A majority of consumers, 78%, said that they encounter a lot of conflicting information about what to eat and avoid, according to a new survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC).
D’s Naturals – the plant protein-fueled start up that recently caught the eye of investors at General Mills 301 INC and 2X Consumer Partners – will unveil a new brand (No Cow) and new products that take it beyond the bar category in January 2018, says...
Corner stores, bodegas and gas stations have a bad reputation when it comes to the healthfulness of the foods and beverages they offer, but the National Association of Convenience Stores and Cumberland Farms hope to change that by teaming up with Partnership...
CANADA: House of Commons to vote on GMO labeling bill on May 17
Members of the Canadian Parliament will decide whether to approve mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods in a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The founders of The Little Kernel argue that smaller is better when it comes to ready-to-eat popcorn because they say it is sweeter, crunchier and easier to eat than regular sized popcorn – but will consumers in the US, where bigger is often perceived...
PepsiCo is seeking “new and novel protein sources for snacks and beverages," while Mondelēz International is looking for new technologies to improve the freshness and texture of fruits and veggies in Philadelphia cream cheese.
How are the next generation of natural flavors being developed? Elaine Watson caught up with Christian Kopfli, CEO of New Jersey-based FlavorHealth, which is taking high-throughput cell-based screening to the next level to identify novel natural compounds...
In many ways, the conversation about GMOs has been a debate about good versus evil, but ingredient supplier Cargill wants to shift the discussion to one simply about choice – a goal that one executive says can only be achieved if manufacturers and suppliers...
Sparkling water brand Spindrift has raised $10 million in a funding round led by VMG Partners and supported by Prolog Ventures, Karp Reilly, and other existing investors.
Does premium pay in the pasta sauce category? Do the math, says Rao’s Specialty Foods president Jim Morano: “The average retail price in the category is $2.25; our average is $7.84. The category is growing at 3% year on year, and we’ve growing at more...
The quest to rid product labels of phosphates, carrageenan, titanium dioxide, mono- and di-glycerides and other substances gracing food marketers’ ‘unacceptable ingredients’ lists has created new growth opportunities for Fiberstar’s citrus fibers, which...
The clean label movement may have started as industry’s response to consumers who wanted foods and beverages made without artificial or “chemical” sounding ingredients, but overtime as brands continued to one-up each other, the concept morphed and metastasized...
Think clean label just means no artificial ingredients? Think again
Think 'clean label' just means ditching ‘artificial’ ingredients and avoiding anything attracting negative press (warranted or otherwise)? Think again. Today, brands are also questioning whether ‘natural’ flavors, preservatives and sweeteners...
While SmartLabel is still in its relative infancy, manufacturers are flocking to the technology to help them provide the in-depth information that today’s consumers want as part of the clean label movement, but which might not fit on product packaging.
To the casual observer, ‘cleaning up’ our food sounds like an eminently sensible thing to do. But where is the clean label trend going, and is ditching every ingredient you can’t pronounce really the key to fixing the ‘broken’ food system (as Panera implies...
Nutriati’s chickpea protein is white, odorless, and neutral-tasting
Commercial quantities of highly functional, neutral-tasting chickpea protein concentrates and a high-protein chickpea ‘flour’ will be available by the end of the year, says Richmond-based Nutriati, which has just closed an $8m financing round to help...
Unilever has struck a deal to acquire New York-based condiment maker Sir Kensington’s, under which co-founders Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton will continue to run the business from their offices in Manhattan.
Grass-fed cottage cheese brand good culture – which launched in August 2015 with organic ingredients and some edgy savory flavors - is confident it will be in 6,000 stores by the year end after bringing out a lower-priced ‘natural’ range (with more familiar...
The results of the 2017 FoodNavigator-USA reader survey are in… and not surprisingly, given the breadth of our readership, they’re pretty mixed, with many readers excited about their company’s prospects and others feeling trapped in a race to the bottom...
“So why does the world need another [insert your product here]?” is a question entrepreneurs are well-advised to prep for before hitting the stage at any pitch slam judged by ZICO founder Mark Rampolla. So how does he answer his own question when it...
Greco has experience ‘in preparing and bringing companies to acquisition’
Former Sbarro CEO James Greco has taken the helm at True Drinks Holdings – the firm behind kids’ flavored water brand AquaBall – while Kevin Sherman (who has been in charge since Lance Leonard departed in December 2015) will stay on as president.
From turmeric paste, barley couscous and konjac rice to cashew nut spreads, coffee leaf tea and adaptogen-laced juice drinks, CHFA West - Western Canada’s largest natural health and organics trade event (hosted by the Canadian Health Food Association)...
A slow decline is forecasted for total frozen food sales, which includes frozen dinners/entrees, pizzas, side dishes, and appetizers/snacks, according to Packaged Facts’ latest numbers.
Soy, rice and peas still dominate the plant-based protein market, but chickpeas could soon give them all a serious run for their money, predicts Israeli start-up CHiCK.P, which is seeking a strategic partner to commercialize its patent-pending process...
What do the most successful food and beverage brands in 2016 have in common? “Prevention, personalization, and pizzazz,” said Susan Viamari, vice president of Thought Leadership for market analytics firm IRI.
A new survey found that there was disconnect between what consumers think labels like organic, antibiotic-free, or ‘no added hormones’ mean, and what the labels actually mean.
“When consumers are asked an open-ended question, ‘What are you trying to avoid,’ the top three out of four answers are related to a sweetener,” Andy Ohmes, global director of high intensity sweeteners at Cargill, told FoodNavigator-USA.
From certification seals to romance text to website blog posts, many packaged food and beverage brands put a lot of thought (and resources) into creating convincing nutrition-related arguments to persuade buyers. But among Millennials, only 26% of them...
Despite increasing competition in the meat snacks category, startup and recent graduate of the Chobani incubator Chops Snacks sees significant potential for its soft-chew jerky and future products, according to the co-founder.
California-based SweeGen has received a GRAS no objections letter from the FDA for the use of its Bestevia branded Reb-M - manufactured from stevia leaf extracts converted to Reb M using enzymes – for use as a general purpose sweetener for food and beverage...
If anyone is doubting protein’s staying power as a sought-after call-out on packaged products, let the growth of Powerful Yogurt (soon to be just Powerful) be an indicator.
Iconic energy bar brand PowerBar launched a new line of plant-derived protein bars, debuting at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA, earlier this month.
Today’s consumers want products that are natural, sustainable and environmentally friendly, but manufacturers hoping to appeal to these values face significant threats from lawsuits alleging greenwashing and evolving regulations and enforcement efforts...
New ways to make and enjoy coffee and tea continue to flood the market with companies at Natural Products Expo West offering twists on pour over, cold brew and iced coffee, nitro-infused tea and coffee and plant-based creamers. There were even options...
Americans may be becoming more adventurous in what they eat – seeking international flavors and products – but some retailers and buyers are hesitant to stock these types of new products for fear that they won’t sell once they are on store shelves.
As the technology around producing steviol glycosides continues to evolve, transparency in labeling will be critical if consumer trust in ‘natural’ sweeteners is to be retained, says PureCircle, which claims to be the “clear market leader in terms of...
An electric vehicle uses a very different propulsion system to the internal combustion engine, but it also has four wheels, and gets you from A to B, which to most consumers, makes it a 'car.' So isn't it time to apply the same logic to...
Chicken soup may be good for the soul, but hot cereal can fill it, and those who are food insecure, at least if it comes from The Soulfull Project – a startup that launched this summer with a mission to wipe hunger off the map.
If the proliferation of booths at Expo West is anything to go by, the natural, organic and specialty products industry is in rude health, while investors are now competing with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio for a slice of the action. But how fast is...
The Chicago-based brand may have eight varieties of packaged grass-fed beef products, but CEO Lenny Lebovich asserts his company is not a meat company. “We don’t view ourselves as a meat company, we view ourselves as a consumer product company that happens...
To better support its transition from online-only sales to distribution at brick and mortar stores, wellness brand Aloha is unveiling at Expo West a massive rebranding along with new, reformulated and recategorized products that better align with consumers’...
Even as commerce continues to digitize, consumer patronage keeps brick-and-mortar grocery stores alive. ‘Grocery is a key stronghold for brick-and-mortar because of the sensory habitual nature of food buying,’ one expert says.
Food and beverage entrepreneurs make global flavors approachable for hesitant Americans, offer functional beverages and put modern, unique twists on classic favorites at the Washington, DC-based incubator Union Kitchen’s Meet The Makers event March 4.
Americans’ love affair with protein shows no signs of cooling in the coming years with a compound annual growth rate projected at a steady 5.6% for the next three years, bringing sales to a predicted $39.08 billion, according to Markets and Markets research.
'siratose has demonstrated potency and overall taste quality superior to existing monk fruit sweeteners'
Senomyx has identified a new zero-calorie, high-potency sweetening compound found in trace levels in monk fruit, which it plans to produce on a commercial scale via fermentation.
Drawing on extensive consumer research, The Campbell Soup Co.’s GMO disclosure labels on packs and online could serve as a model for USDA in crafting the mandatory national bioengineering label standard and other companies looking for solutions.
FDA is reopening the comment period for its draft guidance on the use of fruit and vegetable juice as color additives after several industry stakeholders complained about a lack of transparency into the basis of the guidance.
General Mills’ splashy commitment last year to double the number of organic acres it sources from by 2019 not only is a strategic business move to boost sales, but part of a larger effort to “do the right thing,” according to the company’s organic ambassador.
