Chilled drinkable soup had a moment five to six years ago with a flurry of brands entering the niche segment attracting excited investors who backed brands positioning themselves as a fresh meal on the go that consumers could drink like a juice. But what’s...
For the second time in recent years network marketing giant Herbalife has made an abrupt management switch, with board chairman Michael Johnson stepping in as interim CEO. The move coincided with a disappointing sales report that saw the company’s share...
While sales of plant-based products across the board continue to slide, consumer data from Evergi shows at least one segment is bucking the trend – frozen meals and bowls – an area into which the fast-growing vegan brand Strong Roots is eagerly expanding...
How much sugar is too much, and do pouches for babies and young kids containing pureed fruits and vegetables present long-term health risks, even if they don’t contain any added sugars?
San Diego-based cell-cultured seafood company BlueNalu has set up a scientific advisory board bringing together experts in consumer research, sensory science, product development, bio-engineering, and systems biology to accelerate its commercialization...
Suja Life's recent acquisition of cold-pressed juices shots brand Vive Organic brings together the No. 1 and No. 2 brands in the category to accelerate and scale the still-niche wellness shots segment.
Will a large percentage of flavors, colors and sweeteners be made in bioreactors by 2050 or are the costs and challenges associated with precision fermentation technology such that it only makes sense to produce a handful of high-value ingredients in...
The 45 startups selected to participate in the FoodBytes! By Rabobank food and ag innovation program in 2022 provide a neat snapshot into trending topics in food and agriculture, from personalized nutrition and upcycling to robotics and farm biologics.
Terviva – a California-based firm commercializing ingredients from low-input, high-yielding pongamia trees – has teamed up with food ingredient supplier Ciranda to launch the first commercial supplies of ‘Ponova’ oil by mid-2023.
Monk fruit, a high-intensity sweetener, is gaining popularity across premium applications as a clean-label alternative that blends well with others. While it costs more than stevia, tech innovations may bring prices down.
Three years after its “no deal” television appearance on Shark Tank, Slate Milk has raised over $5m in seed money and continues to expand its shelf-stable ultra-filtered, high-protein, lactose-free chocolate milk footprint.
Indoor farming company Local Bounti has secured a $23.3m private investment in public equity (PIPE) investment to scale up its proprietary Stack & Flow Technology, which the company argues leads to improved superior unit economics.
Between the supply chain challenges and product shortages that marked the beginning of the pandemic and rising food prices due to inflation continuing to push some products out of consumers’ financial reach, many Americans are being forced to try new...
Researchers are calling on clinicians and the healthcare system to screen for food insecurity and better promote food access programs after discovering that Americans with limited or uncertain access to adequate food is on the rise and they are more likely...
The Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) has launched a new consortium of industry and nonprofit members to support research and development in the burgeoning field of cellular agriculture.
Nestlé is continuing to fine tune its portfolio through ongoing SKU rationalization paired with an increased focus on high-growth segments of coffee and its Nestlé Health Sciences division with plans to introduce additional pricing actions to keep up...
From avocado oil “going mainstream” in packaged foods, to date sweeteners and Yaupon tea, Whole Foods has just unveiled its annual list of 10 trends to watch in the year ahead.
Willow Biosciences – one of a clutch of biotech firms producing cannabinoids via biosynthesis rather than extraction – has started strain optimization and process development for commercial production of astaxanthin from yeast using a downstream processing...
Kraft Heinz is making progress towards several of its environmental and sustainability goals including cutting the amount of waste sent to landfill by 15% in 2021 and converting 84% of its global packaging portfolio to fully recyclable materials.
Plant-based seafood brand unMeat is rolling out its fish-free canned tuna products to 250 Harris Teeter stores capitalizing on the consumers' search for more affordable protein options.
As part of an effort to expand its ‘beyond-the-beverage’ Gx System product portfolio, Gatorade recently entered the dietary supplement space by unleashing two functional gummy products, an updated app, and a smart bottle that lights up and connects to...
The baby food landscape has changed drastically in recent years with an emphasis on fresh products and a flurry of DTC brands coming to market. So which trends present the biggest growth opportunities for brands and manufacturers?
Organic sales continue to reach unprecedented highs as consumers gravitate to options they perceive as healthier for them and the planet, but the segment faces significant headwinds that are slowing growth and will demand ongoing flexibility, innovation...
Sustainability may be a rising priority influencing consumer purchases, but optimistic projections that 2022 would be the year of the ‘climatarian’ appear to be a bit premature – giving brands and retailers more time to improve and finetune their positioning...
Supermarket giant Kroger is merging with Albertsons Companies Inc. (Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco), bolstering its position as the second largest food retailer in the US with an estimated 11.8% market share behind Walmart at 17.1%.
After filing for protection under the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Code earlier this week, Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc (VPX Sports), the parent company of Bang Energy, has a challenging road ahead. But its most recent financial misfortune isn't the final...
After a couple of record-breaking years, dietary supplement usage is returning to pre-pandemic levels. Data from CRN’s 2022 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements shows that 75% of Americans are using dietary supplements, down from 80% in 2021.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is indirectly pressuring children’s food manufacturers to elevate the healthfulness of their products sold at retail by incentivizing schools to improve the quality of the food they serve and prioritizing the reinstatement...
While consumers today are exploring more money-saving strategies such as choosing lower-cost items and cooking from scratch, their personal values around health and well-being and the planet have not wavered, according to research from Innova Market Insights.
Nestlé is expanding its toehold in the highly fragmented but fast-growing smoothie category with the launch of Outshine Smoothie Cubes, which it says will stand apart from the competition by offering added convenience in both format and distribution....
Indoor farming company Revol Greens is doubling its romaine lettuce production footprint by 2023, supported by its recent expansion at its Texas growing facility, making it the largest greenhouse lettuce grower in North America.
Singaporean snack brand IRVINS is broadening its reach into the US snacking category with its salted egg chips and salted egg salmon skins, which have become some of the most popular snacks across Southeast Asia.
Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have found eight new sweetness-enhancing compounds in 11 citrus cultivars that could offer improved palatability and lower sugar content in food and beverage...
Revival Einkorn – a new organic consumer brand dedicated to einkorn, a protein-packed ancient wheat variety with a gluten profile billed as ‘easier on the gut’ than modern wheat – is making its debut direct to consumer and in the pasta aisle at natural...
Immune health continues to be a primary concern for consumers of functional beverages, according to a new report from Irish ingredient supplier Kerry. The study also found that consumers are increasingly blurring the distinction between the benefits...
Natural Products Expo East may not be as big as its West Coast counterpart, but the 18,500 registered attendees and more than 1,200 exhibitors who convened in Philadelphia earlier this month for the annual conference were just as enthusiastic and the...
The FDA will host a stakeholder webinar on October 21 (1pm ET) to provide an overview of its proposed rule to update the definition of the nutrient content claim ‘healthy,' which for the first time restricts the amount of added sugar firms can include...
Multiple rounds of pricing actions taken by Conagra over the past several quarters have not deterred consumers from buying the company's products, as it reports "limited" elasticities across its portfolio.
San Diego-based BlueNalu has outlined plans for a large-scale cell-cultured seafood plant it anticipates will be operational in 2027. This will deploys technology it claims can “unlock the path to significant profitability” and enable a projected 75%...
Frozen Greek yogurt brand Yasso has surpassed $200m in retail sales this year, but the real growth is just on the horizon as it embraces its national brand status becoming the #4 frozen novelty at retail and #1 fastest-growing brand across the total...
A new review has found strong evidence for the efficacy of postbiotics, especially for use in the developing world where gastrointestinal complaints often have deadly outcomes.
As the brand name suggests, none too subtly, SlimFast is a brand you tend to think of when you want to lose weight, fast. But in a food culture where ‘wellness’ is in, ‘dieting’ is out, and even the word ‘slimming’ can make you sound like an ‘80s throwback,...
The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) has issued a new Industry Advisory which aims to improve the accuracy of EPA and DHA quantification across the industry.
Allergy-friendly (free of the top nine allergens) cookie and baking mix brand Partake Foods has raised $11.5m in Series B funding to scale its business and social impact to reach more diverse consumer audiences.
Hot on the heels of his collab with Broadus Foods to launch a gluten-free multigrain cereal – aimed at taking on Kellogg’s Fruit Loops – the American rapper is forging a deeper and even more meaningful ‘foodprint’ with the release of a line of shareable,...
The prebiotic potential of polyphenols found in certain strains of sorghum has been identified and quantified in a new study out of the University of Nebraska.
Even as rising consumer interest in natural and organic products helps push overall sales to new highs, the industry’s growth rate continues to plummet from pandemic highs to below pre-pandemic levels and likely won’t rebound until 2024 as the threat...
PATH, a sustainable aluminum bottled water company, has closed $30m in Series A funding to continue its mission of eliminating single-use plastic bottles from going into landfills and oceans with its 100% refillable aluminum water bottles.