Emerging and new-to-market brands are all vying for precious shelf space at retail, so where should founders focus their time and energy to secure a spot in their desired store area?
While terms such as a 'natural' and 'clean label' may not have a regulated definition attached to them, these particular descriptors do motivate over half of US shoppers to purchase a product, a new survey of 1,000 adults conducted...
In the past five years, online grocery retailer Thrive Market has grown its business to 500,000 paid members shopping its 6,000+ products, allowing the company to dive head first into new projects around regenerative agriculture, and "dramatically"...
If areas of the grocery store were to be placed in a figurative bracket based on annual volume growth over a three year period (2015-2018), which departments would come out on top? According to Nielsen's "Total Store Bracket" ranking 16...
Since launching exclusively at the Whole Foods Market Pearl Street store in Boulder, Colorado, in late 2017, Beyond Meat's Beyond Sausage has expanded its distribution to over 4,000 grocery stores, restaurants, and sports stadiums across the US....
Over half (61%) of Americans following an exclusion diet (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, keto) believe that following a restrictive diet means having to pay more for food and nearly half (47%) say that it takes a toll on their social life, according...
Brooklyn-born Square Roots, an urban indoor vertical farming startup, is taking its ultra-scalable, modular model to new markets through an exclusive partnership with Gordon Food Service (GFS).
The number of class action filings against food and beverage companies rose 9% to 158 in 2018, with firms vulnerable to legal action on a host of fronts, from slack fill to natural claims, says law firm Perkins Coie.
Ingredion has acquired privately-held potato starch producer Western Polymer in Washington state, expanding the company's potato starch manufacturing capacity and processing capabilities.
‘We’ve had pushback [over genetic engineering] for years now, but the conversation has to change’
If printing out DNA sequences that instruct yeast or bacteria to express proteins identical to those in eggs or milk in big fermentation tanks sounds a little ‘unnatural,’ consider how natural, sustainable, or indeed ethical, it is to continue to produce...
The frozen food category has been a core grocery purchase for nearly all consumers. However, the frozen food aisle can benefit from an image overhaul, leaving behind its reputation as back-up food stockpiled in the home freezer for weeks, to a quality...
New brand RightRice – a vegetable rice grain made up of over 90% vegetables and 10% rice - has launched exclusively with Whole Foods Market nationwide and on Amazon where it intends to reinvigorate the rice aisle.
Beginning this spring, the FDA will begin routine inspections of large domestic and international farms (excluding sprouts operations) as part of the Produce Safety Rule established under FSMA to better address food borne illnesses linked to fresh produce....
Antioxidants found in grain bran (alkylresorcinols) could serve as a natural alternative to synthetic preservatives, helping manufacturers meet demand for cleaner labels, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State University.
The road from startup to category leader is not for the faint of heart, and there are few end-to-end resources available to an emerging brand that can guide food entrepreneurs on branding and packaging all the way through to sales and marketing strategy.
To what extent do food labels encourage healthier eating? A study led by researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University assessed the effectiveness of different types of food labels on consumers’ eating behaviors....
The rise of diets – paleo, plant-based, Whole 30, keto, even ‘lazy keto’ – has created a challenging environment for food and beverage marketers trying to establish and grow a strong consumer following.
In its final GMO labeling rule - released this morning - the USDA says it will not mandate the labeling of highly refined ingredients from GM crops if no ‘modified genetic material’ is detectable, but it will allow manufacturers to make voluntary disclosures...
Kellogg’s has become the latest high-profile food brand to face legal action over the alleged presence of trace levels of the herbicide glyphosate in its products, which the plaintiff argues that reasonable consumers would not expect to see in their foods...
Synthetic biology specialist Amyris has embarked on a mission to capture 30% of the global stevia sweeteners market by 2022 with a Reb M sweetener produced from cane sugar by a modified yeast strain, that it claims gives it a clear competitive advantage...
For startups, balancing inventory to meet supply while minimizing waste is a make-or-break challenge that could prompt some entrepreneurs to project conservatively, but the founder of dried fruit startup Rind Snacks cautions this strategy could back fire...
Bunge North America has added a non-GMO lentil flour to its portfolio that the company says can serve as a “functional equivalent substitute” for modified starches and can be appear as “lentil flour” in an ingredient deck, appealing to consumers searching...
PepsiCo has acquired Health Warrior, Inc. -- a plant-based protein company specializing in 100-calorie snack nutrition bars -- its first brand investment of the newly-formed entity, The PepsiCo HIVE.
Sustainability-related claims on food products are popping up more frequently and while still just a small fraction of market, items mentioning sustainability outperformed the growth rate of total products in their respective category, according to Nielsen.
A model based on regenerative agriculture has been at the heart of the EPIC Provisions company mission since its founding in 2013. Now it has become the first consumer food brand to carry the science-based Land to Market Ecological Outcome Verification...
Tillamook County Creamery Association has had a loyal regional following in the Pacific Northwest for more than 100 years (founded in 1909), but in order to secure its next 100 years the dairy co-operative needed to execute a national growth strategy...
Bitsy’s is aiming to change the way the industry and consumers look at kids snacks, a still underdeveloped category with much potential for collaboration between the food industry and parents, according to co-founder Maggie Patton.
While available year-round, apple sales typically peak around the harvest season running from late August through early October. However, this year, dollar sales have contracted 5% over the last 52 weeks (ending Sept. 15, 2018), according to Nielsen data.
Demand for meat alternatives continues to be on the rise with a third of US consumers planning to buy more vegetarian/plant-based food products in the next year, according to Mintel's Better-For-You Eating Trends survey from August 2018, polling...
Kraft Heinz has committed $100m to launch the venture capital fund Evolv Ventures that will be focused on investing in emerging technologies in the food industry.
After setting up its head offices and production facility in Manhattan Beach, California, in June, plant-based yogurt and dessert brand The Coconut Collaborative has confirmed listings with several West Coast retailers and will appear on those store shelves...
In a ruling one attorney has described as an “outlier” and “extreme," a California federal court has certified two classes of consumers in a lawsuit alleging Chipotle falsely advertised its food as non-GMO given that its meat and dairy products are...
Sales of kid-friendly school snacks on Amazon grew 40% year-over-year to $350m in the first half of 2018, driven by the e-commerce giant’s heavy online promotion as well as consumers’ growing familiarity and comfort with shopping online for snacks, One...
Consumers that say they seek out products they consider ‘clean label’ are more likely to enjoy grocery shopping and are actively engaged in the food shopping process, a Packaged Facts report revealed.
A citizen petition filed Sept. 24 by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation asking FDA to prohibit 'non-GMO' claims on foods and beverages likely will not gain broader industry support or traction with the agency, according to...
Stryve Biltong is rapidly growing its presence in the US meat snacks category backed by a $10m investment from private equity firm Meaningful Partners.
After achieving dynamite success in Thailand where it competes with Lay’s potato chips, Thai entrepreneur Itthipat “Tob” Peeradechapan wanted to bring his seaweed snack chips to the US market and enlisted the help of Tim Minges whom he had met during...
Two of the food and supplement industries' leading software solutions providers have come together with TraceGains’ acquisition of Healthnotes, announced yesterday.
A lawsuit alleging that Nestlé USA is misleading shoppers with its ‘No GMO Ingredients’ seal is unlikely to make much progress, predict legal experts, but it does highlight the confusion surrounding Non-GMO claims given that the standards underpinning...
To the casual observer, ‘cleaning up’ food labels sounds like an eminently sensible thing to do. After all, who wants to ingest anything ‘dirty?’ But what, precisely, are these grubby imposters apparently lurking in our foods and beverages?
FBOMB, an emerging macadamia nut butter brand, is entering its first brick-and-mortar retail locations this month with new distribution deal with The Vitamin Shoppe.
Starch can be found in nearly every corner of the CPG industry from shelf-stable pasta sauces and salad dressings to canned soups and jarred baby food because of its thickening and stabilizing properties. However, clean label options that deliver the...
If plant-based ‘milk’ is keeping some parts of the dairy industry – and the FDA commissioner – awake at night, what might milk producers make of the latest innovation to emerge from Silicon Valley: animal-free dairy (casein and whey made without cows)?...
Tio Gazpacho has seen orders for its bottled chilled soup range pour in from 49 out of 50 states through its e-commerce business indicating that consumers are seeking out savory, on-the-go snacking or light meal options made from whole ingredients.
Plant-based meat brand Beyond Meat has secured non-GMO verification for its wares after completing a “rigorous” one-year review process of its ingredients, supply chain, and manufacturing facilities.
In a space like meat snacks, it’s hard to standout especially for a small brand like Chomps Snack Sticks. The Chicago startup’s lean and mean approach has gained it access into major retailers including 7-Eleven, Safeway, and Albertsons where it outsells...
Sensient Technologies has acquired Mazza Innovation Limited, a botanical extraction technology firm based in Vancouver, Canada, strengthening its “seed to shelf” business strategy to innovate across the value chain for natural and organic ingredients.
The first time Innova Market Insights’ director of innovation, Lu Ann Williams, heard the term 'clean label' was in 2008, long before the term 'clean' started to infiltrate business to consumer marketing.
There's a lot of hype around 'big data' and 'data analytics', but how can you cut through the noise to distill these buzzwords down into something that is useful to your startup or established company?
