To understand Functional Foods you must see it as a strategy to add value to processed foods, says the president and founder of the HealthyMarketingTeam, Peter Wennstrom, in this guest article.
Faced with mounting difficulties in their drug businesses, many pharmaceutical manufacturers are looking at getting into functional foods and beverages, notes food marketing expert, Julian Mellentin in this guest article.
While mainstream food retailers discovered kombucha later than their counterparts in the ‘natural’ channel, they are playing catch-up now, says natural soda maker Reed’s, which entered the market in 2012 with its Culture Club kombucha range and now claims...
General Mills has agreed that it will not use the term ‘100% natural’ to describe Nature Valley bars that contain certain ‘artificially produced’ ingredients in order to settle a long-running false advertising lawsuit*.
American children were exposed to significantly fewer TV ads for sugary drinks in 2013 compared with 2011. But not every soda giant got the memo, says a new report, which claims that children aged 2-11 saw 29% more TV ads for PepsiCo sugary drinks in...
Three years ago, Greek yogurt was on fire. Today, as the category has matured, its growth has slowed to a more modest pace, while one market watcher predicts dollar sales growth in the overall yogurt category (which has been driven by Greek in recent...
Bai Brands CEO Ben Weiss says the Dr Pepper allied brand will hit $50m in sales this year and puts this down to a focus on ‘distribution at the expense of brand equity’ during the early ‘basement’ years.
Pinnacle Foods has struck a deal to acquire Canadian plant-based food specialist Garden Protein International (Gardein) for C$175m ($154m) from founder Yves Potvin and private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.
The “best” way to change consumers’ long-held perception that whole grain products taste “like cardboard” and to spur sales is to give consumers a risk-free chance to try the products and use positive, educational marketing, food manufacturers said.
A greater focus on emotional training may be a more effective way of encouraging healthy food choices than nutritional training, according to research.
What’s for dinner tonight? And could Watson - the IBM computer that trounced its human rivals at Jeopardy - have the answer? FoodNavigator-USA headed to the reThinkFood conference - a collaboration between the Culinary Institute of America and the MIT...
Unprecedented access to information about foods through smart phones and social media is a driving factor in consumers’ increasing interest in healthy eating, according to a leading food culture researcher.
Consumers underestimate calorie counts for, and consume more of, foods from companies with positive corporate responsibility programmes, say researchers.
Academic: "Anybody who thinks the world’s malnutrition problems are going to be solved without industry is dreaming."
By Shane Starling from the 3rd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Emerging research linking vitamin E deficiency with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, miscarriages and fatty liver disease can contribute to an ongoing debate around recommended intakes, a nutrition congress was told yesterday.
John Gagliardi let his experience as a college and professional lacrosse player guide his choices when it came to formulating his new energy beverage company. Called Titan Tea, the product line is based on black tea and D-ribose as primary ingredients.
Mainstream retailers that have been slow to take up the natural and organic product mantle now are realizing the trend is not a flash-in-the-pan and are scrambling to stock more healthy options, which is good news for Hain Celestial, company executives...
Solazyme’s AlgaVia whole algal flour is now being used in eight commercially available products in the US from non-dairy creamers and powdered beverages to gluten-free baked goods, while the company is also in “late stage commercial tests with major national...
With HPP (high-pressure-processed) cold-pressed juices now an established part of any self-respecting retailer’s chilled beverage set, it’s easy to forget just how rapidly this category has moved from niche to mainstream, and that key players such as...
Consumers want to eat healthier, but when it comes to snacking a desire for decadent and indulgent usually wins out over virtuous, which is why Berkeley, Calif.-based The Good Bean wants to “reclaim fun for the better-for-you-chip space” with the launch...
Online grocery shopping, craft foods, fermented and pickled foods such as sauerkraut, and non-stop snacking will all gain momentum in 2015, according to ‘Supermarket Guru’ and TV personality Phil Lempert.
Protein fortification continues to be a hot topic, with high protein forms of shakes and other beverages, nutrition bars, cereals and other foods crowding the market. Now startup company Rap Protein LLC has expanded the idea into a new area with the...
New I can't believe it's not butter recipe has no artificial preservatives
Unilever is seeking to seize back the initiative in the US spreads aisle with the roll-out of new ‘cool blending technology’ that enables it to produce buttery spreads without using artificial-sounding ingredients that have given the category an image...
CEO Henry Miller had a vision for his company, Henry’s Humdingers, when he founded it. He wanted to give consumers a new take on honey and at the same time help bring light to the plight of honey bees, beset by threats. That was when he was 12.
Whole Foods Markets has decided to go big, with a national TV ad campaign that kicked off during a recent World Series game. The message is one of “values,” talking about the natural grocery store chain’s commitment to sustainability and transparency.
While Beanitos probably has a higher profile, fellow Texan chip maker Simply7 snacks has quietly carved out an equally impressive niche in the better-for-you snacks aisle over the past four years with hummus, lentil, quinoa and pink pomegranate chips...
60-second interview, Megan DeStefano, DuPont Nutrition & Health
The percentage of energy derived from snacks in the American diet has increased from 12% in the late 1970s to 24% in 2009/10, according to analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) data.
Browse the baby food aisles and everything is pretty healthy, as your baby’s body is a temple, right? But then things change, say the founders of MySuperFoods, which was set up by two Moms that were underwhelmed by the snack options available to children...
From hop-free ales with lavender or elderflowers to ‘advanced Asian’ cuisine, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) looks at the top 10 culinary trends it predicts will inspire the packaged food and foodservice industry in 2015.
I am one of many scientists around the world whose work involves studying an ecosystem of diverse species. Some are already known to us, others have never been catalogued before.
US hummus category could break $1bn barrier in a few years
US sales of hummus have almost doubled since 2009 to top $600m, but could easily break through the $1bn mark in the next few years, predicts Eat Well Embrace Life, which is carving out a leading role in the ‘other bean hummus’ category and aims to be...
FoodNavigator-USA brings you part two of our gallery of highlights from the 2014 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Atlanta, GA, which addressed everything from nutrigenomics, plant-based diets and Millennials’ eating habits to whether...
A&B Ingredients has introduced a new pea protein isolate to the US market to meet the demands for vegetarian forms with greater functionality, the company said. The new variety, called Pisane B9, is optimized for baked goods applications.
Consumers – and specific groups of consumers – are changing how, when and where they shop, with the influence of Millenials and Hispanics set to grow over the next decade, says a new report from IRI.
Supplementing the diets of overweight and obese people with prebiotics and synbiotics may improve some metabolic measures, including cholesterol and triglyceride levels, says a new systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 randomized clinical trials.
Not so long ago, beans were something you’d more likely find in a dip than a chip. Today, in no small part because of the explosive growth of Beanitos, they are all over the snacks aisle as formulators look to boost fiber and protein, and marketers tap...
Consumers want to see what you are putting into the product as well as what isn’t in there
With revenues going from zero to “north of $20m” in three years, the growth of Way Better Snacks has been nothing short of meteoric. But while great branding, its focus on ‘sprouted’ seeds and the CPG experience of its founder & CEO Jim Breen have...
We’ve never had access to more information about how to get healthy. So why are two thirds of Americans still overweight or obese, and what can we do about it? To find out, FoodNavigator-USA headed to Atlanta, GA, for the 2014 Food & Nutrition Conference...
University of California researchers have warned that regular sugar-sweetened soda drinking could increase the risk of disease development and accelerate cellular aging.
Small companies can carve a niche - even in a mature category like pasta sauce - if they have a genuine point of difference, a novel pack size that stands out on shelf (and enables them to meet a price point), and a striking label, says Nello’s Sauce...
From kombucha to craft beer, US consumers are demanding more sophisticated beverages, and they don’t get much more sophisticated than Jin+Ja, a spicy ginger concoction that looks like it belongs in a swanky cocktail bar, but has also proved it can sell...
Consumers are looking for individual and integrated strategies to optimize their health and wellness, but no company has yet put all the pieces together, says BrandHive’s Jeff Hilton.