While uncharitable observers have described Soylent as “only slightly more appealing than an IV bag”, news that the LA-based food substitute firm has just secured $20m in funding and is now generating “millions of dollars per month in subscription revenues”...
Modeling patterns or processes found in nature (think of solar cells inspired by a leaf) is a hot trend in industrial design, but could biomimicry be used to create a better food system?
Innovative packaging can really help smaller brands punch above their weight. But which food & beverage companies have really nailed it from a design perspective? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Blake Mitchell, partner at food and beverage brand...
There is room for new players in the burgeoning super-premium juice category, but the barriers to entry are pretty high, says San Diego-based Suja Juice, which exploded onto the scene in 2012, generated revenues of $18m in 2013, $45m in 2014 and is forecasting...
Technology is reshaping how consumers discover, evaluate and select food – creating dichotomies to which manufacturers must adapt their marketing and product positioning, a recently released white paper evaluating consumer trends in 2015 by Euromonitor...
With diabetes rates rising, many healthy people are starting to consider the effects of blood glucose levels and keeping them in the healthy range. In this gallery we look at the key ingredients in this growing sector.
Private label penetration rates have not budged since 2011
Dollar sales of foods and beverages edged up a modest 2.1% to $470bn in the US retail market in 2014, but unit sales (an indication of volumes) were pretty flat (up just 0.9%), according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI.
Drinking a cup of beetroot juice every day can ‘significantly lower blood pressure’ among patients with high blood pressure, according to a study in the journal Hypertension.
Improving the quality and selection of gluten-free foods available in mainstream channels will help sales in the category grow nearly 1.5 times through 2019, according to market analysis by Packaged Facts.
Field Roast Grain Meat Co. expands its portfolio into the retail vegan cheese category with the Jan. 1 launch of Chao Slices, which it claims are “revolutionary” because they do not try to mimic dairy cheese like other players in the segment.
BioHarvest, an Israeli company harvesting dietary supplement ingredients from plants grown via a unique hydroponic method, has launched a “biofood” ingredient called VINIA Red Grape Powder, said to offer the benefits of drinking red wine without the sugar,...
While consumers may think twice about buying a large box of cereal featuring a new functional ingredient, they are much more willing to try new things in the beverage category, which is a hotbed of innovation right now, two leading ingredients suppliers...
Acai Roots hopes its new fruit bar will entice back to the frozen dessert aisle consumers who have given the category the cold shoulder in recent years because they perceive it as filled with unhealthy treats.
Are Americans falling out of love with Greek yogurt? No, says Three Happy Cows director of marketing Brian Twomey. But growth is slowing and space allocation in some stores is shrinking, so brands that want to stay on shelf need to “identify the white...
A Vancouver startup believes it’s on the brink of exploding into mainstream success with its 40 winks coffee – a coffee blended with a herbal sedative, allowing it to be drunk as an evening or bedtime drink.
Minor changes in how packaged foods are presented could help them reclaim sales lost when consumers began favoring fresh and less-processed foods that they perceive as healthier and closer to nature, according to a wellness trend expert.
The rising popularity of drinking vinegar available in a wide variety of bold flavors could give soda a run for some of its money by tapping into consumer interest in sugar reduction.
With buyers from Whole Foods, Kroger, KeHE, Compass Group, Dean & DeLuca and hundreds of other retailers and foodservice chains walking the floor looking for innovative new products, the Winter Fancy Food Show has helped to launch scores of high-profile...
Positive health claims, such as those touting the benefits of a food, diet or quality, more effectively motivate the general public than negative or fear-based claims that attempt to scare people into action, according to a recently published study in...
The crowdfunding website Kickstarter helped the beverage company Genki-Su raise nearly twice as much money as necessary to pay for the first round of bottling for its concentrated Japanese drinking vinegar, but company co-founder Judy Tan acknowledged...
What are the hottest trends in snacks? Sprouted grains? Baked popcorn? Gourmet jerky? Join Elaine Watson from FoodNavigator-USA on a snacking odyssey at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco to find out more about...
The FDA has written to Solazyme to say it has no objections to the firm’s GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) determination for its AlgaVia whole algal protein, a move which the microalgae specialist claims will “pave the way for mainstream adoption...
Entrepreneurs need to stay healthy in order to ensure the long-term success and health of their start-up, advises a top executive at TumericALIVE, a young beverage company dedicated to making elixirs packed with turmeric to rejuvenate, restore and re-energize...
Nutrition and health bars are stealing market share from the category leading snack and cereal bars in part because they tie into the health and wellness trend dominating many consumers’ purchasing decisions in a way snack and cereal bars don’t, according...
US sales of ready to eat popcorn grew 25% to an estimated $750m in 2014
“Tired brands and off-trend categories should take inspiration from the astonishing turnaround in the fortunes of popcorn,” according to a new report from Rabobank International, which reveals that US sales of the bagged, pre-popped, ready-to-eat (RTE)...
Consumers’ shifting preference for snacks as meals are changing how retailers, restaurants and packaged food manufacturers market food, according to data from Packaged Facts and Dupont Nutrition & Health.
Despite popular resolutions to eat healthier, manufacturers do not need to fear a drop in sales of less healthy foods at the start of the New Year compared to during the holidays when many people indulge, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE.
Lab-grown meat could solve many of the world’s environmental problems, says the co-founder of an Israeli non-profit organisation studying the feasibility of mass-produced cultured chicken meat.
Narrowing down where retailers position multi-faceted drinking vinegar is an essential step in establishing it as a category, and the step is one that the founder of the Vermont Switchel Company is resistant to take.
Consistency born from thoughtful attention to detail and hiring specialists before they were needed helped start-up Chameleon Cold-Brew rapidly expand distribution by three to four times, launch a new line of ready-to-drink coffees and scoop up a prestigious...
“Some people say maple water has been overhyped,” says DRINKmaple co-founder Kate Weiler. “And it’s not that I’m sitting here drinking my own Kool Aid, but based on the overwhelming reception we’ve had, I just feel the outlook is really bright, and that...
A few years ago, chia seeds were virtually unheard of in the U.S., but now they are available across food categories and retail channels in a plethora of finished consumer goods and as an ingredient, thanks largely to long-range planning by The Chia Co.
This merges soup and beverages; we’re creating a new category...
While some retailers didn’t know quite what to make of his ‘chilled soup in a bottle’ when he first started pitching the concept last year, around 75% “just got it immediately”, says Tio Gazpacho founder Austin Allan. “And then they would say: How come...
Guilt-free but indulgent frozen dessert brand Arctic Zero grew sales by more than 25% in 2014 versus 2013 and is “poised for significant growth” in 2015, says the San Diego-based firm, which has just unveiled a new logo and pack design.
The maker of ALO, a top-selling beverage brand in the natural channel, is hoping to break into the convenience-store channel and expand its reach to more mainstream shoppers with the launch of a pulp-free version of its aloe vera drinks.
Seeds and nuts will usurp kale and coconut as the top two superfoods in 2015 as consumers look for on-the-go, nutrient dense foods, according to a survey of 500 registered dietitians conducted by the trade magazine Today’s Dietitian and the public relations...
For the makers of Fire Cider, an apple cider vinegar-based supplement and drink concentrate, keeping the Earth healthy is just as important as helping people stay healthy.
'Consumers are willing to pay more for better quality as long as that quality is tangible'
Not so long ago, “people would have said that any drink that’s above three bucks is crazy,” says the co-founder of organic and ‘raw’ coconut water pioneer Harmless Harvest, Justin Guilbert. “Well we came to the market with a 16oz bottle that retailed...
Milk and milk-based beverages can be more effective than traditional sports drinks at replacing fluid lost during exercise, the findings of an Australian study suggest.
Dannon is attempting to revitalize the Greek yogurt category with a new high-protein Greek yogurt sweetened with stevia “that appeals equally to both men and women”.
Start-up meal kit delivery service Chef’d is able to raise much-needed capital to launch and at the same time work out the kinks in its operations, production and delivery by working with the crowd-funding website Indiegogo.
From the first nationally-available instant oat cereal to be sweetened with stevia from Quaker Oats, to Yoplait’s new Greek Yogurt Whips, check out our latest gallery of new product launches. If there’s an overall theme, it’s that consumers are continuing...
As voted for by you the readers - effectively - and checked by us on Google Analytics, here are our Top 10 most read news stories of 2014 – from Constellation Brands attracting the ire of craft brewers to Dr Pepper’s stevia trials.
