will the GMO issue have?
Hostess Brands has selected stalking horse bidders for its Drake's snack cake brand and for its Sweetheart, Eddy's, Standish Farms, and Grandma Emilie's bread brands.
Special edition: Protein-rich foods: The next generation
For a long time in the shadow of soy as a plant protein source, pea protein is establishing itself in food and beverage applications, with the US market set to explode, say industry experts.
With Super Bowl 2013 just a ball’s throw away, beefed up pack sizes, ridged potato chips for easy dipping and well-paired flavors for hot wings, beer and pizza are set to succeed, an analyst says.
A Washington D.C. area organic food store chain has pulled all products from its shelves that are marketed directly to children via the inclusion of images of cartoon characters from children’s books, films and TV.
