Healthy snacking

Outgoing SFA chairman on snacking trends, GMO labeling

60-second interview: Mark Singleton, outgoing chairman of the Snack Food Association; vice president of sales & marketing, Rudolph Foods

SFA outgoing chairman: The lines between meals & snacks are blurring; we’ve seen remarkable changes in consumption patterns

By Elaine Watson

According to the March 2015 report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, most Americans now consume two or three snacks a day - news that came as no surprise to the outgoing chairman of the Snack Food Association, Mark Singleton. Elaine Watson...

Edible insects in focus at Wixon, working with cricket flour

60-second interview: Lisa Andrews, research & development assistant, Wixon

Edible insects in focus: What is cricket flour like to work with?

By Elaine Watson

Edible insects - crickets in particular – have picked up a lot of positive PR lately as firms look for alternative sources of protein. But what is cricket flour like to work with? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Lisa Andrews (LA), research & development...

Snack Out Loud’s pinto bean snacks: the next nut?

Snack Out Loud’s pinto bean snacks: the next nut?

By Maggie Hennessy

As many of today’s busy consumers are getting upwards of half their daily calories from snacks, they’re demanding more than ever from the category. So newcomer Snack Out Loud saw an opportunity to leverage the power of the yet untapped roasted pinto bean...

Hemp is the new superfood for vitamins and omega-3

Not just for hippies: Hemp's rising superfood status

By RJ Whitehead

Bursting with nutrients and boasting an impressive growth rate, the future of hemp seed is bright– but what’s the best way for manufacturers to cash in on a product that is connected – mistakenly but understandably – with an illegal drug?

Abe’s Market: natural for the masses

Abe’s Market: natural for the masses

By Maggie Hennessy

With a million customers nationwide and counting, online natural products retailer Abe’s Market looks to make it easier for natural products consumers to buy everything in one place by focusing on trial, convenience and value. 

GMO factor beginning to impact fiber choices, says Beneo

The GMO factor is beginning to impact fiber choices, says Beneo

By Elaine Watson

While multiple factors from price to functionality determine which fiber is best for any given application, chicory root fiber (inulin) is gaining ground with many food formulators owing to its non-GMO credentials and the fact that consumers see it as...

Vegan is going mainstream, trend data suggests

Vegan is going mainstream, trend data suggests

By Elizabeth Crawford

The appeal and potential for vegan products is expanding beyond the small group of people who avoid animal products for ethical reasons to include the much larger base of consumers seeking healthier, cleaner foods, according to an industry expert. 

Emotional eating: Sad or action-packed movies inspire more munching

Emotional eating: Sad or action-packed movies inspire more munching

By Elizabeth Crawford

Snack makers may get better traction by marketing to consumers who watch sad or action-packed movies and television than those who prefer comedies and talk shows, if the amount of food consumed by viewers in two recent studies is any indication. 

From bugs and beets to meat, a snacking odyssey at Expo West

IN PICTURES: From bugs and beets to meat, a snacking odyssey at Expo West

By Elaine Watson

While cricket flour is still something of a novelty, it’s creeping (and crawling) into more snacks as awareness – and the infrastructure to support its commercial-scale production – ramps up. Meanwhile, chia, fruit, peas, beans, ancient grains and protein...

While plant-based foods are hot right now, high-protein meat-snacks such as jerky are also gaining momentum

Vegan, paleo, grass-fed, pasture-raised, ancient grains, and allergen friendly claims are gaining

From grass-fed to Paleo: What are the hottest trends in the natural food and beverages market?

By Elaine Watson

According to Chicago-based market research firm SPINS, US retail (dollar) sales of foods & beverages rose 1.7% in 2014, while unit sales declined by 0.4%. By contrast, sales of natural and organic brands grew nearly 12%. But where are the opportunities...

5 strategies for marketing to millennials

Partnership for a Healthier America Summit

5 strategies for marketing to millennials

By Elizabeth Crawford

Firms need to move away from one-way marketing strategies in traditional media channels and embrace open engagement in new media outlets to capture the attention of millennials, who increasingly wield purchasing power and influence but continue to elude...

Banana flour: The next big thing in the gluten-free toolkit?

Banana flour is gluten-free, grain-free and rich in potassium and resistant starch

Banana flour: The next big thing in the gluten-free toolkit?

By Elaine Watson

Banana flour –dried unripe banana milled into powder – is still a novel concept for American consumers, but the Utah-based entrepreneur behind WEDO (which claims to be the only banana flour company in the US) reckons 2015 could be the year it hits the...

What’s for breakfast? Almonds, says Blue Diamond...

60-second interview: Jeff Smith, Director of Marketing, Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division

What’s for breakfast? Nuts! (And preferably almonds, says Blue Diamond.)

For many Americans, breakfast has switched from being one of three square meals a day to just another snacking occasion – or something to skip altogether.  But this brings opportunities as well as challenges, says Blue Diamond’s Jeff Smith, who we caught...

Coconut sugar is made from the sap of flowers from the palm

Coconut sugar: The latest sugar alternative

By Niamh Michail

Coconut sugar is increasing in popularity because it is seen as being a healthier, more ethical alternative to sugar - but nutritionists remain sceptical of the health claims.

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