PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi says she didn’t want a short-term ‘cut, slash and burn’ policy that would have seen the company make enormous earnings from 2006 despite the upset her long-term nutritional foods focus caused some investors.
What is the future of ‘naturality’ on product labels? Are sin taxes and warning just policy tools disguised as a consumer advocacy? And should health and wellness be part of every brand’s messaging?
Health-related buzzwords such as “heart healthy”, “organic” and “all natural” can lead consumers to rate unhealthy foods as healthy, according to a study of college students at the University of Houston (UH).
More and more consumers rely on the internet for their news, and stories can go viral within minutes, so it’s unsurprising that certain food ingredients have become the subject of fear and avoidance in this information age.
Tea isn’t just for grown-ups anymore, as instant and ready-to-drink teas are paving the way for strong positioning among families, children and teens, according to a recent report by market research firm Packaged Facts.
A lot of food manufacturers are not happy with FDA proposals to revoke the GRAS status of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). Meanwhile, the soybean industry is urging the agency to hold off until larger quantities of new high oleic soybean oil are available....
If the cover of TIME magazine earlier this month (headline: Eat Butter) is anything to go by, it would seem that the conversation about fat, and saturated fat in particular, is changing, at least in the media. But are policymakers sitting up and taking...
Snacking is becoming more of a lifestyle than simply a between-meal indulgence for time-strapped US consumers, which means more opportunity to innovate in flavor, nutrition and delivery formats for snack food manufacturers like Snyder’s-Lance Inc.
New York’s highest court has refused to reinstate New York City’s controversial limit on the sale of large sugary beverages, effectively killing the city’s final appeal.
Food and beverage manufacturers are holding their collective breath in anticipation of the proposed changes to the Nutrition Facts panel put forth by the Food and Drug Administration and likely to be finalized next year.
A new player is poised to enter the burgeoning plant protein market with new protein and fiber ingredients produced via a novel fermentation process from heat stabilized defatted rice bran.
As protein appears primed to continue its meteoric rise, buoyed by a strong health halo among US consumers, where is there still potential for this macronutrient?
Starbucks-owned brand Evolution Fresh is test marketing a new range of co-branded smoothies made with cold pressed, high pressure processed juice and Dannon Greek yogurt in 200 Starbucks stores in San Jose and St Louis.
Following on the success of ReishiSmooth, a trademarked all-natural fermentation process that uses mushrooms to remove the bitterness from chocolate and coffee, food technology firm MycoTechnology is betting on the nutritional appeal of green coffee extract...
The number of Americans aged 65+ will double in the next 25 years. But manufacturers of products that could have strong appeal to this demographic (Greek yogurt, protein bars) are not doing enough to target them, says IRI.
A novel ‘enzymatic enhancement’ process that can convert low grade stevia extracts into high purity Reb A could transform the economics of stevia production and help California-based Stevia First stand out in the market, claims its boss.
Will Keurig Cold really turn the soft drinks market on its head? Can natural sweeteners pull diet soda out of its funk? And what’s the next coconut water?
While tocopherols have historically grabbed the limelight, the other members of the antioxidant-packed vitamin E family - tocotrienols - offer exciting benefits for cardiovascular and cellular health, says the firm behind annatto-derived delta-tocotrienol,...
Dannon is looking to drive incremental growth to the dairy category with the launch of a new indulgent dessert brand called Dannon Creamery that targets a day-part US yogurt marketers have traditionally struggled to corner: the evening.
The Honest brand could extend well beyond the ready-to-drink tea category into a wider array of beverages and even foods, says the co-founder of Honest Tea, which posted a 27% surge in sales to $112m in 2013, and is growing even faster this year.
Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz has admitted that the biggest disservice he has done for his audience is not identifying where to buy the quality products he talks about on his show.
Can anything top protein? What’s a “silver consumer” and why should we care? Would salty caramel work in a soft drink? Innova Market Insights teased a very full agenda of trendwatching presentations at next week’s Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT)...
Cargill has unveiled IngreVita, a proprietary blend of high oleic canola oil, antioxidants and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from fish oil that it claims will take omega-3 food and beverage fortification from the niche to the mainstream.
Not only are today's consumers less likely to rely on a primary store for food shopping, but they're sharing shopping duties and planning for specific meals rather than stocking up on food, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI)’s annual...
Alpha-linolenic acid-rich canola oil, in combination with a low glycemic index diet, may help improve blood sugar control and other measures of heart health, says a new study from Canada.
“My background is in sales, so I’m used to dealing with disappointment,” observes the founder of quinoa-based snacking brand eatKeenwa. But for every door that’s been shut in Blake Niemann’s face in the past 18 months, another one has opened. And his...
Ahead of the 2014 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo in the Big Easy next week, representatives from DSM Nutritional Products, which will be among the presenters in a June 22 session titled “Innovations in Functional...
United Natural Foods Inc. the dominant force in organic and natural food distribution in North America, says its acquisiton of Tony’s Fine Foods will help it stave off competition in the space from more mainstream distributors.
Nearly 3% of global food and beverage launches and 6% of US food/bev launches were marketed on a ‘high-protein’ or ‘source-of-protein’ positioning in the year ending March 31, 2014, according to data from Innova Market Insights.
The evidence has grown so strong for the best-documented probiotic strains that a generic digestive health claim should exist, according to a consensus statement from leading international researchers published this week in Nature Reviews: Gastroenterology...
Merchandizing gaps in convenience stores need to be plugged and snack makers must collaborate to drive progress forward, says the category development head at General Mills Convenience as it launches Nature Valley c-store tailored products.
The US ready-to-eat popcorn category has been “growing in the double-digits for the past 3-4 years” and is now worth “north of $600m in annual [retail] sales”, according to Diamond Foods CEO Brain Driscoll, who says new launches under the Kettle and Pop...
The neuropsychologist behind cognitive health beverage Nawgan reckons his latest innovation 'ON powered refreshment’' - which combines caffeine and the fatigue-busting amino acid ornithine - has more mainstream appeal, bringing a fresh twist...
Botanical ingredient supplier Gencor has teamed with Canadian company Radient Technologies to bring to market a new array of natural compounds suitable for use as functional food, beverage and dietary supplement ingredients.
US bakery, snack and cereal manufacturers should look to Europe for lessons on clean label and better-for-you products that don’t scream health, says Mintel’s innovation head.
While Chobani, Dannon and Yoplait have been battling for supremacy in the US yogurt market (and at halftime at the Super Bowl), another equally ambitious player has recently emerged from the leftfield and served as a reminder that Greek isn’t the only...
Jerry Bello - the founder of Veggie straws maker Sensible Portions (sold to Hain Celestial in a multimillion dollar deal in 2010) - remembers the exact moment when he stumbled across something he reckons could be an even bigger snack food hit.
Although fewer than one in 100 (0.9%) of US consumers is afflicted with a peanut or treenut allergy, the purchasing power of that group extends far beyond those with allergies, according to the recent Nut Allergy Ecosystem survey by Rich Products Corp.
The frozen food aisle has historically suffered from a bit of an image problem, given consumers’ long association with frozen TV dinners and freezer-burned commodity vegetable bags. But the growing interest in premium offerings among increasingly time-strapped...
From drinkable grains to Non-GMO verified, Sterling-Rice Group has identified 10 natural and organic food trends that are starting to influence the mainstream grocery market. Are you up to speed?
PLT Health Solutions will debut a new vegetarian source of vitamin D with a whole food mushroom powder at the Institute of Food Technologists trade show later in June in New Orleans. The new ingredient brings together several developing skeins in the...
It’s not as well-known as yerba maté or guarana, yet, but another natural source of caffeine - the Amazonian leaf guayusa - is about to give them both a serious run for their money, predict the entrepreneurs behind Runa, who are on a mission to do for...
Parents of autistic children can have a certain desperation to find ways to help their kids overcome the isolating deficits of the condition. Recent research has focused on potential nutritional and digestive anomalies exhibited by these children, and...
The US soymilk category remains in a funk according to a new report, which shows retail sales - which topped $1bn five years ago - slumped 8.5% to $638m in 2013, while sales of soy-based meat alternatives fell 1% to $776m, despite all the excitement...
Nearly three quarters (70%) of countries worldwide improved their food security in the past year, according to data from the 2014 Global Food Security Index jointly presented by DuPont and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). But the global threat obesity...
The robust nature of its ingredient, along with a hefty helping of IP proctection, has helped Ganeden Biotech push probiotics into teas and coffees, realms rarely thought of as a good fit for probiotics.
Experience with its no-taste iron ingredient in Guatemala led Albion Minerals to an expanded view of the formulation’s capabilities, said Max Motyka, the director of Albion’s human products division.
Greek yogurt has long been edging its way beyond the refrigerated aisles and into everything from coated snacks to bars, to baking chips and frozen yogurt. With that, the competitive landscape has grown increasingly crowded, with big names including Chobani,...
