As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs on the trends they are tracking, plus what keeps them awake at night, from fundraising to recruitment. Here's part 2! (Best viewed on your desktop.)
As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage entrepreneurs on the trends they wll be tracking in 2016, plus what keeps them awake at night, from fundraising to recruitment. (Best viewed on your desktop.)
Butter is back, and soon too could be butter coffee if the manufacturers of Grass Fed Coffee, a ready-to-drink version of bullet coffee, meet their Kickstarter goal to raise $15,000 by Feb. 1.
As the race for manufacturers and restaurants to switch to 100% cage-free eggs in the US gains momentum, the speed of the transition could create short-term supply challenges for manufacturers and long-term opportunities for existing specialty egg providers,...
If you didn't make it to Chicago in October for FoodNavigator-USA's inaugural Food Vision USA event, you missed a truly awesome ensemble of industry experts covering everything from our nutritional needs on a manned mission to Mars to the challenges...
The broad bipartisan spending and tax agreement among Congressional leaders has been praised by nonprofits involved in fighting hunger. The bills will help alleviate the tax bills of struggling families and boost food donations at home and abroad, they...
Nearly three-quarters of US consumers will host a meal or a party this holiday season, and to ensure their guests leave jolly and full 57% of shoppers say they will spend more on groceries during this season than last, according to a new study by Acosta.
Women represent a big opportunity for food and beverage manufacturers, says Arla Foods Ingredients, with these consumers becoming increasingly discerning when it comes to protein quality.
US exports of organic produce and products are on the rise thanks to organic equivalency arrangements that ease verification requirements between some countries without compromising the integrity of organic, according to new research from the Organic...
I can't believe it's Just Mayo ... so will Just Butter be next?
Just weeks after telling Hampton Creek it was playing fast and loose with food labeling regs by branding its flagship egg-free spread ‘Just Mayo’, the FDA says Hampton Creek can now keep the ‘Just Mayo’ brand name - as long as it makes minor tweaks to...
The holidays are notorious for tempting people to indulge, but a recent poll by CivicScience found that while some consumers pay less attention to healthy eating, most stay strong and seek out better-for-you options throughout the season.
The Organic Trade Association in 2016 will push forward several initiatives to help industry “turn the corner” on the supply shortages currently holding it back from meeting surging demand for organic products, the group’s CEO Laura Batcha says.
There’s a widening sense of distrust from Canadian consumers against food manufacturers, especially when it comes to free-from claims on packaging. A Mintel study conducted in September found that a whopping 65% of Canadians see the free-from label as...
Fresh produce provider Dole Food Co. hopes to boost Americans' fruit and veggie intake by expanding its “Get Up and Grow” healthy eating initiative and launching three new products, including “less stringy” celery.
Back to Nature Foods Co.’s revitalization of the recently acquired iconic SnackWell’s brand is an example of how established companies can refresh aging brands that are struggling to better compete with new products from disruptive startups.
The FDA has just cranked open Pandora’s box with its surprise bid to explore a working definition of ‘natural’ on food labels. As part of our Food Vision USA program, FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage CEOs to find out what they think it means,...
A $1.1 trillion omnibus spending package released late last night does not contain a much-anticipated policy rider on federal GMO labeling that would pre-empt state GMO-labeling laws, although it does seek to block the sale of genetically engineered salmon...
Go Gourmet wants to “up the ante” in the applesauce and fruit cup aisle with its “superfood snack” Slammers – premium fruit and veggie purees for school-aged children in pouches that pose a triple threat with taste, nutrition and personality, says CEO...
While the media coverage of the new SmartLabel initiative has focused on shoppers’ enthusiasm (or lack, thereof) for scanning QR codes as they shop, or whether it’s just an elaborate ruse by ‘big food’ to avoid mandatory on-pack GMO labeling, the real...
Will 2016 be another bumper year for food-labeling class action lawsuits, or has the FDA’s surprise decision to weigh into the ‘natural’ debate put a spanner in the works for plaintiff’s attorneys? We quizzed leading food law attorneys to find out (gallery...
Specialty rice producer Amira sees significant potential for Basmati to win the hearts of Americans, who lately have been flirting more with Indian food and ancient grains.
PureCircle has developed a new family of stevia-based sweeteners designed to shine in low to zero-calorie formulations, an application area that has proved particularly challenging as formulators seek to retain a ‘clean, sugar-like’ taste at higher dosage...
From veggie juice and bone broth combinations to pecan milk, teas brewed with wild-crafted chaga (a nutrient-packed fungus that grows on birch trees), bamboo leaves and the 'superherb' of the moment ashwagandha, the beverage aisle is a hotbed...
Automatic drip coffee is regaining favor with consumers who increasingly are turning their backs on single-serve pods, which some perceive as convenient but a lower quality and more wasteful than manually- or automatic drip-made coffee, according to an...
Social media often is a dominant – and sometimes the only – component of most food and beverage companies' marketing strategies, but as platforms continue to proliferate, advertisers must understand to whom each application appeals to maximize their...
Juice in focus at BevNET Live: From V8 to Evolution Fresh, Suja & Bolthouse Farms
Brands, like celebrities and artists, have to stay true to their core essence to retain their integrity, but must also “change and shed personas” from time to time to stay relevant, says Campbell Soup’s beverage VP Kelli McCusker.
“Local” is a hot marketing term that can drive sales – especially for startups hoping to capitalize on home court advantage – but it also can restrict expansion if it is defined too narrowly, says the founder of Dona Chai.
'It’s not the first or the second purchase order that really counts, it’s the third'
It won't happen overnight, but the future of babyfood is in the chiller, predicts one Texas-based entrepreneur pioneering the application of high pressure processing (HPP) in a category she claims is ripe for disruption.
For Undone Chocolate, what is in a name is not as important as what is in its gourmet bars, which is why the startup is dropping individual product names in favor of umbrella branding and highlighting key ingredients.
America’s love affair with spicy flavors will continue in 2016, but with an evolutionary twist that also will open the door for more multicultural flavors, predicts McCormick & Co. in it is annual flavor forecast.
The word ‘craft’ may be most strongly associated with beer: but its influence is much wider and reveals a lot about today’s consumers, says Richard Hall, chairman of Zenith International.
Discount brands have more to gain from marketing their sustainability credentials than premium ones, but they’ll have a much harder time convincing consumers their claims aren’t just greenwash.
Is it lawful to use terms such as ‘almondmilk’ and ‘soymilk’ to describe plant-based beverages? Yes, according to a ruling from a California court this week, which has dismissed claims in a long-running class action lawsuit* v retailer Trader Joe's...
Seaweed, full-fat dairy, floral flavors and mushrooms will all gain traction in 2016, according to the Specialty Food Association (SFA), which has released a list of 10 trends to watch in US food culture next year:
Coca-Cola has urged a California federal court to toss a class action lawsuit alleging it misrepresents its flagship product as being free from added preservatives and artificial flavors.
The Organic & Natural Health Association will reveal more details about its ongoing effort to define “natural” – a much-used but dangerously ambiguous marketing term – at its inaugural national conference Jan. 26-27.
Spicy hot sauces, cozy hot chocolate, premium tea, seasonal sweets and stocking-stuffer sized treats were on display just in time for the holiday season at Washington, DC-based incubator Union Kitchen's tasting event Dec. 1. The event doubled as...
KIND has filed a citizen petition with the FDA to update 'outdated' regulations governing the use of the term healthy on food labels and address the disconnect between what Americans are encouraged to eat in the Dietary Guidelines and the criteria...
The FDA will have its work cut out when it comes to coming up with a workable definition of ‘natural’, if the comments submitted to the FDA thus far are anything to go by.
From plant-based ‘snack tubes’; to the VeganEgg, snackable breakfast options, and kale & potato chips; check out FoodNavigator-USA’s gallery of new products hitting US shelves this fall/winter.
Long-anchored in the conventional channel’s center-store with iconic brands such as Hungry Man and Wishbone, Pinnacle Foods’ $975 million acquisition of Boulder Brands gives it a better foothold in the fast-growing refrigerated and health food segments.
After almost five years of bitter legal wrangling, the corn and sugar lobbies have buried the hatchet and settled their legal dispute – mid-trial – over the marketing of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Food and beverage manufacturers and suppliers are rising to meet the increasing consumer demand for humanely produced animal products – a trend which the American Humane Association celebrated last week on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The FDA has rejected a citizen’s petition calling for mandatory labeling of foods from genetically engineered crops, arguing that labels are not warranted unless there is a material difference in the safety or nutritional profile of the foods in question.
The egg industry is undergoing a “renaissance” as consumers increasingly turn their backs to conventional eggs from caged hens and reach instead for those from chickens raised with space to move and access to outdoors, claims the co-owner of Handsome...
Not so long ago, pundits were predicting that the high-purity stevia extracts market would be worth a billion dollars as manufacturers ditched artificial sweeteners and embraced ‘all-natural’ alternatives.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Transparent advertising is essential for reaching modern consumers, but as the maker of Element [Shrub] discovered – knowing which facts to emphasize first is key to driving initial trial.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Heinz Tomato Ketchup has been an iconic staple in American diners and homes for more than 130 years, but Washington, DC-area startup ’Chups believes the condiment is long overdue for an update and that it is just the company to do it.