Hain Celestial is in the market for acquisitions to “bulk up in the categories that we prioritize,” even as it continues to shed underperforming brands and those with less mainstream consumer appeal, CEO Mark Schiller told analysts this week.
San Jose-based Knowde – a b2b online marketplace for chemicals, ingredients and polymers - is moving into the food and nutrition industry, enabling R&D and procurement professionals to research and compare products, connect with suppliers, request...
Selling direct-to-consumer (DTC) online has emerged as a favorite go-to-market strategy for emerging brands launching during the pandemic, and while it can offer better margins, a more intimate connection with shoppers and flexibility around pricing and...
Investors appear skeptical of Unilever’s ambitious five-prong plan to drive sales growth of 3-5% in the coming years after it saw only a 1.9% increase in sales in 2020 and a 5.8% decline in underlying profits in a year when many CPG companies saw significantly...
Cerebelly has received The Clean Label Project Purity Award -- which independently test products for over 400 contaminants including heavy metals, chemicals, plastics, pesticides, and other toxins -- for its full line of shelf-stable pureed baby food...
In an effort to safeguard frontline food industry workers, Kroger is providing a one-time $100 payment to all store associates who receive the manufacturer-recommended doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Consumer goods giant Unilever set out its stall for future growth last week when the company delivered a ‘strategy refresh’ alongside its full-year results. The outcome? An increased focus on ‘high growth segments’ including functional nutrition and plant-based...
Even though the coronavirus vaccine is slowly, albeit a bit unsteadily, rolling out, a recently published survey of dietitians predicts Americans in 2021 will continue to seek protection from COVID-19 and its rapidly spreading variants from food and beverages...
Stressed by COVID-19 and its financial and emotional ripple effects, consumers have turned to functional food as a stress-reducing and health-boosting tool to get through the pandemic, recent consumer insights from market research firm Brightfield Group...
Kroger’s decision this week to shutter two Southern California grocery stores in response to a local ordinance mandating a temporary hazard pay increase for some grocery employees during the pandemic could portend similar action by other retailers in...
‘Animal-free dairy’ ice cream brand Brave Robot – which launched in July 2020 - will be in 5,000 stores across the US by Earth Day 2021 (April 22), says brand owner The Urgent Company.
Tovala – a meal service paired with a multi-function smart oven – has closed a $30m in Series C funding led by New York-based investment group, Left Lane Capital, bringing the company’s funding total to over $50m.
New York City-based vertical farming company, Bowery Farming, has appointed former Google Internet of Things (IoT) VP and general manager, Injong Rhee, as its new chief technology officer (CTO) responsible for accelerating the integration of proprietary...
Moku, an emerging mushroom jerky brand, is laying down the foundation to build a highly-scalable, clean label meat alternative platform under a strategic partnership with Siddhi Capital, say co-founders Matt Feldman and Melissa Facchina.
A new business model developed by Milwaukee-based startup Agricycle that combines a vertically-integrated supply chain with a portfolio of upcycled brands is proving that with a little imagination and basic resources small growers can have an outsized...
Addressing its natural gas use and fleet emissions, Talking Rain (maker of Sparkling ICE) is funding over 28,000 metric tons of carbon reduction offsets through taking on ownership of three land projects in need of environmental clean up. But what significance...
Hot on the heels of price cuts to foodservice distributors, Impossible Foods is cutting prices to US grocery stores and supermarkets, taking suggested retail prices for two patty packs down 20% to $5.49, and 12oz bricks down to $6.99.
Rising consumer concern about the long-term detrimental impact on children’s health and palate development from baby food overly-sweetened or predominately packed with fruit is opening the door for a new cohort of entrepreneurs promoting vegetable- and...
Even through 2020 brought large CPG food and beverage companies record sales growth – often in the high double digits – over 2019 as consumers flocked to well-established, trusted brands, IRI research found smaller and extra-small consumer brands and...
Nutritional Growth Solutions, Ltd. (NGS), parent company of Healthy Height kids protein shake mixes, has acquired nutritional shake brand KidzShake and has announced plans to enter the US medical market.
In the next 12 to 18 months, cultivated meat could become available to the masses, according to some industry players raising funds to scale production of technological and scientific advances that will allow for lower production costs and a lower consumer...
As Generation Z enters the workforce, they bring a keen competitive spirit and a desire to contribute significantly – making them desirable employees, but because they also are unafraid to job hop if they do not feel appreciated, employers need to rethink...
In a challenging environment for all of the food industry, Mondelēz International posted net revenue growth of 5.6% and increased gross profit by $113m for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2020.
Despite parents' best efforts and new products coming to the market promising critical nutrients from vegetables, the fact remains that the vast majority of children are simply not eating enough vegetables. This reality is the primary motivating...
While always an important feature of Super Bowl viewing, Frito Lay's latest U.S. Snack Index poll estimates a 21% increase in snacking among consumers compared to last year's Super Bowl LIV game.
A limited-supply Palate Training Kits released today from Icelandic skyr brand siggi’s takes an innovative approach to sugar reduction, which has gained prominence among consumers during the pandemic, but which continues to be stymied by taste and convenience...
Millie Gram -- the latest brand innovation to come out of Mondelēz SnackFutures -- combines nut butters with powdered mushroom blends (cordyceps, shiitake, maitake, reishi, and lion's mane) and is currently testing its market appeal with consumers...
Post Holdings has dipped its toes into the fast-growing plant-based meat category with an investment in St Louis-based startup Hungry Planet, which makes soy- and wheat-based beef, port, chicken, crab and chorizo for foodservice and retail markets.
As consumers continue to gravitate to ecommerce for groceries and limit trips to retail stores, CPG companies will need to shift more of their advertising dollars to digital from traditional – but not all online marketing tactics and sales strategies...
JUST Egg, in partnership with sous vide foods manufacturer and distributor Cuisine Solutions, has expanded its plant-based egg portfolio with the launch of frozen sous vide egg bites rolling out to select grocery stores in March.
After appearing on ABC's Shark Tank last week, Quevos – an emerging brand making egg white-based chips – received an investment from Equilibra Partners Management, the family office of KIND Snacks founder, Daniel Lubetzky, to fuel its next phase...
Despite lingering uncertainty about the pandemic’s economic impact and the stickiness of new consumer habits developed in response to COVID-19 safety measures, new research from Deloitte finds most consumer product industry executives are optimistic about...
Grocery delivery firm Imperfect Foods has raised $95m in a Series D round led by Insight Partners and Norwest Venture Partners as it transitions from a regional delivery service focused on ‘ugly’ produce, to a national full-service grocer.
President Joe Biden today is expected to take aim at the rising rate of food insecurity in the US during the ongoing pandemic by signing an executive order that will increase federal food assistance, including for those who currently receive the maximum...
Leading Canadian organic baby food brand Baby Gourmet is eager to expand its manufacturing capacity and bring its organic meals and snacks for babies and toddlers into the US after joining Hero Group’s “goodness of nature” portfolio, which also includes...
AppHarvest -- an indoor vertical farming ag tech company based in Morehead, Kentucky -- is shipping out its first harvest of beefsteak tomatoes to national and regional grocery store chains including Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Food City, and Meijer.
Successfully meeting rising demand for “functional benefits” goes beyond adding on-trend ingredients with health properties to line-extensions or new products – it also requires brands to navigate a “two-way street” with consumers to balance education...
Start-up Slice of Sauce’s promise of a “mess-free” eating experience that won’t compromise on flavor or lead to soggy bread while eating sandwiches and wraps on-the-go helped married founders Emily and Cole Williams secure a $200,000 investment from former...
Hydroponic vertical farming company Plenty has hired Impossible Foods VP of sales, Dana Worth, as its SVP of sales to lead the company's next phase of commercial growth.
Most grocery retailers are strongly encouraging employees to vaccinate against the coronavirus as more states expand access to the vaccine to frontline essential workers, but few are mandating it and even fewer are paying their employees to take the preventive...
Speaking at Expo West in 2015 two years after selling his coconut water brand to Coca-Cola, ZICO founder Mark Rampolla observed that his nine years running the business had been “absolutely brutal.” Six years later, he’s back at the helm, after buying...
Amazon blew past traditional grocers H-E-B and Trader Joe’s to secure the coveted title of best overall grocery retailer in dunnhumby’s fourth annual Retailer Preference Index, which also placed the company at the top of its new “Covid Momentum Metric”...
GoodSam Foods, a new brand of no-sugar-added, direct-trade chocolate launched by BeyondBrands, has entered the sugar-free chocolate confectionery category with products sweetened with emerging sweetener allulose.
Tyson Foods is investing $26m to expand production at its Wright Brand Bacon facility in Vernon, Texas. The expansion project is scheduled for completion in March 2021.
Craft pickle brand SuckerPunch Gourmet’s new look shifts the focus from its iconic prizefighting mascot to the bold flavors and high-quality ingredients that set the brand apart from the competition, while also balancing the visual priorities of in-store...
PepsiCo is driving incremental growth for two of its hottest brands by bringing together flavored sparkling water bubly and at home water carbonation platform SodaStream to launch a line of bubly drops that will hit store shelves and ecommerce this month.
The trend of home cooking and kitchen creativity, which scores of households exhibited last year will stick around in 2021 solidifying the dining table as the centerpiece of family eating, says New York-based online grocery retailer FreshDirect which...
As consumer taste preferences shift to reflect a deeper understanding of the connection between health and diet during the ongoing pandemic, PepsiCo is expanding the scope of its Greenhouse Accelerator program to embrace emerging science and technology...
Black Lives Matter supporters may not be taking to the streets or grabbing headlines as often as they were last summer, but the social and racial injustices that drove them their persist, which is why KIND Healthy Snacks is deepening its commitment to...
