What drives new trends? Is this best discovered seeing them unfold in real time at hands of innovators, or are they better discerned via a deep dive into marketing data? Both approaches were presented at the recent Healthy & Natural Show in Chicago.
Natural and organic are gaining momentum and driving sales across retail channels, but to capitalize fully on their potential stores and manufactures must work together to improve product assortment and integration throughout the store, according to an...
This time last year, KIND was engulfed in a media firestorm (and a tidal wave of false advertising lawsuits) after the FDA took issue with its use of the term ‘healthy’ on pack. Today it is claiming victory after the FDA said it can now use the term –...
When Nick Robinson joined Quest Nutrition in January 2011, it had just sold its first protein bar. “The world didn't know who we were,” he says. “But they were about to.” Five years later, Quest is valued at more than a billion dollars, and Robinson...
After suffering scorn for years from carb-counters, wheat-haters and consumers embracing a gluten-free diet, pasta is coming back in style with a vengeance, suggests analysis of Google searches.
Online subscription snack service NatureBox crosses over to the physical realm with the launch of eight products in 900 Target stores nationwide this week with the hope of reaching consumers who still prefer to buy food in brick-and-mortar stores rather...
Tapping into America’s growing obsession with snacking, sugar reduction and desire for global flavors, New York startup The Chaat Co.’s new line of savory yogurts with spicy mix-ins aims to revolutionize the US yogurt category, which until now has focused...
Few shoppers in today’s on-the-go culture have time to read lengthy descriptions or claims on packages, which is one reason why Vermont Smoke & Cure recently switched to recognizable icons and color-coding as part of a massive rebranding for its “consciously”...
“Exciting and high-end attributes” mark out new products that made the biggest splash in CPG (consumer packaged goods) last year, according to the 2015 New Product Pacesetters report from Chicago-based market researcher IRI.
Product packaging today often is cluttered with so many certifications that consumers’ can’t absorb everything in the brief time they look at labels in stores, and as a result the icons’ impact is diminished and manufacturers likely aren’t getting their...
Parents’ lack of knowledge about how much and what to feed children as they transition from baby food to more solid foods means most toddlers in America eat too much sugar and sodium and not enough whole grains and vegetables, new research reveals.
FoodNavigator-USA's latest pick of entrepreneurs to watch in the US food and beverage market features a clutch of firms developing truly innovative concepts from HPP babyfood and nut milks, to savory dishes from steel-cut oats, and a potentially...
If you spot a hot guy handing out samples in a Whole Foods store that looks kind of familiar (if you’re a fan of Jane the Virgin, Cougar Town or Veronica Mars, that is), it could be a case of wishful thinking. Conversely you might just have stumbled across...
New research could help debunk the commonly held belief that bread or other grain-based foods contribute to obesity or are too low in nutrients to justify the calories.
From probiotic gummies to craft soda, instant butter coffee beverages, chickpea brownies and veggie bacon bits made with pinto beans, check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves this spring.
Anyone who has shopped with children knows they heavily influence grocery purchases, but with advertising directly to kids frowned upon by many adults, children’s food and beverage manufacturers must embrace less direct strategies that balance what parents...
Adding “activity equivalent” labels to packaged food could help fight the obesity epidemic more effectively than listing calories alone, argues a top public health advocate.
When you launch a new food brand, says Frontier Snacks Inc founder Matt Oscamou, “people will tell you a 100 things you should know about working in this industry, and you’ll say ‘I won’t make that mistake,’ but the reality is, you almost certainly will.”
As the nascent bone-broth category comes into its own, early pioneers in the space are rebranding with professionally polished packaging that communicates their products’ benefits and points of differentiation to better take advantage of the segment’s...
Though not everyone is convinced that the dietary rot set in once we stopped hunting and gathering and started to grow crops and raise animals for food, there’s no doubt that the ‘Paleo’ diet is gaining traction, and Caveman Foods – the brainchild of...
Around 20% of adults worldwide will be obese by 2025, if policies designed to slow down and stop the worldwide increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) are not revised and implemented, according to a study.
Lupini beans have a nutritional profile to die for. The problem is, most Americans have never heard of them. But that could change rapidly if the New York based entrepreneur behind BRAMI snacking beans gets his way.
In a category that is dominated by ruggedness, Dear North aims to embody a pervasive delicate, hospitable, and warm culture of Alaska in the form of tender and nutrient-dense smoked salmon.
As the number of health-conscious consumers increase, so do the number of brands touting a healthier alternative to what’s out there. Here’s an update from brands in this category that we’ve covered before.
Move over sweet and savory – zesty is the latest flavor profile to enter the nutrition bar category with the launch of a new line of fruit bars from manufacturer That’s It.
It is no secret that the cereal aisle is struggling with Euromonitor estimating a 19% drop in sales in 2015 compared to 10 years earlier and a projection to lose another $1 billion in sales in the next 10 years.
KRAVE – the upmarket jerky brand that helped to spearhead a renaissance at the premium end of the meat snacking category – could be a $500m brand “very quickly”, claims new chief executive Shane Chambers, who took the helm following the departure of founder...
With more fiber than cold-pressed juice (4-5g per serving), plus a dose of probiotics (Ganeden’s ultra-resilient BC30 strain), Nomva is targeting consumers seeking simple, minimally processed snacks in a convenient format, says brand owner Phenomenal...
Packed with half a serving of vegetables, and a whimsically hand-drawn looking lion on its package, the founders of Rawr Bar wanted to create a friendly addition to any lunchbox.
Clif Bar – a company that helped transition the bar category from strictly slick slabs of finely blended ingredients to one with products made from recognizable grains and inclusions that more closely resembled real food – is at it again with a new line...
At Expo West 2016, companies large and small were reimagining pantry staples, from savory snacks to baking mixes, and reinventing their categories by introducing new ingredients.
With sugar reduction in full swing, the sales opportunity in the salty snacks category is growing fast to the tune of 3.7% annually with a projected $22 billion in sales in the US in 2015, according to a recent Packaged Facts report. And innovative manufacturers...
Remember when food and drink in the office amounted to a vending machine in the basement spewing candy and soda? While this is still the norm in many workplaces, the landscape is changing rapidly as a generation of young people now expect employers to...
Fruit chip maker Bare Snacks is overhauling its packaging to create an iconic brand block on store shelves that will better standout from the competition and communicate to consumers its core values of “simplicity, transparency and nothing bad for you,”...
Whether it’s a mug with your beloved pet’s picture on it, or a bespoke set of placeholders for a party you’ve ordered online, consumers love to design their own products these days. But how can mass customization work in the food industry, where minimum...
Ruffles may have ridges, but now so too do popchips – and with significantly less fat and fewer calories than the conventional competitor the better-for-you brand is in a strong position to capture today’s more health-conscious consumer.
Individually wrapped snacks and bars have revolutionized how busy Americans eat by offering on-the-go convenience, but their current, standard size range also could offer too many calories, suggests the CEO of Zing Bars.
Edible insect expert All Things Bugs has unveiled a new brand name for its cricket powder: GrioPro (based on grillo – Spanish for cricket; and Pro for protein), which it claims opens up a broader variety of application opportunities for food & beverage...
From plant-based protein bars featuring watermelon seeds as their star ingredient to energy bars "infused with a full cup of fair-trade coffee", check out our latest gallery of new product launches - many of which are debuting at Expo West (so...
Nellson Nutraceutical LLC, a nutrition bar and powder provider, has consolidated manufacturing operations at its Anaheim, CA facility. The company has relocated its headquarters there as well, leading to an overall “enhanced capacity,” according to sales...
Manufacturers of meat alternatives, tofu, tempeh, nut milks and vegan dairy replacements have a new champion in their corner and in Washington to help them level a playing field that currently is crowded with animal-based product lobbyists.
New York-based startup Masienda wants to elevate the $6.8 billion corn tortilla market in the US by importing biodiverse, heirloom corn from Mexico to create a better tasting, nonGMO alternative to the options currently available in the staple category.
True Foods Inc. wants to make everyday foods “healthier, more delicious and better for our world” by packing them with more vegetables and less added sugar – an ambitious mission to which consumers are responding enthusiastically judging by the startup’s...
Rising food, beverage and agriculture start-ups joined leading retailers, investors and celebrity chefs at Rabobank North America Wholesale's FoodBytes! Brooklyn pitch-slam March 3 to discuss advancing food culture, sustainability and farming.
It remains to be seen whether edible insects can move from the niche to the mainstream of US food culture, but a $4m cash injection into cricket protein bar brand Exo - one of the pioneers in this nascent category – suggests bugs may have broader appeal...
Deal will help Dang expand its presence in club, drug & convenience channels
Dang Foods – a Berkeley-based firm specializing in whole food snacks (coconut chips, onion chips)- is the first company to receive funding from Sonoma Brands, a food incubator run by KRAVE Jerky founder Jon Sebastiani.
